Philippicus (Bardanes) (AD 711-713). AV solidus (20mm, 4.44 gm, 5h). NGC Gem MS S 5/5 - 5/5. Constantinople, 10th officina. d N FILЄPICЧS-MЧL-TЧS AN, bust of Philippicus facing, wearing crown and loros, globus cruciger in right hand, scepter surmounted by eagle and star in left / VICTORIA-AVςЧ I, cross potent set upon three steps; CONOB below. Sear 1447. DOC 1. MIB 1. Rare! Minor obverse die break, otherwise an absolutely perfect specimen, crisply struck from fresh dies and fully lustrous. Quite likely the finest-known example! Ex Lexington Collection of Jonathan K. Kern (Heritage Auction, NYINC 3037, 4 January 2015), lot 30988 Part of a debilitating string of short-lived rulers, Bardanes was a general of Armenian origins who was proclaimed Emperor upon the final overthrow of Justinian II. Almost immediately, he alienated the clergy and populace by reviving the Monothelete heresy (proposing that Christ had a single, divine nature and will) which had supposedly been stamped out decades previously. He was also unsuccessful in stopping Arab and Bulgarian advances, prompting the Byzantine army to depose and blind him after 18 months of ineffective rule. He was replaced by the finance minister Artemius, who reigned as Anastasius II. This extraordinary piece shows the unusually fine artistry employed on the coinage for so ephemeral a reign, showing the emperor holding two symbols of office dating back to Roman times: The globus cruciger and scipio aquila, a scepter topped by an eagle. The grade of Gem MS★ is the highest possible grade assigned by NGC to an ancient coin.

HID09801242017

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