A few recent Byzantine comfort purchases

With the world seemingly going to H E double hockey sticks, I have been taking solace in purchasing coins online. I've been focusing mainly on Byzantines and wanted to share them with you.

Has anyone else been making comfort purchases? Or am I alone in this? If you have, feel free to share and make me feel not as guilty haha.

And now, in no particular order...except the order I purchased them in, newest to oldest...the coins!

Nicephorus II Phocas
AE Follis
Constantinople
Obverse: NICIFR bASIL ROM, crowned bust facing with short beard, wearing loros, holding labarum and cross on globe
Reverse: NICHF-EN QEW bA-SILEVS RW-MAIWN, legend in four lines


Basil II and Constantine VIII
AE Class 2 anonymous follis 976-1028 AD
Obverse: IC-XC to left and right of bust of Christ, facing, with nimbate cross behind head, holding book of gospels, two dots in each limb of the cross
Reverse: IhSUS XRISTUS bASILEU bASILE in four lines,


Michael IV
Class C Follis
1034-1041 AD
Obverse: EMMA NOVHL around, IC-XC to right and left of Christ, with nimbate cross behind head, three-quarter length figure standing, raising right hand, holding book of gospels in left
Reverse: IC-XC/NI-KA in the angles of a jewelled cross with dot at each end


Phocas
602-610 AD
AE Follis
Constantinople
Obverse: DN FOCAE PP AVG, crowned, mantled bust facing, holding mappa and cross (or mappa and eagle-tipped sceptre), Reverse:/ Large XXXX, ANNO above, regnal year 6 to right, mintmark CON and officina letter


Justinian I
AE Half-follis
Constantinople
Obverse: DN IVSTINIANVS PP AVG, helmeted, cuirassed bust facing, holding cross on globe and shield; cross in right field
Reverse: Large K, ANNO to left, cross above, regnal year to right, officina letter Δ below


Romanus III
1028-1034 AD
Class B anonymous follis
Constantinople
Obverse: IC-XC to right and left of bust of Christ facing with nimbate cross behind head, square in each limb of nimbus cross, holding book of gospels, a dot in centre of dotted square on book
Reverse: IS-XS BAS-ILE BAS-ILE to left and right above and below cross with dots at the ends, on three steps


Justinian I
AE Half-Follis
Antioch
Obverse: DN IVSTINIANVS PP AVG, helmeted, cuirassed bust facing, holding cross on globe and long sceptre, cross to right
Reverse: Large K, ANNO to left, cross above, regnal year XXI to right, mintmark e (or P with angled downstroke)


Justinian I
AE follis
527-565 AD
Constantinople
Obverse: DN IVSTINIANVS PP AVG, pearl diademed, draped, cuirassed bust right
Reverse: Large M. star to left, cross above, cross right, officina letter below, mintmark CON


Theophilus
AE Follis
830-842 AD
Constantinople
Obverse: ThEOFIL' bASIL', crowned, three-quarter length figure of Theophilus facing, pellets on crown, wearing loros, holding labarum and cross on globe
Reverse: ThEO-FILE AVG-OVStE SV-nICAS in four lines


Manuel I
AE Half-Tetarteron
Thessalonica mint.
Obverse: Monogram Sear 57 (Δ-M-K-ΠΛ clockwise from left at the ends of a cross) in small, neat letters
Reverse: Crowned, unbearded bust of Manuel facing, wearing loros, holding labarum and cross on globe
ex: @Severus Alexander

 

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Nice additions, @furryfrog02. Thanks for sharing.

 

I didn't realize just how many I have picked up over the last month! I should probably slow it down a bit haha.

 

Nice additions to your growing collection, @furryfrog02! I got this one in the mail today, courtesy of @John Anthony. It was an instance of retail therapy, too:

Justin I, AD 518-527.
Byzantine Æ follis, 17.03 g, 34.3 mm, 7 h.
Constantinople, 4th officina, AD 518-527.
Obv: D N IVSTI-NVS P P AVG, diademed, draped and cuirassed bust, right.
Rev: Large M; cross above, stars flanking; Δ//CON.
Refs: DOC 8d; MIBE 11; SB 62.

