I’m not a huge fan of Byzantine coins. However I think that every generalist should have at least a token amount of Byzantine to round things out. I finally completed my set of the most common denominations - 1, 5, 10, 20, and 40 nummus! I am of course missing the 3, 6, 8, and 12 (plus other wacky ones) but I’m pleased with the basics. 1 Nummus - Anastasius 5 Nummus (pentanummium) - 10 Nummus (decanummium) - Justinian I 20 Nummus (half-follis) - Justin II and Sophia 40 Nummus (follis) - Justin I The 1, 5 and 10 came from uncleaned lots at an average cost of about $0.73 each.
You have no idea how hard it was to attribute it as Justinian I... I was ready to toss it in the junk heap but buckled down and made a (reasonably) certain attribution. One of these days I’ll get a better one... It would be nice to have a quality set of the basics
Very cool! I would like to get a full set of Byzantine denominations as well. Right now I just have the nummis, half-follis, and follis. I've got my eye on a pentanumium right now. Perhaps after pay day
@hotwheelsearl The 5 nummi is Justin II. Next level is to get the other denomination until the end of the Empire. No need to wait. Those are way cheaper than you think. This is one of the reasons I do not have a nummus yet - shipping is more than the coin, and never got to combine one with another purchase. Now try to un-see this:
Yeah I know they aren't super expensive. The one I was looking at is only like $13. Just gotta wait since xmas is coming and my wife has said my coin budget is about up for the year lol.
Nice set! The 12 nummi should be easy enough to find, albeit not in nice condition (has anyone ever seen a truly beautiful Byzantine AE?) I once briefly owned a 2-nummi of Justinian, one of the many coins I wish I didn't sell. I'd have to go through my photo archives, but I was able to find this pic It would be fun to try to complete a full Byzantine denomination set - I think Justinian minted nearly every denomination.
