I recently acquired my first Byzantine-Arab follis and I’m stumped on identification. Any help would be greatly appreciated!
I don't think it's an Arab imitation but an official Byzantine follis of Heraclius, either double-struck or struck over an earlier coin.
Do you think it's still identifiable? I'm pretty out of my limit in early Byzantine, and overstruck follis' is a tough place to learn.
I can cheerfully second @dltsrq. Nothing here is suggesting Arab-Byzantine; the prototypes really are as crude as this. Same for Heraclius, with the Santa Claus beard.
Would be similar to this one. The year is obliterated on yours by the overstrike. Heraclius Mint: Constantinople 630 to 631 AD AE Follis Obvs: No legend. Heraclius and Heraclius Constantine standing. Cross between them Revs: Large M, ANNO to left. X X I right, CON below. 21x28mm, 3.9g Ref: Sear 810
It's in the neighborhood of Sear, Byzantine, 805-811. Here's the old, but reliable and amateur-friendly Wildwinds site. http://www.wildwinds.com/coins/byz/heraclius/t.html
Ok thanks, I’ll take a look! Not to ask a dumb question but is there any chance of identifying the host coin?
Absolutely; I have no doubt. ...Just by someone better than me!!! (Edit: ) Not, Not a dumb question. The only dumb questions are the ones that someone had any rational basis to already know the answer to.
It seems to me that the bottom half of an obverse design that can be seen on the reverse is the key. Hopefully that looks familiar to someone!
See? For someone who doesn't do lots of early Byzantine (Teacher, I raise my hand), it's looking as if you're seriously homing in. ...Now I'm starting to wonder if this might be an overstrike on an earlier variant of the same type (as in Sear /Wildwinds). Since dual standing figures are not at all typical of Byzantine folles, early or late, the range of possibilities is narrower than one might anticipate. (Edit: ) Sorry if you were all the way here already. Whatever you collect more than early Byzantine, it gave you some good eyes.
Here's a Sassanian imitation follis of Heraclius, I believe, 610-629, during the war between the Persian and the Byzantine empires, early in Heraclius' reign. The fabric of the obverse, with its extremely crude die work, even cruder than Byzantine die work for that period, stands out. The reverse is fairly close to that of a Byzantine follis, but the lettering, particularly for "CON" is very irregular, ending with a stick figure "N". 7.9 grams
Thanks, @robinjojo, for giving us an example that so cogently, visually demonstrates the contrast between the two series, first and second. It's easy to imagine the dealer who sold @Nathan F's example equating the crudity of the strike with its being Arab-Byzantine. ...Just, Not So Fast.
Thank you. I am still learning; these crude coins are a challenge! Imitations are a fascinating, and often little understood branch of ancients to collect.
Here are some examples of Arab imitations of the type. The 1st is from the pseudo-Byzantine series, straight-forward Syrian copies of the prototype but usually blundered. The 2nd is from the bilingual series, minted after some degree of organization was in place. The mint name is written in both Greek and Arabic: Heliopolis/ Ba'albakk. The 3rd is from Dimashq (Damascus), Arabic only.
...Dang, @robinjojo and @dltsrq, this is Great. I for one am clueless about Byzantine folles as early as this, and only more profoundly so about the Arab-Byzantine series. You're both doing a serious public service!
Here's a link to Forum's page that includes a Sasanian follis, in the style of Heraclius, along with some interesting, and bloody information. https://www.forumancientcoins.com/c...p?param=65350q00.jpg&vpar=1245&zpg=76261&fld=