The Gold Nomisma of Nicephorus II Phocas (r. 963–969)

Historical Context

Nicephorus II Phocas (Nikephoros II Phokas, c. 912–969 CE) was an aristocratic military commander from a prominent Cappadocian family. Before his ascension, he achieved imperial distinction as Domestikos ton Scholon (Domestic of the Schools, commander of the eastern field armies) under Romanus II (r. 959–963 CE). In 960–961 CE, Nicephorus directed the naval expedition that recaptured Chandax (modern Heraklion), restoring Crete to Roman governance after 135 years of Arab rule, and followed this in 962 CE with the storming of Hamdanid Aleppo.

Following the unexpected death of Romanus II in March 963 CE, his infant sons - Basil II (aged five) and Constantine VIII (aged three) - were proclaimed co-emperors under the regency of their mother, Empress Theophano. Threatened by court intrigue led by the chief eunuch minister, parakoimomenos Joseph Bringas, Nicephorus secured an alliance with Theophano and Patriarch Polyeuktos, advanced his troops to Constantinople, and was crowned senior emperor in Hagia Sophia on 16 August 963 CE. To reinforce dynastic continuity, he married Theophano, styling himself the military protector of the Macedonian line.

During his reign, Nicephorus pursued extensive military offensives in the east, retaking Tarsus, recovering Cilicia and Cyprus in 965 CE, and orchestrating the recapture of Antioch in October 969 CE. These prolonged campaigns required substantial financial mobilization. To support the military, Nicephorus enacted stringent fiscal retrenchment, limited ecclesiastical land acquisitions, and introduced a light-weight gold denomination alongside the traditional standard. These measures provoked resentment across civilian, senatorial, and ecclesiastical circles. On the night of 10–11 December 969 CE, an internal conspiracy between Empress Theophano and General John Tzimiskes resulted in the assassination of Nicephorus inside the Boukoleon Palace.

Obverse: Iconographic Composition

The obverse of the gold nomisma struck under Nicephorus II portrays a frontal, nimbate bust of Christ Pantokrator. Christ is depicted with a full, neatly trimmed beard and hair parted centrally, flowing downward behind the shoulders. He is attired in an inner tunic (colobium) and a draped mantle (pallium or himation).

Christ's right hand is raised before His chest in the standard Byzantine gesture of benediction, with the thumb and ring finger touching. His left hand holds a jeweled Book of Gospels embellished with decorative pearls and pellets along its cover. Behind His head is a cross nimbus (nimbus cruciger), the vertical and horizontal limbs of which are ornamented with pellets (typically two or three in each segment). The entire obverse device is encircled by a border of fine beads.

Obverse: Epigraphy and Inscriptions

The obverse marginal legend employs a Byzantine hybrid of Greek and Latin majuscule characters, presenting the traditional imperial invocation in Latin:

• Script: Byzantine Greek-Latin hybrid majuscule / uncial.
• Language: Latin.
• Primary Attested Inscription: + IhS XIS REX REGNANTIhM
• Orthographic Variants: + IhS XPS REX REGNANTIhM, + IhS XIS REX REGNANTInm, + IhS XIS REX REGNATIUM
• Transliteration: + I[esu]s Ch[ristu]s Rex Regnantium
• Translation: "Jesus Christ, King of Kings" (literally, "King of those who rule").
• Placement: Marginal legend reading clockwise along the outer border, beginning from the upper left or top.

Reverse: Iconographic Composition

The reverse design presents the joint representation of the heavenly protectress and the earthly ruler. To the viewer's left (heraldic dexter) stands the facing, nimbate half-length bust of the Virgin Mary (Theotokos), clad in a stola and draped in the maphorion (veil-mantle) covering her head and shoulders. To the viewer's right stands the facing half-length bust of Nicephorus II Phocas, bearded, wearing an imperial crown topped with a cross and adorned with hanging pendilia, and attired in the formal jeweled loros.

Between the Virgin and the emperor stands an upright patriarchal cross (a cross with two horizontal transoms, the upper being shorter) resting upon a long central staff. The Virgin grasps the vertical shaft with her right hand, while Nicephorus holds it beside her with his left or right hand. The placement of the Virgin on the heraldic right emphasizes her spiritual seniority and divine mediation on behalf of the emperor. This type represents the first regular introduction of the Virgin Mary onto the imperial gold nomisma.

Reverse: Epigraphy and Inscriptions

The reverse inscriptions consist of an invocation in medieval Greek running along the perimeter and a monogrammatic designation in the field:

• Script: Medieval Greek uncial / majuscule with Latinate forms (such as C for lunate sigma, b for beta, d for delta, and h for eta).
• Language: Medieval Greek.
• Perimeter Inscription: + ΘЄOTOC' b' HΘ' nICHF' dESP'
• Attested Variants: + ΘЄOTOC' bHΘ' hICHF dESP', + ΘEOTOC bHΘ hICHF dESP, + ΘЄOTOC' b' HΘ' nICHF' dES'
• Perimeter Transliteration: + Theotoc[e] b[oe]th[ei] Nich[e]p[horo] desp[ote]
• Perimeter Translation: "Mother of God, help the despot Nicephorus."
• Field Inscription: M - Θ (placed in the left field, flanking the halo or shoulders of the Virgin Mary).
• Field Transliteration: M[eter] Th[eou]
• Field Translation: "Mother of God."
• Placement: The invocation runs clockwise around the circumference, while the letters M - Θ occupy the field beside the Virgin.

Typology and Documented Variants

The Constantinople gold issues struck during the reign of Nicephorus II Phocas are classified into three major groups based on dynastic representation and weight standards:

1. Joint Reign Issues: Nicephorus II and Basil II (c. 963–965 CE)

Before introducing the Virgin Mary type, Nicephorus issued nomismata confirming his role as senior protector alongside the young co-emperor Basil II.

