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  • Minutes of the 1272nd Meeting
  • The Last Coinage of the Last Roman Emperor
  • Exhibits
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Chatter

Minutes of the 1272nd Meeting

The 1272nd meeting of the Chicago Coin Club was called to order by President Melissa Gumm at 6:45pm Wednesday, January 8, 2025. This was an in-person and online meeting held at the Chicago Bar Association. Attendance in person were 22 members and two guests applying for membership, and 17 members online for a total of 41.

Club Meeting Minutes and Treasurer’s Report

The December club meeting minutes were approved as published in the Chatter, both in print and on the CCC website. Treasurer Elliott Krieter presented the November period treasurer’s report showing revenue of $3,535.00 (Auction receipts, Banquet income, Dues, Blocker Donation) and expenses of $2,297.23 (Chatter expense, CBA room rent, club equipment, Auction proceeds, Insurance fee) for a period total of $1,237.77. The report was accepted and approved by the club membership.

New Members

Secretary Scott McGowan completed the second membership application reading for Lily DeCosta, a Young Numismatist, with the club approving membership. Scott did a first reading of the membership applications for Joseph Stypka of Chicago, Illinois, a collector of Canadian Large Cents, and Daniel Montoya of Oak Park, Illinois, a collector of U.S. Classic and Modern coinage.

Old Business

1. President Melissa Gumm reported that the annual December banquet meeting was well attended and enjoyed by the members and guests. Approximately 45 were in attendance.
2. Committee Reports: Special Projects and Hall of Fame committees indicated no report. Legacy committee reported that the latest video interviews have been sent to the interviewees for approval and that a new class of interviewees will be formulated for February or March.

New Business

1. Melissa Gumm introduced CCC member Drew Michyeta who presented the club with his 2025 calendar called “Sir Knight Andrew Presents the 2nd Annual Celebration of Medallic Art Achievements.” His calendar features a set of six medals by Medallic Arts of Rochester, New York, showing the Obverse then Reverse of each medal on consecutive calendar months. The Medal set contains 42 ounces of Silver and originally sold for $180.00 in 1965. 50 calendars were presented to the club for members to pick up at in-person meetings.
2. Melissa announced that 2025 dues are now due. Dues are $20.00 per year and $10 per year for Young Numismatists. Club members should Zelle payment to treasurer.chicagocoinclub@gmail.com or mail check payment to CCC; PO Box 2301; Chicago, IL 60690.
3. With the new year, an audit of the CCC finances must be completed by March 2025 per by-laws. Members Bill Burd, Mark Wieclaw, and Steve Zitowsky agreed to be the financial review committee and meet with the treasurer to complete this.

Featured Program

Dale Lukanich presented on The Last Coinage of the Last Roman Emperor. Following the presentation, First Vice President Deven Kane virtually presented Dale with a CCC Speakers Medal and ANA Education Certificate.

Show and Tell

Second Vice President Ray Dagenais announced the 9 Show and Tell presentations for the evening.

President Melissa Gumm adjourned the meeting at 8:38pm CST.

Respectfully Submitted,
Scott A. McGowan, Secretary

Speaker’s Wor[l]d
The Last Coinage of the Last Roman Emperor

by Dale Lukanich,
presented to our January 8, 2025 meeting

The last vestige of the Roman Empire was the Byzantine Empire, which ended in 1453 with the fall of Constantinople to the Ottoman Empire. Constantine XI Palaiologos was the last emperor, serving from 1449 to 1453. Very few coins from his reign are available today; to better understand and appreciate them, Dale reviewed highlights from the long history of the Roman Empire.

The Roman Empire began on January 16, 27 BCE when the Roman Senate conferred the titles Augustus and Princeps on Octavian. The prior Roman Republic had grown from a small area, to controlling most of the Mediterranean shore, and extending inland. As an Empire, the expansion continued, including Britain, central Europe, and southern Crimea among others.

Caracalla’s decree in 212 CE, the Constitutio Antoniniana, extended citizenship outside of Italy to all free adult males in the entire Roman Empire. Of course there was a reason for doing this; the catch was that all Roman citizens owed a property tax!

Such an expansive empire required strong and skillful leadership. After the death of Philip II in 249, for the next 30 years you need a score card to see who is in command in the Roman Empire. Many times, it is more than one person, each usurper in his own part of the Empire. In the spring of 285, Diocletian became the sole Emperor of Rome. He split the Empire into two parts, with Maximinus in charge of the West, and Diocletian ruling the Eastern part – they were co-emperors, with each deemed the Augustus of his part. To ensure a smooth succession after their death, each emperor appointed a subordinate successor, who had the title of Caesar; in the East this was Galerius, and in the West it was Constantius.

