1953V JOHN II AE Tetarteron S-NL DOC 15 CLBC 3.4.4

OBV Bust of Christ, bearded and nimbate, wearing tunic and kolobion; holds gospels open in l. hand

REV. Bust of emperor wearing stemma, divitision and jeweled loros of a traditional type; holds in r. labarum on a long shaft and in l. Globus cruciger.

Size 16.85mm

Weight 3.4gm

Not very much is known of this coin, Hendy included it in DOC because one example in a private collection. Since then at least one other example besides this has come to light. This coin is by far is in the best condition between the known examples. Another personal observation, because of the thick fabric, it would be easily be put into the Constantinople mint instead of Thessalonica.

Without knowing about this coin, David Metcalf mentioned in an article regarding Isaac Comnenus tetartera he proposed some coins being minted in the capital and sent for exclusive use in Cyprus, if true, this example might be one of the coins with limited circulation and also would explain the rarity of this coin. The only way to prove this theory is if this coin had a silver content like the other City tetartera.

This coin is not listed in Sear or Greirson.