Justin I and his magical psychedelic dream coat

700+ years later at Thessalonica:

 

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BenSi, that's a very nice half follis of Anastasius, particularly the obverse!

Over time and with patience you can find nice examples of folles and half folles of Anastasius, Justin I and Justinian I. In particular, you might take a look a group lots of Byzantine bronzes. Sometimes there are really nice coins that would cost more individually on the retail market.

 

BenSi, Nice score on the 1/2 follis (20 nummi) !

 

Thank You Al.

Thank You and yes, I love group lots, You never know what you are going to get. Hopefully the content matches the price.

Sometimes you get car crashes.




Sometimes you strike gold.



I bought a group lot last year and both coins came out of it. I was really surprised with the Anonymous follis, legend seems blurry but the coin is in beautiful condition.

I do buy individual coins outside my time period but only when they are really eye catching.

 

Not gonna lie, I love that car crash!

 

And this I quote from the Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium, on the Toupha:
Toupha
(του̑φα, also τουφίον), tuft of hair from exotic animals used to decorate the helmets of cavalrymen and imperial crowns. The Strategikon of Maurice (Strat.Maurik. 1.2.10, 12B.4) refers to small touphai atop helmets; the passage is repeated in the Taktika of Leo VI (6.2). According to Kosmas Indikopleustes (Kosm. Ind. 11.5), officers ornamented their horses and standards with the so-called touphai made from the tail hairs of the Indian yak (agriobous); this toupha remained stiff and did not bend.

The crown (or helmet?) on the equestrian statue of Justinian I in the Augustaion (P. Lehmann, ArtB 41 [1959] 39.57; cf. C. Mango, ibid. 351–58) was surmounted by a toupha; when it fell off in the 9th C., it was replaced by a daring master roofer (skalotes) who from the roof of Hagia Sophia shot a cord attached to an arrow and then walked along the tightrope to reach the statue; Emp. Theophilos rewarded him with 100 nomismata (Leo Gramm. 227.3–11). Clavijo (ed. Lopez Estrada 44.19–20) described the toupha on this statue as so big it resembled a peacock's tail.

The term was subsequently extended to denote the headgear itself: thus Constantine VII (De cer. 188.10) equated touphai with tiaras, as did Tzetzes (Hist. 8.297–301), adding that this kind of typha surmounted the equestrian statue of Justinian. A 12th-C. historian (Zon. 3:566.16–567.2) says that toupha was a vernacular word for tiara; he derives it from the verb typhoomai, meaning “to be filled with insane arrogance.”

 

I would REALLY love to see one of these.

 

I like 'em all! The first coin, of Heraclius, is a typical overstrike, but it has his legend on the obverse, the year (seems to be 3), Officina (appears to be B) and mint on the reverse - very respectable for this very crude type.

That coin shares some of the came characteristics of another Heraclius follis that came out of group lot in 2020.

Here, we have a coin that has a rotated strike on the obverse and reverse, plus what seems to be an overstrike of a follis of Phocas. You can see arm and hand holding an orb. I guessing that the arm belongs to Phocas, but it could also be Maurice Tiberius.

 

That is a beautiful example Seth, better than most at that time.

 

Toupha!!!!!! There are numerous variations of the toupha and the standard on Theophilus' follis, if you can indeed find them all:

 

I thought I'd add one my Constantine IV (668-685 AD) folles.

Here he is wearing quite an ornate robe, quite different from how he is depicted in his gold coinage, where he wears more cuirassed military garb.

16.41 grams

 

@robinjojo IMHO, the coin might not be genuine, unfortunately...

 

What makes you think it is a fake?

The Constantine IV follis is from Harlan Berk, so I am sure they will honor a return, even though it has been over twenty years ago. The surfaces are granular in places, which I think could be die rust, and there are the usual deposits and some minor corrosion, but I don't see any signs of casting.

I've handled enough Byzantine bronzes, and spotted this well-known fake in a group lot last year:

 

I seem to remember seeing the same strike/same granular type coin multiple times. I'll follow-up with some pictures, if I can find the source...

 

I have seen similar coins, but not frequently, of this type. Just browsing online I've come across a few:

VCoins:



CNG:




CBG Numismatics:




Goldberg Coins:






I'd say that the first example, VCoins and the last example, Goldberg, are the closest to the follis I have. They certainly share many characteristics and in fact might be die matches for the obverse and reverse. However, they are not identical, and that would be the primary warning flag for me regarding a fake.

My coin is somewhat low in weight, at 16.41 grams. The Goldberg coin weighs 18.53 grams, while the VCoins follis weighs 16.89 grams. However, it has been my experience that the weight range for coins of this period can vary. Additionally, my coin has been cleaned at one point, revealing some minor corrosion that probably account for the coin's weight.

While we're on the subject of this thread, the coins in the post show the interesting variations of clothing worn by Constantine IV, with ornate embellishments from coin to coin.