Const VII/Rom II

Constantine VII Porphyrogenitus: June 6, 913 - November 9, 959 and
Romanus II Lecapenus: April 6, 945 - March 15, 963

	Constantine VII Porphyrogenitus and Romanus II Lecapenus, AV Solidus, 945-959, Constantinople +IhS XIS REX REGNANTIuM Facing busts of Christ, wearing nimbus cruciger, three pellets in each limb of cross, pallium and colobium, right hand raised in benediction, book of Gospels in left COnStAnt' CE ROmAn' AuVV b R Facing bust of Constantine VII, with short beard on left, and Romanus II, beardless on right, each wearing crown, holding long patriarchal cross between them, Constantine wearing loros, Romanus wearing chlamys 20mm x 22mm, 4.39g SB 1751; DO 15 (Class XV); CBN 15-22; Wroth (BMC) 60-63 and 65-6; Ratto 1905
	Constantine VII Porphyrogenitus and Romanus II Lecapenus, AV Solidus, 945-959, Constantinople +IhS XIS REX REGNANTIuM Facing bust of Christ, wearing nimbus cruciger, three pellets in each limb of cross, pallium and colobium, right hand raised in benediction, book of Gospels in left COnStAnt' CE ROmAn' AuVV b R Facing busts of Constantine VII, with short beard on left and wearing loros, and Romanus II, beardless on right and wearing chlamys, each wearing crown, holding long patriarchal cross between them 19mm x 20mm, 4.37g SB 1751; DO 15 (Class XV); CBN 15-22; Wroth (BMC) 60-63 and 65-6; Ratto 1905
	Constantine VII Porphyrogenitus and Romanus II Lecapenus, AV Solidus, 945-959, Constantinople + IhS XPS REX REςNANTIЧM Facing bust of Christ, wearing nimbus cruciger, three pellets in each limb of cross, pallium and colobium, right hand raised in benediction, book of Gospels in left COnStAnt' CE ROmAn' AЧςς b R Facing busts of Constantine VII, with short beard on left and wearing loros, and Romanus II, beardless on right and wearing chlamys, each wearing crown, holding long patriarchal cross with two pellets on shaft between them 18mm x 20mm, 4.38g SB 1751
	Constantine VII Porphyrogenitus and Romanus II Lecapenus, AV Solidus, 945-959, Constantinople +IhS XIS REX REGNANTIuM Facing bust of Christ, wearing nimbus cruciger, three pellets in each limb of cross, pallium and colobium, right hand raised in benediction, book of Gospels in left COnStAnt' CE ROmAn' AuVV b R Facing busts of Constantine VII, with short beard on left, and Romanus II, beardless on right, each wearing crown, holding long patriarchal cross between them, Constantine wearing loros, Romanus wearing chlamys 20mm, 4.41g SB 1751; DO 15 (Class XV); CBN 15-22; Wroth (BMC) 60-63 and 65-6; Ratto 1905 Ex Glenn Woods Image courtesy of Lawrence Woolslayer Collection
	Constantine VII Porphyrogenitus and Romanus II Lecapenus, AV Solidus, 945-959, Constantinople +IhS XIS REX REGNANTIuM Facing bust of Christ, wearing nimbus cruciger, three pellets in each limb of cross, pallium and colobium, right hand raised in benediction, book of Gospels in left COnStAnt' CE ROmAn' AuVV b R . Facing busts of Constantine VII, with short beard on left, and Romanus II, beardless on right, each wearing crown, holding long patriarchal cross between them, Constantine wearing loros, Romanus wearing chlamys 19mm x 20mm, 4.37g SB 1751 Note: This example has a pellet at the end of the reverse legend.
	Constantine VII Porphyrogenitus and Romanus II Lecapenus, AV Solidus, 945-959, Constantinople . + IhS XPS REX REςNANTIЧM (cross) Facing bust of Christ, wearing nimbus cruciger, three pellets in each limb of cross, pallium and colobium, right hand raised in benediction, book of Gospels in left COnStAnt' CE ROmAn' AЧςς b' R' Facing busts of Constantine VII, with short beard on left, and Romanus II, beardless on right, each wearing crown, holding long patriarchal cross between them, Constantine wearing loros, Romanus wearing chlamys 19mm, 4.34g SB 1751 Note: This example is the very scarce variety with cross (more like a palm and quite unlike the cross at the beginning of the legend) at the end of the obverse legend and an unlisted variant with pellet at the beginning of the obverse legend. Also, this example has a higher relief on all three portraits as compared to all other examples I've handled or seen of the type.
	Silver copy of an AV Solidus, imitating Constantine VII Porphyrogenitus and Romanus II Lecapenus, 945-959, Constantinople + IhS XIS REX REςNANTIЧM Facing bust of Christ, wearing nimbus cruciger, tunic and himation, right hand raised in blessing, holding book of Gospels in left COnSTAnT On ROmAn AIIAIA (sic) Facing busts of Constantine VII, with short beard on left, and Romanus II, beardless on right, each wearing crown, holding long patriarchal cross between them, Constantine wearing loros, Romanus wearing chlamys 18mm, 1.98g For AV Solidus type, SB 1751; DO 15 (Class XV); CBN 15-22; Wroth (BMC) 60-63 and 65-6; Ratto 1905 Ex Middle East Numismatics, eBay, April 2004 Sent to David Sear for inclusion to his notes on Byzantine forgeries. CoA received on June 24, 2004: "This is a copy, in silver, of a gold solidus type of the joint reign of the Byzantine emperors Constantine VII Porphyrogenitus (913-959) and his son Romanus II (945-963). It appears not to be a coin of recent manufacture and may even be a contemporary with the authentic issues. Patterns in silver and bronze of various solidus types are known for this reign (cf. DOC Classes IX and XI, plate XXXVI) but these issues are stylistically comparable to contemporary gold solidi whereas this piece is clearly inferior. The die size is smaller than on regular mid-10th century solidi and the engraving is of markedly inferior style with a blundered inscription on reverse. The conclusion to be drawn from this is that in all probability the coin is a forgery of the period, though in the absence of precise information on provenance it is pointless to speculate on its possible origin."