John V - John VI Hyperpyron - Bendall Type P

[Obryzum]

Ross has compiled the best available resource on the John V - John VI hyperpyra:
https://glebecoins.org/paleos/Articles/The_Hyperpyra_of_John_V___John/the_hyperpyra_of_john_v___john.html

The first coin below is an example of Bendall Type P.  The coin in the photo came from Bendall's own collection.  It was sold in a CNG auction.  The blue text is a cut-and-paste from the footnote in Ross's article. As Ross notes, the attribution to John V - John VI is questionable because the same obverse sigla (   ) was also used for the Andronicus II - Andronicus III hyperpyra, and the legend idoes not clearly support an attribution to John V- John VI.  Perhaps Bendall attributed it to John V- John VI based on the fabric or apparent debasement?

Well here is another coin that might provide another clue.  It has  the same sigla (   ).  Like the Bendall coin, the legend is illegible.  The fabric appears comparable.  The key feature is that the weight is unusually high at 4.79g.  The high weight may favor an attribution in favor of John V - John VI, as quite a number of the John V - John VI were overweight.  Any thoughts?  Ross, you are the expert on these!

[glebe]

Interesting.
The trouble is this is a particularly messy type so it's hard to say anything definite about it.
The weight of this new example is certainly consistent with John V & VI but that is hardly conclusive.

Ross G.

[Obryzum]

Thanks Ross.  That's what I expected you to say. 

When Bendall first noted type 24 in his 1984 article, there were two references:  Barber and private collection.  When he published PCPC in 1988, he included five coins in the plates, and one of them was type 24.  This suggests that the "private collection" coin he referred to in 1984 might be the same coin he published in PCPC.  Curiously, the PCPC coin is a plated fouree (and described as such).  I would be interested to take a closer look at the Barber coin, but as far as I know the collection is unpublished. 

Naumann has sold a couple of type 24 hyperpyra in 2019, one in Auction 75 (Lot 870) and one in Auction 79 (Lot 819).  Both have sufficiently legible legends to confirm the attribution to Andronicus II-III.  Here is 75/870:

[glebe]

I note that the Andronicus II & III examples are much better quality productions than the John V & VI types.

Ross G.

[Obryzum]

Particularly with the attention paid to the sigla letters.  These are clear and unmistakable in one set, yet sloppy and much harder to make out in the other.