MANUEL I COMNENUS 1143-80. Cup coin. Good detail. 3rd Crusade era.

Description

BYZANTINE TRACHY (cup coin). MANUEL I COMNENUS (1143-80).
As mentioned above this coin is very hard to scan because of its shape. It is much better in hand. For one of these, pretty good.
Obverse/concave: Manuel crowned by Virgin. The figure of Manuel has a face, two eyes, a somewhat flattened nose, and a beard. He has a staff with a labarum over his right should. The Virgin, in profile, also has a face. You can see eye, nose, hairline (or veil), plus halo. Some lettering is visible. The letter M between the two figures at 12 o'clock. Down the right side it starts to spell DESPOT in Greek.
Reverse/convex: Christ enthroned. His head is missing, but you can see some of the robe and throne, a bit of the halo (cruciform) on the right side, and the letters XC, which is the Greek abbreviation for "Christ."
The slight flan crack should not alarm you. This is normal. These very thin, curved coins were difficult to strike and the metal usually cracked a bit when the coin was struck.
Manuel's grandfather, Alexius I, has saved the Empire after its near collapse in the late 11th century. His father, John, has continued the restoration. Manuel did the same, but was overambitious, and badly defeated toward the end of his reign. He was the last emperor to rule over Byzantium when it was a major power.
Always happy to combine shipping on multiple orders. This will be shipped between two pieces of cardboard as a first-class "parcel" so it can be tracked. The foreign postage prices are a guess. I will refund the excess if they are too high.