"Byzantine" coin, with Arabic inscription on reverse side & Latin overstrike

[Constantine IV]

Hello all,

I bought a "Byzantine" coin from a website that sold mostly Roman and some Greek coins, the Byzantine coins, like the rest, were not selectable. Fast postage though. Anyway, this coin arrived today, it looked like a Byzantine "cup" coin, though there were no discernable Byzantine marks, such as an emperor.
I soaked the coin in a mix of lemon juice and vinegar. In the evening I brushed it up, gradually revealing what markings there were.
Most striking, excuse the pun, was the obverse with the overstrikes in Latin numerals. And after a final clean at night the coin seems to be showing all it has, and it is clear there is an Arabic inscription on the reverse side.
This is what I can make out so far...
Obverse: Three counter marks/ overstrikes "B" over "IIII", "dot" over "VI" and "II"
Reverse: ﮐﺭ___و

In the photos I have circled out in crimson red, breaks or punctures in the coin. It seems the coin was not originally made to have these faults and they are the result of it being overstruck.

If it was a Byzantine coin originally it might be a legacy of the Crusades bearing the marks of the Latins and the Saracens.

[rick2]

we are miles off here........


its neither byzantine nor islamic


your coin is spanish and was originally struck under Philipp II or Philipp III between 1595 and 1620
it was then revalued over and over again during the reign and monetary chaos associated with Philipp IV between 1630 and 1660

what you can see are the countermarks or resellos that increased the value to 4 and then 6 maravedis

the one with B was placed in the city of Burgos


they are very common coins and yours is in very poor condition.

[Constantine IV]

Crikey! Well, I will let the seller know about this "byzantine" coin. Too late to send back for a refund, since it is cleaned up now, but at least they will be careful next time.

[rick2]

it happens sometimes

anyway since it was uncleaned i doubt you paid a lot of money for it.

my suggestion would be that you learn more about this period.

you ll find pirates , plunder , chaos , recessions  , monetary wizardry and so on.
a bit like 2008-2011  


btw this is the period of the gold dobloons and the pieces of eight

[Constantine IV]

Well yes, in itself it is not rubbish, still a part of history, the Colonial era of the Americas and the economic chaos of 17th century Spain. Also a worthwhile lesson to only buy coins that we can actually see what we are buying, I ought to have known better.
After emailing the seller he replied and will send a replacement, which is great. I emailed him two photos of the cleaned coin so he can see I am not making it up.
Thank you again Rick