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Constantine X Gold Histamenon Nomisma, obverse

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Byzantine

Constantine X Gold Histamenon Nomisma

Constantine X · Eleventh-Century Empire

Christ enthroned faces Constantine X on a broad histamenon, preserving sacred calm at the opening of the Doukas dynasty.

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Object number
AG-016
Date
AD 1059–1067
Denomination
AV Histamenon Nomisma
Material
Gold
Certification
NGC Ancients

Record completeness

Evidence, made visible

  • Object identityDocumented
  • Physical recordNot recorded
  • AttributionPartly documented
  • Legends & imageryNot recorded
  • ProvenanceNot recorded

The Story Behind the Strike

Constantine X Doukas came to power in 1059 and founded a dynasty that would dominate the following decades of court politics. His gold maintains the icon-like program of the eleventh-century histamenon. Christ occupies the sacred field in majesty; the ruler appears as earthly counterpart. The holder is an older certification style and does not supply the detailed grade and weight recorded for many other objects in the collection. A responsible catalogue retains that absence instead of inventing precision. What remains certain is the coin’s visual claim: political transition is placed within an unchanging hierarchy of heavenly and imperial rule.