ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on the face of Christ depicted on Byzantine coins, performing a direct comparison with the face visible on the Shroud. These coins demonstrate, from a general point of view, that the most important Relic in the world has greatly influenced the Byzantine face of Christ on coins. The very religious Byzantine people gave such great importance to Christ’s face that they often posed it on the front of the coins, by placing the emperor’s effigy in the reverse. The chapter shows a list of the most significant details of the face of Christ present on some Byzantine coins evidencing a similarity to the peculiar details of the Shroud face. Typical of the Shroud image of the face, the hair on the left side is not only longer than the right side, but displays a ringlet at the level of the beard near the mouth.
