Sigla on Palaeologan hyperpyra - article ; n°26 ; vol.6, pg 161-192

Simon Bendall

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Revue numismatique - Année 1984 - Volume 6 - Numéro 26 - Pages 161-192
32 pages
Source : Persée ; Ministère de la jeunesse, de l’éducation nationale et de la recherche, Direction de l’enseignement supérieur, Sous-direction des bibliothèques et de la documentation.

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• Publié par: REVUE_NUMISMATIQUE
• Publié le: 01 janvier 1984
• Nombre de lectures: 15
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 3 Mo

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Simon Bendall
Sigla on Palaeologan hyperpyra
In: Revue numismatique, 6e série - Tome 26, année 1984 pp. 161-192.
Citer ce document / Cite this document :
Bendall Simon. Sigla on Palaeologan hyperpyra. In: Revue numismatique, 6e série - Tome 26, année 1984 pp. 161-192.
doi : 10.3406/numi.1984.1859
http://www.persee.fr/web/revues/home/prescript/article/numi_0484-8942_1984_num_6_26_1859BENDALL* Simon
SIGLA ON PALAEOLOGAN HYPERPYRA
The recent appearance of one1 or possibly two hoards of Palaeolo-
gan hyperpyra has greatly increased the number of sigla known,
yet despite publication of the first hoard in the Numismatic
Chronicle for 1982, most sigla remain hitherto unpublished. In
view of these recent discoveries and of current work on the fifth
volume of the Catalogue of the Byzantine Coins at Dumbarton
Oaks, this seems an ideal opportunity to list all the sigla recorded
by the author in the hope of clarifying uncertain varieties and of
receiving details of new sigla.
The sheer number and variety of sigla are astonishing, and as
recent finds have produced so many new forms, it is certain that
more varieties remain to be discovered. Over 400 sigla were used
in a period of about 70 years although, undoubtedly, mints other
than Constantinople were producing hyperpyra. Gold coins were
certainly struck in Thessalonica2 and probably in Philadelphia,3
as well as in one or two minor mints. Evidence also supports
the existence of a secondary mint at Constantinople itself.4
It is also possible that some of the recorded sigla were not part
of the official repertory. These unauthorised a result
of the methods used by the Byzantines to strike cup-shaped
coinage.5 Their engineering capabilities were not sufficiently
advanced to enable them to ensure that the concave and convex
dies aligned completely. A vertical blow on dies that that are
unaligned will not produce the full design. Two successive blows
* 50, Upper Cheyne Row, London S.W.3.
1. S. Bendall, An Early Palaeologan Gold Hoard. NC 1982, p. 66-82.
2. S. Palaeologan Gold Coins from the Mint of Thessalonica, GSN 32,
1982, cahier 125, p. 15-21.
3. S. Bendall, Perperi di Filadelfe, GSN 34 1984, cahier 133, p. 3-8.
4. M. F. Hendy, Studies in the Byzantine Economy с 300-1450, Cambridge, 1985.
5. S. Bendall and D. Sellwood, The Method of Striking Scyphate Coins Using
Two obverse Dies, NC 1978, p. 93-104.
Revue numismatique, 1984, 6= série, XXVI, p. 161-192. 162 SIMON BENDALL
Contact
Arc
FlG. 1 Fig. 2
/First Contact Arc Second Contact Arc
Fig. 3
Impression
Junction Ridge
Arc of Ardof
obverse impression obverse impression
2nd blow 1st blow \
Continuous combined
arc of reverse impression
Fig. 4 SIGLA ON PALAEOLOGAN HYPERPYRA 163
Fig. 5.
at an angle of about 45 degrees, on the other hand, will produce the
full design although a line will be plainly visible whert the strikes
from the two dies overlap (Fig. 1, 2, 3, 4). Often one die only
was used and was struck twice, but occasionally two different dies
were each struck once; in this case, it is not uncommon to find
that dies bearing markedly different details were used. For
example, in the striking of the silver trachy of John III Vatatzes
of Nicaea (Fig. 5) the left-hand die depicts Christ's nimbus as
having a single large pellet between double lines, while the
right-hand die shows this nimbus as five pellets between single
lines. In the Palaeologan period this use of two different
obverse dies resulted sporadically in a combination of dies
bearing different sigla. For example, the coin of Andronicus
II from the 1981 hoard had a diagonally dividing line between
the two strikings, as shown in Figure 6 (Sigla 31, p. 175). The
right-hand die, bearing only the letter АО, is also struck on a coin
with the sigla ВЛ АО (Fig. 7, sigla 30, p. 174) in the same hoard.
The sigla on the left-hand side of the coin illustrated in Figure 6
appear on a hyperpyron in Dumbarton Oaks having the complete
sigla, as Sigla 32. The coins with the letters АО in the lower
right field would never have had a fleur de lis above the towers on
the right. Only Sigla 30 (Fig. 7) and Sigla 32 were, therefore,