It was the son of Constantius, Constantine (Constantine I), who defeated all challengers to the throne and reunited the split empire, moving the capital away from old Rome and built a new eastern capital, NOVA ROMA, in 330. That name did not catch on; foreigners called it Constantinople, after Constantine. It was located at the site of Byzantium, an ancient Greek colony founded by a man named Byzas. Located on the European side of the Bosporus (the strait linking the Black Sea to the Mediterranean), the site of Byzantium was ideally located to serve as a transit and trade point between Europe and Asia. In the mid-16th century, German historian Hieronymus Wolf first used the term “Byzantine” to identify the Eastern Roman Empire, to differentiate it from the Western Roman Empire. But until the fall of Constantinople, the Greek speaking people of the Eastern Roman Empire always considered themselves to be Roman!

The monetary reform, put in place by Anastasis I in 491, kept the Roman denominations of the gold Solidus (as well as its half and third, the gold Semissis and Tremissis) and the silver siliqua; 24 siliqua equaled one solidus. New to the Empire was a bronze follis of 40 nummi (where 420 folles equaled one solidus). Bronze coins worth 20, 10, and 5 nummi were widely produced, with other denominations made sporadically and locally. Numismatists consider the reforms of Justinian to be the start of Byzantine coinage.

The next thousand years saw periods of stable valuations and periods of debasement. A reform saw the gold hyperpyron and silver stavrata (and their fractions) replace the solidus and siliqua. Which brought us to Dale’s slide stating: The question is not, “Why did Constantinople fall?” The question is, “How did it last so long?” The Empire had been declining for centuries, shrinking until the only part not a vassal to a foreign power lie behind the city walls of Constantinople.

Constantine XI Palaeologus (1448-1453) was crowned at the city of Mistra in southern Greece; it was the provincial capital of the Byzantine Despotat (province). The end of the Byzantine Empire came in the spring of 1453 when 20-year old Sultan Mehmet II (soon to be Mehmet the Conqueror) began his assault on Constantinople. The defenders, augmented only by a contingent of 700 Genovese, held for seven weeks. On May 29, the walls were breached and Constantine XI died bravely fighting on the ramparts, his body later recognized by the purple buskins (slippers).

The coinage of Constantine XI was known from written records, but the first coin appeared in the numismatic market only in 1974. Only two were known when a hoard was found in 1990; in 1991, Simon Bendall identified 90 coins of Constantine XI in this hoard of 158 silver coins: 35 stavrata, 5 half-stavrata, and 50 eighth-stavrata. The designs on Byzantine coins were representative, not realistic; near the end, when less care was used in the coining steps, the results could appear very crude.

The first coin that Dale showed to us was a full stavraton weighing 6.78 grams and 23mm in diameter. The obverse features a haloed facing bust of Christ holding Gospels, with IC (“Jesus”) in the left field, and B (for Basileus or “King”) in the right field. The reverse features a facing crowned bust of Constantine surrounded by two rings of text: The Despot Constantine, the Palaiologos in the outer circle, and By the Grace of God King of the Romans in the inner circle. (Look at that again – King of the Romans!) Those would be the legends on a fully struck coin on a large planchet, but that is not how these coins come – expect a partial legend, at best. Bendall identified 18 obverse and 11 reverse dies used to make the 35 stavrata in the hoard, so many stavrata must have been struck.

Next shown was a half-stavraton weighing 3.15 grams. The obverse features a haloed facing bust of Christ holding Gospels, with IC in the left field. The reverse features a facing crowned bust of Constantine surrounded by one line of text: Constantine. Bendall identified four die combinations, which is too few dies to make any calculations.

Last shown was an eighth-stavraton, weighing 0.63 grams and 12mm in diameter. That is too small for any legends, and probably too small for even the busts on the obverse and reverse. Bendall identified 23 obverse and 20 reverse dies used to make the 50 eighth-stavrata in the hoard, so many eighth-stavrata must have been struck.

If many coins had been struck for Constantine XI, why are so few known today? It is reported that bushels of coins were thrown into the sea, instead of letting them fall into the hands of the enemy, so that, “The water glistened with silver coinage.” Of course, it is likely most were immediately salvaged, and soon melted down and reissued with the victors’ inscriptions; the Qran prohibits graven images, so the Muslim conquerors would not use coinage with a King and God on them.

While reading through the references, Dale saw that there is much agreement on the broad topics – but some fine details are covered differently, and some skepticism is justified. Dale indicated some fictional ideas:

• Constantine XI escaped and was to come back at a later time to re-establish the Roman Empire.
• Constantine XI died, and his body was never found.

Dale followed those with some accepted ideas:

• Silver holy vessels from the churches were melted down to strike coinage in the last few days.
• Constantine XI was identified by his purple Royal Slippers.

