[Home, My eBay, Site Map] [eBay logo] [to Browse, Sell, Services, Search, Help, and Community] [Browse Sub-Navigation] Byzantine Brockage JOHN VIII Half Hyperpyron Item #222704825 Coins & Stamps:Coins:Non-US:Ancient, Medieval [Image] Bidding is closed for this item. [Image] [Show description] First Starts at $119.00 $119.00 bid [Leave feedback] Quantity 1 # of 0 (bid history) (with (to seller) bids emails) Time left Auction has Location Philadelphia, PA ended. [envelope] (mail this auction Started 12/19/99, 17:37:12 PST to a friend) [Gift Alert] (request a gift Ends 12/26/99, 17:37:12 PST alert) [Image] Seller (Rating) praetorian (646) [star] (view comments in seller's Feedback Profile) (view seller's other auctions) (ask seller a question) [Image] High bid -- [Image] Payment Visa/MasterCard, Money Order/Cashiers Checks, Personal Checks, See item description for payment methods accepted Shipping Buyer pays actual shipping charges, Seller ships internationally, See item description for shipping charges [Image] Relist Seller: Didn't sell your item the first time? item eBay will refund your relisting fee if it sells the second time around. Relist this item. Seller assumes all responsibility for listing this item. You should contact the seller to resolve any questions before bidding. Currency is U.S. dollar ($) unless otherwise noted. Description This coin was minted at Constantinople for the Byzantine Empire during the reign of John VIII Palaeologus, who ruled from 1423-1448 AD. The eldest son of Manuel II, John VIII succeeded to an empire which, apart from the flourishing despotate of the Morea, consisted only of the city of Constantinople itself. Here John ruled for a quarter of a century and, like his father and grandfather before him, he journeyed to the West to try to obtain aid for the beleaguered Christian city. In 1439, the Union of the Churches was proclaimed in Florence but, once again, the people of Byzantium refused to accept the subordination of their church to Rome, and in any case the aid from the West never materialized. John VIII died childless on October 31, 1448, and was succeeded by his younger brother Constantine Palaeologus, just five years before the fall of Constantinople to the Turks and the end of the Byzantine Empire. This is a full brockage piece, which resulted from having been struck with an obverse die capped with a coin which stuck to it during the minting process, thus imprinting an incuse image of the reverse in place of the obverse. The reverse depicts the bust of John surrounded by the Greek legends for IOANIS.DESPOTIS.O.PALEOLOGOS/THU.KARITI.AVTOKRATOR.or variants around the bust in two rings. The "obverse" shows an incuse image of the reverse, transferred onto this piece as described above. Coin is struck on the usual odd shaped flan, and shows a patina spot on the brockage side, but otherwise grades VF, with clear devices, most of the legends visible, at least in part, and a clear brockage image of the reverse. A nice example of this very scarce brockage coin, minted in the dying days of the Byzantine Empire. It is catalouged as Sear Byzantine 2563. All coins guaranteed genuine without limitations. Buyer pays postage/insurance, coin shipped on clearance of funds. PA residents please add appropriate sales tax. Visa/MC accepted for orders of $20 or more. Member ANA, PAN. For more ancients, please visit our WWW page at http://www.philly.infi.net/~mdgeary/ . Thanks, and HAPPY HOLIDAYS! ------------------------------------------------------------------------ [Image] Bidding Bidding is closed for this item. --------------------------------------------------------------- Announcements | Register | eBay Store | SafeHarbor | Feedback Forum | About eBay Copyright © 1995-2000 eBay Inc. All Rights Reserved. [TrustE] Designated trademarks and brands are the property of their respective owners. Use of this Web site constitutes acceptance of the eBay User Agreement