Trachy Coin: The Unique Scyphate Currency

Illustrated Specimen Details: Bulgarian Imitation of Byzantine Trachy

Example Specimen: Copper Trachy, approximately 13th century (Bulgarian Empire, imitation of Byzantine coin)

Iconography & Origin: This scyphate (concave) copper coin is a regional imitation of a Byzantine trachy originally issued under Emperor Isaac II Angelos. Due to its crude style and fabric, numismatic catalogs attribute this specific piece to Bulgarian imitations from the 13th century, making precise dating impossible. The obverse traditionally features the Virgin Mary holding the baby Jesus Christ. The reverse depicts the Emperor wearing a crown and holding a cross-shaped sceptre. On the original Byzantine prototypes, a legend reading ICAAKIOC DECPOTH (Isaac despot, meaning ruler) would be clearly visible, though on this heavily circulated imitation, the inscription is completely erased.

1. BYZANTINE EMPIRE and IMITATIONS OF BYZANTINE COINS (circulating from the 11th to the 14th centuries): trachy

About the name: The name of the trachy derives directly from the medieval Greek word "τραχύς" (trachys), which translates to "rough" or "uneven", perfectly describing the irregular fabric of the coin.

Among collectors and historians, these coins are frequently referred to as "Aspron trachy nomisma" (from Greek, meaning "light uneven coin"), or colloquially as "cup-shaped coins" and "cup money". In formal numismatic terminology, this distinctive type is classified as "nummi scyphati" (from the Latin "scyphati" — meaning concave), where the obverse is struck on the convex side and the reverse sits within the concave depression.

History and Evolution of the Byzantine Trachy

The trachy was a highly distinctive cup-shaped coin type of the Byzantine Empire and stands as one of the most recognizable forms of late medieval coinage. It emerged as a principal medium-value denomination, circulating widely across the Eastern Mediterranean trade networks, Anatolia, and the Balkans.

Origins and The Scyphate Shape

The first trachy coins appeared at the end of the 11th century during the sweeping monetary reforms of Emperor Alexios I Komnenos. Unlike traditional flat currency, trachies were intentionally bent inward like shallow bowls. The practical reason for this unique scyphate shape remains debated, though many historians believe it was designed for convenience — the curvature made the coins significantly easier to lift from a flat merchant's table. They formed a crucial part of a complex late Byzantine monetary system centered around the standard gold hyperpyron.

Metallurgical Decline: From Electrum to Copper

Initially, trachies were large, prestigious coins struck in electrum (an alloy of gold and silver). However, over decades of political fragmentation and economic instability, the empire experienced severe currency debasement. The coins were repeatedly trimmed, reducing their overall weight and intrinsic value. Later issues were reduced to billon (a low-grade silver alloy); while early billon trachies contained up to 10% silver, later generations dropped to roughly 2%, often utilizing a thin surface silvering to maintain appearances. Eventually, many became pure copper.

Bulgarian and Regional Imitations

A massive and historically fascinating subset of this coinage consists of the so-called Bulgarian (or Thracian and Balkan) imitations. Following the devastating capture of Constantinople by the Crusaders in 1204, a massive shortage of official currency spurred the creation of unofficial mints.

Produced in the Latin Crusader states, as well as Bulgarian and Serbian territories, these imitative coins copied the religious imagery, imperial portraits (such as Manuel I Komnenos, Isaac II Angelos, or Alexios III Angelos), and the signature cup shape of the Byzantine prototypes from the end of the 12th century. However, they were distinctively lower in quality — lighter in weight, struck with primitive, crude engraving, and containing almost zero silver (often less than 1%).

These imitation coins were officially and legally used in monetary circulation throughout the lands of Southern Bulgaria and Northern Greece during the 13th century, with some regional production continuing into the 14th century. Because they were minted in such astronomical quantities during wartime, modern numismatists encounter these crude copper imitations far more frequently than the expensive, relatively rare electrum and billon prototypes from the 11th to the 12th centuries.