Item number: A235

Year: AD 582-602

Material: Gold

Size: 22.1 x20.2 x 0.5 mm

Weight: 4.18 g

Manufactured by: Constantinople mint，Tenth Workshop

Provenance: Private Collector, UK, 2018

This is a Solidus gold coin minted by Maurice Tiberius, who served as Byzantine Emperor from AD 582 to AD 602. Both sides of the coin exhibit traces of repeated striking. On the obverse side is an image of the emperor dressed as Christ, with his right hand holding aloft a globus cruciger (a cross-bearing orb). The Latin inscription above reads “O N MAVRC-TIB PP AV,” which translates to “Our Lord Maurice Tiberius, Father of the Country and Augustus.”

On the reverse side of the coin is a standing angel, holding a cross-tipped scepter in the right hand and supporting a globus cruciger in the left hand. The Latin inscription on the outer rim reads “VICTOR-I-A AVGG I,” which translates to “Victory of the Augusti, First Workshop.” Below, “CON” signifies the minting location, an abbreviation for Constantinople, while “OB” denotes the use of pure gold in the coin’s production.

Maurice rose to prominence initially through his roles as a secretary and a military officer. During his military career, he successfully repelled invasions from the Persian Sassanian Empire in the east, which led Emperor Tiberius II to appoint him as his son-in-law and designate him as the heir to the throne. Upon ascending to the throne in AD 582, Maurice launched extensive military campaigns to reclaim lost territories, but these efforts also led to a crisis of empty treasury. In AD 602, Maurice, who intended to weaken the provincial armies, faced a mutiny, resulting in the massacre of his family by the rebel forces.

物件編號: A235

年代: 公元 582-602 年

材質: 黃金

尺寸: 22.1 x20.2 x 0.5 mm

重量: 4.18 g

製造地: 君士坦丁堡造幣廠，第十作坊

來源: 英國私人收藏 2018

這是公元582至602年，擔任拜占庭帝國皇帝的莫里斯·提比略鑄造的索利都斯金幣，兩面皆有重複打印的痕跡。正面是打扮成基督形象的皇帝，右手高舉一個十字架地球儀。上方的拉丁銘文「O N MAVRC-TIB PP AV」意思是「我主 莫里斯·提比略 國父和奧古斯都」。

金幣背面是一位矗立的天使，右手持著一個十字架權杖，左手捧著一顆十字架地球儀。外圈的拉丁銘文「VICTOR-I-A AVGG I」意思是「奧古斯都的勝利，第十作坊」。下方「CON」是鑄造地點，即君士坦丁堡的簡稱，「OB」代表以赤(純)金打造。

莫里斯以祕書和軍人身分起家，軍職期間成功抵擋東邊的波斯薩珊王朝侵略，使他被皇帝提比略二世招為駙馬和指定為帝位繼承人。公元582年繼位後，莫里斯大舉對外發動戰爭並收復許多失地，但也導致國庫空虛的危機。公元602年，意圖削弱地方軍隊的莫里斯遭到兵變，其家族遭到叛軍滅門。