Framing the Question: Object of Interest

Several Decades Later, the instability and violence caused by Andronikos I set the stage for the 4th Crusade, in which the invasion of Frankish princes deposed the traditionally Greek rulership and established a Latin Empire of Constantinople. Having gained the throne under questionable circumstances, these Frankish princes now faced the same dilemma that Andronikos had faced earlier- that of legitimation. Following the establishment of the new empire in 1204, the Byzantine rulers pursued policies that sought to synthesize their own Western cultural traditions with those of Byzantium. Notable among these was the production of imitation coins, including the following:

There are immediate parallels evoked between this Imitation Coin of Andronikos and the unknown portrait commissioned by this dubious ruler 40 years earlier. Besides the obvious (and questionable) choice of subject matter, both are attempts to establish authority after political upheaval through the use of cultural artifacts. Furthermore, both face the same issue, of coordinating interpretations of the object by the ruler and the ruled. These initial observations point to the main question of this exhibit, now specified: 

How did the Latin Imitation of the Coin of Andronikos construct its own value, and how did this value reflect the relationship between the Frankish rulers and Greek population of Byzantium? 

It should be noted, however, that analysis of a coin's meaning presents a qualitatively different set of criteria from the analysis a portrait- the following section will introduce the tools necessary to undertake the specific challenge of numismatic interpretation.