Class H folles are attributed to Michael VII, 1071-1078. Michael VII came to the throne as a minor when Romanus IV lost the disastrous battle of Manzikert in 1071. Cleverly, the Seljuk Turks who won the battle and captured Romanus did not kill him but had him sign a treaty and sent him back after only a week's captivity. But, it was too late. Michael was already on the throne and Romanus was taken and blinded even before he got back and he died shortly thereafter. Michael VII was under the regency of Psellus, Byzantine philosopher and historian (you can buy his book Fourteen Byzantine Rulers in Penguin paperback) who prepared him for philosophy, law, and scholarly dispute, but not to be the soldier the empire needed. Neglect of the army provoked generals to revolt and he was deposed, still a young man, in favor of Nicephorus III, who was already an old man and who, in turn, did not last long. As has been said before, Byzantine history is Byzantine. Anonymous follis, Class H, attributed to Michael VII. 28-24 mm. 6.56 grams. Facing bust of Christ, nimbate, holding gospels. Patriarchal cross, large dots at the top and ends of of the crossbars, floral pattern at the bottom. Sear 1880. I have a web site on anonymous folles: http://augustuscoins.com/ed/ByzAnon/ The frequency table there shows Class H is about 2% of the anonymous folles in collections and less than 1% of excavation finds. Show us something Byzantine!
I have only 2 Byzantines in my collection. I have been listening to "The History of Byzantium" and have found myself becoming more and more interested in these coins. They are a bit daunting though and some are incredibly hard to attribute (at least that is my opinion). Phocas AD 602-610 AE Follis Nicomedia Obverse: DM FOCA PER AVG, crowned (with pendilia), mantled bust facing, holding mappa and cross Reverse: Large XXXX, sometimes with star to left, regnal year III or IIII to right, mintmark NIKO and officina letter This is struck over a coin from a previous ruler but I have never been able to identify which. I'm guessing either Maurice Tiberius or Theodosius since they were the previous two rulers. Constantine VIII Class A3 anonymous follis 1025-1028 AD Obverse: IC-XC to right and left of bust of Christ facing with nimbus cross behind head, 2 dots in each limb of the cross, holding book of gospels with dot in center of the book's border Reverse: +IhSUS XRISTUS bASILEU bASILE in four lines
Tiberius II Constantine, Byzantine Empire AE half-follis Obv: Dm TIb CONSTANT PP A, crowned, cuirassed bust facing, holding cross on globe and shield Rev: Large X-dot-X, cross above Mint: Rome Mintmark: ROM Date: 574-582 AD Ref: SB 476 Heraclius (with Heraclius Constantine), Byzantine Empire AR hexagram Obv: dd NN hERACLIUS Et hERA CONSt, Heraclius on left and Heraclius Constantine on right, seated facing on double-throne, each holding cross on globe in right hand, small cross above Rev: dEUS AdIUtA ROmANIS, Cross-potent on globe above three steps; monogram to left, I in left field Date: 615-638 AD Mint: Constantinople Ref: SB 801 22 mm wide, 6 gr. (attribution information from Wildwinds)
Nice one, Warren! Here's my humble H: Michael VII AE Class H Anonymous Follis, Constantinople Mint, 1071-1078 AD Obverse: Facing bust of Christ Pantokrator, overlined IC – XC in fields. Reverse: Patriarchal cross (with two crossbars) with globule and pellets at extremities, set on floral ornament. References: Sear 1880
I think one of the most interesting things about Eastern Roman coinage is the fact it has remained unstudied for such a long period of time. If you want to make new discoveries the continuation of the Roman empire this is the best era to collect . Its separation from Roman Imperial era was a modern invention. The people who lived in Constantinople considered themselves Roman until the very end, interesting enough you will find it on the inscription of the coins in the final decades. The most popular coins to collect from the Eastern Roman empire era are the large early bronzes and these coins the Anonymous follis series. To keep in theme, I do not have a class H yet. However here is a really nice class G I picked up a few years back. It is attributed to Romanus IV 1068-1071
I find this coin very interesting Doug, when Alexius did the coin reform he over stuck tetartera on top of the currently circulating follis. Here is an example of a coin that did not exist but did receive a Sear number, SBCV-1910. The coin as seen here is an over stuck tetarteron. It is actually a SBCV-1931 The only difference in the coins is SBCV-1910 has a boarder of dots. ALEXIUS AE TETARTERON S-1931 DOC 40 CLBC 2.4.7 SBCV-1910 OBV Jeweled radiate Cross, decorated at the end of each limb with one large globule and two smaller, all on two steps. REV. Bust of emperor wearing stemma, divitision and jeweled loros of traditional type; holds in r. hand scepter cruciger and in l. Globus cruciger. Size 25/22mm Weight 3.2gm This example is more than likely the coin listed as SBCV-1910 , Sear 1931 struck over a Class I or Class K anonymous follis. Hendy's ( SBCV-1910) lists at 2.96gm around 23mm
