Gold Hyperpyron - Eastern Roman/Byzantine, c. 1325-32 AD.
Rulers: Andronicus II & III (joint reign)
Obv: Christ standing between Emperors, crowning them.
Rev: Bust of Virgin Orans, within city walls.
Well struck for this scarce issue! Sear-B2461, 24mm, 3.46 gm
Andronicus II was born at Nicaea. He was acclaimed co-emperor in 1261, after his father Michael VIII recovered Constantinople from the Latin Empire, but he wasn't crowned until 1272. Sole emperor from 1282, Andronicus II immediately repudiated his father's unpopular Church union with the Papacy, which he had been forced to support while his father was still alive, but he was unable to resolve the related schism within the Orthodox clergy until 1310.
Andronicus III was born in Constantinople on 25 March 1297, the 38th birthday of his paternal grandfather, Byzantine Emperor Andronicus II. His father, Michael IX Palaiologos, began reigning in full imperial style as co-emperor circa 1295.
