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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;Marsyas Mike, post: 5936446, member: 85693&quot;]Love those countermarks, ff - and this is a particularly nice one. </p><p><br /></p><p>I have Byzantine countermarks of varying degrees of ugly.&nbsp; Here is one for Sicily, but with only Heraclius&#039;s bust and a monogram: </p><p>[ATTACH=full]1243654[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p><b>Byzantine Empire&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; Æ Follis</b></p><p><b>Heraclius (c. 616-622 A.D.)</b></p><p><b>Sicilian Mint</b></p><p><b>Host coin:</b>&nbsp; Constantinople (?) follis of Anastasius, Justin I or Justinian I. </p><p><b>Counterstamp:</b> bust of Heraclius, facing in circle, PTh monogram right / SCLs in oval.&nbsp; </p><p>SB 882; DOC 241.</p><p>(12.09 grams / 28 mm)</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>Heraclius countermarked with a monogram only (obverse), apparently for use by the military battling the armies of Islam around Palestine: </p><p>[ATTACH=full]1243653[/ATTACH]</p><p><b>Byzantine Empire&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; Æ Follis</b></p><p><b>Heraclius (c. 633-636 A.D.) cm <b>on Tib. II Con. (578-582 A.D.)</b></b></p><p><b>Nikomedia / Palestine Mint</b></p><p><b>Host coin:</b>&nbsp; DM T[Ib CONSTANTS PP], crowned facing bust cruciger &amp; shield / M, ANNO left, cross above, [date] right, B below; NIK[O] in exergue.</p><p>SB 440, DOC 27b. (?)</p><p>(11.86 grams / 31 x 27 mm)</p><p><br /></p><p><b>Countermark:</b> HRC cruciform monogram in 9 mm circle.</p><p>Schulze HCM type 1b</p><p>&quot;Heraclian countermarks on Byzantine copper coin in seventh-century Syria&quot; by Wolfgang Schulze, Ingrid Schulze and Wolfgang Leimenstoll discusses finds near Caesarea Maritima, where this example was found, and concludes, &quot;During the military conflict between the Byzantine Empire and the Muslim Arabs in&nbsp; Syria in the years 633-36 Byzantine coins were countermarked by the Byzantine military</p><p>with&nbsp; a Heraclius monogram. Countermarking most probably was exercised predominantly in Palestine I and was carried out to revalue the few circulating copper coins in order to remedy the general supply gap and disastrous shortage of cash.&quot;</p><p>[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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