Byzantine mints
Location Attested activity Mint mark Comments
Adrianople 1354-1356 Active as a mint for the co-emperor Matthew Kantakouzenos during his rule over Thrace ( 1347-1357 ) . Didymoteichon is an alternative site
Alexandretta 609-610 ΑΛΕΞΑΝΔ Active during Heraclius 's ( r . 610-641- ) revolt against Phocas ( r . 602-610- )
Alexandria Before 330 to after 475 , c. 525-646 ΑΛΕΞ , ΑΛΞΟΒ Active from before Diocletian ( r . 284-305- ) to the reign of Zeno ( r . 475-491- ) as the mint of the Diocese of Egypt . Re-established c. 525 , active until its fall to the Arabs
Antioch Before 330 to after 475 , c. 512-610 ΑΝ , ΑΝΤΙΚ , ΑΝΤΧ ; THEUP , THEUPO , ΘVΠOΛS Active from before Diocletian ( r . 284-305- ) to the reign of Zeno ( r . 475-491- ) as the mint of the Diocese of the East . Re-established by Anastasius I ( r . 491-518- ) . Renamed to Theoupolis ( Greek : Θεούπολις , City of God ) after the 526 earthquake . No coins are attested after 610 , its establishment having probably been transferred to Jerusalem ( see below )
Arta c. 1204-1271 Main mint for the Despotate of Epirus . Attribution is conjectural but probable , as Arta was the capital of Epirus
Carthage 533 - c. 695 CAR , KAR , KART , CT , CRTG , KRTG Established by Diocletian ( r . 284-305- ) c. 296 but suppressed in 307 and its staff transferred to Ostia . A new mint was established by the Vandals there , and was taken over by the Byzantines in 533 . Extant until c. 692/693 or 695 , when it was moved to Sardinia before the threat of Arab conquest
Carthagena c. 560-624 Active in southern Spain until the fall of the last Byzantine strongholds to the Visigoths in c. 624
Catania c. 582-629 CAT Established in 582/583 and last coinage attested in 628/629
Cherson 6th century , late 9th - early 11th centuries ΧΕΡCWΝΟC , ΧΕΡCΟΝΟC , Active under Justinian I ( r . 527-565- ) , Maurice ( r . 582-602- ) , and from the reign of Basil I ( r . 867-886- ) to Basil II ( r . 976-1025- )
Constantia in Cyprus 610 and c. 626-629 ΚΥΠΡΟV , ΚΥΠΡΕ , KYΠΡ , CΠΡ Active during Heraclius 's revolt and again in 626-629 , chiefly to cover military needs
Constantina in Numidia 540/541-592/593 CON Only sporadically active , attribution now generally dismissed
Constantinople 330-1204 , 1261-1453 CON , CONOB , CONOS , COB Active throughout the Byzantine era , except for the period where it functioned as the mint of the Latin Empire ( 1204-1261 )
Cyzicus 518-629 KYZ , KY Active since before Diocletian ( r . 284-305- ) , who made it the mint for the Diocese of Asia . Re-established by Anastasius I ( r . 491-518- ) , it remained active until 629/630 , with an interruption in 614/615-625/626 due to the war with Sassanid Persia
Isaura 617/618-618/619 ISAYR Established to cover military needs in the war against Sassanid Persia . Transferred from Seleucia in 617 , and suppressed soon after , probably due to the Persian advance
Jerusalem 608-614/615 ΙΠ , ΙΧ , IEΡOCO , XC NIKA Established in 608/609 during Heraclius 's revolt by Phocas loyalists , possibly by transfer of the Antioch mint , and survived until the Sassanid Persians took the city in 614/615
Magnesia 1214-1261 Main mint and treasury of the Empire of Nicaea after the transfer of the Nicaea mint there
Naples After c. 661 to c. 830-840 NE Active from the reign of Constantine IV ( r . 641-685- ) , probably after c. 661/662 when it became the seat of a doux , to Theophilos ( r . 829-842- ) . Effectively outside imperial control as the doux became increasingly independent
Nicaea c. 1208-1214 Main mint of the Empire of Nicaea until transferred to Magnesia , probably both because of the proximity to Latin territory in Bithynia and to be closer to the Nicaean emperors ' favourite residence , Nymphaion
Nicomedia 498-627 NIK , NIKO , NIC , NIKM , NIKOMI , NI Established by Diocletian ( r . 284-305- ) c. 294 for the Diocese of Pontus . Active until the late 5th century , reopened by Anastasius I ( r . 491-518- ) c. 498 and active until 629/630 , with an interruption in 617/618-625/626 due to the war with Sassanid Persia
Nicosia 1184-1191 Main mint of the usurper Isaac Komnenos . Other mints were also established on the island of Cyprus
List
The East Roman or Byzantine Empire established and operated several mints throughout its history (330-1453). Aside from the main metropolitan mint in the capital, Constantinople, a varying number of provincial mints were also established in other urban centres, especially during the 6th century. Most provincial mints except for Syracuse were closed or lost to invasions by the mid-7th century. After the loss of Syracuse in 878, Constantinople became the sole mint for gold and silver coinage until the late 11th century, when major provincial mints began to re-appear. Many mints, both imperial and, as the Byzantine world fragmented, belonging to autonomous local rulers, were operated in the 12th to 14th centuries. Constantinople and Trebizond, the seat of the independent Empire of Trebizond (1204-1461), survived until their conquest by the Ottoman Turks in the mid-15th century.