Product Overview
This Byzantine gold solidus coin was struck in nearly pure gold over 1,400 years ago under the emperor Maurice Tiberius. The coin would have circulated widely throughout Europe and beyond, and was the highest denomination generally in use during this era. The coin is in superb condition with only minor signs of use in ancient times, and comes presented in an attractive case with a certificate of authenticity.

Following the steady technological, social and philosophical advancements of Ancient Greece and the golden days of the Roman Empire, the Western world entered into an era of regression starting with the fragmenting of the Roman Empire in the fifth century CE. By the sixth century CE, the area that was ancient Rome had become what we now call the Byzantine Empire. The empire continued to ebb and flow in a wave of decline and recovery for a millennium after the disjunction of the Western Roman Empire, until it crumbled to the Ottoman Turks in 1453. 

The nearly pure gold solidi coins were used for large transactions. Soldiers were generally paid using gold solidi, and in fact the word soldier is derived from the name of this coin.

About Emperor Maurice Tiberius (born 539, Cappadocia; died 602, Constantinople)
Tiberius was an outstanding general and emperor, who helped transform the shattered late Roman Empire into a new and well-organized medieval Byzantine Empire.

Includes:
• Byzantine Gold Solidus Emperor Maurice Tiberius 582–602 CE
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