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Hyperpyron
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<h2 id="history">History</h2> <p>The traditional gold currency of the Byzantine Empire had been the <i><a href="/facts/Solidus_(coin)/CwJjrjg6">solidus</a></i> or <i><a href="/facts/Nomisma/tMSVBt2N">nomisma</a></i>, whose gold content had remained steady at 24 <a href="/facts/Carat_(purity)/Wc5HBM0I">carats</a> for seven centuries and was consequently highly prized. From the 1030s, however, the coin was increasingly debased, until in the 1080s, following the military disasters and civil wars of the previous decade, its gold content was reduced to almost zero.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:2" href="#fn:2"><sup>2</sup></a> Consequently, in 1092, Emperor <a href="/facts/Alexios_I_Komnenos/bL2N7ksM">Alexios I Komnenos</a> (r. 1081–1118) undertook a drastic overhaul of the <a href="/facts/Byzantine_coinage/V6m1qTLE">Byzantine coinage</a> system and introduced a new gold coin, the <i>hyperpyron</i> (meaning "super-refined"). This was of the same standard weight (4.45 <a href="/facts/Gram/sRSW5RJb">grams</a>) as the <i>solidus</i>, but only 20.5 carat purity (0.854 fineness) instead of the standard 24 carat, resulting in a reduced gold content of only 4.1 <a href="/facts/Gram/sRSW5RJb">grams</a> instead of 4.8 grams. The lower purity was due to melting down and inclusion of earlier debased coins.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:3" href="#fn:3"><sup>3</sup></a> </p><p>The <i>hyperpyron</i> remained the standard gold coin until gold coins ceased to be minted by the Byzantines in the mid-14th century. It too, however, was subject to gradual debasement: under the <a href="/facts/Empire_of_Nicaea/YPY76v5U">Empire of Nicaea</a> (1204–1261), its gold content fell gradually to 18 carats, under <a href="/facts/Michael_VIII_Palaiologos/7mx2BoGN">Michael VIII Palaiologos</a> (r. 1259–1282) to 15 and under his son and successor <a href="/facts/Andronikos_II_Palaiologos/0PzuGENC">Andronikos II Palaiologos</a> (r. 1282–1328) to 12 carats. At the same time, the quality of the coins declined as well, and in the 14th century, their weight was far from uniform.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:4" href="#fn:4"><sup>4</sup></a> The last <i>hyperpyra</i>, and thus the last Byzantine gold coins, were struck by Emperor <a href="/facts/John_VI_Kantakouzenos/8uFJNxwa">John VI Kantakouzenos</a> (r. 1347–1352). The name remained in use thereafter solely as a <a href="/facts/Money_of_account/PFbrK8FM">money of account</a>, divided into 24 <i><a href="/facts/Keration/Wc5HBM0I">keratia</a></i>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:5" href="#fn:5"><sup>5</sup></a> </p><p>The name was adopted in various forms by Western Europeans (<a href="/facts/Latin_language/pM3Kge85">Latin</a>: <i>perperum</i>, <a href="/facts/Italian_language/YXsmvlQG">Italian</a>: <i>perpero</i>) and the <a href="/facts/Slavs/mphU6hzm">Slavic</a> countries of the <a href="/facts/Balkans/5Hy8ly0d">Balkans</a> (<i>perper</i>, <i>iperpero</i>, etc.) designating various coins, usually <a href="/facts/Silver/xXe41BGg">silver</a>, as well as moneys of account.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:6" href="#fn:6"><sup>6</sup></a> More often in the West the <i>hyperpyron</i> was called the <i><a href="/facts/Bezant/JdSuCkI2">bezant</a></i>, especially among Italian merchants. </p><p>In the early <a href="/facts/Komnenian_period/jkpu8BXq">Komnenian period</a>, the <i>hyperpyron</i> was the equivalent of three <a href="/facts/Electrum/SEDNoRaK">electrum</a> <i><a href="/facts/Trachy_(currency)/9fkDw5CU">trachea</a></i>, 48 <a href="/facts/Billon_(alloy)/SUywJWLK">billon</a> <i>trachea</i> or 864 <a href="/facts/Copper/I8PEE8oX">copper</a> <i><a href="/facts/Tetarteron/vr1QKCmj">tetartera</a></i>, although with the debasement of the <i>trachea</i> it eventually came to rate 12 electrum <i>trachea</i> and 288 to 384 billon <i>trachea</i>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:7" href="#fn:7"><sup>7</sup></a> In the 14th century, the <i>hyperpyron</i> equalled 12 of the new silver <i><a href="/facts/Basilikon/NfbMS1Np">basilika</a></i>, 96 <i><a href="/facts/Tornese/b8mUagMQ">tournesia</a></i>, 384 copper <i>trachea</i> and 768 copper <i><a href="/facts/Assarion/FdTBh8yo">assaria</a></i>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:8" href="#fn:8"><sup>8</sup></a> </p> <h2 id="see-also">See also</h2> <ul><li><a href="/facts/Medieval_Bulgarian_coinage/pb3KbrXM">Medieval Bulgarian coinage</a></li> <li><a href="/facts/Montenegrin_perper/dUPynSam">Montenegrin perper</a></li> <li><a href="/facts/Ragusan_perpera/d9xhAmc7">Ragusan perpera</a></li> <li><a href="/facts/Serbian_perper/alDnxspj">Serbian perper</a></li></ul> <h2 id="citations">Citations</h2> <h2 id="general-and-cited-sources">General and cited sources</h2> <ul><li>Grierson, Philip (1999). <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20131214000115/http://www.doaks.org/resources/publications/doaks-online-publications/byzantine-coinage"><i>Byzantine Coinage</i></a>. Washington, DC: Dumbarton Oaks. <a href="/facts/ISBN_(identifier)/15AdSPa9">ISBN</a> 978-0-88402-274-9. Archived from <a href="http://www.doaks.org/resources/publications/doaks-online-publications/byzantine-coinage">the original</a> on 2013-12-14.