A previously unexhibited portion of the historical rare coins in the unparalleled Tyrant Collection (www.TheTyrantCollection.com) will be publicly displayed together for the first time at the American Numismatic Association (ANA) 2026 Pittsburgh World's Fair of Money, August 25-29, 2026.
"The multi-million-dollar exhibit of over 250 significant coins is entitled Tyrants of the Golden Horn. It will include gold coins of virtually every Byzantine emperor, up to Constantine XI in 1453, from the late Roman period to the collapse of the Byzantine Empire," announces Ira Goldberg, president of Goldberg Coins and Collectibles, Inc., in Los Angeles, California. Goldberg is one of the numismatic professionals guiding the assembling of the wide-ranging Tyrant Collection of superb-quality, historic U.S., world, and ancient coins. "The earliest coin in the exhibit is a gold Aureus of Diocletian, struck in 290 CE in Cyzicus (in what is now modern-day Turkey), and the last coin is a 1943 Turkish 500 Kurush. This is more than 1,700 years of remarkable numismatic history," says Goldberg.
This portion of The Tyrant Collection is named after the Golden Horn, a horn-shaped natural waterway and primary inlet of the Bosphorus Sea strait that divides the European side of Istanbul, Turkey. For over 2,000 years, it was the principal harbor for trade ships for Byzantium, Constantinople, and the Ottoman Empire.
O'Dowd began was collecting United States coins and then expanding to include ancient and world coins in what he labeled The Tyrant Collection. "The Tyrants of the Golden Horn consists of coins of the emperors and sultans who ruled Constantinople from its founding in 324 by Constantine the Great to the abolishment of the Ottoman Sultanate in 1922," reveals O'Dowd. "Through most of this period, Constantinople was the largest and wealthiest city in Europe, and the capital of its most powerful country. Its wealth was so vast that hundreds of years later, I can assemble a collection of spectacular coins of every emperor and sultan, most of which are pure gold and look like they were minted yesterday," he says.
One of the many highlights of the exhibit will be a solidus of Mezezius, 668-669 CE, graded PCGS MS66. It is the finest of only seven known examples, including one in the British Museum. An Armenian nobleman and General in Sicily, Mezezius, became emperor after the assassination of Constans II in Syracuse, and was executed seven months later.
"This pure gold coin is a spectacular and extremely rare example from this emperor. With only seven known, it is twice as rare as an 1804 Draped Bust Dollar and six times older, but looks like it was made today," declares O'Dowd.
Among the many other important coins in the exhibit will be:
Procopius, 365-366 CE, gold solidus struck at Cyzicus in the current Balikesir Province of Turkey. A major rarity and without question the finest-known example. Interestingly, this coin was struck in Cyzicus when Procopius was on his way to Constantinople, where he was to rule and stay alive for only eight months as the western portion of the empire was collapsing.
Helena gold solidus that stands out in both quality and rarity. One of the most important women of all time, she was the mother of Constantine I (Constantine the Great) and is credited with discovering the True Cross. She was converted to Christianity by her son.
The display at the 2026 ANA convention will be the latest in a multi-year series of educational, museum-quality exhibits revealing different portions of the extensive and unprecedented Tyrant Collection.
"The collection is not only focused on Byzantine, but also more on a numismatic narrative of Constantinople, modern-day Istanbul, Turkey. Beginning with the reforms of Diocletian and the Tetrarchy in the late 3rd century, the story follows the transformation of the Roman world into the Byzantine Empire. Coins from the age of Constantine the Great founder of Constantinople through the reign of Justinian I and later dynasties reflect shifting imperial authority and the growing role of Christianity," explains Goldberg. "Following Constantinople's conquest in 1453 by Mehmed II, Ottoman coinage introduced new artistic and cultural traditions rooted in Islam. The exhibition concludes with the early Turkish Republic and the leadership of Ismet Inönü. If you remember our exhibition Tyrants of the Tiber, this is more of a parallel concept to that exhibition, but this time we will go farther east," he says.
O'Dowd was collecting United States coins and then expanding to include ancient and world coins in what he labeled The Tyrant Collection. "The focus of the collection is tyrants of every age and culture. Tyrants go by many titles: kings and queens, emperors and empresses, czars and czarinas, dictators, regents, popes, caliphs, sultans, and khans. But what defines them is their absolute power over a territory containing millions of people," explains O'Dowd.
By 2017, he had achieved several of his major goals for his incomparable collection. That's when he decided to have a series of exhibits to share the magnificent sets of coins with the public. "I started to think, 'What should I do with all these collections? Let them sit in safe deposit boxes and visit them occasionally?' I decided I wanted to see each collection fully displayed. I had a large professional 30'x30' trade show booth built with 17 display cases that could beautifully showcase up to 400 coins at each exhibit. Every coin is displayed along with enlarged obverse and reverse images, along with a description," says O'Dowd.
For additional information about The Tyrant Collection, visit www.TheTyrantCollection.com.
For additional information about the ANA 2026 Pittsburgh World's Fair of Money, visit www.WorldsFairofMoney.com.