Roma Numismatics Ltd
Auction XIII 23 March 2017
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Heraclius, with Heraclius Constantine, AV Solidus. Uncertain eastern mint (Jerusalem or a mint in Syria?), AD 613-618. dd NN h[ERACLIVS ET h]ERA CONST PP AV, crowned and draped busts of Heraclius and Heraclius Constantine facing; cross above, exergual line below busts / VICTORIA AVGV E, cross potent set on three steps; CONOB in exergue. DOC 187 (Alexandria) var. (officina letter); MIB 77 (Cyprus?) var. (same); Bendall, Jerusalem 4 var. (same); Sear 851 (Jerusalem) var. (same). 4.49g, 21mm, 5h.
Good Extremely Fine. Area of flatness to obv. Well centred and struck on lustrous metal. Unpublished with this officina letter.
Struck utilising the same obverse die as examples sold by Gorny & Mosch in 2012 (Auction 207, 15 October 2012, lot 787) and Heritage (CICF Signature Sale 3040, 9 April 2015, lot 29299), the present piece adds a second previously unpublished officina letter to the series so far known, the 2012 example showing an H appending the reverse legend and an I in the right field, the 2015 piece having the officina letter Θ. Postulated by Simon Bendall in his article 'The Byzantine coinage of the mint of Jerusalem' (RN 159, 2003, pp.307-22) was the theory that rather than there being one fixed mint operating in the east during the troubled period in which these pieces were struck, it is far more likely that a number of temporary and possibly transferable mints were in operation in this frontier war zone. The increasing number of differing variants seen in recent years would seem to give this position further credence.
Good Extremely Fine. Area of flatness to obv. Well centred and struck on lustrous metal. Unpublished with this officina letter.
Struck utilising the same obverse die as examples sold by Gorny & Mosch in 2012 (Auction 207, 15 October 2012, lot 787) and Heritage (CICF Signature Sale 3040, 9 April 2015, lot 29299), the present piece adds a second previously unpublished officina letter to the series so far known, the 2012 example showing an H appending the reverse legend and an I in the right field, the 2015 piece having the officina letter Θ. Postulated by Simon Bendall in his article 'The Byzantine coinage of the mint of Jerusalem' (RN 159, 2003, pp.307-22) was the theory that rather than there being one fixed mint operating in the east during the troubled period in which these pieces were struck, it is far more likely that a number of temporary and possibly transferable mints were in operation in this frontier war zone. The increasing number of differing variants seen in recent years would seem to give this position further credence.