• Diagnostic Features: Obverse bust of Christ Pantokrator. Reverse with half-length busts of Nicephorus II (bearded, in loros, on left) and Basil II (beardless, in chlamys, on right), jointly holding a long patriarchal cross.
• Attested Classes:
  • Class I: Reverse legend nICHFOR' CE bASIL' AЧGG bR' (DOC III.2 no. 1; Sear 1776).
  • Class II: Reverse legend NIKHFOP KAI RACIL' AVG'R' P' (DOC III.2 no. 2; Sear 1777).

2. Nicephorus II and the Virgin Mary: Full-Weight Nomisma / Histamenon (c. 965–969 CE)

• Diagnostic Features: Obverse bust of Christ Pantokrator. Reverse depicts the Virgin Mary and Nicephorus II jointly holding a patriarchal cross, accompanied by the invocation + ΘЄOTOC' b' HΘ' nICHF' dESP' and field letters M - Θ.
• Metrological Profile: Struck on broad flans with a mass of approximately 4.40–4.48 g and diameter of 20–22 mm.
• Catalogue References: DOC III.2 nos. 3 and 4; Sear 1778.

3. Nicephorus II and the Virgin Mary: Light-Weight Nomisma / Tetarteron (c. 965–969 CE)

• Diagnostic Features: Employs the identical design elements as the full-weight nomisma (Christ Pantokrator / Virgin Mary and Nicephorus II holding a patriarchal cross).
• Metrological Profile: Struck to a reduced weight standard of approximately 4.05–4.15 g, representing an approximate 1/12th reduction (around two carats). The flan is typically slightly smaller and thicker (19–20.5 mm).
• Catalogue References: DOC III.2 no. 5; Sear 1780.

Scholarly Debates and Attribution Limitations

The Origin and Economic Function of the Tetarteron

The introduction of a reduced-weight gold coin under Nicephorus II constitutes a pivotal event in Byzantine monetary history, provoking long-standing historiographical discussion:

• Fiscal Exploitation Hypothesis: Byzantine historians John Skylitzes and Joannes Zonaras recorded that Nicephorus established the lighter gold piece to exploit the populace fiscally, demanding tax payments and imperial revenue in the traditional heavy coin (nomisma) while paying out state obligations, military wages, and expeditionary expenses in the lighter coin (tetarteron). Michael F. Hendy noted that these accounts mirror contemporary resentment toward the administration's aggressive taxation.
• Grierson's Islamic Dinar Alignment Hypothesis: Philip Grierson suggested an alternative economic purpose, pointing out that a 1/12th reduction (equal to 1/4 of a tremissis, hence tetarteron, "fourth part") brought the coin to roughly 4.05–4.15 g. This mass aligned closely with contemporary Islamic gold dinars circulating in northern Syria and Cilicia, which Grierson argued was intended to facilitate trade and exchange in recently reconquered eastern borderlands.
• Rebuttals to the Dinar Hypothesis: Andrew S. Ehrenkreutz and Hélène Ahrweiler-Glykatzi questioned Grierson's thesis. Ehrenkreutz surveyed hoard data demonstrating substantial regional weight variation among Islamic dinars, disputing that they maintained a uniform mass standard that Byzantium intended to mirror. Ahrweiler-Glykatzi emphasized internal imperial financial constraints and budgetary mobilization over foreign commercial alignment. The fiscal and commercial explanations remain interpretations of policy, not an independently established motive for the photographed coins.

Evidence from Institutional Specimens

Institutional collections illustrate the physical parameters of these issues:

• Cleveland Museum of Art 1964.423: Recorded institutional dimensions report a diameter of 2.1 cm (13/16 in.) and an institutional mass of 4.39 g. This mass firmly aligns with the full-weight nomisma standard (~4.40–4.48 g).
• Cleveland Museum of Art 1968.60: Institutional collection records document a diameter of 2.0 cm and an institutional mass of 4.5 g (0.16 oz.). This mass (~4.5 g, rounded to one decimal place by the museum) likewise belongs to the full-weight nomisma bracket, excluding the reduced-weight tetarteron standard (~4.05–4.15 g).

Attribution Limitations

Because Nicephorus II did not apply distinct visual markers, symbols, or altered designs to distinguish the full-weight nomisma from the tetarteron - a distinction only introduced systematically under Basil II and eleventh-century rulers - specimens lacking institutional mass data cannot be conclusively assigned to either denomination based on iconography alone. While the institutional masses recorded for both Cleveland specimens place them within the full-weight standard, workshop numbers and precise die classifications remain subject to physical die collation.

References

1. Catalogue of the Byzantine Coins in the Dumbarton Oaks Collection and in the Whittemore Collection (DOC), Vol. 3, Part 2: Basil I to Nicephorus III (867–1081). pp. 580–585
2. Studies in the Byzantine Monetary Economy, c. 300–1450. pp. 506–508
3. Catalogue des monnaies byzantines de la Bibliothèque nationale, Tome II: De Philippique à Alexis III (711–1204). pp. 584–586
4. Byzantine Coins and Their Values (2nd revised edition). pp. 336–337, nos. 1776–1780
5. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Accession 1964.423: Nomisma with Nicephorus II Phocas. Accession record 1964.423 / 1964.423.a
6. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Accession 1968.60: Nomisma with Nicephorus II Phocas. Accession record 1968.60 / 1968.60.b
7. Byzantine Tetartera and Islamic Dinars (Journal of the Economic and Social History of the Orient 7, no. 2). Andrew S. Ehrenkreutz (1964), Journal of the Economic and Social History of the Orient 7, pp. 183-190; bibliographic reference to the dinar-alignment debate.