New year, new coins. Couple of Byzantines I picked up recently. Some common stuff but nice to add some new Byzantines since I haven't been adding many lately. Leo VI the Wise (870 - 912 A.D.) Æ Follis O: + LEOn bASILVS ROm, bust facing, with short beard, wearing crown with cross and chlamys, holding akakia in left hand. R: + LEOn/En ΘEO bA/SILEVS R/OMEOn, inscription in four lines. Constantinople (Istanbul, Turkey) mint 8.58g 26mm SBCV 1729 Romanus III (1028-1034 A.D.) Æ Follis Class B O: IC-XC, Bust of Christ holding book of gospels. EMMA NOVHL R: IS-XS BAS-ILE BAS-ILE to left and right above and below cross with dots at the ends, on three steps. Constantinople Mint 9.32g 29mm SB 1823, Grierson 984
Thanks for posting your new coins. Byzantine AE is a great area to collect. They are inexpensive and the Byzantine empire is loaded with history. If you don't know any Byzantine history, I recommend you read Norwich's Byzantium: A Short History, which is his abridgment of his Byzantium (in three volumes). These concentrate almost entirely on the stories of the emperors. If are not much of a reader, the stories are so fascinating you might read more pages more easily than you expect. Here is a coin of Heraclius (610-641) I got in 2016. Heraclius, Heraclius Constantine on right, empress Martina on left. The usual Byzantine large "M", with CON for Constantinople below and ANNO for "year" above and 15 (624/5) to the right and a monogram of Heraclius on the left of the M. Sear 808. 24-19 mm. Thick, 7.24 grams. The history of the long reign of Heraclius is complicated and filled with ups and downs. Some famous numismatic advice is "Buy the book before the coin," but in this case you might buy a few (very inexpensive) Byzantine AE coins and then buy the book to make them come alive in your mind.
My general impression is that Byzantine bronzes are usually rather crude. Is that your impression as well? I really like your second one. It's hard to figure out what's going on, or what it says, but the patina is attractive.
Congrats, Mat (Happy New Year) ... cool OP-additon Ummm, I also have an example of this fella ... wanna see it? Leo VI (the Wise)
One nice thing about Byzantine AE is the way some of the rare ones are as ugly as sin and sometimes show up cheap because so many people are so condition oriented. I might call Valentinian's Heraclius 'Proof, for these' as silly as that sounds. Keep an eye out for Anonymous coins with full EMMA NOVHL, two eyes and a nose. Considering how many of the things are overstruck, the ones shown on this page are really clear. This is not the same type but it is a Heraclius.
I have Wayne Sayles "Ancient Coin Collecting V: The Romaion/Byzantine Culture" which is a decent book for someone like me who isn't 100% invested into Byzantine. https://www.amazon.com/Ancient-Coin-Collecting-Romaion-Byzantine/dp/0873416376 And if you expect Byzantines to have the artistry like Greek/Roman, forget it. Most have their own unique look. The gold Byzantines tend to be done much better, but thats too be expected. But like all coins, they have some wonderful history attached to the figures who issued them.
Yeah, I read Sayle's book last month. I just haven't seen many of these (I'm new to the ancient world). Trying to get a feel of what to expect from these.
Honestly, they're pretty much over the place. Nice thing is byzantine gold is fairly affordable. I don't own none, but compared to Roman or greek gold it's surprising.
I was looking at some Byzantine gold in the upcoming NYINC sales, but I decided to focus on a couple of other pieces. I was surprised at how affordable it is, after doing some research.
I have a horrible romanus iii I can't find my pic of (no big loss), but here's my Leo III.... one of my first byzantine coins.
This was a gift a few years back ROMANUS III Follis 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 Struck at Constantinople 1028-34AD 9.5g, 29mm SB 1823
