A New Byzantine Follis Constantine VII Porphyrogenitus, with Romanus I. 913-959. Æ Follis (27mm, 9.32 g, 6h). Constantinople mint. Struck 931-944. Crowned bust of Romanus I facing, holding labarum and globus cruciger / Legend in four lines. DOC 25a; SB 1760. VF, brown patina with earthen highlights/deposits. From the Prue Morgan Fitts Collection. Illustrated in Prue Morgan Fitts’ forthcoming book, The Beginner's Guide to Identifying Byzantine Coins (London, Spink, 2015). Obverse: + RωMAN’ bASILЄVS RωM’ (“Romanus, King of the Romans”) Reverse: + RωMA / N’ ЄN ΘЄΟ bA / SILЄVS Rω / MAIωN (“Romanus, by the grace of God, King of the Romans”) I think it was a pretty good buy for $18.27 + $5 shipping, seeing as it sold for $60 + fees just over 2 months ago on CNG. they probably could have gotten more if they would have included a little more information. lol.. http://cngcoins.com/Coin.aspx?CoinID=288217
Hey, I've got one of those! Yours is a whole lot nicer though Byzantine Empire, Romanus I Lekapenos (With Constantinus VII), AE follis, 931-944 AD, Constantinople; Obv: + RwmAn bASILEVS Rwm, bearded, crowned bust facing, wearing jeweled chlamys, holding labarum and globus cruciger; Rev: + RwmA / n En θEw bA / SILEVS Rw / MAIwN in four lines within circle; DOC 562, 25; Sear 1760; Ratto 1866; Overstruck on another follis
Mine is the same coin .... sort of, anyway. What is really special about arnoldoe's coup is that it is NOT really messed up by being overstruck. My coin is Constantine VII Sear 1761 overstruck on the Romanus I Sear 1760 which shows clearly on the reverse upper right (actually a lot more clear than the top line of arnoldoe's coin). The reason I bought mine is the way it shows both the RWM and CON on the reverse. I do think that the new one has some undertype messsing it up but very, very little for these. Sear says they are overstruck on Sear 1729. My obverse shows the undertype +RW upside down at the very bottom and then the +C at 8 o'clock followed by two different sections from the two bASILEVS strikes. The cross on top of Romanus' crown shows between the S and I at 10 o'clock. It is no wonder that this new coin made the book. Coins with so much detail from only one strike are the exception. My messy one is the norm. Would I pay $23.27 for the coin? Yep! Mine was $25 in 1993. This is the kind of coin people should know better than to consign to big sellers like CNG. Their clientele is not known for bidding up coins with hard to read reverses and dirty recesses even if they are special in some way as this one most certainly is.
I collect Constantine VII because its on his coins Christopher first appears, (Xristofer), though rarely. Christopher was a son of Romanus. Interesting history, Romanus trying to displace the rightful Constantine of his throne, but Constantine hung in there long enough to get rid of him and his kids. I wished they made a bronze Christopher, but only gold and silver.
Arnoldoe, It's not often I see an intact portrait on the obverse. Congratulations on a beautiful coin.
That was extremely cheap if you paid around 20 dollars for that giving its grade and the obvious legends on the obverse side. Mine Romanus is in a lesser grade: I think I paid 30 euro for that. I don't know how much I paid excatly for that one above as i paid 70 euro for a lot of 3 coins in an auction. The two others were: A Teophilos with obvious legends: and a mediocre Leo IV
Yup, I watched the bidding on that coin and saw that someone got a real bargain on it. I'm glad it was one of our CT family.
That's a very cool addition, arnoldoe ... neat dissecting and explanation (interesting) Sadly, I don't have an example of Constantine VII (*rats*) ... Ummm, but I do have a couple of examples the "sandwich" this time frame (wanna see 'em?) Leo VI the Wise AE Follis Constantinople mint Struck 908-912 AD 886-912 AD Diameter: 25 mm Weight: 6.40 grams Obverse: Crowned bust facing, holding akakia Reverse: +LЄOҺ/ ЄҺ ӨЄO ЬA/SILЄVS R/OmЄOҺ in four lines Reference: DOC 8; SB 1729 Other: 6h ... rough red-brown surfaces Anonymous Folles, Basil II & Constantine VIII Æ26 (Class A3) Constantinople mint circa 1020-1028 Diameter: 26 mm Weight: 7.04 grams Obverse: Facing bust of Christ Pantokrator Reverse: Legend in four lines; ornament above and below Reference: DOC A2.40; SB 1818 Other: 6h … dark gray-brown and red-brown patina ... sorry arnoldoe, but I rarely get a chance to let these coins out to run around and play (thanks)
That is a great price especially when it sold for over $60 (with buyers premium). Seen too many coins that was bought on auction and subsequently sold on ebay for far less. Here is my specimen:
