157: Byzantine Empire. Justinian II, Second Reign, 705 - eBay (item 320247626254 end time May-26-08 12:51:12 PDT) Back to My eBayCatalog:The Pre Long Beach Sale - World Sale eBay Live Auctions:Coins > World Coins > Live Auction Seller eBay:Coins & Paper Money > Coins: Ancient > Byzantine 157: Byzantine Empire. Justinian II, Second Reign, 705Item number: 320247626254 Bidder or seller of this item? Sign in for your status Bidding has ended for this item This item has been added to My eBay for Guests. As a guest, you can: Track up to 10 items on this computer in My eBay Receive an email reminder for this item a few hours before it ends View larger picture Closed at:US $6,250.00 Estimate:US $2,500.00 - US $3,000.00 History:16 bids Lot number:157 (View all lots) Auction Date:May-26-08 10:00:00 PDT Auction Currency:US $ (U.S. dollar) Currency Calculator High Bid:Live Auction Floor Bidder Item location:Beverly Hills, CA 0% APR until Jan 2009 - new eBay MasterCard You can also: Email to a friend Meet the seller Seller:i-lgoldbergcoinsandcollectibles( 2237) Feedback:99.4 % Positive Member:since May-09-01 in United States See detailed feedback Ask seller a question Add to Favorite Sellers View seller's other items Buy safely 1. Check the seller's reputation Score: 2237 | 99.4% Positive See detailed feedback 2. Check how you're protected If paying with a credit card, see your card issuer's terms Description (revised) Prev LotNext Lot Hover thumbnail to view large image below. Click thumbnail to view full image in new window. Byzantine Empire. Justinian II, Second Reign, 705-711 AD. Gold Solidus (4.43 g), Constantinople mint. Facing bust of Christ, nimbate, holding Gospels. Reverse: Facing crowned busts of Justinian and son, Tiberius. SBC 1414; D.O. 2a. Choice strike and style. Extremely lustrous. NGC graded Choice Uncirculated. At the end of the 5th century, in the year 498 AD, the emperor Anastasius initiated currency reform as part of a package of reforms (mostly financial) following a century of disasters, which ultimately saw the loss of the Roman West to barbarian overlords. During all this time, Rome's gold solidus (this was the earlier, venerable gold aureus, revamped as a lighter coin by Constantine the Great over a century and a half earlier) continued to be used in Byzantium at a relatively consistent weight for the most part, and more so, at a consistent purity of 24 karats. This was the pattern for the solidus for the next five centuries. In this otherwise static situation Justinian left his mark on the Empire's coinage by placing on his own gold coin, as a show of his religious devotion, an image of Christ. He was the first Christian ruler to do so. The image seen on the coins of the first reign differs widely from that employed in the second reign, and reflects the variety of icon portrait traditions then current -- the first being more realistic, and likely more accessible and approachable as a godhead to the viewer, even if these earliest coins with the Holy portrait may have at first proved shocking to the public (as they quite likely did). The second, as seen above, shows Jesus in a very mannered portrayal -- with short, neatly trimmed beard, and his hair arranged into rows of precise curls. Here we have a decidedly "Imperial," perhaps even an authoritarian deity. With Justinian, however, religiosity does not denote any excellence or superiority in personal or moral cha racter. His despotic behavior, his bloody persecutions, the greed and rapaciousness of both he and his minions, coupled with the burden of costly building projects accompanied by loss of Empire to the Arabs, all led to his overthrow, wherein the deposed emperor's new status was made blatant by Justinian's tongue and nose being slit (thus his nickname "Rhinometus" or "no nose"). He was then forced into exile to the Crimea in 695 AD. He would return in 705 at the head of an army of Bulgarian allies and take back the thrown. Much of Justinian's energies in his second reign were devoted to satisfying his vendettas against his personal enemies. The Arabs, again benefiting from the Byzantine's internal conflicts, seized more territory in Asia Minor. Justinian's reign of terror finally ended when revolt arose in his disaffected army, and with the proclamation of a general as emperor. The hated Justinian and his six-year-old son were seized and put t o death in December of 711. Personal qualities aside, however, Justinian's artistic innovation would dictate the appearance (once the religious-political-artistic crisis of the "iconoclast" and "iconodules" factions of the 8th and early 9th centuries were resolved) of Byzantine coinage till the end of its existence. It would further spawn a host of imitators and would largely influence the look of European coinage for many centuries to follow. Estimated Value $2,500 - 3,000. Illustrated in Money of the World, coin 61. Our item number 115804 Notices This item is an "eBay Live Auction". This means that each item will not close at a specific time like a regular ebay auction. Because this is a live auction the lot will be opened in a format like a real auction house floor. Bids can be placed real-time during the auction via ebayliveauctions.com and icollector.com. Please note, bidders may place bids before the auction up to 1 hour prior to the start of the auction. This is the recommended method of bidding if you have a slow internet connection or do not have the experience bidding in a "live" sale. Due to the speed of the auction, we highy recommend a DSL or cable connection . Once the auction has started, only live bids are accepted. Please do not call to place bids during the auction as they will not be accepted. The "Auction date and time" displayed by ebay has been known to be wrong. Please check our auction information page for actual start times on ebayliveauctions.com. These start times pertain to when the auction opens, not the individual lot. We typically run approximately 150 items per hour, so you can estimate from that when your item may be displayed. We will not be held responsible for ebay down time or internet problems. If ebay goes down, we will try our best to wait a sufficient amount of time for it to come back up. In the event that we cannot require ebay, all ebay bids during that downtime will not be honoured. There is a 20% commission charge added to each and every lot. Images & text re-used by permission, courtesy of Ira & Larry Goldberg Auctioneers, Beverly Hills, CA