Morea Aspron

The Morea Aspron, struck by Frankish rulers in the Peloponnese, often featured a concave flan—a Byzantine holdover that made it look like something from Constantinople, despite the Latin crosses and crude lettering.

This billon coin, typically weighing around 2 to 4 grams, circulated in the Principality of Achaea from about 1205 onward. The designs varied, with some showing the prince's name or a simple cross, reflecting the hasty adaptations of local mints after the Fourth Crusade. We know these were produced in places like Corinth or Clarentza, but exact minting locations remain debated among scholars.

No one knows the precise annual output; records from that era are as scarce as honest merchants in a siege. The coins' silver content was low, making them prone to wear, which explains why so few survive in good condition.

Sometimes, I'd swear these franks were trying to confuse us all.