| Classical Numismatic Group > Electronic Auction 585 | Auction date: 16 April 2025 |
| Lot number: 668 Price realized: 200 USD (Approx. 176 EUR) Note: Prices do not include buyer's fees. | |
| Lot description: Nicephorus Basilacius. Usurper, 1078. Æ Follis (26.5mm, 9.00 g, 7h). Thessalonica mint. Facing bust of Christ Pantokrator / Jeweled patriarchal cross with central saltire and three pellets at end of each extremity; C / N - B / B in quarters across field. DOC 2b (Nicephorus Bryennius; Unidentified Mint); SB 1890. Dark brown surfaces, porosity/roughness. Good Fine. Overstruck as usual. AD 1078 was a tumultuous year in the Byzantine world. It opened with the latter days of the rule of Emperor Michael VII Ducas, and ended with Nicephorus III Botaniates in power. But Nicephorus Botaniates' revolt against Michael was not the only revolt of 1078; rather, it was not even the only revolt to feature a general by the name of Nicephorus. To further muddy the waters of coinage in 1078, Nicephorus Basilacius and Nicephorus Bryennius also revolted in the same time period. While still in the service of Emperor Michael VII, Nicephorus Basilacius was dispatched in October 1077 to deal with the rebelling Duke of Durazzo, Nicephorus Bryennius. Although Basilacius put little effort into attempting to quell the revolt which was gripping most of the provinces of Macedonia and Thrace, he did in the process occupy Thessalonica, thereby denying the important city to Bryennius. The dynamic changed when Nicephorus Botaniates successfully deposed Michael VII and occupied Constantinople in early April 1078. He subsequently offered the revolting Duke Bryennius the rank of Caesar in an attempt to make peace. But the consolatory prize of second rank was not enough to satiate the aspiring Bryennius who promptly refused the offer. Consequently, the now Emperor Nicephorus III Botaniates dispatched his trusted general, the future emperor Alexius I, to deal with Bryennius. Meanwhile, Basilacius continued to occupy the city of Thessalonica. Bryennius was defeated in battle by Alexius at Kalavrye in Thrace. His fleeing army was assumed by Basilacius who made his true intentions known by also revolting and declaring himself emperor at Thessalonica. Alexius was subsequently sent by Nicephorus III to Thessalonica to deal with Basilacius. Besieged by Alexius, the citizenry of Thessalonica, evidently weary of the constant stream of revolting Nicephori, gave Basilacius up to Alexius. These rare folles are attributed to either the rebel Bryennius or Basilacius; a matter complicated due to the similarity of their names. But due to Basilacius' occupation of Thessalonica, which possessed a mint, some scholars advocate for the attribution of these coins to Basilacius over Byennius. In the end, while Nicephorus III had successfully deposed Michael VII and defeated his revolting peers and fellow Nicephori, he only ruled for three years. Unfortunately for him, a fourth Nicephorus appeared on the scene when Nicephorus Melissenus revolted. The apt Nicephorus-defeating general Alexius would prove incapable of relying upon this time as Melissenus was his brother-in-law. Nicephorus III found the situation impossible and abdicated, making way for a new dynasty headed by Alexius-the Comnenian. Estimate: 200 USD |  |
Match 1:
| Numismatik Naumann (formerly Gitbud & Naumann) > Auction 147 | Auction date: 1 December 2024 |
| Lot number: 1150 Price realized: 40 EUR (Approx. 42 USD) Note: Prices do not include buyer's fees. | |
| Lot description: ANONYMOUS FOLLES. Class I. Attributed to Nicephorus III Botaniates (1078-1081). Obv: IC - XC. Facing bust of Christ Pantokrator. Rev: Latin cross, with saltire cross at centre and globus and two pellets at the end of each extremity; crescent to upper left and right, floral scroll below. Sear 1889. Condition: Near extremely fine. Weight: 5.50 g. Diameter: 25 mm. Estimate: 40 EUR |  |
Match 2:
| Numismatik Naumann (formerly Gitbud & Naumann) > Auction 151 | Auction date: 6 April 2025 |
| Lot number: 1022 Price realized: 85 EUR (Approx. 93 USD) Note: Prices do not include buyer's fees. | |
| Lot description: ANONYMOUS FOLLES. Class I. Attributed to Nicephorus III Botaniates (1078-1081). Obv: Facing bust of Christ Pantokrator, holding book of Gospels. Rev: Latin cross with central X, globus and two pellets at the end of each extremity; crescents to upper left and right, floral scroll to lower left and right. DOC I; Sear 1889. Condition: Extremely fine. Weight: 3.40 g. Diameter: 22 mm. Estimate: 40 EUR |  |
Match 3:
| Classical Numismatic Group > Auction 129 | Auction date: 13 May 2025 |
| Lot number: 602 Price realized: 10,000 USD (Approx. 8,959 EUR) Note: Prices do not include buyer's fees. | |