</li> <li><a href="/facts/Alexander_Kazhdan/VkGPcSod">Kazhdan, Alexander</a>, ed. (1991). <i><a href="/facts/The_Oxford_Dictionary_of_Byzantium/nSyEY2RN">The Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium</a></i>. New York and Oxford: Oxford University Press. <a href="/facts/ISBN_(identifier)/15AdSPa9">ISBN</a> 978-0-19-504652-6.</li></ul> <h2 id="further-reading">Further reading</h2> <ul><li>Grierson, Philip (1982). <a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=_kpOCsoUwksC"><i>Byzantine Coins</i></a>. London: Methuen. <a href="/facts/ISBN_(identifier)/15AdSPa9">ISBN</a> 978-0-416-71360-2.</li> <li>Hendy, Michael F. (1989). <a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=xjxoAAAAMAAJ"><i>The Economy, Fiscal Administration and Coinage of Byzantium</i></a>. London: Variorum Reprints. <a href="/facts/ISBN_(identifier)/15AdSPa9">ISBN</a> 0-86078-253-0.</li> <li>Hendy, Michael F. (1985). <a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=STZV-gc--04C"><i>Studies in the Byzantine Monetary Economy c. 300–1450</i></a>. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. <a href="/facts/ISBN_(identifier)/15AdSPa9">ISBN</a> 0-521-24715-2.</li></ul> <h2 id="external-links">External links</h2> <ul><li> Media related to Hyperpyron at Wikimedia Commons</li></ul> <h2 id="references">References</h2> <ol> <li id="fn:1"><p>Hyperpyron in "The Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium", Oxford Reference, Retrieved 24 February 2025 <a href="https://www.oxfordreference.com/display/10.1093/oi/authority.20110803095954839" target="_blank">https://www.oxfordreference.com/display/10.1093/oi/authority.20110803095954839</a> <a href="#fnref:1" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:2"><p>Grierson 1999, p. 10. - Grierson, Philip (1999). Byzantine Coinage. Washington, DC: Dumbarton Oaks. ISBN 978-0-88402-274-9. Archived from the original on 2013-12-14. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20131214000115/http://www.doaks.org/resources/publications/doaks-online-publications/byzantine-coinage" target="_blank">https://web.archive.org/web/20131214000115/http://www.doaks.org/resources/publications/doaks-online-publications/byzantine-coinage</a> <a href="#fnref:2" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:3"><p>Grierson 1999, p. 11; Kazhdan 1991, p. 964. - Grierson, Philip (1999). Byzantine Coinage. Washington, DC: Dumbarton Oaks. ISBN 978-0-88402-274-9. Archived from the original on 2013-12-14. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20131214000115/http://www.doaks.org/resources/publications/doaks-online-publications/byzantine-coinage" target="_blank">https://web.archive.org/web/20131214000115/http://www.doaks.org/resources/publications/doaks-online-publications/byzantine-coinage</a> <a href="#fnref:3" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:4"><p>Grierson 1999, pp. 11–12. - Grierson, Philip (1999). Byzantine Coinage. Washington, DC: Dumbarton Oaks. ISBN 978-0-88402-274-9. Archived from the original on 2013-12-14. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20131214000115/http://www.doaks.org/resources/publications/doaks-online-publications/byzantine-coinage" target="_blank">https://web.archive.org/web/20131214000115/http://www.doaks.org/resources/publications/doaks-online-publications/byzantine-coinage</a> <a href="#fnref:4" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:5"><p>Grierson 1999, p. 12; Kazhdan 1991, pp. 964–965. - Grierson, Philip (1999). Byzantine Coinage. Washington, DC: Dumbarton Oaks. ISBN 978-0-88402-274-9. Archived from the original on 2013-12-14. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20131214000115/http://www.doaks.org/resources/publications/doaks-online-publications/byzantine-coinage" target="_blank">https://web.archive.org/web/20131214000115/http://www.doaks.org/resources/publications/doaks-online-publications/byzantine-coinage</a> <a href="#fnref:5" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:6"><p>Kazhdan 1991, p. 965. - Kazhdan, Alexander, ed. (1991). The Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium. New York and Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-504652-6. <a href="#fnref:6" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:7"><p>Grierson 1999, p. 44. - Grierson, Philip (1999). Byzantine Coinage. Washington, DC: Dumbarton Oaks. ISBN 978-0-88402-274-9. Archived from the original on 2013-12-14. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20131214000115/http://www.doaks.org/resources/publications/doaks-online-publications/byzantine-coinage" target="_blank">https://web.archive.org/web/20131214000115/http://www.doaks.org/resources/publications/doaks-online-publications/byzantine-coinage</a> <a href="#fnref:7" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:8"><p>Grierson 1999, p. 45. - Grierson, Philip (1999). Byzantine Coinage. Washington, DC: Dumbarton Oaks. ISBN 978-0-88402-274-9. Archived from the original on 2013-12-14. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20131214000115/http://www.doaks.org/resources/publications/doaks-online-publications/byzantine-coinage" target="_blank">https://web.archive.org/web/20131214000115/http://www.doaks.org/resources/publications/doaks-online-publications/byzantine-coinage</a> <a href="#fnref:8" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> </ol>