Constans II Pogonatus (AD 641-668). AV solidus (10mm, 4.44 gm, 7h). NGC XF 4/5 - 4/5....
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Constans II Pogonatus (AD 641-668). AV solidus (10mm, 4.44 gm, 7h). NGC XF 4/5 - 4/5. Carthage, Indictional Year 3 (AD 644/645). D N CON-STAtIN P, bust of Constans II facing, beardless, wearing crown and chlamys, globus cruciger in right hand / VICTOR-I A?? ? G (Indictional date), cross potent on three steps; P in right field, CONOB below. Sear 1030. The thick and compact shape of the globular solidus is amusing and remarkable to us now, but it must have not been that way for the people of Late Antiquity as there are no specific mentions of these coins in any contemporary historical sources. Upon closer inspection, it would seem that the globular solidi were wholly unique issues of the Byzantine Maghreb under the Heraclian dynasty. Carthage was the capital of the Exarchate of Africa and the location of the second largest gold mint in the Byzantine Empire, proving vital to the success of the one hundred year reign of the Heraclian imperial dynasty at Constantinople. Massive wars were fought between the Byzantine Empire and its invading neighbors--consisting of many conquests, losses, and reconquests--splitting the land and sea connections between the various imperial provinces. Two dates in the seventh century mark the bifurcation of the Mediterranean gold bullion supply chain for the Carthage mint: the Visigothic conquest of remaining Byzantine territory on the southern Iberian Peninsula by 625 AD (which concluded Carthage's access to its largest nearby gold mines) and the closure of the mint of Alexandria by the Umayyads in 646 AD (the only other imperial mint in Africa, also near large gold mines). A new trade route for gold supply must have been sought with geographic distance from the Byzantine Empire's competitors to the northwest and the east. Renowned archaeologist David W. Phillipson has published the main hypothesis for the shape of the globular solidus, based on fascinating recent discoveries which he examines in his article "Trans-Saharan gold ...
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