John III Ducas (Vatatzes), emperor of Nicaea, 1222-1254. Hyperpyron (Gold, 25 mm, 4.26 g, 6 h), Magnesia. IC - XC Christ, nimbate, seated facing on throne, wearing tunic and pallium, raising his right hand in benediction and holding book of Gospels in his left; in field to left and right, IC - XC. Rev. John III standing facing on the left, wearing divitision and loros, holding anexikakia in his left hand and labarum in his right, crowned by the Virgin Mary, nimbate, standing facing on the right; on the heads of John and the Virgin, two countermarks, each showing an imperial head facing, bearded and wearing crown with pendilia. DOC -, cf. 6 (for undertype). Lianta -, cf. (for undertype). Leu Web Auction 30 (2024), 3137. SB -, cf. 2073 (for undertype). Extremely rare. Some light scratches and with a few minor deposits, otherwise, about extremely fine.



After the example offered in Leu 30 (2024), 3137, this is the second known hyperpyron of John III Ducas with the odd countermarks of two imperial heads on the reverse. The identity of this ruler (or these rulers) remains unclear. The pendilia suggest imperial rank, which, besides a Byzantine ruler, could only point to the Bulgarian tsar. This leads one to think of Ivan Asen II, who, after the Battle of Klokotnitsa around 1230, controlled large parts of the Balkans and styled himself as the legitimate successor to the Byzantines. However, why the countermarks were applied to a coin of John III, with whom Ivan was allied, and why the Virgin Mary was also overstruck, remains a mystery.