Basil I the Macedonian, with Constantine, 867-886. Tremissis (Electrum, 12 mm, 0.83 g, 12 h), Syracuse. bASILЄIOC Facing bust of Basil I, wearing crown surmounted by cross and loros, holding cross potent in his right hand. Rev. CONSTANT Facing bust of Constantine, wearing crown surmounted by cross and chlamys, holding globus cruciger in his right hand. DOC -. SB -. Apparently unpublished and unique. Struck from somewhat worn dies and with a minor flan crack, otherwise, very fine.


This intriguing coin is a newly discovered Tremissis of Basil I from Syracuse, previously unknown. It differs from the recorded type (DOC 16 = SB 1716, known from a unique example in the ANS collection) in two key ways. First, the known type features the letter 'b' at the end of both the obverse and reverse legends, but our coin lacks any letter after the emperors' names. Second, in the recorded type, both Basil I and Constantine are shown holding a cross potent in their right hands. While Basil I retains this attribute on our coin, Constantine instead holds a globus cruciger, as seen on the semissis (SB 1714-1715), although on that issue, both emperors hold it.