Histamenon Of Basil II

''Histamenon'' (, ''histámenon ómisma' ) was the name given to the gold Byzantine '' solidus'' when the slightly lighter ''tetarteron'' was introduced in the 960s. To distinguish the two, the ''histamenon'' was changed in form from the original ''solidus'', becoming wider and thinner, as well as concave ( scyphate) in form. Later usually shortened to ''stamenon'' (), it was discontinued after 1092. In the 12th and 13th centuries, the name ''stamenon'' came to be applied to the concave billon and copper ''trachea'' coins.

Establishment

Ever since Emperor Constantine I () introduced it in 309, the Byzantine Empire's main coinage had been the high-quality '' solidus'' or ''nomisma'', which had remained standard in weight (4.55 grams) and gold content (24  carats) through the centuries. Emperor Nikephoros II Phokas (), however, introduced a new coin, the '' omismatetarteron'' ("quarter oin) which was 2 carats (i.e. about ¹⁄₁₂, despite its name) lighter than the original ''nomisma''. The latter now became known as the ''histamenon'', from the Greek verb , "to stand up", implying that these followed the traditional standard. The reasons for this change are not clear; Byzantine chroniclers, however, suggest fiscal motives, reporting that Nikephoros collected the taxes as before in the ''histamenon'' while paying back with the ''tetarteron'', which was officially rated as equal in value to the full-weight coin.

Initially, the two coins were virtually indistinguishable except in weight. During the later reign of Basil II (), the ''tetarteron'' began to be minted in a thicker and smaller form, while the ''histamenon'' became correspondingly thinner and wider. Only during the sole rule of Constantine VIII () did the two coins become iconographically distinct as well. By the mid-11th century, the ''tetarteron'' measured 18 mm wide and its weight apparently standardized at 3.98 grams, i.e. three carats less than the ''histamenon'' or ''stamenon'' (a name first attested in 1030), which now measured 25 mm in diameter (as opposed to 20 mm for the original ''solidus''). In addition, under Michael IV the Paphlagonian (), it began to be minted in a slightly concave (scyphate) form, possibly to increase the thin coin's strength and to make it less easily bent. Flat coins were still struck at times, but scyphate ones came to predominate from Constantine IX () on and became standard under Isaac I Komnenos (). These concave coins were known as ''histamena trachea'' or simply ''trachea'' (τραχέα, "rough, uneven") from their shape.

Debasement and abolition

Starting with Michael IV, who was a former money lender, the gold content began to be increasingly lowered and the coins debased. After a period of relative stability in –1070, the gold content declined dramatically in the disastrous 1070s and 1080s. The '' michaelata'' of Michael VII Doukas () still contained some 16 carats of gold, but by the time of Alexios I Komnenos (), the ''nomismata'' struck contained almost no gold at all. Thus, in 1092, Alexios I carried out a comprehensive monetary reform, replacing among others the debased gold coins, both the ''histamenon'' and the ''tetarteron'', with a new high-quality gold issue, the ''hyperpyron''.

Henceforth, and for the duration of the Komnenian monetary system (12th–13th centuries), the term ''stamenon'', due to its association with scyphate coins, came to be applied as a blanket term to the similarly concave billon and copper coins (''trachea'') issued by the Byzantine Empire.

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{{Byzantine coinage

Gold coins
Coins of the Byzantine Empire