| Lot description: Heraclius. 610-641. Æ Follis (31.5mm, 15.84 g, 5h). Jerusalem mint. Dated RY 4 (613/4). Crowned facing bust, wearing consular robes, holding mappa and eagle-tipped scepter / Large M, cross above; A/N/N/O - II/II (date) across field; IЄPOCO´. DOC –; MIB X27; SB 852B; Bendall, Jerusalem Type 1. Dark brown patina with some green, minor cleaning scratches. Good VF. Very rare. After Phocas deposed Maurice Tiberius, the Sasanians invaded the eastern borders of the Byzantine Empire. Byzantine-Sasanian relations had been at their zenith since Maurice supported Khosrau II's successful bid for the Sasanian throne. But once Maurice, Khosrau's ally and father-in-law, was executed by Phocas, the Sasanian king used the unfavorable change in government to launch a retaliatory invasion. The war would drag on for over two decades and span the reigns of Phocas and Heraclius from 602-628. During the conflict, Jerusalem itself fell to the Sasanian forces in 614, and Egypt was occupied for the last ten years from 618-628. Eventually, however, internal struggles within the Sasanian court, government, and military led to a Byzantine triumph in the long destructive war and the Persians were decisively defeated. Jerusalem was liberated with great celebration and the True Cross returned to the city. During the war this very rare issue was struck very briefly during the siege of Jerusalem before its capture. This particular follis is from the first series with the name Jerusalem spelled out in Byzantine Greek as the mint mark. However, as the siege dragged on and began to look dire, the exergue was changed to X C NIKA (Christ conquers) (SB 852C). Estimate: 2000 USD |  |
Match 4:
| VAuctions > Pars Coins Sale 50 | Auction date: 16 December 2024 |
| Lot number: 197 Price realized: Unsold | |
| Lot description: BYZANTINE EMPIRE, Anonymous. Time of Romanus III, AD. 1028-1034. Æ Follis (9.41 gm; 33mm x 30mm). Constantinople mint. Class B. Facing bust of Christ, raising hand in benediction, holding Gospels; nimbus with pelleted square in arms of cross / IS XS/BASILE/BASILE, cross with pellet at end of upper bar and ends of crossbar set on three steps. Cf. DOC III B.8 (for type); SB 1823. Sharply struck on a nice broad flan. Brown patina. Choice EF. Estimate: 150 USD Starting price: 90 USD |  |
Match 5:
| Classical Numismatic Group > Auction 129 | Auction date: 13 May 2025 |
| Lot number: 617 Price realized: 3,000 USD (Approx. 2,688 EUR) Note: Prices do not include buyer's fees. | |
| Lot description: Nicephorus I, with Stauracius. 802-811. AV Solidus (22.5mm, 4.43 g, 6h). Constantinople mint. Struck 803-811. Crowned facing bust of Nicephorus, wearing chlamys, holding cross potent and akakia; • before legend / Crowned facing bust of Stauracius, wearing chlamys, holding globus cruciger and akakia; Є at end of legend. DOC 2a; Füeg 2.C.1; SB 1604. Toned and lustrous, slight weakness, thin die breaks and spot of die rust on obverse. EF. Nicephorus' career came to an abrupt end at the battle of Pliska on 26 July 811 during his Bulgarian campaign. The initial campaign was a rousing success, and the battle came immediately after the sack of Pliska (the Bulgarian capital) by Byzantine forces. The Bulgarian Khan Krum attempted to sue for peace after the disastrous loss of his capital city, but Nicephorus, confident from his great victory, refused and planned to retake all of Bulgaria. While the Byzantines were plundering the city, Krum blocked their exit from the valley with traps and fortifications including a wooden palisade. Nicephorus was unwilling to assault the newly-constructed battlements and elected to set up camp. This proved unwise. The Bulgarians spent the next few days across in their camp rattling their shields in an effort to intimidate the Byzantine forces. By the time the two armies met in battle, the Byzantine army's morale had evaporated. Despite the Byzantine's possessing superior numbers, the army was completely routed by the Bulgarian Khanate. Very few members of the approximately 30,000 strong Byzantine army escaped the slaughter. Emperor Nicephorus himself was slain; his son and successor, Stauracius, received a serious wound to his spine which left him partially paralyzed and caused his death six months later. Theophanes the Confessor summarized the aftermath of the disaster in his Chronographia as follows: "Among the victims were ... the patrician Romanus, who was strategos of the Anatolics, and many protospatharioi and spatharioi, the commanders of the tagmata, including the domestic of the excubitors and the drungarios of the Imperial Watch, the strategos of Thrace, many officers of the themata, and an infinite number of soldiers so that the flower of Christendom was destroyed ... May not Christians experience another time the ugly events of that day for which no lamentation is adequate" (Theophanes, 491). Nicephorus' body was not recovered and Theophanes records that the Khan Krum "cut off the head of Nikephoros and for several days hung it on a pole so as to exhibit it to the tribes that came before him ... After that, he bared the skull, reveted it on the outside with silver and, in his pride, made the chieftains of the Sklavinians drink from it" (Theophanes, 491-2). This follows the ancient Skythian custom recorded by Herodotus in The Histories Book 4.65. Thus ended the reign of Nicephorus and Stauracius. Estimate: 750 USD |  |