References

• Harlan J. Berk. Bid or Buy #75, 1-28-1993.
• Simon Bendall. “The Coinage of Constantine XI” pp 134-142, Revue Numismatique, VOLUME XXXIII, 1991.
• Coin Week, an article by Michael Shutterly, November 16, 2020.
• Numista, → Coinage of Constantine XI.
• Marios Philippides. Constantine XI Dragašš Palaeologus (1404-1453): The Last Emperor of Byzantium. London and New York: Routledge, 2019.

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Show and Tell

Items shown at our January 8, 2025 meeting,
reported by Ray Dagenais.

1. Bob Leonard started with a map showing how Moldovia/Moldova is located between Romania and Ukraine, and then directed our attention to the long narrow strip of Moldovia that calls itself Transnistria and lies along the border of Ukraine.
   1. A 5 kopecks coin of Transnistria, dated 2000 (released 2001), lightly circulated, which was acquired from a bowl of European coins at an open market in Romania, June 2010. The hammer and sickle motif, topped by a star and enclosed by a wreath is what first caught Bob’s eye — it was a common symbol used by the Soviet Union.
   2. A 1964 specimen 50 kopecks of the Soviet Union, purchased at the U.S.S.R. pavilion at Expo 67, showing a very similar motif.
   Transnistria is in the news now because this last remnant of the Soviet Union relied on Russian gas for heating and power. They were getting it free because Gazprom considered Transnistria, a tiny country shaped like a worm and not recognized by the U.N. or anyone else, to be part of Moldovia, and billed Moldovia for the gas. But as of January 1, the Ukrainians shut off the connection, leaving Transnistria without it. (Moldovia is unaffected because they have switched to other sources of supply.) So the Transnistrian government has urged its citizens to heat with fire and space heaters, gather in a single room with plenty of blankets, do without hot water, etc. All self-inflicted!
2. Tyler Rossi showed two Convertible Mark notes from Bosnia. They were signed by US Troops during Operation Iraqi Freedom, in which a Bosnian contingent served. The host 1 Convertible Mark bills have dark green on green printing, with yellow-green underprint. On the front, Ivan Franjo Jukic (1818-1857, a Franciscan monk) is pictured at right, while a Stecak Stolac (medieval tombstone) fragment at the left on the back. Alternating text lines, in Latin and Cyrillic, give the bank name and denomination.
3. Deven Kane showed videos and photos of three coins.
   1. From the Kingdom of Commagene, a bronze Roman Provincial oktachalkon featuring a diademed and draped bust of Iotape (AD 38-72) on the obverse. The reverse shows an impressive brockage by the obverse, making this piece very rare. Iotape was the sister-wife of Antiochus IV, the last King of Commagene.
   2. A silver tetradrachm (circa 150-140 BC, weighing 16.72grams) from Magnesia on the Maeander, in Ionia. The obverse has a diademed and draped bust of Artemis, with a bow and quiver over her shoulder; not the typical style. The reverse has a standing Apollo holding a laurel branchwith a tripod behind him, all within a laurel wreath; Greek legends list the city and the magistrate, Pausanias, son of Euphemos.
   3. A silver tetradrachm from the Seleukid Kingdom, of Cleopatra and Antiochos VIII (125-121 BC). The obverse has jugate busts of Cleopatra Thea, diademed, veiled and wearing stephanos, and Antiochus VIII. The reverse features a seated Zeus. Although there is light porosity and tooling, it is an attractive good VF. Cleopatra Thea was a Ptolemaic Princess, the daughter of Ptolemy VI and Cleopatra II. She was first married to the Seleukid usurper Alexander I Balas but, when he was deposed by her father, she married Demetrius II and later his brother Antiochus VII. She had sons with all three husbands, all of whom became Seleucid pretenders. After the death of her husbands she put her oldest son by Demetrius, Selucus V, as king and, when he was not pliant enough, poisoned him. She then she put the next son Antiochus VIII as king. The fact that her portrait is front in the jugate shows she was the real ruler. Antiochus also proved to have a will of his own and she tried to poison him as well, but she was forced to drink the poisoned cup she had presented to her son. The Seleukid realm fell apart in the next 30 years in the civil war between Antiochus VIII and her son from Antiochus VI, Aniochus IX Kyzikenus. Both sons ended badly, one assassinated and one killed in battle.
4. Lyle Daly showed an “ugly” coin that he had for a long time, and he decided to do something with it. It is a bronze coin with a diameter of 26mm. Lyle started by trying to read the letters and images on the coin. He researched GENIO POPVLI ROMANI and surmised this coin was minted at the Serdica mint after looking at coins from this mint. After narrowing down his research, he guessed that Constantius I (293-306) was on the obverse. It was satisfying and educational for him to pursue this. Discovering that a piece from his junk box is relic of a very tumultuous time in the late Roman Empire was rewarding. Lylee is fairly certain it was issued after the abdication of Diocletian and Maximinus which ended the Tetrarchy due to personal ambitions, leading to years of warfare with Constantine the Great prevailing and the foundation of Constantinople.
