I picked up a fairly attractive (for type) Leo III 40 nummi. It was from a British dealer, the first time I had ordered from them. Both coins came in one flip, and neither had a description tag, other than inventory number, which was slightly annoying. Ok, whatever, I guess I can make my own description tag. Per the coins themselves, I'm pretty happy. Until I opened up Sear, I didn't realize there were large module and small module versions of teh same Sear #; 1514. I would have preferred the large module, but neither seems to come up for sale all that often, so I'm happy to cross Leo off my emperors' list. I wonder which came first; the large module or the small module? Leo III with Constantine V (717-741). Æ 40 Nummi (19mm, 4.41g, 6h). Constantinople, year 20 (c. 720-1). Crowned and draped facing bust of Leo, holding globus cruciger. R/ Large M surmounted by crowned and draped facing bust of Constantine, holding globus cruciger; cross to r.; A/A - X/X across lower field. MIB 28; DOC –; Sear 1514. Good VF (copied from dealer's description). The second was a large-sized snack, a Caracalla provincial. I have a soft spot for very large coins, so it fit the bill as filler. Caracalla (198-217). Cilicia, Tarsus. Æ (35mm, 13.29g, 6h). Laureate and cuirassed bust r., slight drapery. R/ Emperor standing l., togate, sacrificing over altar. Cf. SNG BnF 1527-8 (for rev. type). Near VF (my grade: VG/G).
I have the Syracuse version. I don't know if it also came in two modules (mine is 21.5mm, 2.74g): Neither is easy to find, especially in decent shape. Congrats! (Note the XX notation on yours isn't actually meaningful, it wasn't minted in his 20th year.)
Those are all very nice! These coins are always a mess and finding a good one is always difficult. Here is mine, not the greatest, but nonetheless, a good filler...
That's a nice patina. Since the larger module XXX/NNN issues came later, I guess the tiny module ones came earlier. Mine's the smallest follis I've seen; about the size of a denarius. Is your the larger module one or the smaller one, Quant.Geek?
By the way, I listened to the History of Byzantium podcast episode about Leo's rule during the 720s today.
