Constantine V Copronymus and Leo IV (AD 750-775). AV solidus (20mm, 3.84 gm, 6h). NGC AU 4/5 - 3/5, light graffito. Syracuse, AD 751-775. CONtAN ΛЄON, facing busts of Constantine V and Leo IV, each wearing chlamys and crown surmounted by cross; cross between their heads / I-M-O L-EON P A MV, facing bust of Leo III, wearing loros and crown surmounted by cross, long cross potent in right hand; Θ in right field. Sear 1565. This coin was struck in the years following the capture of Ravenna, capital of the Byzantine Exarchate in Italy, by the Lombards in 751. With the loss of Rome to the Franks several years later, Byzantine power in Italy was limited to south of Naples and the island of Sicily. Thus, Syracuse, now the largest and most important Byzantine city in the West, enjoyed a period of prominence and thrived for over a century until its fall to the the Arabs from Tunis in 879. HID09801242017 © 2024 Heritage Auctions | All Rights Reserved

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