Sale: CNG 63, Lot: 1674. Estimate $800.  Closing Date: Wednesday, 21 May 2003.  Sold For $2000. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

MICHAEL KEROULARIOS, Patriarch of Constantinople. 1043-1058. 44mm Lead Seal (62.68 gm). Standing figure of the Virgin Hodeghtria, holding Christ Child / "Michael, Archbishop of Constantinople, New Rome" in five lines. Zacos II 15. Good VF, gray-brown earthen patina. ($800)

Michael was patriarch during the dispute with the Pope in Rome that lead to the Great Schism of 1054. He was also deeply involved in the maneuvering that led to the overthrow of the emperor Michael VI in 1057, and was granted vastly expanded earthly authority by the new emperor Isaac I. His new powers went to the Patriarch's head, and when Michael began to declare himself equal in status to the emperor he was deposed the following year.