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Author Topic: A New Find, A Mule tetarteron.  (Read 1020 times)

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Offline Simon

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A New Find, A Mule tetarteron.
« on: May 18, 2022, 05:16:11 pm »
I never thought I would acquire one of these hybrid Mule imitation tetarteron. In fact I never even went on a chase for it. I recently had one capture my attention and after a long work trip I came home to it in my mail box.

I first learned about this type of imitation from an article of Orestes Zervos written in 2002.

He notes even though a dozen examples were found in the Cornith excavations only two were known of today, one in Dumbarton Oakes and the other in Cornith Collection. If the article is still accurate, mine would be a 3rd known.

The coin is a mix over two Alexius I issues.  It has a Christ with gospels Obverse ( SBCV-1929) and an Alexius Jewelled cross( sbcv-1931) . The two issues Dr. Zervos noted were in much better condition than mine and much heavier in weight 4.94 and 3.55gm


My new example  is much lighter than the other two examples. More equivalent to a half tetarteron.  18.23mm and .9gm



https://www.forumancientcoins.com/gallery/thumbnails.php?album=5633 My main collection of Tetartera. Post reform coinage.

Offline Vladislav D

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Re: A New Find, A Mule tetarteron.
« Reply #1 on: May 19, 2022, 05:47:10 pm »
Check S. Bendall " The Mint of Trebizond under Alexius I and the Gabrades "  Pl.7 - 18 . 
Regards,
Vlad .

Offline Vladislav D

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Re: A New Find, A Mule tetarteron.
« Reply #2 on: May 19, 2022, 06:13:54 pm »
 
Check S. Bendall " The Mint of Trebizond under Alexius I and the Gabrades "  Pl.7 - 18 . 
Regards,
Vlad .
Just saw that this has been already suggested on another forum :)
Regards,
Vlad.

Offline Simon

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Re: A New Find, A Mule tetarteron.
« Reply #3 on: May 19, 2022, 07:18:52 pm »
Even though that would make it just as rare of a coin, I still am not sure. I saw it mentioned last night.

The Trebizond coin in the article exists as two examples.  The weight is more accurate for a Trebizond coin.  The description taken from the bendall article

 Issue 13a
 Obv. IC XC. Bust of Christ facing, bearded and with cross nimbus with two pellets
 in each arm, wearing tunic and himation. holding Gospels in right hand.
 Rev. Jewelled cross with A-A-B-P in the angles.
 Ref. - . PL 7, 18
 Weights hts of two specimens, 1-16 and 1-87 g, with die-axes of 0°.

In the tetarteron noted by Zervos

The legend of the cross is a M ( bottom left as is mine)  The Legend of Christ is there but it is OC instead of IC . The weight does not match but imitation tetartera were issued in many forms. From big to small.

https://www.academia.edu/48883264/A_barbarous_hybrid_tetarteron_of_the_time_of_Alexios_I_Komnenos

I used some verdi care on the coin and re photographed. Here are the results. I do not see it exactly matching the description of either coin. 


https://www.forumancientcoins.com/gallery/thumbnails.php?album=5633 My main collection of Tetartera. Post reform coinage.

Offline Vladislav D

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Re: A New Find, A Mule tetarteron.
« Reply #4 on: May 19, 2022, 07:38:58 pm »
I believe your coin looks more like Bendall coin . Iconography style and flan shape .
Regards,
Vlad

Offline Simon

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Re: A New Find, A Mule tetarteron.
« Reply #5 on: May 19, 2022, 08:28:30 pm »
Thank you Vlad, either way it is a win.  Here is Zervos coins

The Zervos imitation Hybrid  tetarteron.
https://www.forumancientcoins.com/gallery/thumbnails.php?album=5633 My main collection of Tetartera. Post reform coinage.

Offline Simon

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Re: A New Find, A Mule tetarteron.
« Reply #6 on: May 22, 2022, 10:02:27 pm »
https://www.forumancientcoins.com/gallery/thumbnails.php?album=5633 My main collection of Tetartera. Post reform coinage.

Offline Byzantofil

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Re: A New Find, A Mule tetarteron.
« Reply #7 on: May 23, 2022, 05:29:27 am »
Two similar coins are found in Oxford, in The Heberden
coin room. Are they hybrids too? Their origin is accepted as Trebizond, according to Bendall, but this is not certain.
https://hcr.ashmus.ox.ac.uk/coin/hcr53472
https://hcr.ashmus.ox.ac.uk/coin/hcr53473

Offline Simon

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Re: A New Find, A Mule tetarteron.
« Reply #8 on: May 23, 2022, 09:14:25 am »
There origin is accepted as Trebizond by Simon Bendall but he excluded them from his catalog and I can find not other info on them , so  this  attribution is not certain.

I agree, we really do not know. Does the evidence really prove tis to be a Trebizond coin? I have great admiration for Simon Bendall's work and especially his expertise in post 1203 coinage But sometimes I think his dealer side  took over, Trebizond coins were and still are a hot market.
 To this day the Richard the Lionhart tetarteron coin I have doubts over, only half a dozen were found in Cyprus but the Richard the Lionheart story makes these coins more desirable than Grierson or Metcalf saying they were from a meeting of Manuel and the King of Jerusalem. When the evidence is not conclusive a good story can be an excellent replacement.

BTW my coin Christ obverse and Alexius Cross reverse I believe was found in Cyprus.

Simon

https://www.forumancientcoins.com/gallery/thumbnails.php?album=5633 My main collection of Tetartera. Post reform coinage.

 

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