Post on 03-Apr-2018
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Byzantine Coins
By:
Lise Deveau, RebekahMacPherson, Kristine Morris
& Sarah Wood
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Thesis StatementWhy did the value of thenomismadec line af ter its value had remained constant for
hundreds of years? Through our research, we will discuss that the value of thenomisma
dec lined due to economic hardship in the Byzantineeconomy. As a result of theeconomic
hardship , Emperor Alexius I was forced to change the amount of gold p resent in thecoin.
Secondary SourcesGeanakoplos, Deno John.Byzanthium: Church, Society, and Civilization Seen Through
Contemporary Eyes. Chicago: University of C hicago Press, 1984.
G rierson , Philip.Byzantine Coins. London: Methuen & Co Ltd., 1982.
Haussig, W .D .A H istory of Byzantine Civilization. New York: Praeger Publishers Inc., 1971.
Hendy, Michael F .The Economy, F iscal Administration and Coinage of Byzantium.
Northampton: Variorum Reprints, 1989.
Norwich, John Julius.Byzantium: The Decli ne and Fall. New York: Alfred A . Knopf, 1996.
Sherrard,
Philip.
GreatAgesof Man: Byzantium.
New York: Time Incorporated,
1966.
Primary SourcesCanadian Mint Online. Accessed 25 March 2010. .
Ebay Canada. . Search Terms: Byzantine Nomisma / Byzantine Coins.
G rierson , Philip.Byzantine Coins. London: Methuen & Co Ltd., 1982.
G rierson , Philip.Byzantine Coinage. Washington: Dumbar ton O aks, 1999.
Society for the Study of Numismatics and Economic History. Accessed 25 Ma rch 2010.
.
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PerspectivesThe majority of the references used aresecondary sources, pri marily books. While
we have ta ken the time to dissect the information , it is necessary to remember that the
perspecti ves of the authors are apparent in theevidencesec tion. Although we were not able
to physically examine thenomisma,by looking at the primary source images of the
nomisma, we are ab le to see physical characteristicchanges that thenomismaunderwent
over thecourse of Byzantium history.
Awareness of Perspectives Not TakenThecollabora tion of information amongst all references has been taken into
consideration; however , not all authors focused primarily on Byzantium coins and thei r
currency. There are many articles, resources, and perspec ti ves available regarding
Byzantinecoins and thei r currency but the used resources are most reflecti ve of our
hypothesis. As well , there are many websites published about Byzantinecoins,spec if ically
thenomisma; however , thesesites are written by individuals out of interest and do not
include references for the information . It is difficult to fully analyze thecoinssimply from
their appearance in photographs. Thespec if ic images of thechosen coins throughout this
report show the physical imagery changes that occurred over thecourse of Byzantine
history, but it is difficult to be fully aware of theexact changes in gold content.
Figure 1: All of the nomismaimages are photos between the periods 820-912 (Grierson, Byzantine Coins, plate 42).
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Argument /Discussion / EvidenceByzantium had many coins that wereci rculated in itseconomy; however , the
nomismawas the primary coin used in the Byzantine Empire for
hundreds of years. Thenomisma, the Byzantium gold coin, is a
long-standing monetary unit, being referenced in Greek
documents from the very beginning of the empire (Grierson 8).
Thenomismawassuch a stable form of currency for the
Byzantines that it still retains the record of the monetary unit that has held its value for the
longest period of time: [f]or over six hundred years, from the reign of Anastasius I to the
reign of Constantine I X in the mid-eleventh century, thenomisma remained completely
undepreciated, a record unique in history (Geanokopolos 297, Hendy I I:43).
L ike many economies, a Byzantinecoin valuesystem had to beestablished for
trading and commerce to occur . It was Emperor Anastasius I who established the
elaborate, long-standing currency values that allowed the Byzantineeconomy to thri ve and
that determined the importance of thenomisma. Thechart below illustrates the ratios
between thecoins, implemented by theemperor in 498 (58):
Table of relative Byzantinecoinage values(c. Fifth to Mid-eleventh Centuries)
1 gold pound = 72 nomismata
1 nomisma= 12 miliaresia(sil ver) = 24 keratia= 288folleis(copper)1 miliaresion = 2 keratia= 24 folleis1 keration= 12 folleis
(Geanokopolos 299).
Figure 2: A nomismamintedafter 395. Image on the coin is
Arcadius, who ruled from 383-
408.
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When these values were implemented, thenomismawas made prima rily of gold, naturally
pl acing it at the top of thecurrency exchange value. With only one pound of gold, the
Byzantines were ab le to create and ci rculateseventy-two nomisma.
