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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;Marsyas Mike, post: 3986658, member: 85693&quot;]My first purchase this year was a batch of five Byzantine folles from eBay, otherwise undescribed.&nbsp; One was weird and worn with an odd reverse - just an M and a cross. I had no idea what it was until I got it in hand and I did a little digging on the Internet. </p><p><br /></p><p>Turns out it is a Justinian I follis from the Salona (or possibly the Ravenna) mint.&nbsp; It is thought this was from a military issue for the Gothic Wars - so I learned from a CNG auction:</p><p><br /></p><p>&quot;The correct attribution of this unsigned series of bronzes remains uncertain, but numerous examples have been found in the environs of Salona in Illyria, an important Byzantine fort and staging area for military activity in Italy. Both Belisarius and Narses used it as a headquarters in their campaigns against the Ostrogothic king Baduila (Totila, 541-552), who conducted a brilliant guerrilla campaign against superior Imperial forces until his death at <i>Busta Gallorum</i> in 552. There is some debate about the date of coinage at this mint. Grierson supports a date in the 540s-550s, at the height of the Italian war, while Hahn in MIBE dates it later, to 562-565, based on similar styles of bust found on dated Ravenna mint issues from late in Justinian&#039;s reign. In any case, the reduced size, simplified design, and scarcity of these bronzes speaks of a short-lived issue of limited circulation.&quot; </p><p><br /></p><p><a href="https://www.cngcoins.com/Coin.aspx?CoinID=389048" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://www.cngcoins.com/Coin.aspx?CoinID=389048" rel="nofollow">https://www.cngcoins.com/Coin.aspx?CoinID=389048</a></p><p><br /></p><p>Another article by Elena Baldi speculates on whether or not these might&#039;ve come from Ravenna:&nbsp; <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/323561397_Coins_of_the_mint_of_Salona_from_the_archaeological_contexts_of_Classe_New_evidence_and_interpretation" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/323561397_Coins_of_the_mint_of_Salona_from_the_archaeological_contexts_of_Classe_New_evidence_and_interpretation" rel="nofollow">https://www.researchgate.net/publication/323561397_Coins_of_the_mint_of_Salona_from_the_archaeological_contexts_of_Classe_New_evidence_and_interpretation</a></p><p><br /></p><p>Here is mine:</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]1049702[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p><b>Justinian I&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; Æ Follis</b></p><p><b>(c. 540s-550s or 562-565 A.D.)</b></p><p><b>Salona / Ravenna Mint (?)</b></p><p><b>(Military Mint)</b></p><p>IVSTI[NI]ANVS PP, Helmeted facing bust, holding globus cruciger and shield; cross</p><p>to right / Large M; cross above, no mintmark or Officina.</p><p>DOC I 358; MIBE 248; SB 329.</p><p>(6.43 grams / 21 mm)</p><p><br /></p><p>Here is the whole batch this came from, showing how oddly small this is compared to other folles of the era (Justin I and two Justin II/Sophias - the cut-down Class B Anonymous was posted separately) - coinwise I feel I started the year out pretty lucky (that CNG example sold for $1300.00, though it is nicer than mine):</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]1049703[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p>Are there any other Salona Byzantines out there?&nbsp; These seem to be a bit scarce, although CNG has auctioned several recently and the archaeologists seem to be digging them up on a regular basis.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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