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Argyros - Nezana / Nezool
| Issuer | Aksum |
|---|---|
| Year | 485-500 |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Technique | Hammered |
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| Obverse description | Frontal draped bust of King Nezana within a plain border, the effigy adorned with a headcloth. A Ge'ez royal monogram appears prominently above the bust in the upper field. Bilingual legends in Ge'ez and Greek flank the portrait to the left and right respectively, identifying the king by name. The overall style is characteristic of late Aksumite hammered coinage, with bold if somewhat crude rendering of the royal image. |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Ge'ez/Greek |
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| Additional information |
Aksum's gold-plated billon issues represent a deliberate fiscal contraction from the earlier pure gold coinage, almost certainly tied to declining Red Sea trade revenues in the late fifth century as Aksumite commercial dominance faced pressure from competing routes. The plating itself — applied before striking — was not deceptive currency debasement in the modern sense but a recognized denominational tier, with Aksumite monetary policy apparently distinguishing between gold for elite and international exchange and these billon pieces for domestic use.
Nezana and Nezool remain poorly documented rulers; the sequencing and even co-regency status implied by paired attribution in MHAC#80 is not fully resolved in the literature.