Aspron

Aspron minted by Manuel I of Trebizond

The aspron (Greek: ἄσπρον), from Latin asper, was a late Byzantine name for silver or silver-alloy coins.

The Latin word asper originally meant "rough", but had gradually acquired the connotation of "fresh" or "freshly minted", i.e. not worn smooth by use, and, especially when referring to silver, "white", by the imperial period.[1] It acquired a technical meaning in the 12th century, when the Byzantines began to refer to the billon trachy coin, which was issued in a blanched state, as an aspron. The same name was also sometimes applied to the contemporary electrum trachy as well.[1]

The name re-appears in the 14th–15th centuries as a generic name for silver coinage, such as the Byzantine doukatopoulon or the Turkish akçe.[1] The 15th century account books of the Venetian merchant-banker Giacomo Badoer lists several cities and governments that coined aspers, which included Trebizond, Caffa, Simisso (or Samsun), Tana, and Rhodes.[2]

## References

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1. ^ a b c Grierson 1991, p. 211.
2. ^ Cecile Morrison, "Coin Usage and Exchange Rates in Badoer's Libro dei Conti", Dumbarton Oaks Papers, 55 (2001), pp. 217-245

## Sources

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* Grierson, Philip (1991). "Asper". In Kazhdan, Alexander (ed.). The Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium. Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press. p. 211\. ISBN 978-0-19-504652-6.

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Currencies of the Byzantine Empire

First period
(498 – ca. 700)|

Gold
Solidus
Semissis
Tremissis
Silver
Hexagram (from 615)
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Follis
Half-follis
Decanummium
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Second period
(ca. 700 – 1092)|

Gold
Solidus or Nomisma (later Histamenon)
Tetarteron (from 960s)
Silver
Miliaresion (from 720)
Copper
Follis

Third period
(1092 – ca. 1300)|

Gold
Hyperpyron
Electrum
Nomisma trachy aspron (Trikephalon/Manouelaton)
Billon
aspron trachy (Stamenon)
Copper
Tetarteron
Half-tetarteron

Fourth period
(ca. 1300 – 1350s)|

Gold
Hyperpyron
Silver
Basilikon
Billon
Tournesion (Politikon)
Copper
Trachy
Assarion

Fifth period
(1367 – 1453)|

Silver
Stavraton
Half-stavraton
Doukatopoulon (Aspron)
Copper
Tournesion
Follaro

Related topics|

* Byzantine economy
* Byzantine mints
* Scyphate

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