Coin-pendant

The pendant is made of a Byzantine coin – solida, to which a lug is soldered. The obverse features a full-length portrait of Emperor Heraclius with his sons and co-rulers. To the right of his father there is beardless Heraklius Konstantin, on the left – Heraklion. Sovereigns in crowns and chlamys, with states in their hands.
On the reverse there is an image of the Golgotha’s cross on the steps. Such an image appeared on coins precisely during the reign of Heraclius, who returned the Lord's Cross to Jerusalem after the victory over the Persians. To the left of the cross there is a monogram made of a cross and the letters "P" and "h". To the right of the cross there are letters that are very worn and difficult to read. They may mean the year of the reign. VICTORIA is read on the edge of the field, under the cross there is the inscription CONOB. CON means the place of coinage – Mint of Constantinople. OB has a double meaning. The letters stand for the number 72 and indicate that the coin is 1/72 of a pound money. They also begin the word “obryzum”, which means “pure gold”.
Some solidas were probably issued specifically for payments to nomadic elites from the end of the reign of Justinian I (527-565) to the reign of Constantine IV (668-685).
The complex, which is the burial of a noble nomad, included several Byzantine gold coins. Ears were soldered to some. Obviously, they made up a breast ornament. Among the finds there were also gold ornaments of a military belt, weapons and a horse bridle. In addition, a lot of jewelry was found: pendants, rings, earrings, which could be both male and female. The discovery of a golden cross, a ring with the sign of the cross, and gold coins that were part of gifts to barbarian chieftains clearly indicate that the buried man was a military leader closely associated with Byzantium.