Sale: CNG 82, Lot: 1191. Estimate $300.  Closing Date: Wednesday, 16 September 2009.  Sold For $180. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

BULGARIA, First Empire. Petr I, with Irina (Maria Lakapena). 927-969. PB Seal (18.37 g, 12h). Facing bust of Christ Pantokrator / Half-length facing busts of Petr and Irina, holding patriarchal cross between them. Iordanov Type III.3Ав, 95; Youroukova & Penchev 10. VF, a few scrapes.

In 927, a peace treaty with the Byzantine Empire officially recognized the transfer of the imperial title to Simeon’s son and successor, Petr I, his marriage to the emperor’s daughter, Maria Lakapena, who was now known as Irina, as well as the independence of the Patriarch of Bulgaria. However, the peace was short-lived, as a power struggle between Petr and his brothers ensued. The weakness this internecine struggle created resulted in the loss of territory, renewed invasions of neighboring peoples, including the capture of Preslav in 968, and the rise of religious schism.