PENTANUMMIUM: COIN OF BYZANTIUM
Pentanummium, 565-578: Byzantine Empire (Eastern Roman Empire)
Ruler: Justin II — Eastern Roman Emperor (Byzantine emperor) from 565 until 578.
Є: designation of the denomination of the coin — 5 nummi or pentanummium.
K: Cyzicus Mint (Ancient Greek "Κύζικος"). Cyzicus was an ancient Greek town in Mysia (Anatolia) in the current Balıkesir Province of Turkey.
Monogram of Emperor Justin II.
- Bronze: 15 mm - 1.26 g
- Reference price: 13$
COIN PENTANUMMIUM — WHERE & WHEN (coins catalog: by names & emitents)
- BYZANTINE EMPIRE (5th-7th centuries): pentanummium = 5 nummus
PENTANUMMIUM as coin name.
Pentanummium (Greek "πεντανούμμιον") — a small copper / bronze coin of Byzantium of low quality; equivalent to 5 nummi (singular: nummus). They were produced mostly during the 6th century.
Pentanummium is a fraction of nummus. During the 5th-8th centuries the Byzantine Empire used several similar denominations in monetary circulation, each of which bore a corresponding letter designation on the reverse. For example: "Є" — pentanummium (5 nummi), "I" — decanummium (10 nummi), "K" — semifollis (20 nummi), "M" — follis (40 nummi)...
Pentanummiums were issued by several Byzantine mints: Constantinople (now Istanbul, Turkey), Antioch (now the Turkish city of Antakya), Nicomedia (also Turkey today, the outskirts of Istanbul), Ravenna (now Italy), Chersonesus (modern Sevastopol; Autonomous Republic of Crimea, Ukraine).
A typical plot of the coin: the obverse is a monogram or portrait of the ruler, the reverse is the designation of the denomination ("Є" = 5).
The weight of pentanummiums was close to 2-3 grams. The quality of these coins, like any other lowest denominations, is difficult to call high... As a result of this fact and the small size, it is extremely difficult to find pentanummiums in perfect condition in modern numismatic collections.
The name of the coin pentanummium literally means "five (Greek "πέντε") nummi".
