★ Scarce Byzantine weight ★

Time of Basil II and Constantine VIII, circa 1005-1030. Weight of 1-nomisma (Bronze, 18 mm, 4.18 g, 1 h). +HΛI/OCEΛH/NATON in three lines. Rev. TO ΔE / EΛAΦPOTEPON TOYTOY / APΓEI ( Anything lighter than this is not valid ) in five lines. Bendall 18. DOC 3.1 p. 57. Schlumberger, Momuments byzantins inédits, in Melanges d'archéologie byzantine, p. 31-33, no. 12. Rare. Perfectly centered and exceptionally fine. Nearly extremely fine.

"Ηλιοσεληνάτον" - Helioselinaton, which is the Greek for "[the] one bearing the sun and the moon", was an epithet used by the Byzantines of the first quarter of the 11th century for the beautiful broad flan gold histamena of Basil II and Constantine VIII (DOC 6 and SB 1800) and those of Constantine VIII's sole reign (DOC 1-2 and SB 1815). The reason that this 'nickname' was so commonly used, even so far as to appear on this official coin weight, was due to the two crescent-like sigla that were placed in the two upper quarters of Christ's cross nimbus on the obverse. Although the engraver had, of course, no intention of depicting the sun and the moon in the nimbus, that is what the people who used the coins thought them to be; so that became the popular name for those coins. The tendency for people to use 'nicknames' for their money is attested throughout the history of coinage: Aegina, Athens and Corinth had their turtles, owls and colts ; the colonial world had their Spanish pieces of eight ; American and Canadian 19th century fractional paper money was termed shin plasters. The list goes on and on...