Byzantine Weights, Circa 6th-7th centuries. Weight of 1 Nomisma (Glass, 25 mm, 4.20 g), Constantinopolis (?). Facing bust of an unknown eparch; around, illegible legend. Rev. Blank. Good fine.

Almost all known Byzantine glass weights are coin weights for solidi, semisses and tremisses. They were widely used in the 6th and 7th centuries and are usually signed by an eparch in the form of a monogram. Whether this is always the eparch of Constantinopolis, as has been suggested, is a matter of debate, as other great cities such as Antiochia-Theoupolis and Alexandria will undeniably have produced their own coin weights. In any case, the survivability rate of glass weights must have been quite low due to their fragility, and they are, as a result, quite rare