Constantinople Commemorative (ca. AD 530?). AR half-scripulum(?) (12mm, 0.47 gm, 12h). NGC XF 5/5 - 3/5, clipped. Constantinople. Helmeted, draped, and cuirassed bust of Constantinopolis right, seen from front / Large K (for Constantinople). Bendall, Anonymous Type 8c (AD 530-580?). Vagi 3051 (AD 330). Bendall and Vagi differ here about the placement and dating of the series - Vagi tentatively assigns the superior style examples to AD 330, whereas Bendall (8a) begins them with the centennial of Constantinople in AD 430. Type 8b, while not as superior as 8a, but far better than 8c, may be the beginning of the bicentennial issues in AD 530, with 8c then having been issued sporadically for the next 50 years and degrading in style over that time. At this point, Bendall makes a very interesting proposal and one which may aptly explain this enigmatic series. Beginning on p.151, he suggests: "Consuls distributed coins to the populace at the consular games, the emperors in gold and non-imperial consuls in silver (citing Novel 105.2). Originally the consulship had been a great honor, since the consuls named the year. However, by the early sixth century, consulships were not held every year and the cost of the games so expensive that in the east, where the senators were not as wealthy as the old families in the west, the emperor defrayed part of the costs. Justinian I held his last consulship in AD 540 and the last private consulship was held the following year. It is possibly not a coincidence that, since the consulship was no longer annual, thus making its use in annual dating prone to error, its demise basically coincided with the commencement of dating official documents by regnal year from AD 538."

HID09801242017

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