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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;Theodosius, post: 2950293, member: 77077&quot;]Check out this interesting follis from my recent Byzantine scoop:</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]720518[/ATTACH]</p><p>This coin has a mirror image feel in hand that attracted me to it right away. At first I thought the obverse was struck, rotated 180 degrees, and then struck again. After looking it up I am pretty sure it is a Constantine VII overstruck on a Romanus I follis but rotated almost a perfect 180 degrees. According to Sear, this is a common overstrike and there are a few details that confirm this on both the obverse and reverse.</p><p><br /></p><p>The &quot;+cons...&quot; on the obverse legend was the clue that helped me identify it.</p><p><br /></p><p>The &quot;normal&quot; Romanus I should look like this:</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]720520[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p>The &quot;normal&quot; Constantine VII should look like this:</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]720521[/ATTACH]</p><p>Looking at the obverse of my coin you can see Constantine&#039;s jeweled loros with its dots within squares. I would post a picture of my own jeweled loros but it is at the dry cleaners at the moment. Looking at the upper half of my coin you can traces of Romanos decorated sleeve.</p><p><br /></p><p>Looking at the reverse of my coin you can see the first two lines of the Constantine legend followed by a mashup of predominantly the top two lines of Romanos legend rotated 180 degrees.</p><p><br /></p><p>Here is the full attribution of the coin:</p><p><br /></p><p>Constantine VII “Porphyrogenitus”&nbsp; 913-959 CE</p><p>AE Follis. Constantinople. 4.3 gm, 26 mm.</p><p>Obverse: +CONST&#039; bASIL&#039; ROm.</p><p>Facing bust of Constantine VII with short beard, wearing crown and loros, holding globe cruciger and Akakia (a cylindrical purple silk roll containing dust).</p><p>Reverse: +COhST&#039; / Eh ΘEO bA / SILEVS R / OmEON.</p><p>References: Sear 1761.</p><p>Overstruck on a Romanus I follis (Sear 1760).</p><p><br /></p><p>This picture gives you a little better idea how mirror like the obverse is:</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]720531[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p>As many have pointed out, the Byzantine series is loaded with overstrikes, which makes them that much more interesting to me.</p><p><br /></p><p><span style="color: #0059b3">I know you have been dying to know what &quot;Porphyrogenitus&quot; means. It means the first son born after the father has ascended to the throne of the emperor.</span></p><p><br /></p><p>Please post any overstruck coins that caught your attention!</p><p><br /></p><p>John[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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