**5. Coins**

John's reign had three indictional tax cycles in which new coins were produced: 1118–1122, 1122–1137 and 1137–1143, and coins were produced at the two imperial mints of Constantinople and Thessaloniki [15] (*DOC*, pp. 1, 11, 30, 39, 41–47, 96–128, 181–274, esp. 245, 251, 253–254), (*DOC*, p. 97; [24] (pp. 48–49, 57, 107–108), [25–34]. In 1092, John's father Alexios had reformed Byzantine coinage after many years of devaluation, but John further refined this system: he introduced more middle denomination coins that enabled a greater amount of economic exchange than previously, and consequently, there is a grea<sup>t</sup> variety of coins on which to see his iconography [15] (*DOC*, pp. 169, 255–256, 259–260. On imperial costume and its iconography on coins in general, see: pp. 143–176. Images on Plate IX). A noticeable trend in the iconography of his gold coins in particular is that they appear to evidence John's growing ambitions, which could bear relation to these coins being minted for military expenditure.

Most of John's coinage displays an enthroned Christ on the obverse, where he is dressed in the typical iconographic classical clothing of the *chiton* and the *himation*. Christ has a cruciform halo, holds a gospel book, and lifts a hand in blessing (Figures 4–8). In John's lower denomination coins, Christ is either depicted standing, or we only see his head and shoulders. Some variant coinage displays an enthroned Virgin and Christ Child (Figure 9), or some coins from Thessaloniki display the head and shoulders of St Demetrios, warrior saint and patron of the second city of the empire (Figure 10).

**Figure 4.** First Indiction Hyperpyron Nomisma, 1118–1122; impression on gold; New York; 1b.1. Whittemore Collection. Published at [15] (*DOC*, pp. 256–259, 260–261. Images on Plate VIII).

**Figure 5.** Second Indiction Hyperpyron Nomisma, 1122–1137; impression on gold; Amsterdam; 2.2 Peirce 1948 from Schulman i.30. Published at [15] (Ibid, pp. 261–274. The issues from the mint at Thessalonike have St Demetrios, the patron saint of the city, while those from Constantinople have St George. Images on Plates VIII and IX).

**Figure 6.** Third Indiction Hyperpyron Nomisma, 1137–1143; impression on gold; Dumbarton Oaks, Washington D.C.; 3b.3 Shaw 1947. Published at [15] (Ibid, pp. 261–274. The issues from the mint at Thessalonike have St Demetrios, the patron saint of the city, while those from Constantinople have St George. Images on Plates VIII and IX).

**Figure 7.** *Aspron Trachy Nomisma*, 1118–1143; impression on electrum; Dumbarton Oaks, Washington D.C.; 8b.2 Schindler 1960 (Kallai i.33). Published at [15] (Ibid, pp. 261–274. The issues from the mint at Thessalonike have St Demetrios, the patron saint of the city, while those from Constantinople have St George. Images on Plates VIII and IX).

**Figure 8.** Aspron Trachy Nomisma, 1118–1143; impression on electrum; Dumbarton Oaks, Washington D.C.; 8e.1 Peirce 1948 (H. Pl. 10.5). Published at [15] (Ibid, pp. 261–274. The issues from the mint at Thessalonike have St Demetrios, the patron saint of the city, while those from Constantinople have St George. Images on Plates VIII and IX).

Beginning with his gold coinage (*Hyperpyron Nomisma*), his first issue (1118–1122, Figure 4) depicts John in a ceremonial *loros* and *divitision* costume on the reverse, holding a patriarchal cross with the Virgin Mary. The hand of God also hovers above his head, and John holds in his other hand the *anexikakia* (a silk covered scroll filled with dust to symbolise humility) [15] (*DOC*, pp. 256–259, 260–261. Images on Plate VIII). These coins emphasise his divinely ordained succession and his co-rule with the *Theotokos*, along with his personal humility, but his next two issues display a progression from this humble piety.

His second issue (1122–1137, Figure 5) drops both the hand of God and the patriarchal cross in favour of John holding the military *labarum*, and he is crowned directly by the Virgin while still holding the *anexikakia*, while his third (1137–1143, Figure 6) shows him being not only crowned by the Virgin, but this time John holds a *globus cruciger* [24–34]. John's earlier humility was first militarised and later (as he set out on his eastern expedition to Cilicia and Syria) replaced with an emphasis on the universal rule assigned him by the Virgin.

In addition to these major coin issues, there was also a commemorative coin or medal produced by Alexios, assumedly in 1092, to celebrate John's coronation as infant: it displays a beardless John in imperial regalia and holding the gospels on one side, and his imperial parents Alexios and Eirene on the other, much like a modern commemorative coin (since it not covered by a major coin catalogue, Magdalino has made the suggestion to me that it may be a commemorative medal rather than a true coin [35,36]).

**Figure 9.** First Indiction Aspron Trachy Nomisma, 1118–1122; impression on billon; Dumbarton Oaks, Washington D.C.; B.11.1 Bertelè 1956 (H. Pl. 11.3). Published at [15] (*DOC*, pp. 224, 226, 228, 231, 234, images on Plates VIII and IX), [37].

**Figure 10.** First Indiction Tetaraton, 1118–1122; impression on copper; Oxford; HCR53126. Published at [15] (*DOC*, pp. 224, 226, 228, 231, 234, 248–249, 264–267. Images on Plates VIII-X), [37].

John's lower denomination coins evidence signs of his ambition even earlier on. On John's much produced electrum coins (silver/gold alloy with c.75% silver, known as *Aspron Trachy Nomismata*), we find John holding a patriarchal cross or the *labarum* with the martial saints George or Demetrios on the obverse, with the saint dressed in armour and with a drawn sword in his left hand (Figures 7 and 8 respectively) [15] (*DOC*, pp. 224, 226, 228, 231, 234, images on Plates VIII and IX; *DOC*, pp. 224, 226, 228, 231, 234, 248–249, 264–267. Images on Plates VIII-X, this image at https://hcr.ashmus.ox.ac.uk/collection/ 4?page=65) (accessed on 10 February 2022), [37]. On some versions we the patriarchal cross is depicted on three steps, drawing on iconography thought to relate to the cross that Emperor Theodosius II (408–450) erected on Christ's crucifixion site of Golgotha, which was common on Byzantine coins and seals in the few centuries after him (Figure 7).

In John's billon coinage (6–10% silver to copper alloy), John stands alone in a short military cloak, the *sagion*, rather than the *loros*, holding both a labarum and an *anexikakia* or *globus cruciger* (with earlier coinage displaying the *anexikakia* and later coinage the *globus cruciger*), while the obverse shows the Virgin and Christ child (Figure 9) [15,37].

On John's lowest denomination coinage, the tetaraton (copper), we see either a standing John with labarum, crown, and military cloak, akin to Figure 9, or his head and shoulders, as in Figure 10, that also displays the head and shoulders of St Demetrios on the obverse [15,37].
