Enigmatic Four Nummi

174, Lot: 272. Estimate $300. Sold for $900. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

Heraclius(?). 610-641. Æ Four Nummi (12mm, 1.01 g). Alexandria (?) mint. Cross in circle with trace of marginal legend / D. DOC -; MIB -; SB -. Near VF, heavy green patina. Very rare.

From the Chris Connell Collection.

A most enigmatic issue, known from only a handful of specimens. The types are simple, and provide few clues for attribution beyond a probable late Roman / early Byzantine date. The only Byzantine mint known to have struck four nummi pieces is Thessalonica under Justinian I, but Thessalonica, along with Alexandria struck anomalous denominations under a local currency system, and the latter mint is not out of the question. One note that could be made is the similarity of the obverse type with the anonymous bronzes of Ethiopian Axum, which circulated in Egypt and Syria/Palestine in the late 6th / early 7th century, and were even extensively copied in the region. Alexandria during the reign of Heraclius would be as good a guess as any.