中世前期 ブロンズ “N”と表示された重さは“nomisma”を示し、“one solidus”のためである。 - 14 mm (No reserve price)

Early Medieval Bronze Coin Weights for the Nomisma (Solidus) (3)

Culture / Period: Early Medieval
Date / Period: 6th–9th century A.D.
Material: Bronze
Dimensions: Approximately 14 mm each
Condition: Good condition

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Provenance information:
Object Registration ID: 762
The current owner purchased this object from a reputable Dutch numismatic auction house in Schiedam, the Netherlands. Due to privacy regulations, the name of the previous owner could not be disclosed. No further information concerning the earlier ownership history of the object was available from the previous owner.

Background Information:
This group consists of three square bronze coin weights dating to the Early Medieval period. One weight bears the incised Greek letter Ν (Nu), traditionally interpreted as referring to the Nomisma, the standard Byzantine gold coin also known as the Solidus. The remaining weights display punched dot patterns and linear marks, typical of official or workshop-produced coin weights used in commercial transactions.

The Byzantine nomisma was one of the most trusted and stable gold currencies of the medieval world. Introduced in Late Antiquity and maintained for centuries, it became the international standard for long-distance trade throughout the Mediterranean, the Balkans, the Near East, and parts of Western Europe. Because the value of the coin depended upon its precise weight, merchants, money changers, tax officials, and administrators routinely employed calibrated bronze weights to verify genuine specimens.

Coin weights were produced in specialised workshops and often bore letters, symbols, or decorative punch marks identifying their intended denomination or official standard. Similar examples have been recovered from Byzantine cities, trading centres, ports, and archaeological sites across the Eastern Mediterranean and Europe, reflecting the extensive commercial networks sustained by Byzantine currency.

Dating to the 6th–9th century A.D., these weights belong to a period when Byzantine economic influence extended far beyond the Empire's political borders. Their survival illustrates the sophisticated systems of commerce, taxation, and monetary control that underpinned medieval trade.