Macedonian Renaissance Byzantine Coins: Rulers, Types & Collecting Guide
Macedonian Renaissance Byzantine Coins: Rulers, Types & Collecting Guide
Gold nomismata, silver miliaresia, and the anonymous folles that put Christ at the center.
Ancient Greek and Roman coins often receive the most attention from collectors, but Byzantine coinage offers an equally rich combination of history, religious imagery, imperial politics, and monetary change.
The Macedonian dynasty began with Basil I in 867 and is conventionally considered to end with the death of Empress Theodora in 1056, a period of major political, military, intellectual, and artistic developments grouped under the term "Macedonian Renaissance."
Key Rulers and Denominations
Coinage was an important part of that world, circulating the emperor's image and titles, communicating religious and dynastic ideas, and serving taxation, military pay, commerce, and daily exchange. The designs are especially notable for the renewed and increasingly prominent use of sacred imagery following the final restoration of icons in 843.
- Basil I (867 to 886), founder of the Macedonian dynasty
- Leo VI (886 to 912), his gold coinage prominently featured the Virgin Mary
- Basil II (976 to 1025), ruled during one of Byzantium's greatest periods of military and political power
- Gold nomisma, the principal high-value gold coin, later divided into forms including the histamenon and tetarteron
- Bronze follis, the everyday bronze denomination, with designs and standards that changed considerably
- Silver miliaresion, an established silver denomination, scarcer today than many bronze issues
The principal gold denomination is often called the solidus in modern collecting language, but the Byzantine term nomisma is more useful for this period. The gold standard established centuries earlier remained important, but the system evolved: by the later tenth and eleventh centuries collectors encounter gold denominations such as the histamenon and tetarteron, so it is misleading to treat every Macedonian-era gold coin simply as an unchanged solidus. Bronze also changed substantially, the familiar early Byzantine system of large bronzes marked 40, 20, or 10 nummi belongs to an earlier period beginning with the reforms of Anastasius I, and Macedonian-era folles should not be described as though that sixth-century structure survived unchanged.
The Artistry: Emperor Beneath Christ
The coinage did not remain artistically static across nearly two centuries, portrait styles, religious imagery, inscriptions, denominations, flan shapes, and metal standards all evolved. What remains strikingly consistent is the use of coinage as a statement of imperial legitimacy and the emperor's relationship with Christianity. By the time Basil I took the throne in 867, Iconoclasm had ended in 843, and the restoration of icons opened the way for religious figures to return prominently to imperial art and coinage. The resulting coins often presented the emperor's authority as existing beneath, and in service to, divine authority.
Coins of Basil I illustrate this especially well: on one gold coin Christ appears enthroned, while Basil I and Eudokia Ingerina appear together holding a patriarchal cross, imperial rule shown within a Christian framework. Leo VI's gold is another key example, with Leo holding a globus cruciger and the Virgin Mary in the orans posture of prayer, his reign introduced the Virgin prominently into the gold coinage. Later Macedonian-era issues continued to experiment with the relationship between sacred and imperial imagery, showing Christ, the Virgin, or the emperor in increasingly elaborate combinations.
The Anonymous Folles: An Affordable Entry
By the late tenth and early eleventh centuries, the famous anonymous folles placed Christ prominently on the coin while omitting the emperor's portrait and the old large value marks. Bronze coins provide a much more affordable entry point than gold: these anonymous Christ folles, beginning in the late tenth century, let collectors own a coin tied directly to the religious and political culture of Middle Byzantium without the price of gold.
Gold nomismata remained famous for their high fineness for much of Byzantine history, although debasement became significant in the eleventh century, Michael IV's reign marks an important stage, accelerating under later emperors. Rather than assigning one purity figure to the entire dynasty, it is more accurate to evaluate gold content by ruler, denomination, and issue.
Hold what the greats held.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Macedonian Renaissance coinage?
Byzantine gold, silver, and bronze coinage associated with the era conventionally dated from Basil I in 867 to Theodora in 1056.
What is a good starter coin?
A bronze follis is often the most approachable choice because many examples are affordable and historically distinctive, especially the anonymous Christ folles.
Why collect it?
The period combines major emperors, Christian iconography, monetary change, and both affordable bronze coins and prestigious gold issues.
History wasn't just written. It was minted.
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