Featured Justinian's Monetary Reform of AD 538

Mike, That is a fascinating coin . I distinctly remember you posting it before & happy you posted it again . The coin has a lot going for it, & being pierced makes it even more intriguing. Wouldn't you love to know who pierced it & who wore it ...

 

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Doug, Those are both lovely folles ! The Antioch follis has a fascinating portrait. I've always been intrigued by anything from the "City of God". So much history evolved from the city of Antioch, you could spend a lifetime reading about it.

 

That's interesting. I would have thought that one would want the portrait to show when worn as a pendant, not the reverse.

 

Yeah, I thought it was a little weird. Maybe the piercer had a name starting with "M"?

(I promise, despite being a Mike, I did not do the piercing).

 

Thank you, Al, you are most kind! I'm impressed that you read that passage in high school. I've known about it for decades, but never actually read it until today. I admit that in high school, I was more interested in ancient coins than girls, but despite that, I ended up with a swell one, and she tolerates my love of coins. Even talked me into buying my first coin of Constantine XI in the early 1990s!

 

Here's a half follis from Antioch, year 22 (548/9 CE).

This coin is unusual because a decanummium die was used for the obverse.

ex Harlan Berk (late 1980s)

9.2 grams

Hahn-154

 

robinjojo, That certainly is a fascinating coin & historically important. Antioch had endured incredible hardships before this coin was struck. Earthquakes in 526 & 528, in 529 a confederation of Arab tribes besieged the city, & in 540 Persians captured, pillaged, & burnt the city. The amount of loot taken back to Persia was huge. Many of Antioch's people were taken to Persia & forced to resettle in a city near the Persian capital. By 542 the Bubonic Plague reached Antioch, killing half of he population that still lived there. The mint workers who made your coin surely had to improvise with what remained in the facility.

 

My two favourite Justinians:

 

End of a really good night or beginning of a really bad day at the mint...

Justinian I, AD 527-565. Æ16 Nummi (21x25mm, 5.08g, 6h). Thessalonica mint. Struck AD 538-552. Obv: D N IVSINI-ANVS P P AVG; Diademed, draped and cuirassed bust right. Rev: Large I S and A and P; above, sigla A Δ K; in exergue, TЄS. Ref: DOC 98g; MIB 169h; SBCV 181.

 

Several of my Antiochene Justinians were also struck from inappropriate dies.
A decanummium obverse die with half follis reverse. Year 20: 546/7. 9.56 gr. 19 mm. 11 hr. S.230; DO 237a; H. 154a; BNP 63; BM 317; T. 372.

Another Year 21: 547/8. 9.23 gr. 27 mm. 11 hr. S.230; DO 238; H. 154a; BNP 64-5; R. 676.

A follis obverse die with half follis reverse. Year 30: 556/7. 7.76 gr. 27 mm. 10 hr. S.231; DO 237a; H. 155; BM 317. A lot went wrong on the reverse: ANNO, cross and mint mark were engraved upside down on the die.

Another, year 36: 562/3. 8.06 gr. 28 mm. 12 hr. S.232; DO 248; H. 155; BNP 72

Another, year 37: 563/4. 7.73 gr. 26 mm. 12 hr. S.232; DO 249; H. 155d

A decanummium struck on a pentanummium flan. Year 25: 551/2. 2.88 gr. 17 mm.; 4 hr. S. 237; H. 158; DO 256; BNP 79; BM 328; R. 683

 

Beautiful!

 

My Justinian, the last of the large ones.

 

No Justinian here, but rather a Justin II. Close enough?

 

Justinian's large-module, facing-bust folles and half folles have always been favorites of mine in the Byzantine series:

http://old.stoa.org/gallery/album130/18_Justinian_I?full=1


http://old.stoa.org/gallery/album130/Feb_08_19b_Justinian_I?full=1

I have a 10 or 20 various Justinian types in my gallery - nothing too amazing, but a decent variety of types.
Beginning on the bottom-row of this page:
http://old.stoa.org/gallery/album130?page=1
The Justinian section finishes up on the next page:
http://old.stoa.org/gallery/album130?page=2

 

Mike, The reason this coin was pierced for a pendant may have nothing to do with Justinian or religion. Maybe the number 20 had a special meaning; 20th birthday, 20 years in the army, 20th anniversary. Maybe it was a souvenir of Nicomedia. We can only guess.

 

S.A., Those are both stunning coins ! The large follis from Cyzicus is a GEM. It's as perfect as they come, well struck with no doubling, perfectly centered, all details visible, fine uniform patina, & only the slightness of wear. This coin was taken care of since ancient times .

 

Edessa, I love that coin . It has so much character & appears to be an over-strike. Lettering from the host coin appears visible on the obverse at 9:00 o'clock. Am I right or has this glass of wine gone to my head ?

 

Voulgaroktonou, Another great group of coins from Antioch ! The mint workers at Antioch were good at improvising, anything was OK to get the job done . When you consider all the devastation the city endured it's amazing the mint cold produce anything .

 

OK, they were family .

 

lehmansterms, Both of those coins are handsome, but the large follis is a GEM . I enjoyed browsing thru your gallery. Looks like you're a serious Byzantine numismatist .