BASIL II BULGAROKTONOS with CONSTANTINE VIII, 976-1025. AV Histamenon Nomisma (4.38 gms), Constantinople Mint, ca. 989-1001. NGC AU, Strike: 5/5 Surface: 3/5. Ex Jewelry.S-1796. Obverse: Facing bust of Christ Pantokrator, with pellet-in-annulet in each arm of nimbus cross; Reverse: Facing busts of Basil and Constantine, holding between them a patriarchal cross. Though the edges are slightly misshapen due to its prior use as a jewelry piece, this example features a lesser seen decoration in the arms of the nimbus cross on the obverse, a decoration which usually contains a number of pellets instead.