Justin I Follis from Nicomedia - Cross over Obverse Bust? SB 86.

Discussion in 'Ancient Coins' started by Marsyas Mike, May 30, 2021.

  1. Marsyas Mike

    Marsyas Mike Well-Known Member

    Just got in a Byzantine follis of Justin I minted in Nikomedia. For these early undated folles, the attribution process is fairly straightforward - figure out the cross/star/crescent arrangement on the reverse and viola!

    This one has a star-cross-cross arrangement, which I at first figured was SB 87.

    However, while pulling up examples online, I found another type, SB 86, which was in neither Wildwinds nor Labrum.

    The difference between SB 86 and SB 87 is an additional cross on the obverse. While researching the Obverse Cross Type, I came across examples in auctions. This one from Harlan J. Berk has a large and spectacular obverse cross:

    Byz Justin I - Nicomedia Follis star cross cross with Cross Obverse SB 86 - Auct pic.jpg

    https://www.numisbids.com/n.php?p=lot&sid=2037&lot=310

    Some of them had smaller obverse crosses. This one looks like mine - the cross is small, seeming a part of the headgear:

    Byz Justin I - Nicomedia Follis star cross cross with Cross Obverse SB 86 - Auct2 pic.jpg



    https://www.coinarchives.com/a/lotv...&Lot=325&Val=afbdb6656d92c3ce70feb0fab01424d1

    Here is mine - I think I can see an obverse cross:

    Byz - Justin I Follis Nicom. SB 86 cross May 2021 (0).jpg
    Justin I Æ Follis
    n.d. (518-527 A.D.)
    Nicomedia Mint

    DN IVSTINVS PP AVG, pearl-diademed, draped, and cuirassed bust right, cross above
    / Large M, cross above, star left, cross right, Officina A below, NIKM in exergue.
    SB 86; Berk 73; MIB 39.
    (15.31 grams / 28 mm)

    Close-up view:

    Byz - Justin I Follis Nicom. SB 86 cross May 2021 (0det3).jpg

    Maybe I'm deluding myself. I'm guessing there are other Justin I variations from Nicomedia; labrum's SB numbers run 83, 87 and 88, leading me to believe there are other variations in between (I don't have Sear's Byzantine book, where the SB comes from). These appear to be a bit scarce, and all of them I found were from Officina A.

    http://labarum.info/lbr/index.php?s...er=Justin+I&sf_mint=Nicomedia&sf_denom=follis

    Here is SB 83, star-cross-star reverse, no obverse cross:

    Justin I - Nicomedia follis 2013 (0).jpg
    Justin I Æ Follis
    (518-527 A.D.)
    Nicomedia Mint

    DN IVSTINVS PP AVG, pearl-diademed, draped, and cuirassed bust right / Large M,
    cross above, star left, star right, Officina B below, NIKM in exergue.
    SB 83; DOC 28.
    (17.77 grams / 29 mm)

    I'm sure there are scads of CT Justin I's out there from Nicomedia. Maybe worth another look to see if you have one of the scarcer variations?
     
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  3. catadc

    catadc Well-Known Member

    20210530_174122.jpg
     

    Attached Files:

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  4. ancient coin hunter

    ancient coin hunter 3rd Century Usurper

  5. Marsyas Mike

    Marsyas Mike Well-Known Member

    Thanks for attaching that excerpt from Sear - wow. I had no idea there were that many variations. I'd like to see that "Manus Dei" type.
     
  6. Valentinian

    Valentinian Well-Known Member

    A friend of mine collected the "Cross above head" early Byzantine varieties for many years. I studied them and put them on the web for him:
    http://augustuscoins.com/ed/ByzCross/Cross-above-head.html
    There is a great deal of information about them at that site, which has more illustrations than all the reference books put together.

    Sear 84 and Sear 100 are the most common types with crosses above the head:
    http://augustuscoins.com/ed/ByzCross/Justin.html#Nicomedia
    The collection has been disbursed. Some went to Dumbarton Oaks, some to the ANS, and the rest sold.

    Here is my favorite:
    SB100Justin+varietyVeryRare1514.jpg

    Justin I, 518-527. 34-32 mm. 17.08 grams.
    Sear 100, unlisted variety.
    It has a bold cross above the head, which is uncommon but not amazing. What is amazing is that there are two symbols above the M, both a cross, +, and a star, *. I don't think I have ever seen another Byzantine follis with two symbols there. I'd love to see another one.

    @Marsyas Mike wrote, " I'd like to see that "Manus Dei" type." There is one on that page, Sear 85A.
     
    Last edited: May 30, 2021
  7. Marsyas Mike

    Marsyas Mike Well-Known Member

    Thanks for providing this link - I don't know how I missed it! I always use your site a lot when attributing things.
     
  8. seth77

    seth77 Well-Known Member

    I have posted this one before, mainly for the interesting reverse countermark (the small crescent over the chi-iota star at the left of the M) but I think it also has the cross above the effigy, of which at least the vertical bar and some of the horizontal one can be seen:

    1788001_1616948225.jpg
     
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