Lead seal for ID

[solon]

Dear Board,

PB  17.90gr.  This Byzantine seal similar to Michael VII Ducas as here http://www.acsearch.info/record.html?id=516356  except for the obverse and some of the inscriptions on reverse.
Is anyone familiar with these lead seals to help me to identify it?
Thank you.

Regards

[Gert]

Luckily, the later Byzantine emperors had only one seal type. This one belongs to Nikephoros III Botaniates. A seal from the same dies (or more correctly, the same boulloterion) is published in Dumbarton Oaks VI, no 85.12. The rev. legend is tentatively read on that specimen, which is poorly preserved. Yours is better, but still hard to read. It should read something along the lines of

NIKHΦOPOC RACIΛEVC O ROTANIATH

I can read 'basileus' to the right, in any case.
Regards
Gert

[solon]

Hi Gert
I can read  X N I K O  from the left and ending with  O T H to the right. It seems to be Nikephoros Botaniates.
Have you seen this seal sold in any major sales lately?
I like to find out if it is rare or not.
Thank you for your help.

Regards

[Gert]

Hi Solon,
I would say that almost all seal types are rare to extremely rare, except maybe for imperial seals of Justinian. But to answer your question, compared to other imperial seal types, Nicephorus III is not not particularly rare. They will be present in most seal collections, and DO has published 12 of them. For example, DO has also 12 of Michael VII, but 38 of Alexius I and 2 of Eirene.

The X at the beginning will be a cross.
Regards
Gert