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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;John Anthony, post: 2260114, member: 42773&quot;]Leo VI was emperor of the Byzantine Empire from 886-912, and evidently quite the scholar. His works include large legal treatises, political orations, liturgical poems, and theological papers. I&#039;ve ordered a translation of the <i>Taktika</i>, a treatise on military operations (for a little light, bedtime reading.)</p><p><br /></p><p>This coin has somewhat rustic surfaces (&quot;rough&quot; is such a negative word, don&#039;t you think?), but the detail and patina are quite attractive for a budget example. I seem to be in a Byzantine/Medieval mood these days, but I keep coming across coins that are hard to pass up...</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]448655[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p><b> <font size="4">Byzantine Empire, Leo VI, AD 886-912 </font></b><font size="4"> AE follis, 7.1g, 26mm, 6h; Constantinople mint.</font></p><p><font size="4">Obv.: +LEON bASILEVS ROM; crowned bust facing with short beard, wearing chlamys, holding akakia.</font></p><p><font size="4">Rev.: +LEON / EN QEO bA / SILEVS R / OMEON</font></p><p><font size="4">Reference: SB 1729.</font></p><p><br /></p><p>Not being well-versed in matters Byzantine, I had no idea what an akakia was...</p><p><br /></p><p>&quot;The <i><b>akakia</b></i> (Greek: ἀκακία, literally &quot;guilelessness&quot;) was a cylindrical purple silk roll containing dust, held by the Byzantine emperors during ceremonies, and symbolizing the mortal nature of all men. It possibly developed from the <i>mappa</i>, the cloth used by the Roman consuls to start the races at the hippodrome.&quot; - <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Akakia" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Akakia" rel="nofollow">Wikipedia</a></p><p><br /></p><p>Perhaps we should all carry one around to encourage guilelessness? I wonder if the <i>akakia</i> has any relationship to the Christian tradition (in certain denominations) of Ash Wednesday.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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