Description
Flavius Mauricius novus Tiberius, Byzantine Emperor of the Justinian Dynasty 582-602 AD, Gold Solidus (4.41g, 20mm), Constantinople mint 583/4-602 AD. Obverse: Draped and cuirassed bust of Maurice Tiberius facing forward, wearing crown and holding globus cruciger forward in right hand, legend surrounds, “ON MAVRI TIB PP AV”. Reverse: Angel central standing forward, draped and with wings spread, holding long staff surmounted by staurogram (tau-rho) in right hand and globus cruciger in left, exergual-ground line below, mint and purity “CON OB” in exergue, legend surrounds, “VICTORIA A[VÇЧ ]”. Sear-477; Doc-5. With some flatness of strike, particularly the right-hand side of the reverse, and a small reverse dig, otherwise a standard solidus, of bright, golden appearance and a decent portrait, details good Very Fine.
The obverse Latin legend reads unabridged as “Dominus noster, Mauricius Tiberius, perpetuus Augustus”, with an English translation of “our Lord, Maurice Tiberius, the perpetual Augustus”. The reverse Latin legend reads “Victōria Augustī” followed by an uncertain Officina letter, with an English translation of “Victory of the Augustus”. The Latin in the exergue reads unabridged as “Cōnstantīnopolis, obryzum”, with an English translation of “of the city of Constantinople, pure gold” – this had an implied meaning of “Minted in the city of Constantinople, 1/72 of a Roman Pound of pure gold”.