Featured Justinian's Monetary Reform of AD 538

Tejas, It is interesting that your ROME follis is very close in weight to the Diocletian standard of 10.50 gm. I chose the CNG example of the Theodahad follis because it was the 1st example I stumbled on in my photo file. I did find another photo of a follis of the same type as the CNG example, but not nearly as nice, auctioned by Roma Numismatics, in 2016 for 1,900 GBP. The Roma follis weighs 10.41 gm, very close to your follis.



Another example of a Theodahad follis from Nomos AG, sold via CNG is pictured below; this example sold for $25,000.00 ! The Nomos example weighs 10.28 gm.

 

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Tejas, Why don't you post photos of your 2 best examples of the Theodahad follis for the benefit of CT members, & me . It certainly is unfortunate that other barbarian kings didn't produce portrait coins . The only example of a Theodoric portrait I'm aware of is on this magnificent gold medallion struck at the Rome mint. This rare treasure was once owned by the king of Italy, Victor Emanuel. If another one of these medallions were to appear in the market place it would probably break all records for an ancient coin .

 

I have several Byzantine bronze coins and became curious as to the location of the Constantinople mint that made them, especially this one of Justinian (AD 527-565)


Justinian AE Follis
Bronze, 30 mm, 17.98 gm, Struck: AD 527-538, Sear 158
Obverse: Justinian facing right, D N IVSTINI-ANVS PP AVG
Reverse: Large letter 'M', star left, cross top, cross right, G under 'M', CON below (Constantinople mint)

Philip Grierson's book Catalogue of late Roman coins in the Dumbarton Oaks Collection (Dumbarton Oaks, 1992) places the Constantinople mint for bronze coins near the "Golden Gate". Gold coins were minted at the "Great Palace".


The Golden Gate, Castle of the Seven Towers, Yedikule, Istanbul

 

willieboyd2, That's a good question that I never gave much thought . In the 67 page essay I read for this article by Philip Gierson, Byzantine Coinage, he didn't identify the exact location within Constantinople where the mints were located. What you stated make sense . Gold coinage was most likely made within the confines of the imperial palace where the treasury was located. Constantinople was a heavily fortified city, about as difficult to breach as the island of Alcatraz .

 

Kyzikos mint. Officina B. Regnal year VIII. 534/535 A.D.

 

tibor, That's a nice looking example for a follis late in the series. I believe you made a typo in the description, shouldn't it be year XVIII (18) ? The Cyzicus Mint had a reputation for making a quality product going back to the tetrarchy . Do you know the weight & diameter of the coin ?

 

A follis of a different type



JUSTINIAN, FOLLIS
Antioch, 529-533
18.85 g - 35 mm
SB 214

 

My mistake. The specs. are 44mm and 19.7g. The date would be 544/545 A.D.

 

Both of these coins are superb, museum quality.

 

I am not as well versed in Byzantine coinage as I ought to be but let me ask a question about the use of the M for the value of 40 numus coin. I know. of course that the Greeks used letters of their alphabet to indicate numerical values such as epsilon for a five numus coin, iota for a ten and kappa for a twenty. I also know that even though Justinian spoke Latin as his first language (maybe, it might have been a Danubian dialect used at home) the complete language of these coins, those big folles, is Latin. So why the Latin for the inscription but the Greek numbering value for these coins? I have seen large 40 numus coins, I think of Maurice Tiberius or Justin II with four XXXX so a four X coin was a possibility. Certainly when the Byzantines went to all Greek in their inscriptions the use of the Greek alphabet made sense, but why its use on a totally Latin inscribed coin earlier?

 

Alwin, Thanks for posting this handsome follis of Antioch, with a rarely seen obverse design . This coin was made shortly after Antioch was struck by two powerful in 526 & 529. Justinian did spend large sums of money rebuilding the city but on a smaller scale. The large star & crescent on the reverse must have had important symbolism. I wonder if the unusual obverse depiction of Justinian on this coin wasn't a tribute to him for the economic aid he gave the city ? I would love to pickup a high grade example of this coin .

 

Kevin, Why the large M on these folles was chosen is a good question . I'm guessing because most of the population spoke Greek, & the common people would be less confused with the large letter M in the center of the coin. A renal date in Roman numerals would be less important & of little significance to the general population.

 

Here are some interesting ones minted after the coinage reform:

 

Sounds plausible.

 

Here's one more contribution, ex Berk. As with many of the coins I post, this example has been in the collection for around 30 years or so.

This is a follis of Antioch, year 13, third officina.

This is a good example of the large module flan. There is a small break in the patina around the left eye. With time that area should darken.

22.6 grams, approximately 38 mm, 5 h.

I apologize for the image. The coin is actually smoother and more uniform in color. I'm still trying to get the hang of this digital camera, and I hope, with time, the images improve.

 

We've had some threads with Justinian coins but there are some really nice examples in this one. I'd like to show a few of mine including a couple of the smaller nummi pieces.

Justinian half follis of Perugia:
A Rome decanummium:

A 2 nummi of Carthage:

A "light" AR siliqua of Ravenna:

 

C.A., That's a lovely group of Justinian bronze . I especially like the 1/2 follis from Cyzicus, & the follis from Nicomedia is a stunner ! The patina on that coin gives it great eye appeal .

 

robinjojo, That is a handsome hefty follis from Antioch . I like the unusual mintmark on your follis & the coin posted by C.A.

 

Brian, Many thanks for posting this group of Justinian rarities ! I'm in awe over some of these gems . The AR Light Siliqua (120 nummi) from Ravenna is a real treat to see . To think this tiny silver coin (they usually weigh about 1/2 gm) would exchange for 3 large bronze folles is amazing. The 1/2 follis from Perugia is the 1st example of that type I've seen. The decanummium from Rome that you posted is a rarely seem type that is usually attributed to Sicily, isn't it ?

 

Thanks Al Kowsky! Yes, I love the ingenuity of the mint workers with the mint mark on that 1/2 follis. Glad to have that one.

The Nikomedeia one has a bittersweet story to it. It was my very first large Byzantine follis purchase. I bid rather high in a Numismatik-Naumann auction (one of my first auction experiences too), and ended up winning it. Paid a lot in Canadian dollars, as I didn't have a sense of ho much CAD was a EUR back then, and then got hit hard with customs through FedEx. They called me repeatedly to get me to pay my dues, which I duly did, and then I received my coin. I was a university student then too, so every dollar that could buy a cup of coffee counted, haha. I definitely felt like I overpaid, but I'll be keeping this one for a while. It's a nice coin. Just needs a better picture which I'll get to.

Here's a more recent purchase of a post-reform Justinian follis from Kyzikos


542 - 543 A.D., Cyzicus Mint, 2nd Officina
19.765g, 39.4mm, 6H

Obverse: D N IVSTINIANVS P P AVG,
Helmeted and cuirassed bust of Justinian I facing, holding globus cruciger and shield decorated with horseman motif; cross to right

Reverse: -,
Large M; A/N/N/O - X/ς (R.Y. 16) across field, cross above, B below

Exergue: KYZ

Provenance: Ex. Ancient & Medieval Coins Canada Auction 2, Lot 277, Ex. Forum Ancient Coins

Reference: SBCV 207