Byzantine Half Solidus Weight

£ 75.00

A Byzantine bronze square-shaped coin weight, engraved using the chasing technique of hammering small dots into the weight to form the Greek letters iota and beta, I and B, which refer to the weight’s size and dimensions. Such weight would have been used to weigh 12 sliquae or half nomisma-solidus. Square was the predominant shape for weights dating between the 4th and late 6th century AD.

Date: Circa 4th-6th Century AD
Condition: Fine condition, some green and brown patination to the surface.

SOLD

SKU: CS-263 Category: Tag:

Sets of standard balance weights were used to precisely weigh goods in the Byzantine world. Weights produced during the Byzantine Era were made of gold, silver, bronze, lead, glass, and stone and were generally shaped as squares, discs or flattened spheres.

Weight 13.25 g
Dimensions W 1.7 cm
Culture

Metal

Region