Zeno AV Solidi Chronology

[BeastCoins]

Dear forum friends,

As many know, Late Roman gold (o.k. Late Roman in general, to be honest) has fascinated me for years. One area I find extremely difficult to understand the chronology and cataloguing is the development of Zeno's second reign eastern mint solidi (August 476-April 11, 491). Here is what RIC X catalogs:

Constantinople Mint, First Issue, Sole Reign:

D N ZENO P_ERP AVG
Pearl-diademed, helmeted, cuirassed bust facing, spear in right hand over right shoulder, shield decorated with horseman riding down enemy in left hand
VICTORI_A AVGGG S
Victory standing left, long jeweled cross in right hand
* in right field
CONOB in exergue
RIC X, 905 (R5)
Unique - example cited is from the Hamburg, Kunsthalle collection.

Constantinople Mint, Second Issue, Joint Reign with Leo Caesar:

D N ZENO ET L_EO NOV CAES
Pearl-diademed, helmeted, cuirassed bust facing, spear in right hand over right shoulder, shield decorated with horseman riding down enemy in left hand
VICTORI_A AVGGG (Officinae B, Gamma, E, S and Z)
Victory standing left, long jeweled cross in right hand
* in right field
CONOB in exergue
RIC X, 906 (R3)

Constantinople Mint, Third Issue, Sole Reign again:

D N ZENO-PERP AVG
Pearl-diademed, helmeted, cuirassed bust facing, spear in right hand over right shoulder, shield decorated with horseman riding down enemy in left hand
VICTORI_A AVGGG (Officinae A through I and blank)
Victory standing left, long jeweled cross in right hand
* in right field
CONOB in exergue
RIC X, 910 (C)

RIC 911 and 912 are the same as 910 with the exception of 911 having no frontal jewel on the diadem and 912 having a cross on the helmet or over the bust.

Constantinople Mint, Fourth Issue:

D N ZENO-PERP AVG
Pearl-diademed, helmeted, cuirassed bust facing, spear in right hand over right shoulder, shield decorated with horseman riding down enemy in left hand
VICTORI_A AVGGT (Officinae A through I)
Victory standing left, long jeweled cross in right hand
* in right field
CONOB in exergue
RIC X, 927 (R)

RIC 928 is the same, except for no frontal jewel on the diadem.

Constantinople Mint, Fifth Issue:

D N ZENO-PERP AVG
Pearl-diademed, helmeted, cuirassed bust facing, spear in right hand over right shoulder, shield decorated with horseman riding down enemy in left hand
VICTORI_A AVGGG (Officinae A through I and blank)
Victory standing left, long jeweled cross in right hand
* in right field
CONOB in exergue
RIC X, 929 (C)

RIC 930 is the same, except for no frontal jewel on the diadem.

Thessalonica Mint:

D N ZENO-PERP AVG
Pearl-diademed, helmeted, cuirassed bust facing, spear in right hand over right shoulder, shield decorated with horseman riding down enemy in left hand
VICTORI_A AVGGG
Victory standing left, long jeweled cross in right hand
CONOB in exergue
RIC X, 939-942

RIC 939 with 8-pointed star in left and right fields
RIC 940 with 8-pointed star in right field
RIC 941 with 6-pointed star in left and right fields
RIC 942 with 6-pointed star in right field

The western mints are different as they have mint marks in the fields or COMOB in the exergue and therefore should not be confused with RIC 910 or 929.

Since 905 has a unique obverse legend break, 906 clearly has a joint reign legend, 912 is unique with a cross on the helmet, 927 has a T in the reverse legend and the Thessalonica issues are lacking an officina mark and have varying star designs and placements, the remaining ambiguity leaves:

RIC 910 and 911
RIC 929 and 930
RIC 940
RIC 941

Stylistically, these coins are literally all over the board. Here is an example which I had bought catalogued as 910 and resold as such.



Looking at it now, I need to fix my site as it is a 911 with no frontal jewel on diadem. Point being, it has a style typically found on Zeno solidi - relatively consistent lettering engraving, fine and moderately compact style, cross-bar on cross engraved in X pattern. Now look at this next example from my collection:



Zeno, AV Solidus, 476-491, Second Reign, Constantinople (or Salona?), Officina 1
D N ZENO-PEPR AVG
Pearl-diademed, helmeted, cuirassed bust facing, spear in right hand over right shoulder, shield decorated with horseman riding down enemy in left hand
VICTORI_A AVGGG A
Victory standing left, long jeweled cross in right hand
* in right field
CONOB in exergue
20mm x 21mm, 4.48g
RIC X, -- (cf. RIC X, 910 for type with regular obverse legend)
Ex Byzantium Coins, VCoins, December 2006

Note: This is an extremely interesting coin. Stylistically, it certainly does fit with the issues of Constantinople during Zeno's second reign, however, the obverse legend with PEPR (Z4 legend in RIC) instead of the usual PERP (Z1) is only attested in RIC on the following solidi, all from the Milan mint under Julius Nepos: RIC X, 3227, 3234 and 3238. None of the examples plated in RIC under Julius Nepos from Milan are even remotely similar in style to this example, safely ruling out that possibility. RIC does list the Z4 legend for issues minted by Zeno from the Milan, Ravenna and Rome mints under his own name, but does not cite any examples using the legend in the listings. Another unusual attribute to observe is the shape of the top of Victory's wing - it is usually found with a flat or decending angle at the upper-base, then cresting to a point. On this specimen, the top of the wing is very rounded and the entire wing, along with the rest of the reverse is in the finest style. The crossbar on the cross is parallel engraved.