Class H in one of my favorites. John IV Mint: Trebizond 1446 to 1458 AD AR Asper Obvs: Λ in circle. St. Eugene on horseback right nimbate, holding cross-scepter. In upper field right ИH. Revs: John on horseback right wearing stemma with pendilia and loros, holding trefoil scepter. beneath horse. B to right of horse. 13x14mm, 0.54g Sear 2642; Retowski 2
Nice write-up Valentinian, and nice coins too. I just got a Romanus IV Diogenes from a local dealer's junk box. While researching it, I found the story of how Romanus was captured by the Turks - here's Wikipedia: "According to a number of Byzantine historians, including John Skylitzes, Arslan at first had difficulty believing the dusty and tattered warrior brought before him was the Roman Emperor.[28] He then stepped down from his seat and placed his foot on Romanos' neck.[29] After this sign of ritual humiliation, however, Arslan raised Romanos from the ground and ordered him to be treated like a king. From then on he treated him with extreme kindness, never saying a cruel word to him during the Emperor's eight-day stay in his camp.[29] He then released the Emperor in exchange for a treaty and the promise of a hefty ransom. At first Alp Arslan suggested a ransom of 10,000,000 nomismata to Romanos IV, but he later reduced it to 1,500,000 nomismata, with a further 360,000 nomismata annually.[17]" (Wikipedia) : By Boccace, De Casibus - Bibliothèque nationale de France, manuscrit Français 232, folio 323, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=1551440 Heck of a lot better deal than Valerian got! Here's my Romanus IV: Byzantine Empire Æ Follis Romanus IV Diogenes (1068-1071 A.D.) Constantinople Mint IC-XC over NI-KA flanking bust of Christ facing, / Cross with C-R / P-Δ in angles. SB 1866; DOC III, part 2, 8. Overstrike: Anonymous Class C Follis (?). (5.51 grams / 25 mm)
I like all the recent Byzantine stuff - it's a collecting focus of mine right now. Since the original post asked for something Byzantine and I don't have a class H follis here is a recent addition: Class B follis from Basil II & Constantine VIII, ex. Doug Smith. This coin arrived in the mail right before I went on vacation and I haven't had a chance to reshoot it or look into it any further.
One of my favourite periods of Byzantine history, and a nice Class H! Here's a Michael VII with a portrait: And a recently acquired Romanus IV 1/3 miliaresion (hard to get a portrait of this guy - of course they all look the same anyway ):
Very nice class H! I still need to get one of those. Here is my class C: Anonymous Follis Class C Jesus Christ Michael IV (1034 - 1041 A.D.) Obverse: EMMANOVHL, three-quarter length figure of Christ standing facing, wearing nimbus cruciger, pallium and colobium, raising right in benediction, Gospels in left, IC-XC. Reverse: Jeweled cross with pellet at each extremity, in the angles IC - XC / NI-KA (May Jesus Christ Conquer). It is fascinating how the Hellenic world became merged with the Roman world and the ethnic Greeks called themselves Rhomaioi until the very end. However, there does seem to have formed a distinct culture over the year, heavily influenced by the orthodox religion and different from the Roman Imperials. After the end of the "dark ages" (ca. 7 to 8th centuries) the Empire took the "character" that western historiography calls "Byzantine", different from the Western Romans, and the predominance of the Greek language against Latin was almost total. The ethnic Greeks still recognized themselves as descendant from the Hellenics and the Latin language never really replaced Greek as the language of communication among people, of philosophy, science and the church.
@Valentinian - thank you for the post, the attractive Class H coin and useful links to reference information. Although I don't collect these - I do occasionally get end up with a byzantine coin and find the full downloadable reference books from doaks.org amazing. Here's a messy coin of Romanus IV that is double struck and/or overstruck (over a Class C?). I find the shiny patina is challenging to photograph. Byzantine Coin Romanus IV Diogenes (1068-1071), Follis, Constantinople Obv: IC - XC / NI - KA. Facing bust of Christ Pantokrator. Rev: C - R / P - Δ. Cross, with saltire cross at center and globus and two pellets at the end of each extremity. Ref: DOC 8; Sear 1866 Note: "May the Cross (C) Preserve (R) Romanus (P) Diogenes (Δ)"