5. In his library, Laurence Edwards has two books by S. S. Crosby, in reprint editions from Chicago.
   1. S.S. Crosby, Coinage of 1793 Cents and Half Cents (reprint 1933 by Lee F. Hewitt, Chicago; limited edition of 100 copies with photographic plates).
   2. S.S. Crosby, Early Coins of America (reprint 1945, edition limited to 500 copies; R. Green, Room 1020, Board of Trade Bldg., 141 W. Jackson Blvd., Chicago 4, Ill.).
   Laurence indicated that he is at the early stages of trying to find out, “Are there other numismatic reprints from Chicago from around the mid-20th century?” If so, why Chicago? Does Chicago Coin Club have any records, or memories – personal or institutional – of such projects? He has basic information about R. Green, husband and wife coin dealers in downtown Chicago, as well as some about Lee F. Hewitt, founding publisher of Numismatic Scrapbook, and member of the Chicago Coin Club Hall of Fame.
6. Zach Filis discussed George Mills and the 1816 Royal Mint competition to choose a second engraver. George Mills was a medalist who is best known for his medal engravings as part of James Mudie’s series of national medals, which were created by Mills and others to celebrate the British victories over the French and Napoleon. Mills is also known for his excellent British crown patterns that he made at the request of Mudie and Richard Whiteave. The image Zach showed is of a petition, or more commonly referred to as a pattern, Guinea that was made, in copper, by Mills for the competition. Mills at the time was working at the SOHO mint in Birmingham England under the supervision of Mathew Robinson Boulton. The Master of the Royal Mint at the time of the competition was William Wellesley Pole, and Thomas Wyon was chief engraver at the mint. When William Wyon expressed an interest in the second engraver position, Pole told William not to submit or apply for the position as he already had too many Wyons working for him at the mint, but William Wyon secretly submitted an entry to the competition. Wyon’s submission was the winner of the competition, and Wyon became the second engraver becoming, in time, one of England’s greatest engravers. Mills on the other hand died in his early thirties and never achieved his full potential or recognition. Mills went on to win three gold medals from the Royal Society of Arts (RSA) between 1817 and 1823 for his engraving of medals. One of his winning submissions, the Vulcan medal, was adopted by the RSA as one of their gold medal for excellence. Mills competed against both Thomas and William Wyon, among others, during the Royal Academy exhibitions where he won the three RSA gold medals.
7. Dale Lukanich talked about the ways groups of people have tried to re-write history. Other than defacing statues or other artwork, the more common way was to deface currency. Not everyone will see the statue or the artwork, but the money will circulate all over the Empire. He displayed some images of coins that were altered to remove the portraits on the coins. One coin was cut in such a way that he wondered whether it was done as an act of defiance or for some other reason.
8. Mark Wieclaw stated that Trajan Decius (249-251 AD) was the only emperor to issue both a Semis and a Double Sestertius.
   1. The shown bronze Semis has a diameter of 18.5 mm and a mass of 2.78 grams.
   2. The shown bronze Double Sestertius had a diameter of 37.5 mm and a mass of 50.73 grams (which is much heavier than usual for this denomination). On this denomination, emperors wore a radiate crown while empresses were shown above a thin, upturned crescent.
9. To complement the featured speaker, Jeff Amelse showed pictures of some interesting Byzantine Stavrata.
   1. A Manuel II (1391-1423) ¼ hyperpyron, weighing 0.67 grams.
   2. A Manuel II (1391-1423) ½ hyperpyron, weighing 7.16 grams.
   3. A John VIII (1423-1448) silver ¼ hyperpyron, weighing 3.30 grams.
   4. A John VIII (1423-1448) stavraton, weighing 6.79 grams.
   5. A coin of Constantine VIII or IX; it is difficult to identify.
   His last slide showed one of each of the shown denominations, to show their relative size.

Reminders:

• You can email to Ray a description of what you will show at a meeting, to give him a start on this write-up.
• Send it to cccshowandtell@gmail.com
• After a meeting, all members who viewed the meeting should email him their scoring sheet – a listing of each exhibit number followed by a score (from a low of 1 to a high of 10) is all that is needed.

Our 1273rd Meeting

Important Dates

Unless stated otherwise, our regular monthly CCC Meeting is in downtown Chicago, and also online, on the second Wednesday of the month; the starting time is 6:45PM CT.

Chatter Matter

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All correspondence pertaining to Club matters should be addressed to the Secretary and mailed to:
CHICAGO COIN CLUB
P.O. Box 2301
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