Byzantine hyperpyron

E792636

The Byzantine hyperpyron was a high-purity gold coin introduced in the late Byzantine Empire as its principal currency, replacing the earlier solidus.

All labels observed (2)

Label Occurrences
Byzantine hyperpyron canonical 2
histamenon nomisma 1

How this entity was disambiguated

Statements (47)

Predicate Object
instanceOf Byzantine coin
gold coin
medieval currency
alsoKnownAs hyperpyron nomisma
linked to: hyperpyron
category Byzantine numismatics
circulationArea Anatolia
Balkans
Eastern Mediterranean
countryOfOrigin Byzantine Empire
decline progressive debasement over time
denominationSystem Byzantine monetary system
linked to: Byzantine coinage
endTime 14th century
era late Byzantine period
etymology from Greek "hyperpyron" meaning "super-refined" or "highly fired"
follows Byzantine solidus
goldContent about 20.5 carats
historicalPeriod High Middle Ages
Late Middle Ages
influenced Venetian ducat
other medieval European gold coins
introducedBy Alexios I Komnenos
languageOfInscription Medieval Greek
material gold
mintedIn Constantinople
provincial Byzantine mints
monetaryReformOf Alexios I Komnenos
obverseDesign Christ
religious imagery
precededBy histamenon nomisma
tetarteron nomisma
purity high-purity gold
replaced Byzantine solidus
replacedCurrency debased histamenon nomisma
tetarteron nomisma
reverseDesign Byzantine emperor
linked to: Byzantine emperors

imperial imagery
servedAs unit of account in Byzantine Empire
shape flat coin
standardWeight about 4.45 grams
startTime 1092
subunit tetarteron (copper) as small change
trachy
succeededBy late Byzantine silver and billon coinage
usedAs principal currency of the Byzantine Empire
usedIn international trade in the Eastern Mediterranean
trade with Italian maritime republics
valueRelativeToSolidus introduced as replacement for debased solidus

How these facts were elicited

Referenced by (3)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Byzantine solidus followedBy Byzantine hyperpyron
perpera relatedTo Byzantine hyperpyron
Byzantine hyperpyron precededBy histamenon nomisma
linked to: Byzantine hyperpyron