Ancient Byzantine Gold Solidus

The Solidus is a very rare Byzantine gold collector coin. It is a coin from the ancient Byzantine Empire. The word Solidus is a Latin word meaning ‘solid’. The plural of Solidus is Solidi. Solidus was introduced by the great emperor Constantine in 309-310. The coin was produced and used through the whole Empire of Byzantine. The Solidus is a solid and pure gold coin with high purchasing power. These coins were usually marked as wealth and were never used by the common citizens. Solidi were primarily used to make military payments. During the campaigns against the ‘Vandals’ the Solidi were paid to the Roman soldiers to arrange for transport and house. The term ‘Soldier’ derived from the Solidus, to describe the persons who were paid by Solidi. The coins introduced by Constantine had a value of 1/72 of a Roman pound that comes around to 4.5 grams. The thickness of the coin was less than aureus. The Solidus was produced in two forms, ‘semissis’ and ‘tremissis’. The half Solidi were known as ‘semissis’ and one third Solidi were known as ‘tremissis’. The Solidus left a notable impact on the world currency namely on France, Italy, Spain and United Kingdom. The French named their gold coin ‘Sou’. The medieval Italian gold coin ‘Soldo’ and the medieval Spanish gold coin ‘Sueldo’ were also named after the Solidus. The abbreviation’s’ from the original word Solidus, was used to represent a shilling before 1971 in the United Kingdom. The Solidus throughout the years had been passed through generations as a symbol of the history. It is probably the rarest Roman and Byzantine gold coin and there are only some pieces available at present. The Constantine coinage collapsed during the barbarian invasions in the early 5th century. By the time of Anastasius in 491, only the solidus, semissus (1/2 solidus) and tremissis (1/3 solidus), and a tiny copper coin called the nummus