Some notes from Marc Poncin on January 18, 2007 - "Looking at the Zeno solidus, which is unusual as you have stated with those legends for Constantinople, I would especially be interested to see G. Lacam (end of Imperial Roman gold coinage) for a similar reference to your coin. When I look at the coin, it has a Dalmatian feel to it and could have been minted at Salona which became the headquarters of Julius Nepos, during his second reign, before his assassination there by Glycerius and also based there as bishop of Salona. As Julius Nepos was officially supported by the eastern emperor Zeno, it is more then reasonable Zeno would have had an engraver sent to Julius Nepos to mint coins for himself and in the name of Zeno, as Dalmatia was a vital buffer and military zone between east and west of the empire and vital and important coinage was needed to pay for the garrisons stationed there. Constantinople was too far away to assure a reliable source of income in a very volatile region at that period. The style is very different to the often crude second reign solidi of Julius Nepos but they are some rare and lovely executed second reign style solidi which points the way that an engraver from Constantinople or from the west was engaged by Nepos to strike well executed and stylistic coins which might explain your coin."

And now, let's look at an example catalogued as RIC 929 I just acquired for my collection:



Zeno, AV Solidus, 476-491, Second Reign, Constantinople, Officina 6
D N ZENO-PERP AVG
Pearl-diademed, helmeted, cuirassed bust facing, spear in right hand over shoulder, shield decorated with horseman riding down enemy in left hand
VICTORI_A AVGGG S (retrograde S)
Victory standing facing, head left, long jeweled cross in right hand
* in right field
CONOB in exergue
19mm x 21mm, 4.47g
RIC X, 929

The retrograde S is attested in RIC for 929, but not 910. However, this is the most elegant reverse style I've seen on a Zeno solidus. The obverse portrait is engraved with a more dramtically pointed chin, but that is known on other examples. The obverse legend engraving is consistent with Constantinople, but the reverse legend is oddly grandiose. The I is crowded by the cross and very disproportionate to the rest of the legend. The crossbar on the cross is engraved with curved lines instead of parallel or X pattern - something which stands out against the plated examples in RIC from all mints. There are two pellets above the cross, which can be found on some other examples. Victory's wing is engraved with the utmost of care, the feathers layering and blending in the most believable manner.

So, is this an example of a Constantinople mint die? Is it perhaps an unknown mint? Or possibly Vandalic or Ostrogothic?

Is there some research which has been published, showing the progression of Zeno's portraiture or lettering style to suggest in which emission coins fall?

Thanks for the time allowing me to ramble a bit and get my thoughts "down on paper".

--Zach Beasley

[Flavus]

Hello Zach,
Just googled up two keywords from your questions "Zeno's portraiture" and found that the ONLY result is your post here. I see no sites devoted to Zeno's coinage, no academic paper.
So I guess chances are you are on your own on your interesting quest.
I personally think it would be a great thesis.
Best regards,
Flav
P.S. Zeno's nose looks so weird on all the coins as if it was erased like in damnatio memoriae or something like that. Or is it just a visual effect?

[BeastCoins]

Hello Flav,

The nose is the highest point on this portrait type and quickly shows wear or flatness. In some cases, such as the last example above, it may not have even been struck properly and the face in general appears to have been malformed in the striking process. I will know better when I have the coin in hand.

--Beast

[Flavus]

It's just the contrast that struck me - almost uncirculated quality of the coins and no noses! The quality is so superb - down to the finest detail, that the rubbed off noses (especially on the first one) stand out like a sore thumb.
The last one actually looks kind of creepy, as if the skin is melting off his face, which by the way indeed looks like an odd malformation in striking process.
I did look up the information about Zeno's rule, and it sounds like that he was not a popular emperor - many revolts during his reign, several times he was ousted from Constantinople; there is even a legend that when he was buried people heard the moaning coming from his grave for three days but nobody came to rescue him - that's how he was hated!
I checked the Wildwinds and saw that actually many of his coins have problems with the nose. And it seems to me that (oddly enough) some coins on which he still has his nose intact were struck not in the East but in the West by Odoacer who had no personal hostility to Zeno.
Zach, look at the first coin again. How come that one high point - the nose - is so heavily rubbed off and at the same time the other high points of the same coin like the protruding jewells of the crown, which are so tiny at that by the way, are not even touched?
Something is not right here.

