Justin I and his magical psychedelic dream coat

Okay, it's not a coat, but rather a draped cuirass. But there is this pretty wild design on the shoulder. It's not a paisley but instead a spiral that radiates out to lines at the bottom. I wonder what it looked like in real life, if it actually existed.

15.59 grams



What other wild designs on garments are out there?

Edit: There is a spot of BD on the reverse. The coin is taking a bath and I think the prognosis is good.....

 

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I've always wondered what Theophilus' outfit looked like. He had a funny top of his hat as well which is unfortunately gone on my coin

He also has an incredibly long finger.

 

Nice! I imagine his outfit was heavily decorated with gold and jewel ornaments, which would have made it quite heavy and not ideal for the beach.

Here's a well known mosaic portrait of Justinian I. He is wearing a cape secured by a highly ornamental clasp. So it could be that Justin I's spiral design on the should is a depiction of a elaborate ornamental clasp.

 

The first one that always comes to mind when talking fancy and wild garments is this gift from @Severus Alexander that really hooked me on the hobby and this board (he blames his mother, I blame him):


And here's a bunch of other wild, fancy and silly designs on Roman'sclothes:

 

Here’s my Anastasius with star on shoulder. It’s interesting that the OP and my coin have the same reverses (cross, star either side, CON, and B officina)!

Edit… Wow, looking again, they may be reverse die matches or at the least were carved by the same hand. Am I right? Difficult to tell with the differences in wear.

 

Here's my Justin, sadly lacking in clothing details:

 

Yes, there are similarities with the reverses of the two folles. My coin is quite encrusted, so I cannot make a definitive die match.

I like the "wagon wheel" ornament on your Justin I follis, and the portrait detail is really nice!

 

I tried to make an overlay gif. I was having trouble getting the sizes and angles to line up 100% but this is close. Anyway, they may be matches, if nothing else they are really close!

 

robinjojo, The Byzantine bronze you posted along with the one by Orange Julius, are well struck so the shoulder ornament is visible , that isn't the case for most coins of this type . My avatar coin has an ornate & well engraved cuirass with a Gorgon in the center .



The Philip I Tet I sold at AMCC 3, had a well engraved cuirass too .


Photo courtesy of Tom Callaway.

 

Here's one with a prominent "clasp" or star decoration on the shoulder.

Anastasius Dicorus, 491-518 A.D.

Type: Large AE Follis, 39 mm 19 grams

Obverse: DN ANASTASIVS PP AVG, Diademed draped and Cuirassed bust right, star on right shoulder (rare)

Reverse: Large M, Epsilon below. Cross above M, star in left field, Mintmark CON

 

A.C.H, That one is as good as they get !

 

I wonder if that is not a later style of shoulder decoration of a toga picta or a tunica palmata, a garmet that in late roman times became associated with the trabea / toga consularis. The position is too low to be a fibula and it does not show it keeping the sides of the drapery together.

See for instance on the earlier consular busts:

- Constantine II with an orbiculus on the shoulder ca. 321





- Probus with a 'votive wreath'(?) 278



But if the bust has that drapery over a cuirass, then the decoration is a shoulder plate decoration, something similar to this shoulder cuirass of Constans (ca. 349). If so, there is probably no connection to the consular position but rather a reference to the general military prowess of the emperor:

 

Going way out on a limb, could it be possibility that the circular, concentric designs on my follis, as well as the folles of ACH and Orange Julius represent a cosmological event?

I checked to see if Halley's Comet was sighted during Justin I's reign, but I did not see any indication that it was. Could it be a reference to a shoot star or another comet? Should I go back on my meds?

 

I wish it was something like that but I think just a fancy fashion choice.

I did check dates for Haley’s Comet for fun and those were 451, 530 and 607AD around this time period.

 

I think it's just an engraver alleviating the boredom a bit. But I do love your psychedelic spiral! I don't remember ever seeing one before (other than yours in another thread).

I have both an Anastasius and a Justin star-on-shoulder:

Thanks for drawing my attention to this detail, @furryfrog02! I had noticed the long finger before (looks like a rude gesture!), but hadn't paid any attention to the odd headgear. Apparently it is called a "tufa" but I can't find anything else about it!

 

I love yours!
Yours definitely looks like he is flipping the bird. Mine just looks like a reaaaaaaaaaaally long pointer finger I also like your head gear. I looked up various spellings of "Tufa" and came up with this wiki article:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toupha

 

Hmmm...interesting article. Particularly the part about the tightrope connecting H.S. to the top of the column of Justinian. Theophilus apparently paid the tight-rope walker 100 nomismata after he crossed it. Barnum and Bailey of ancient times.

 

Cool, I didn't think of that spelling! Also enjoyed the story that ACH mentions.

 

I just got this coin, influenced by the posts above and I did not have an Anastasius half follis, his attire is clear and a star at sleeve. Just got it from Marc Breitsprecher, good dealer.
Anastasius I half follis SBCV-25 Var (It has the star.) Constantinople mint 27.33mm and 7.49gm

I really like that pose of the emperor. Something is different but I find it hard to explain. Well you see.