Our
Byzantine forum has become quite quiet during these summer holidays. So I share the following puzzle. Where was this coin minted? Starting point is always
Constantinople unless there are indications to the contrary.
First point is that the As are not crossed. Instead we see
where an A should appear-- once on the
obverse and twice on the
reverse. This was more common at the
Italian mints (
Rome,
Ravenna,
Sicily) and almost never happened at
Constantinople as far as I can tell.
Second point is that the
AVG at the end of the
obverse legend is either blundered or abbreviated.
Rome mint sometimes abbreviated
AVG to AG, but this does not look like AG.
Third point is the placement of the second I in
VICTORIA.
Constantinople mint usually engraves this at a 30 degree angle. Other mints, including
Rome,
Ravenna,
Carthage and
Alexandria were often (but not always) more deliberate about cutting the I at a 45 degree angle and centering it in the upper left
field of the
staurogram.
Fourth point is the
portrait style. Here Justinian has a much narrower jaw than on most other coins. On most coins the jaw is full and wide and looks like a U shape.
Rome had a more variable
portrait style than
Constantinople of
Ravenna. This does not look anything like the
Ravenna style.
Fifth point is the
star: Eight pointed
star weighs against a
Rome attribution, but does not rule it out entirely.
Finally the
officinae letter. I initially thought it was a B, but now I think it looks more like an S.
I am curious if anyone has any other ideas or observations.
