1059-1067 AD Byzantine Nomisma Constantine X NGC CH MS

Discover an Exceptional Portrait of Jesus in This Constantine X Nomisma!

From the desk of GovMint.com's resident ancient coin expert, David Levine:

Minted -- Constantinople, 1059-1067 AD

Grade -- NGC Choice Mint State (CH MS), Strike 5/5, Surface 5/5

Obverse -- Christ enthroned facing on square-backed throne, wearing cruciform nimbus and holding Gospels cradled in left arm

Reverse -- Constantine standing facing, wearing crown, saccos, and loros, holding labarum in right hand and globus cruciger in left

Legend -- + IhS XIS RЄX RЄGNANTIhM (obverse), + KWN RAC -Λ O ΔOVKAC (reverse)

Diameter -- 28 mm

Levine's Notes

• This is a beautiful portrait coin with an exceptional rendering of Jesus.
• It is clear from all the coins of the Byzantine Empire that it was a Christian Empire, where the Emperor played a powerful role in the Church. These portrait of Jesus coins make an important contribution to the history of the Empire and gracefully exhibit the part that Christianity played in daily life.
• It is simply amazing to have a coin of this quality from almost 1000 years ago, with so much important history attached to it.
• Constantine X was named Emperor in 1059 by the ailing Emperor Isaac I Comnenus. He favored the interests of the church and the court bureaucracy while cutting the financial support of the military. This move severely weakened Byzantine defenses and led to major losses of territory in Italy and Armenia.
• Scyphate is a term frequently used in numismatics to refer to the concave or "cup-shaped" Byzantine coins of the 11th-14th centuries