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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;Only a Poor Old Man, post: 5291986, member: 111037&quot;]This year will stay on everyone&#039;s memory for all the wrong reasons, but for me it was also the year that I got hooked on ancient coins. It does feel like an addiction as it is not long enough after I receive a coin that the only thing on my mind is where the next coin is coming from! On that level, perhaps I was too quick to post my top coins of the year as the following arrival which was intended as a Christmas present to myself, would definitely sit comfortable within that list.</p><p><br /></p><p>It is an early Byzantine follis, perhaps the earliest one can get as it is from Anastasius who in numismatic terms is regarded as the first emperor of what we conveniently call the &#039;Byzantine Empire&#039;. It is a big big coin, weighting 18 grams and with a diameter of 39 millimetres, but it is not my biggest as that honor goes to a follis of Justinian I got earlier this year. But for me the highlight of the coin is its desert patina. It feels absolutely gorgeous in hand and the photo doesn&#039;t do it justice. I dare anyone to hold such a coin in their hands and not fall in love with Byzantine coinage. The Byzantine empire stretched from Italy to middle east, so the range of patinas that you can find on its bronze coinage is so diverse that same type coins can look completely different from one another. That is one of the appeals of collecting byzantine coins in my opinion. Enough with the talk though, here is the not so little gem:</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]1222215[/ATTACH] </p><p><br /></p><p>But that&#039;s not all. It comes with a little brother. When I ordered the follis I remembered that once I saw from a different seller a neat and a very inexpensive half-follis by Anastasius at around £25. I reckoned that this was a good opportunity to finally get that one too and complete my Anastasius mini-set. Luckily the coin was still available, so I did the honorable thing and made it possible for it to be re-united with its long lost big brother. Who knows, maybe they crossed paths before while in circulation.</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]1222224[/ATTACH] </p><p><br /></p><p>With such nice arrivals from such an important emperor that happens to be connected to a very important numismatic event (the great bronze monetary reform), I thought it would be a nice opportunity for an extensive write-up. However the more I researched the subject it became quite apparent that it is a topic that has been extensively covered in books and online articles and also within Cointalk. I don&#039;t think there is anything I could really add to what others with much greater knowledge than me have already said. So I will just very briefly summarize things just for the sake of those that are not familiar with these events and coins. </p><p><br /></p><p>Anastasius became emperor quite late in his life at 61, but he managed to stay there for almost 30 years until his death. He is regarded as a very successful emperor, not because of his conquests or cunning scheming, but due to his great administrative skills. He ought to be the patron saint of all accountants everywhere. He successfully fought corruption and on his deathbed he left the empire with a surplus of 29 million gold solidi something that was well appreciated by both his subjects and of course modern collectors that enjoy some of those very same solidi. In numismatic terms, the most important aspect of Anastasius&#039; reign was his reform of the shambolic bronze coinage system that had been pretty much worthless for numerous decades and more. Nobody had been using bronze coins for a while and bartering was rife (and so was the corruption that comes with it) as the gold coinage was simply too valuable for every day trading. He was the one that introduced the celebrated follis (40 nummi) and its fractions that are now synonymous with Byzantine coinage and the object of affection of so many collectors. A very important characteristic of the new coinage was the use of Greek letters to denote the denominations which was an indication of the emerging Greek nature of the eastern Roman empire.</p><p><br /></p><p>Show me your Anastasius coins and happy holidays everybody! <img src="styles/default/xenforo/clear.png" class="mceSmilieSprite mceSmilie50" alt=":happy:" unselectable="on" unselectable="on" />[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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