The Byzantine Empire was a strong economic force because of thenomismaand the
established coinage values. Byzantium became a primary trade force in the world and was
ab le to trade with many countries. The high levels of trading resulted in a stable Byzantine
economy and thenomismabeing adopted by other countries as an accepted form of
currency ( Geanokopolos 4). The high levels of tradecontinued for hundreds of years in
Byzantine
his
tory,
only to be
lowe
re
d once
othe
rc
ountries
be
gan to lose
faith in the
nomisma.While thenomisma retained i ts value for a long period of time, other countries
lost faith in thenomismadue to three major factors. The th ree major factorscausing the
dec line were war ,economic dec li ne and change in the base meta ls used to create the
nomisma. Haussig discusses that,
As a result of never-ending wars,considerablestrain had been putupon the Empires economy, and this led to a decline in gold reserves
and therefore in theci rculation of money. Asexport trade did notearn the Empiresufficient gold to cover all the needs of thesta te, theci rculation of money was inevitably restricted (100).
The never-ending wars were a large financia l cost for Byzantium, a cost that was unable to
be recuperated. The Empire did not have the funds to buy the gold that was needed to
create adequate amounts of currency to beci rculated to revive thei r economy. A solution
was not immediately determined and Byzantiums amount of currency , primarily the
nomisma, in ci rculation began to dec rease.
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Figure 3: A figure of the Gold nomismaof AnastasiusI, Constantinople,ca. 492-507 AD .
Figure 4: A figure of the gold nomismaofConstantine I X ,ca. 1042-55 AD .
Figure 3 and 4 show the differences in the amount of gold that was used in the
creation of the nomismabetween the years 492 and 1055. Figure 3 shows a coin
that is lustrous, precise in shape, and that radiates a glowing gold tone. Figure 4
is less precise in the shape of the coin and the colour is flat and dull; it is evident
from these figures that the latter lacks the same golden lustre that occurs when a
higher content of gold is used to create the coin.
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Onesolution that was reached in an attempt torevi ve the
Byzantineeconomy was to lower the amount of gold put into the
nomisma. This was thesolution reached because of the difficultly
obtaining the quanti ty of gold required. The Byzantinecoinage
valuesestablished by Emperor Anastasius I , which l asted from the
fifth to mid-eleventh century, determined that the one-pound of gold
could createseventy-two nomismaand the original coin had
approximately 65 gra ins of gold (Sherr ard 118). It was Emperor
A le
xius
I,
in 1092,
who dec
ide
d to lowe
r the
amount of gold ine
ac
h
nomismaand dec reased the value to a rat io of 1:4 (H aussig 309); thereby, meaning that
each coin then contained approximately 16 gra ins of gold. Many falsely believe that the
dec line of thenomisma resulted from the accession of A lexius. In actuality,the value of the
gold nomismahad already fallen 25 percent (Norwich 51) in the twenty years prior to the
beginning of his ruling because of the never-ending wars and theeconomic hardship of the
cost of war. As per the Table of relative Byzantine coinage values, the nomismawas
equa l to 120 miliaresia, but, at the time of Alexius accession, the nomismadec li ned to one-
quarter its original value, 4 miliaresia(Geanokopolos 299). Alexius, realizing thesta te of
the Byzantineeconomy, made attempts to revi ve theeconomy. One of the most impacting
ways that Alexiussaw to change thesta te of the Byzantineeconomy was to change the
metal base of thenomisma;it had become too costly to create only seventy-two nomisma
from one-pound of gold. Although the mint resisted changing the amount of gold in each
nomisma, Alexius had the mint createsix different nomisma,each onecontaining a
different base metal (51) and a smaller quantity of gold.
Figure 5: A n image ofA lexius I .
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The dec rease in gold content made other countries lee ry about using thenomismaas
their form of cur rency and trust was further lost in trad ing with the Byzantines.
Geanakopolos describes how, prior to lowering the content of gold, the nomisma(called
bezant in the West) . . . had become the standard gold coin in a large par t of the world
and was used to some extent even in the Far East (3). The other countries saw the
diminishing use of gold in thecurrency as an experiment and ceased trading with the
Byzantine market (Haussig 309). Due to the lack of trust in the Byzantineeconomy, in the
mid-thirteenth century, new mints were founded around the world to replace the Byzantine
c
urre
nc
y.
These
ne
w mints
inc
lude
d a mint in F lore
nce ,
Ve
nice ,
and Ge
noa (Ge
anakopolos
299) and countries began to develop their own proper currency. Where there was no longer
a need for other countries to use thenomismaas their form of currency, the value of the
coin plummeted. Thenomismawas no longer used in the world mar ket.
To r egain economicstanding in the world mar ket, the Byzantines renamed the
nomisma. The Byzantines believed that renaming thenomismawould help to alleviate the
negativestigma sur rounding thecoin. It was in the mid-14thcentury that thecoin was
An image of the hyperpyron, from Byzantine Coins. The hyperpyronimages arenot as clear of those of the nomismashown in Figures 3 and 4. At this point inByzantine history, the amount of gold being used in the coin was very sparse.
The coin no longer has a golden lustre and the coin has lost its radiance.
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renamed thehyperpyron. Thehyperpyroncontained thesame amount of gold as the
nomismacreated by Alexius in 1092, with a ratio of 1:4. Unfortunately thechange did not
aid in improving the Byzantinesstanding in the world market as, by the la te-14thcentury,
thehyperpyronno longer had a fixed monetary value (Geanakopolos 299).
