"The series of anonymous coins have been known to numismatists for centuries. Many attempts were made over the years to classify and assign them. The groundbreaking work of early female numismatist Margaret Thompson at the Athenian Agora, studying overstrikes, finally solved the riddle of the sequence in which these were issued. She wasn’t able to specifically identify which emperor issued them, but was able to put them into order using the letters A-K." From "Anonymous Byzantine Bronzes: Their Iconography, History, and Collectibility" by Chris Freeman . Why would an anonymous follis be overstruck? Phocas overstruck the coins of Maurice Tiberius because of hostility. Heraclius overstruck the coins of Maurice Tiberius because of hostility also. Constantine VII overstuck Romanos I Lekapenos because of squabbling. I understand overstrikes if an emperor wanted to erase a former rival he hated. But why would the anonymous folles be overstruck?
When weight standards change, the desire to trim down older and heavier coins and restrike them with the current design seems plausible. It is easier than melting them down.
Oh yes. That sounds very plausible. The Anonymous Follis became smaller and smaller during the 1000s.
