He who places his hope on thee, O Virgin all-glorious, will prosper in all he does.

Inscription on Byzantine coin during reign of Romanus III



Saturday, January 29, 2011

Orthodox Coinage












This Byzantine coin is from the the reign of Emperor Romanus III (1028-1034) showing the Hodegetria Theotokos. The inscription says, "He who places his hope on thee, O Virgin all-glorious, will prosper in all he does."













This Serbian coin is from the the reign of King Stefan (1243-1276) showing Christ Pantocrator on the front and King Stefan and St. Stephen on the back.

















This Byzantine coin is from the reign of Michael III (842-867). Christ Pantocrator is on the front.



Byzantine coins were prized in trade for their fineness and utility. They were the reserve currency of their time. What a wonderful reminder of the important role that honest money plays in the progress of human civilization.


2 comments:

Ingemar said...

Would this be in response to Owen's latest rant?

Visibilium said...

Yep. I thought that I'd refresh a few ahistorical memories.