Again I'm in frugal mode, since I'm saving for my next epic holiday (which will be Sudan and Eritrea early next year)! So I'm limited to the affordable rulers that i don't yet have. Which doesn't leave much. But I didn't have Anastasius, so I went and bought him: Obverse: D N ANASTASIVS P P AVG diademed, draped and cuirassed bust right Reverse: Large M between 2 stars, cross above, delta below, CON in exergue 36mm, 18.89 grams I consider Anastasius to be the last Roman emperor, at least as far as numismatics is concerned - his reign marks the end of the "Roman" coinage, and the start of Byzantine coinage. For my collection, I look for "wow" factor - so it was either a solidus or a massive post-reform follis. Very pleased to own this piece, but feel free to tell me how foolish i've been. Or share your own Anastasius follis!
A solidus or a large post reform follis - I opted to go the other way. Small module early follis. Anastasius (491-518 AD) AE Small Module 40 nummis (Follis) struck 498-507 AD 23.8 mm x 12.43 grams Obverse: Diademed bust of Anastasius- DN ANASTASIVS AV Reverse: Large M flanked by Stars, Delta Officina - NIC, cross above ref# SB32
Ah there he is. Very nice. There seems to be a lot of variation in the weights of these folles. Yours is 12.43g, mine is 18.89g. Does anyone know why?
Those are really nice coins, both @Greg Heinrich and @Ancientnoob. Mine are not in nearly this kind of condition.
It's a great example, congrats. Anastasius (491-518) Æ Follis, "Small Module" O: DN ANASTASIVS P P AVG, diademed, draped, cuirassed bust right. R:Large M, cross above, CON in ex. Constantinople Mint 25mm 12.65g Sear 14 DO 16
Nice "frugal mode" Anastasius. I do the same for my whole Imperial Portrait Series. (@Greg Heinrich , I am now going after Empress Portraits...so I am building a total Roman Ruler Portraits... well, as much as you can possibly build... ) BZ Anastasius I 491-518 AE Post Reform Folles M monogram Obv-Rev.jpg
Awesome coin Greg, desert patina really shows the details.i love these big Follis coins. Anastasius 491-518 AD. The big M, from Constantiinople.. Big coin 36mm x 18.81g. Dark green, with earthen highlights.
There was a coin reform in 498. Prior to that the copper coins were nummia, small AE4s in the 1-gram range. 8 mm. 0.98 grams. Sear 13. Monogram of Anastasius. There were no larger copper coins, and silver was so rare that the next useful denomination up was the gold tremisis, worth thousands of the tiny copper coins. Obviously, the money system was in a mess. Anastasius reformed it. The reform created the "small module" follis of 40 nummia, but was much less than 40 times as heavy as the 1-nummis (see photo below). Even though copper coins were token coins, the proportion was so out of line that it was protested and after a short while weights were increased substantially, making an impressively large coin (see the OP). The "large module" M coins of Anastasius are more common than the "small module", earlier, version. A small module K (20 nummia) is harder to find than the M. 18 mm. "small module" 4.42 grams. The "K" that goes with the "large module" "M" piece is about 27 mm, far larger.
Nice examples, Greg et al! Here's one from a mixed lot. Anastasius I, CE 491-518 AE follis, 33 mm, 17.0 gm Constantinople mint, CE 512-517 Obv: DN ANASTASIVS P P AVG, pearl diademed, draped, cuirassed bust right Rev: Large M, star to left, cross above, star to right, officina letter below, mintmark CON Ref: SB 39
Anastasius was the pioneer of Byzantine coins, using the Greek letters M K E etc.. as denominations. Here's a modest Half-follis with the letter K implying 20 (nummi).
Terrific posts everyone!!! Jeez, @Greg Heinrich, Have you ever had an 'epic holiday' anywhere other than 'exotic' locales'.....I'm getting jealous but the jet-lag would kill me LOL Sadly, I'm missing any of this ruler.
Well I've been to all the "normal" places - New York, Paris, London. But just as I collect one coin of each ruler, I also collect countries. With my visits to Sudan and Eritrea, my country count will be 72. Still far too many more countries (and coins) to collect to complete the set!
I've probably been to over 50 countries and counting, but I have never even heard of Eritrea. Sounds like a urinary condition. Have fun! Oh, and nice coin!
Yup, along the Red Sea coast. Oh, and catchin' up on ya, Mr Heinrich. Captured a few Empresses and have 115 Ruler slots filled.
Nice going! My progress on the one-per-ruler project will be slow for several weeks while I pay off this trip. After that, I hope to capture Pescennius Niger, Gordian II and Antinous - those guys are top of my wish list!
great color on that new follis greg! i have several byzantine coins, but only two of anastasius, here's my follis...