authorised by the mint authorities, and 31 (Fig. 6) was an
unintended mule. The die-identities and unusual forms of the
sigla involved in these particular coins make this deduction possible,
but it is not so easy to spot similar errors which undoubtedly
occur on coins with simpler forms of sigla.
The large number of sigla indicates that they were changed fre- 164 SIMON BENDALL
Fig. 6.
Fig. 7.
quently, presumably every three or four months. The latter
seems more likely since there is evidence to support the theory
that in the thirteenth century payment of certain mercenary troops
took place three times a year.6
It has been suggested that the sigla are formed by the initials
of the relevant officials in charge of the mint, as happened at
mints in the West, such as Venice, at this time.7 Similarly,
Laurent tried to identify the names of officials from the monograms
on Palaeologan gold bullae.8 That the sigla have anything to do
6. Hendv, op. cit.
7. P. Grierson, Byzantine Coins, London, 1982, p. 243.
8. V. Laurent, Monogrammes byzantins pour un hommage, Epeleris Hètaireias
Byzantinôn Spoudôn 39-40, 1972-1973 (= Mélanges Tomadakis); p. 325-341. SIGLA ON PALAEOLOGAN HYPERPYRA 165
with the names of mint officials seems extremely unlikely, not least
because many of the sigla take the form of symbols rather than
letters. On those coins with sigla formed of letters, certain
groups only occur once, while other letters are formed into as many
as 12 to 15 permutations. Certain sigla also occur in different
reigns9 and may well contain some hidden significance, such as
crosses and letters added to the mint marks on seventh century
solidi.10
The study of these sigla should prove to be a fertile field for
future scholars. The arrangement of the hyperpyra in sequence
should be practicable by stylistic development, hoard evidence
and, especially, by die-linking. For example, where two coins
with different sigla share the same reverse die, the two varieties
were almost certainly consecutive issues. Other deductions can
be drawn from the form of the sigla. Sigla 206, p. 190 (£ j) of
Andronicus II and Michael IX at Thessalonica, for example,
should be contemporaneous with Sigla 191, p. 189 (£ Ц) at Constant
inople. The following lists of sigla should provide a solid basis
for future studies in this complex field.
CATALOGUE
The first column depicts the sigla on the obverse or convex side of the
coin: this is the side on which the sigla are normally shown. The second
column lists the sigla on the reverse or concave side of the coin. The sigla
have been drawn within the squares in the locations corresponding to their
positions on the coins. The obverses, showing the Virgin orans within the
walls of Constantinople, remain unchanged throughout the whole coinage
with the exception of the issue depicting Andronicus III, John V and
Anna of Savoy. Because of changes in the designs on the reverses, howe
ver, the explanation for the layout of the sigla on this side of the coin is
presented reign by reign.
Obverse
1 . Sigla in the top corners of the square represent sigla outside the walls
between the top three groups of towers (Fig. 8).
9. E.g. Andronicus II, 1, 83 ; Andronicus П and Michael IX, 1 ; Michael VIII, 44,
70 : Andronicus II, 34 : Andronicus II and Michael IX, 58.
10. Cf. Constans II, DOC II, pi. II, solidi classes I, b, c, d ; III, b, c, etc. 166 SIMON BENDALL
Fig. 8.
2. Sigla at the bottom of the square represent those within the walls
between the lower three groups of towers (Fig. 9).
Fig. 9.
3. Sigla in all four corners of the square represent those both outside
the walls between the top three groups of towers and within the walls
between the lower groups of towers (Fig. 10).
Fig. 10.
4. Sigla placed at the mid-point of the square occur outside the walls
at 90 degrees and 270 degrees except for rare exceptions which will be
noted (Fig. 11).
Fig. 11.
Note : Sigla do not appear outside the walls at 90 degrees and 270 degrees
accompanying sigla within the walls. When sigla are shown both at the
bottom and mid-point of the square, they both occur at the bottom of the
coin within the walls (Fig. 12).
Fig. 12. ON PALAEOLOGAN HYPERPYRA 167 SIGLA
References
Hoard = S. Bendall, An Early Palaeologan Gold Hoard, NC 142, 1982,
p. 66-82.
Hoard Additions.
In the two years following the publication of the 1981 hoard a further
141 coins from the same sources were recorded by the author. In early
1984 he had the opportunity to study a further 155 coins. These coins came
from a non-numismatic owner who stated that his father had acquired
the hoard a few years prior to World War I in the area of Çannakale/
Lampsakos. These latter coins may have been part of another hoard as
certain differences occur in the composition of the two groups. Summarily,
in the second group there were few