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[M]

M

Maniakion - a golden necklace, part of the imperial attire

Manus Dei(Latin - the hand of God) -

Mappa - a scroll, like akakia

Milaresion - heavy silver Byzantine coin. The nominal was officially introduced by the Romans

Mint mark or Mintmark - A sequence of letters or symbols that show which mint struck the coin

Monogram - Two or more letters combined into a single design

Monogram "Tsar" - - monogram of the title tsar - the slavonic word and title for "emperor". It consist of 2 letters - Ц and Р. Used on Bulgarians and Serbian coins

N

Nimbate -  nimbus or halo surrounding the head

Nummus - small Byzantine bronze coin

O

Officina letter - letter marking the workshop within the mint, that produced it

P

Paludamentum - a cloak or cape fastened at one shoulder, worn by military commanders and (less often) by their troops

Patriarch cross -

Pendilia -  pendant or dangling ornaments for crowns

Politikon - billon Byzantine coin

S

Scyphate - a term frequently used in numismatics to refer to the concave or "cup-shaped" Byzantine coins of the 11th–14th centuries

Scipio - Ivory scepter, surmounted by eagle.

Semissis - Byzantine gold coin equal to half solidus. The coin was officially introduced by emperor Constantine the Great

Seraph - type of celestial fiery six-winged being.

Siliqua - Byzantine silver coin.

Solid - Byzantine gold coin. The highest nominal. The coin was officially introduced by emperor Constantine the Great

Srebrenik - Russian silver coin

Stemma - Byzantine and Bulgarian imperial crown. Usually decorated with pendilia

T

Tremissis - Byzantine gold coin equal to 1/3 solid. The coin was officially introduced by emperor Constantine I the Great

Tsar - Slavonic title equal to emperor.

V

Virgin Hagiosoritissa -

Virgin Omen -

Virgin Orans -

[A]

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

If you are novice in numismatics that one is for you:
1 -  The first thing you notice is the metal of the coin. The most 6  fundamental metals are – gold, electron(an alloy of gold and silver, with less than 50% gold), silver, billon(an alloy of silver and copper, with less than 50% silver), bronze and copper
2 – The second thing you should pay attention is the size, shape(flat or concave) and weight of the coin, if you can measure all of them you should be able to realize what is the nominal of the coin
3 –  Next step is to identify the image of the obverse
4 – Step number four is for coins, better than good fine – it’s identifying the inscription of the  obverse. After you do it you will be able to realize the ruler, who minted it.
5 – Identifying the image of the reverse
6 – Like step number 4, but here the inscription of the reverse is the one to pay attention to
7 – Examining the style of the coin itself, in contrast to the first 6 steps it’s a bit difficult to be done and needs a bit more practice.

Now after you know the 7 basic steps in identifying the coin you should be told how to use the catalogue itself:

1 – Really the first division we used is the orthodox countries themselves. Then the rulers of each are allocated according to a specific indication.
2 – Now the coins themselves – the fist indication we use to arrange them is their nominal, from gold to copper(with few exceptions due to quite unusual combination of nominal and metal)
3 – Next indication is the time they were minted and earlier coins are the first to be shown
4 – Last indication(not always used) is the mint, that produced the coin 

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