 

That's a nice looking follis. I love how Byzantine bronzes show their wear.

 

Some nice ones @furryfrog02 - I picked up a Focas a few months ago.

 

That's a good portrait and overall nice looking follis for Phocas. Most of the ones I have seen for him tend to be hot messes.

 

Geeze, I feel more comfortable just looking at them. BP went from 135 to 120 just like that.

 

@ancient coin hunter your Phocas looks quite grumpy! Fits perfectly his persona as a not-so-nice emperor.

@furryfrog02 this is quite a selection Byzantine bronzes are like crisps! Once you start you cant have just one...

And actually, I can join you in this Byzantine binge as the following coin arrived only a couple of hours ago! It was exaclty that, a comfort purchase as you called it.



It is like your second coin. An anonymous class A2 follis from the reign of Basil II and Constantine VIII. My Jesus side is quite busy legend-wise as there is also ΕΜΜΑΝΟΥΗΛ written across. I believe that could be the case in yours as well.

 

Nice image of Jesus. Usually the eyes and nose show significant wear (my folles do and I have two of them) but yours is almost pristine.

 

That is a really good looking obverse! I haven't seen one with so much detail and so much going on, like you said.

I really have been on a Byzantine kick as of late. I like their size and the fact that they are relatively cheap compared to other ancients. I managed to pick the most recent 5 coins up for $12.50 a piece.

 

Mine was a bit more expensive but still within a double-digit figure. The amount of history we are getting for that kind of money is priceless! Basil II is also commonly known as the Bulgar-slayer and was for many one of the top 3
successful Byzantine emperors (perhaps not for the Bulgarians) of all time. He deserves a proper write-up of his own, but I am saving it for when I get a solidus of him (if I ever get one).

 

Historical tidbit: Focas was the last emperor to erect a monument in the Roman Forum.

 

I was just reading about it on wikipedia.
He was welcomed to Rome by the pope and then ended up stealing everything that wasn't nailed down lol.

 

Actually was Constans II, several decades later:

From Wikipedia: “In 663 Constans visited Rome for twelve days—the only emperor to set foot in Rome for two centuries—and was received with great honor by Pope Vitalian(657–672). Although on friendly terms with Vitalian, he stripped buildings, including the Pantheon, of their ornaments and bronze to be carried back to Constantinople,...”

I read somewhere that a possible reason for this was to help pay for the war against the Arabs being waged at that time.

 

Whoops! I started reading at Phocas and made it up to Constantine IV on wiki. I got it jumbled. My bad.

 

I never saw anything wrong with messes as long as they are hot. Most Phocas coins seem to be overstruck on an earlier coin and many of his were overstruck by a later ruler. I do prefer coins that allow ID of the undertype. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

 

Those are some good looking Phocai (? not sure if that is the plural of Phocas!). I will admit, I was a bit bummed that none of my recent pick ups were overstrikes. At least nothing that I can see. You know how much I like overstrikes

 

Those are some really nice pickups! Work had me all stressed out the past few months due to changes in the marketplace. Started picking up some coins and relaxing whenever I had free time. It was definitely a stress reliever! A recent overstrike that I picked up:

Byzantine Empire: Heraclius (610-641) Æ Follis, Constantinople, RY 3 (Sear 805)
Obv: ddNNhЄRACLI ЧSЄT hЄRACONSTPAV; Heraclius, on left, and Heraclius Constantine, on right, standing facing, each holding long staff surmounted with cross; ⳩ above
Rev: Large M; Christogram above, A/N/N/O II/I across field; Є below; CON in exergue

Overstruck on a RY13 Nicomedia Follis of Justin II, specifically Sear 369

 

That is a cool overstrike! I love how clear both the dates are on the reverse!