N., primikerios (?) and kouboukleisios, 10th century. Tessera (Lead, 18 mm, 3.72 g, 12 h). Large cruciform monogram KVPIЄ BOHΘЄI; in quadrants, TⲰ - CⲰ / Δ૪-ΛⲰ ('Lord, help your servant').
Rev. .../PIM,K,.../O, KOVR.../ЄICIO.../TO... in five or six lines. Unpublished in the standard references. An interesting and rare Byzantine tessera. Struck on a small blank
, otherwise, very fine.
From a European collection, formed before 2005.
In addition to copper tesserae, there are also several types of Byzantine lead tesserae preserved in various collections. These pieces, like ours, were produced with a boulloterion, a tool normally used to strike seals. However, unlike seals, these tesserae do not have a channel running through. Perhaps, like the copper tesserae, these lead tesserae are somehow related to charitable organizations. The combination of the titles of primikerios and kouboukleisios is unusual, as kouboukleisios was an ecclesiastical dignity, whereas a primikerios normally refers to an administrative office reserved for eunuchs. However, the patriarchate also used the term primikerios, and this tessera may have belonged to an official in service of the patriarch.
