Obverse: DN IVSTINIANVS PP AVG; Helmeted and
Cuirassed Bust of the
Emperor Facing Forward, Holding Globus
Cruciger over Shoulder and
Shield Decorated with a Horseman
Reverse: Large Letter M, ANNO to the Left, Cross
Above, Regnal Year to
the Right, Officina Letter Below, and KYZ
Mintmark in Exergue
Justinian I was one of the most remarkable
individuals to grace the
Imperial throne. While serving Emperor Justin, he
married the former
actress Theodora; but only after the law
prohibiting marriages between
senators and actresses was repealed. He rose
rapidly in the ranks and, in
527 A.D., was crowned Augustus and sole
emperor. His main obsession,
after religion, was jurisprudence; a talent for
which led to the codification
of all valid Imperial constitutions from Hadrian to
the present. The Codex
Iustinianus was first promulgated in 529 A.D.
and later revised in 534
A.D. His building, the great church Hagia Sophia,
has linked his name
with one of the most beautiful architectural
structures in the world.
Justinian’s extraordinary vitality and energy
created what historians refer
to as a “Golden Age;” a legacy his successors
were unable to live up to.
How many hands have touched a coin in your
pocket or purse? What
eras and lands have the coin traversed on its
journey into our
possession? As we reach into our pockets to pull
out some change, we
rarely hesitate to think of who might have
touched the coin before us, or
where the coin will venture to after it leaves our
hands. More than
money, coins are a symbol of the state that
struck them, of a specific
time and location, whether contemporary
currencies or artifacts of a long
forgotten empire. This stunning hand-struck
coin reveals an expertise of
craftsmanship and intricate sculptural detail that
is often lacking in
contemporary machine-made currencies. This
magnificent coin is a
memorial to the ancient glories of the Byzantine
Empire passed down
from the hands of civilization to civilization, from
generation to
generation.
