This book covers coins of the Eastern Roman Empire from Anastasius I (491518) to Constantine XI (14481453) with an overview of the period of Diocletian in 284 to the succession of Anastasius I as an introduction to the coinage. It is not intended to be a scholarly book but rather a quick reference for coin identification. It does not cover the holdover aureusfrom the Western Empire, coins from the collateral areas of the ArabByzantine, or the coins of the Turks and other successors who produced coins of similar design. It also does not cover forgeries. Caveat Emptor.

This guide, designed with collectors in mind, gives a general background to the fascinating world of ancient Greek and Roman coins, how they were designed and manufactured, and at how they can reveal so much to us today of the time in which they were produced.

The Byzantine Empire lasted for almost a thousand years after the fall of the Roman Empire in the West. The period covered by this catalogue is from the reign of Anastasius I (491518) until the capture of Constantinople by the Turks in 1453. When this catalogue was first published in 1974 it was hailed as containing more information in a concise form than any other single volume on the Byzantine series.

"The first part [of this publication] is a second edition of Byzantine coinage, originally published in 1982 as number 4 in the series Dumbarton Oaks Byzantine Collection Publications ... The second part ... is a condensation of a much longer unpublished typescript, produced for the Coin Room at Dumbarton Oaks, describing the formation of the collection and its publication."--Preface.

The first volume in the catalogue covers the coins of Anastasius I through Maurice, and includes a history of the collections.