Coin Item Number: 3095/1563 from the MOA: University of British Columbia

Description

Byzantine coin of Isaac II, 1185-1195. Obverse: the Virgin Mary, enthroned; she has a halo; to left, inscription says ‘MP’; to right, ‘ΘV’. Reverse: Isaac II, standing and facing front; he wears a loros, an embroidered and jewelled scarf; to left, he holds a cruciform sceptre; to right, he holds an akakia, a silk roll containing dust that symbolizes mortality; to upper right, there is a ‘Manus Dei’, which is a representation of the hand of God; to left, inscription says ‘AK’; to right, ‘EC’. The inscription on the obverse in translation says ‘Mother of God’. Coin is concave.

History Of Use

“Billon Aspron Trachy” (denomination); Sear# 2003.