Solidus of Phocas

Solidus of Phocas

Phocas, Winged Victory

Solidi were the highest denomination of coins in the sixth and seventh centuries in the Byzantine Empire. Made of gold, they were used to make substantial payments like a year’s taxes or a purchase of a manuscript. This solidus shows the Emperor Phocas on the obverse, with a cross on his crown and the globus cruciger in his hand. The text translates to ‘perpetually emperor’. On the reverse, a personification of victory holds a staff in the form of a cross and a globus cruciger. Religious imagery like this is common on coins. The mint mark ‘CONOB’ on the reverse signifies that the coin was made in Constantinople.

Minted in Constantinople, Found in Beth Shean

The University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology

602-610 CE

Luke Pelcher

The University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology

https://beth-shean.squarespace.com/solidus-of-phocas

Gold, 18mm

Latin

Coin

31-50-395