Just purchased this interesting Justin I follis from Nicomedia. The types with cross above bust are somewhat scarce, and definitely tougher to find than those without crosses. This example is about as nice as I've seen for the type but what really made it stand out to me is that it appears to be an "eyes to heaven" type, similar to those struck for Constantine, as the head position in relation to the neck is certainly upright. Can't be sure this was the artist's intent, but who knows.
Cool and interesting coin Brian. Always good to see a nice early Byzantine posted. A while back I got my first cross above head Byzantine follis, still need to take photos though.
I can't say I've seen an upward looking bust of his, maybe I didn't pay enough attention. That's a good find.
That's very interesting and I can't help but think it was deliberate on the celator's part. Cool find!
We'll probably never know if it was intentional or just a vagary of the Nikomedia mint. But it is an interesting coin.
That's the first of the 'type' I have ever noticed. It sure looks like an 'eyes to heaven' design.....WAY COOL!!! And WELCOME!!!!
My friend Dan Clark collected early Byzantine coins with cross-above-head. I wrote a website about his extensive collection: http://augustuscoins.com/ed/ByzCross/Cross-above-head.html His second example of Sear 86 (the type of the OP coin), on this page: http://augustuscoins.com/ed/ByzCross/Justin.html has the cross-above-head and that eyes-to-heaven look. I hadn't noticed. Good catch, Brian!
