A Byzantine coin in Vienna
Type:
Coins
Date:
1152–67,
1192
Medium:
Electrum
Dimensions:
Diam. 3.3 cm
Description:
On his way home in 1192 after the unsuccessful Third Crusade, Richard "the Lionheart" was captured outside Vienna. His identity was revealed by his use of Byzantine coins like this aspron trachy weighing 4.3 grams (aspron means white, like silver, and trachy means rough, referring to the uneven shape of the coin). The concave, cup-shaped (scyphate) coin was minted in Constantinople for the Byzantine emperor Manuel I Komnenos between 1152 and 1167. It features Christ enthroned on one side and the emperor accompanied by the haloed Theotokos on the reverse. The coin is made of electrum, an alloy of gold and silver, but only flat silver pennies, weighing 1 gram, were in circulation around Vienna at that time. Richard was eventually ransomed for many tons of silver—enough to build Vienna's city walls.
Relevant Textbook Chapter(s):
7,
8
Repository and Online Resources:
• The coin is in the Wien Museum, Vienna, no. 1713619.
• See a silver penny in circulation during Richard's Vienna captivity.
Image Credits:
Wien Museum; Linda Safran
