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Tetarteron - Isaac II Angelos
| Issuer | Byzantine Empire (Byzantine states) |
|---|---|
| Year | |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Tetarteron = 1⁄864 Hyperpyron |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Facing bust of the Archangel Michael, beardless and nimbate, depicted to the waist with wings visible at the shoulders. He is clad in the imperial loros and holds a scepter, sometimes surmounted by a trefoil or ornamental finial, in his right hand. The Greek legend O XAP / X MI, abbreviating 'O XAPITOBΛEPTOC MIXAHΛ' (Michael of Gracious Countenance), appears in the field to either side of the figure. The style is characteristic of the late Comnenian and Angelan periods of Byzantine coinage. |
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| Reverse script | Greek |
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| Additional information |
Isaac II's first reign (1185–1195) ended when his brother Alexios III had him blinded and imprisoned — the standard Byzantine method of disqualifying a rival from rule. He was the emperor who paid for the Third Crusade to pass through Byzantine territory, a financial strain that contributed to the fiscal disorder visible in the debased and irregular coinage of his reign. The tetarteron denomination itself was a fractional copper issue that had been in decline for decades by this point, and surviving examples vary considerably in fabric and centering as a result of deteriorating mint discipline at Constantinople.