I bought this coin a while ago, but I set it aside as I couldn't figure out who issued the coin. There are a lot of telltale signs of Justinian II, but there are other signs that say otherwise. The reverse clearly indicates a Justinian II follis of RY 2, officina A, but the obverse's legends are weird. It looks like it was overstruck on a Constans II follis on the reverse (shoulder is visible on the left and a K above), but my eyes might be playing tricks. What do you guys think?
I don't claim to be an expert but I'd say you're correct. Justinian II (I love his coins of the first reign) has a very distinctive look. The triangular indentation covering the upper face is a bit of an enigma. Here's my less nice one. It looks less bad in person and the spots aren't active. Justinian II 1st Reign Bronze Follis, Sear-1260, Year-2, Officina-A, struck 686-687 at Constantinople, 8.07 grams, 26.6 mm. aVF Obv: IUSJINIANUS P - Bust of Justinian facing, with short beard, wearing crown and chlamys, and holding globus cruciger, a cross in the right field Rev: Large 'M' between ANNO and numerals representing the regnal year, with cross above and officina letter below, CON in exergue A larger than normal flan, which is the result of overstriking of an earlier issue with choice brown patina and nice central devices. Rare. Ex: Dr. Michael Metlich Collection (Ex Glenn W. Woods and description)
The problem I have is that the legend is completely off! It is possible that it is corrupt, but still...
I was too lazy to pull my copy of Sear and headed on over to Wildwinds. Lol, my coin is the plate coin for wildwinds S 1260.
I have a PDF version of Sear that I downloaded from JSTOR a while ago (legally). It helps for the semi-quick lookups and anything in detail, I go to DOC. For the quick lookups, I use labarum.info. The coin was sold as Tiberius III, which is close, but no cigar. That ЄRA or similar is tripping me. The reverse is spot-on with Justinian II... Byzantine Empire: Tiberius III Apsimar (698-705) Æ Follis, Constantinople (Sear 1366; DOC II.8; MIB 73) Obv: DTibЄRI-ЧƧPЄ-AV or similar; Bust facing, with short beard, wearing crown with cross on circlet and cuirass, and holding spear diagonally, across his body and shield with horseman device Rev: Large M; cross above, to left, A/N/N/O, to right, regal year; Γ below; CON in exergue
Isn't the bust on your coin holding a globus cross? So wouldn't that throw out Apsimar? Perhaps you could just attribute it to Justinian II with a note, 'subject to correction.'
I'm curious about the delta in the exerge. There sure is a lot going on with that coin that could drive us all a bit crazy. Fun Stuff.
I kept a window open so I could come back to this fun thread. I think @dltsrq is right that there must be multiple overstrikes here. I'm wondering if I see the reverse of a Constantine IV half follis, SB 1179. What do you think? On your coin, I see the big K, the cross above, the C (from "CON"), and the A from "ANNO." Interestingly, the positioning of the K on this coin is unusual, with the main bar almost in the centre, which matches your coin. This idea isn't as helpful for explaining your reverse... .. although there could be a globus cruciger on the left, the top of the crown at the upper left, and Constantine's shoulder at the right. The apparent "K" is unexplained, though - I agree Heraclius SB 1013-14 does a better job of explaining that. On the other hand I don't see the reverse of 1013-14 on your obverse at all. What's the widest diameter of your coin, @Quant.Geek? Not sure what to make of the odd legend on your obv...
That is brilliant @Severus Alexander! That seems to be a much better fit than what I came up with. The "C" in Con was driving me crazy and this fits the bill with the cross above. I'll have to get the coin out and measure it, might take some time. Thanks!
...What I'm getting from this thread is only that, if I had all day, I could cheerfully get as deep into the weeds with this stuff as you guys do. Hats off!
