Nicholas II, Patriarch of Constantinople

Sale: Triton XI, Lot: 1145. Estimate $2500.  Closing Date: Monday, 7 January 2008.  Sold For $3200. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

Nicholas II Chrysoberges. Patriarch of Constantinople, 979-991. PB Seal (44mm, 7.45 g, 12h). +QKEROHQEI TwCwDOVLw, Theotokos Hodeghetria standing facing on pedestal, holding child Christ in left arm; MP QV across field / NIKOLAw/ ARCIEPICKO/Pw KwNCTANTI/N(OY)POLEwC NE/AC RwMHC in five lines; ornaments above and below. BLS I -; DOCBS -; Seyrig -; Vatican 153; Orghidan -; Jordanov -. VF, a little dusty, gray patina.

From the Robert E. Hecht Collection. Ex Gorny & Mosch 138 (7 March 2005), lot 2674.

Seals of Nicholas I Mystikos and Nicholas II Chrysoberges can be difficult to distinguish, since they share the same name and patriarchal seals of the 9th and 10th centuries regularly feature similar obverse types. The obverse legend, however, differs from seals of Nicholas I in the Zacos and Vatican collections, making an attribution to Nicholas II more likely.