Large Follis coins from 3rd -4th centuries

I also like larger tetrarchic folles. I have a few folles, but only two large ones at the moment. While folles are easy to come across, I'm looking for specific types/mints...so I don't think I'll complete the tetrarchy anytime soon.

Maxmian RIC VI 45b

Constantius I RIC VI 146a

 

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BZ Justinian I 527-565 CE AE Folles 30mm 17g 40 Nummi M monogram

 

GALERIUS


RI Galerius 293-308 AE30mm Folles Ticinum mint Moneta 12g

 

• Some London mint unreduced folles:
  
  RIC VI, Londinium, Diocletian, Augustus of the East:
  
  
  RIC VI, Londinium, Maximian Herculius, Augustus of the West:
  
  
  RIC VI, Londinium, Constantius, Caesar of the West:
  
  
  RIC VI, Londinium, Galerius Maximian, Caesar of the East:
  

 

@jamesicus I really like the portrait styles of the Constantius and Galerius. Excellent examples!

 

Thanks Bing. I think that the portrait style of the London mint folles is uniformally very pleasing.

 

A few more London mint unreduced folles:

RIC Volume VI, Londinium, No.1a, Diocletian, Augustus of the East:


IMP C DIOCLETIANVS PF AVG .................... GENIO POPV -- LI ROMANI
LON in reverse exergue

Intermediate series coin (Bastien), not in RIC, Galerius Maximian, Caesar of the East:


C VAL MAXIMIANVS NOB C ........................... GENIO POPV -- LI

RIC VI, Londinium, No. 28a, Diocletian, Augustus of the East:


IMP DIOCLETIANVS AVG ................................. GENIO POPV -- LI ROMANI

RIC VI, Londinium, No. 33, Galerius Maximian, Caesar of the East:


MAXIMIANVS NOBIL C ......................... GENIO POPV -- LI ROMANI

 

I do enjoy the Follis coinage They are very large and sometimes have really impressive obverses. This one is one of my favorites. Contantius I Ae Follis 301-303 AD Lugdunum mint. Obv Bust left laureate holding club over right shoulder and lion skin draped over left. Rv Genio standing left. RIC 147 9.11grms 28 mm Photo by W. Hansen There is something of a "don't mess with me" vibe with this image. I know it is by this time somewhat stereotypical but none the less it is still a very powerful image.

 

How’s this

 

I notice that your coins are referred to as Bi Nummus, which I assume is "Billon". I know these coins were given a silver wash but do you know if the basic metal under that very thin plating contained any silver, a small percentage of an alloy that contained any silver? Once the the wash is off the coin they always seemed to look like just plain bronze.

 

Yes, small amounts of silver were added to the large folles. Here is an article on this-

Sutherland and Harold “The Silver Content of Diocletian’s Early Post-Reform Copper Coins.” Archaeometry vol 4, issue 1 (June 1960): 56- 60.

There has been quite a bit written about this, a few more--

Cope, L. H. “The Argentiferous Bronze Alloys of the Large Tetrarchic Folles of A.D. 294-307.” NC 8 (1968) : 115-149.


Cope, L. H., C. E. King, J. P. Northover, and T. Clay. Metal Analyses of Roman Coins Minted Under the Empire. British Musuem Occasional Paper 120, 1997.

 

I like these for the same reasons as @bcuda , they are large and impressive coins and the artwork says something about their times.

 

I know I'm being shamelessly lazy and could easily look it up myself, but given that I don't think I'm known for being generally lazy with research, does anyone know off the top of their head when these large, "unreduced" folles were last issued?

 

from Harl's Coinage in the Roman Economy, you can see the first coin is the last large issue --AE1 circa 10 grams.

 

Thanks for that information. I wonder if the public knew this, that they contained some silver even if it was not visible.

 

Thank you.

 

Here's a couple of Constantius GENIO POPVLI ROMANI issues -- Antioch and Trier.

 

I agree @jamesicus I recently got a London ant from Constantius Chlorus. I really like the portrait style.
View attachment 1230181

 

11.13 g 26.2 mm

Constantius I, as Caesar, Æ Nummus. Treveri, AD 298-299. FL VAL CONSTANTIVS NOB C, laureate bust left / GENIO POPVLI ROMANI, Genius, towered and nude to waist, standing facing, head turned left, holding cornucopiae with his left hand, patera in his right hand; B- gamma across fields, TR in exergue. RIC 196