Another Theophilus Æ Follis came into my life. These things just seem to happen. I particularly liked the portrait on this one, with its very stoic "just try and mess with me" gaze. The reverse has seen better times, but one can't be too picky with Byzantine coins. Theophilus (AD 829-842) Æ Follis; Constantinople mint; AD 830-842; Obv: ΘEOFIL bASIL; Half-length figure standing facing, holding labarum and globus cruciger; Rev: ΘEO / FILE AVG / OVSTE SV / hICAS in four lines; 28mm; 8.26 grams; Sear 1667 This is the same type as another Theophilus that I picked up last summer. This one has all around seen rougher days, but a lot of the detail still remains. Some people who saw it thought it may have gone through a deep cleaning. Theophilus (AD 829-842) Æ Follis; Constantinople mint; AD 830-842; Obv: ΘEOFIL bASIL; Half-length figure standing facing, holding labarum and globus cruciger; Rev: ΘEO / FILE AVG / OVSTE SV / hICAS in four lines; 27.66mm; 7.46 grams; Sear 1667
I have the half-follis denomination of the O.P.'s example: SB_1668. 24 mm. 4.6 gr. It has the same 4-line legend on the reverse. The top begins with a small Cross, then proceeds with Theophilus' name/title. But what is the translation of the remainder? Perhaps the 4th line is "victorious" or similar? I would greatly appreciate any help with this.
Never mind. I searched the Internet until I found the answer on the wonderfully extensive website of @Valentinian Source: http://augustuscoins.com/ed/Byz/legends.html
