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Browsing Articles by Author "Bedoukian, Zareh"

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    Պտուկեան, Զ., Կիլիկիոյ Կոստանդին Գ. - Լեւոն Բռնակալ - Կոստանդին Դ.ի Կարեւոր Դրամագիւտ Մը
    (1972) Bedoukian, Zareh
    About ten years ago, a find consisting of 636 coins, was bought in Constantinople. It remains uncertain as to when and where the find was originally located. The find then became the property of a New Yorker, Mr. Gevrekian. At present, only a small part of it remians in the possession of both Mr. Gevrekian and the writer of this article. The coins of this find were minted by the three kings of the last period of the Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia — Constantine III, Levon the Tyrant, and Constantine IV —who ruled from 1344 to 1373. A study of the find results in certain revisions of the history of the time these kings were in power. It can also be asserted that the royalty minted coins that contained little silver, and were therefore discrepant in value with reference to other silver coins.
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    Օշին Թագաւորին Օծման Արծաթներու Դրամագիւտ Մը
    (1973) Bedoukian, Zareh
    The study of a hoard of 129 so-called «coronations» trams of Oshin has led to certain conclusions regarding the raison d'etre of these rare coins. An analysis of weights and silver content (through specific gravity determinations) showed that the coronation trams contain nearly twice as much silver as the common Oshin takvorins. Both in style and silver content, the former are in the same category as the silver trams of Levon I (1198-1218) and of Hetoum-Zabel (1226-1270). Curiously enough, during his short reign, Sempad (1296-1298) also struck coins of the same type and about the same silver content. The trams of Levon I, Hetoum-Zabel, Sempad, and the coronation trams of Oshin can be identified by the presence of a long cross on the coin, referred to as «stauratos» by contemporary documents. It is considered most likely that Oshin made an attempt to continue the issuance of the valuable stauratos and at the same time issued silvers of much lower value of the type struck by his predecessor (and successors). The issuance of silvers of two denominations explains the use of the terms «stauratos» and «takvorins» in medieval commercial transactions.