A
Akakia - A cylindrical purple silk roll containing dust, held by the Byzantine emperors during ceremonies. It was intended to remind the emperor of his mortality. Also see - mappa
Anexikakia - see akakia
Archangel Michael -
- A chief commander of all the bodiless powers. On the coins he is usually depicted as angel in military attire, holding sword and sometimes globus cruciger
Aspra - Bulgarian silver coin
Aspron - Trebizond silver coins
Assarion - Byzantine copper coins
B
Basileus - Byzantine imperial title
Basilikon - Byzantine silver coin
Billon - An alloy of bronze (which consists of copper and tin) and silver, with more than 50% bronze
Bronze - An alloy of copper and tin
C
Chi-Rho - - A monogram made up of the Greek letters Chi and Rho
Chlamys - Imperial cloack, held on with a clasp at the shoulder, and nearly reached the ground at front and back
Christ Chalkit - - Full length facing-standing figure of Christ, blessing with His Right and holding Gospel with His left hand
Christ Emmanuel - - young, beardless Christ
Christ Pantocrator - -
Christogram - see Chi-Rho
Concave - like cupboard form
Cross potent -
Cuirassed - Wearing a cuirass, the top section of a suit of armour. Used to describe the bust of an emperor. Often used together with draped, as "draped and cuirassed," in which case only a fraction of the armour might be visible.
D
Decanummium - Byzantine bronze coin equal to 10 nummi
Despot(Greek - master) - official high title, usually given by the emperor
Diadem - An ornate headband, tied at the back
Die - In connection with coins, this means the stamp which placed the impression or design on a blank coin flan
Divitision - Imperial attire, imperial robe with long sleeves, reaching the legs of the ruler. Usually worn under Chlamys, loros or sagion
Drapped - Wearing clothing other than armour. Used to describe the bust of an emperor. Wearing clothing without armour would be "draped"; wearing something such as a cloak over armour would be called "draped and cuirassed".
E
Exegurial line - a line drawn to separate space from the rest of the coin in the reverse
Exergue(ex.) - A space at the bottom of the reverse of a coin. There is, a line(exegurial line) drawn to separate this space from the rest of the coin. Mint Marks and sometimes officina letters are placed there.
F
Flan - The blank from which a coin is struck. It can be either flat or concaved. In the catalogue all coins are flat if not described as concaved
Follis - Byzantine bronze coin equal to 40 nummi. Most of them have marking sign M on the reverse
G
Grosh - Bulgarian silver coin
H
Heavenly Image -
- The history of the icon of Christ "not made by hand" goes back to a miracle that Jesus performed for king Abgar of Edessa when, at the king's request, Jesus restored the king's health by sending him an imprint of his Holy Face on a linnen cloth. It’s really the first Christian icon, but unfortunately disappeared after the 4ft Crusade.
Hyperpyronus - concaved gold or electron Byzantine and Bulgarian coin.
I
Indiction - 15-year-cycle
K
Knjaz or
Knez - Slavonic title equal to king or prince
L
Labarum - Military flag
Legend - Inscriptions of the coin, except letters marking officinas, indictions and value, as well as letters in the fields
Loros - Part from the imperial attire, a symbol of triumph. It is a large piece of cloth, usually decorated with gold and gems, belted and going over the left arm of the ruler