Figure 6: Gold nomismaof Anastasius I , Constantinople,ca. 492-507 AD
Figure 7: Gold hyperpyronof Alexius I , Constantinople,ca. 1081-1118
Figure 6 and Figure 7 provide a comparison between an early nomisma,containing a higher amount of gold, and a hyperpyron, containing around
25% the amount of gold found in the nom
ism
a.
Looking at the coins, thenomismaappears more precise in its shape and the images are moredetailed. The hyperpyronhas a flat and dull appearance and the image ofAlexius is not as integrate as that of Anastasius.
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Relation / Significance for Contemporary Society or EducationThe Byzantinenomisma is in teresting for students to research and reflect upon as a
result of the questionableeconomicsituation in our nation. Thissub ject matter can be
easily related to economic conditions and critically analyzed in relation to Byzantiums
struggling currency. Thin king about the Byzantineeconomy allowsstudents to reflect on
the resil iency of the Canadian economy and its ability to survive numerous recessions.
Studentscan investigate theevolution of a civilization and how it used the raw resources
found in thei r environment to create a sophisticated form of cur rency that was used
worldwide, giving students the opportun ity to reflect on the processes and resources the
Canadian Mint uses to create our cur rency.
The record thenomismaholds as thecurrency that has held its value for the longest
period of time is li kely to remain, due to unstableeconomicclimates. Understanding that
complex trading of currency hasexisted for thousands of years is a concept that students
can rela te to,
as monetar y trading is found in thei r environment on a daily basis.
Students
can reflect on the unce rta inty of modern economies to fully understand the uniqueness and
importance of the Byzantinenomisma.
Byzantine Nomisma and Canadian Quarter Comparison
Figure 9: ACanadian quarter .
Figure 8: A byzantinenomisma from thec. 780.
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Comparing a Canadian Qua rter ,something that iscommon to school-aged children,
to the Byzantinenomismaallowsstudents to reflect on the differences between the two
coins. The imagery of thecoins hassignificantly changed, where thecraftsmanship of the
quarter is more polished and theci rcular shape is more prec ise. A similarity exists between
both of thecoins as they both display iconic imagery. The image on thenomismawould
change to display thecurrent ruler , while the Canadian quarters have also changed to
reflect thecurrent monarch throughout Canadian history.
By comparing thenomismaand the quarter ,students are able to rela te to thei r
c
urre
nc
y and the
diffe
re
nces
thate
xis
t among the
c
oins.
The
dis
tinc
ti ve
c
harac
te
r is
tic
differences are imagery, value, and physical appearance that are found between the penny,
nickel, dime, quarter, loonie, and toonie that ci rculate in the Canadian economy. Reflecting
on thesechanges between thecoins provides the opportunity for students to expand thei r
critical think ing towards a global and h istorical level, for example: thechanges in the
nomisma.
Figure 10: Canadian M int (http://www.mint.ca/store/mint/learn/ci rculation-cur rency-
1100028?c
at=Circ
ulation+Curre
nc
y&nId=1100028&node
Group=Le
arn).
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Suggestions for EducationEven though the Byzantinenomisma is a par t of history, thesecoinscurrently
ci rculate through society by the means of online marketplaces; the most virtually
prominent shop known as E-bay. To enhancestudent engagement and knowledge,
educatorscan purchase these historical coins in mint condition; therefore, providing
students the opportunity to examine fi rsthand thesimilarities and differences of these
coins. An example of the quality of coins that educatorscan purchase through online
marketplaces isshown below , which is an image of the gold nomismaof Michael III (842-
67).
Figure 11: Image from Ebay.ca,search term:Byzantinenomisma.
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ConclusionIn conclusion , the dec line in the value of thenomismawas a direct result of
economic hardship of the never-ending wars. To try to alleviate theeconomicstrain and
improve global ci rculation of thenomisma, Emperor Alexius I changed the amount of gold
within the physical coin and created six new nomisma,each containing a different base
metal and a small amount of gold . After A lexiuschanged the base meta ls, the ra tio of gold
present in the new nomismawas 1:4, whereas the original ratio was 1:16. Other countries
lost faith in the Byzantium nomismaand, as a result , lowered further trading with the
Byzantine market. Other countrieschose to create their own mints and thenomismawas
no longer needed as a global currency. Looking at the images of thenomisma throughout
history, it iseasy to see the degradation of the gold in thecoin as the lustre and shape are
diminished; therefore, the market value of thecoin was dec reased by the appearance and
physicality of the newly created coins. Theeconomicsta te of the Byzantinecurrency can be
analyzed in comparison to our economy, which p resents a historical topic relatable to
students. Though Byzantinecoins are a par t of history, they arestill found today in online
marketplaces. The Byzantinenomismaand hyperpyronno longer have a monetary value as
it was lost hundreds of years ago; however, the value has been altered to become that of
historical relevance and importance .