Ancient or near ancient pickup. Byzantine coin - large

Sorry, weird title but couldn't come up with anything better. Anyway...

Been a long time since I picked up any ancient or near ancient coins. And after looking through all these threads, I was itching to expand a bit. So my order of ancients came in today but I can only post one since its late. Here is the near ancient according to some



Not really rare and I can imagine many here has it already, so I won't go into details about it.

Justin II & Sophia AE Follis

 

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Yummy => that's an uber-cool coin, ice-brother ... congrats

Sadly, I don't have one of those babies to toss into your thread ...

 

nice byzantine icerain! a follis of justin and sophia are on my list.

i do have a half follis from "justphia", see right of the justinian half follis, these were my first byzantine coins.

 

Chrsmat. The half follis is on my list to get, I'm holding out for one in good condition.

 

Nice, would take this in a heartbeat.

I have wanted this type myself but the right one at the right price hasnt surfaced. With byzantines, I tend to be more picky.

 

nice!

 

I saw a circa 656ad Justin II gold coin on a site for $950.00 but the seller had no paperwork. So I passed on it but that was so hard to do.

 

Icerain, as a type that coin is not rare, but it is an exceptional coin for its condition. 99% of Byzantine bronzes are not that nice. You bought an excellent bronze there.

 

Agreed. The vast majority of these types don't even come close to looking as good as yours. Great find.

 

It depends on the coin and grade if that is a decent purchase or not.

"Paperwork"? There won't be any paperwork for ancient coins really. We need to learn about the coins, learn to trust certain dealers. I spend $950 at the drop of a hat with no paperwork, but I know the dealer and have researched the coin. There are many here who spend a LOT more than I on a coin.

 

Thanks for posting the really nice condition Byzantine coin. I only have one small Byzantine coin. It was part of a small lot that was not identified by a US dealer. As I recall, I paid $18 for six coins in a zip-lock baggie.

Justin II was Byzantine Emperor from 565 to 574. My small coin is Heraclius which is 610 to 641. This is what the Heraclius looks like after a Verdigone bath.

Byzantine Empire
Heraclius
A.D. 610-641
Æ 6 Nummi
1.77 grams, 15.7 mm
Obv: Cross potent
Rev: Large S
Other: DOC 198; SB 862.
Heraclius was Byzantine Emperor from 610 to 641. According to Wikipedia, he was responsible for introducing Greek as the Eastern Empire's official language. He apparently reorganized the Byzantine imperial administration and the imperial armies and strengthened the Empire in the process.

 

Nice pick-up. This is my only Justin II:

JUSTIN II AE Half Follis
OBVERSE: D N IVSTINVS P P AVG, Justin on left, Sophia on right, seated facing on double-throne, both nimbate, Justin holding cross on globe, Sophia holding sceptre, sometimes with cross between their heads, sometimes with vine pattern below
REVERSE: Large M, ANNO to left, cross above, regnal year to right, officina letter below, mintmark NIKO
Struck at Nicomedia 565-578 AD
12.9g, 29mm
SB 369

 

My grandfather passed a few of these coins down to my dad and I have them in my custody. Its a privilege to finally know about these beautiful coins, found under our family home in Cyprus

 

Welcome. Show your coins. We are all interested and love to see everyone's coins.

 

wow, retro thread!!

=> welcome, Discovers Treasure

 

Its ok, no complaints.

 

time machine...i just went back to 2014!

 

The OP coin was of Justin and Sophia (AD 565-578), Sear 369, year 5, from Nicomedia. That Sear number is common. Here are years 4 and 6.

 

Nice OP coin.

 

very nice