[BeastCoins]

Flavus,

It's possible it's a chronic problem on Zeno solidi whereas the nose is rarely struck-up fully. I'll have to look into it.

--Zach

[BeastCoins]

Flavus,

I've been looking around the past few weeks and I have to say it is not the easiest to find Zeno solidi with nicely struck noses. And when one does, there is definitely a premium attached to it. However, with some hunting, they can be found. Here is a gorgeous example, courtesy CNG, Triton XI, lot 1052, January 2008:



Zeno. Second reign, AD 476-491. AV Solidus (4.47 g, 6h). Constantinople mint, 2nd officina. Struck AD 476-491. D N ZENO PERP AVC, pearl-diademed, helmeted, and cuirassed bust facing slightly right, holding spear in right hand, on left arm a shield decorated with horseman spearing an enemy below / VICTORI-A AVCCC, Victory standing left, holding long cross in right hand; star in right field; B//CONOB. RIC X 910; MIRB 7; Depeyrot 108/1; DOCLR 629-39 var. (officina). EF, underlying luster, light scratches on reverse between cross and Victory. Wonderful style.

Estimate = $1,000 and realized $1,700.

Also, the RIC 929 example I had acquired finally arrived and I took a new photo of it (above in this thread and yes, I know, it's not a great photo - I'm still in the learning curve doing my own photography). The details on the reverse are just breathtaking in hand. Victory's wing is so realistically engraved the celator should have won some kind of award.

--Beast

[Flavus]

Zach,
This is awesome!
The fact that Zeno's coins with noses command premium indicates that market is well aware of this phenomenon - that there is something unusual about his coinage.
The problem with the nose is either technological (some odd deformation) or political (deliberate removal).

I think if you compare his solidi with other emperors' it will help you determine the nature of the problem. But personally, just in my private opinion, of course, I don't think it's normal that one emperor has constant technological problems with his nose on his golden coins and others don't.

Nose issue was very sensitive for Romans. Its absence on the image of a public figure was a sure sign of damnatio memoriae. Honestly, I can't even imagine such a massive technological problem with the emperor's nose when the emperor is still alive and kicking and sure will not like seeing his face on the coins without a nose. And I don't think that moneyers would want a portion of molten lead into their throats either.

Anyway, congratulations on your discoveries. The fact-finding process when you find something that noone else saw or understood before you is like a hunt, one of the most exciting things about a research. I am myself on such an exciting mission right now researching one of the most fascinating issues of 3rd century crisis and you sure will be one of the first people I'll share the final results with.

Best regards,
Flavus

[BeastCoins]

Flavus,

I will have to see if I can find out anything more on the Zeno nose issue, how it compared to other solidi of the period overall and how it compares across mints. The 3/4 facing types do usually have flatness on the nose, but not always. It was definitely the first area to show wear. And when you do get a superb EF example, like this one which was in my store for something like an hour before it sold, it really is an amazing coin to view.



Leo I, AV Solidus, Probably 462 or 466, Constantinople, Officina 6
D N LEO PE_RPET AVG
Pearl-diademed, helmeted, draped, cuirassed bust facing, spear in right hand over right shoulder, shield decorated with horseman riding down enemy in left hand
VICTORI_A AVGGG S (retrograde officina)
Victory standing left, long jeweled cross in right hand
* in right field
CONOB in exergue
20mm, 4.47g
RIC X, 605

As far as your 3rd century crises research, I so very much hope it involves some mint categorization under Gordian III! I'll start a separate thread though, so I don't hijack this one...

--Beast

[Flavus]

Zach,

Look here, yet another example of an "intact nose" specimen at Gemini http://www.geminiauction.com/details...Empire&search=
The nose is intact but again it's from the West, minted by "Odovacar, King of Italy, in the Name of Zeno"

I personally don't study Byzantine coinage but for the sake of my research I do know certain facts about it. So I don't know it in depth but I do observe certain anomalies sometimes, like "noseless" coins of Zeno, for instance.

As far as Gordian III is concerned, I love the kid's coinage and collect it. However, unfortunately I don't study his mints. My interest is a little broader and it involves general economical issues of the time and (of course) coinage issues, particularly debasement.

My outlook on debasement is totally opposite to the accepted explanation of the phenomenon. I don't think it was a mistake that the emperors were making - they had to debase the coinage, practically they had no choice, in fact they were resisting it as much as they could - they couldn't be making any long-term profit out of the debasement , only really short term gains which would be dwarfed again and again by subsequent massive losses and disadvantages to Roman state and its economy, most important of which would be total pushing out of the silver coinage out of the circulation. And note this - the silver coinage was pushed out by debasement but silver was not. I see a lot of fascinating questions which I'm trying to find explanation to but debasement is the cornerstone of that research.

But this is just a glimpse of what I'm researching now. It's a fascinating subject especially if you look at it from a different angle.

Flavus

P.S. The coin is phenomenal and whoever got it made a very good investment. Especially with the price of gold going through the roof. Don't you feel sorry saying good-bye to these beauties? My heart would've been bleeing.