Not only is it bizarre, the
reverse with Mary applying the empress's crown is unparalleled anywhere else, but it looks as if the forger is trying to allude to the religious motifs appearing on the coins of Michael and
Theodora. I would like to establish the age of this forgery, it probably is (it is
contemporary, but the
patina is quite thick) and its purpose. The
style of the
portrait is reminiscent of coins from the
Islamic Anatolian period, but we know of no
type with a Latin legen