When I saw this I had to buy it. Dead cheap at little over £15, and a type that I have been looking for a while but haven't found the perfect specimen yet. This of course is not the perfect specimen (couldn't really expect that for £15), but it has a lot going for it at least one one side. The anonymous series of Byzantine copper follis is a collection sub-set that I have in mind to complete if possible. Class C is one of my favorite designs in the whole series, and to my delight the reverse side is almost perfect. The cross is pretty much complete, and the IC-XC NIKA (Jesus Christ Conquers) legends are strong, legible and well-centered. As most collectors of byzantine coins probably know, very often this design is a complete mess with the letters all over the place. Unfortunately, and possibly I am being quite picky here, the Christ Antiphonetes obverse is not detailed enough for me to regard it as 'the' class C of my collection. But I am happy with it and I will keep of course, but I will always be on the search for the 'perfect' example (it could take a while). As some of you may have noticed, the outline of a halo can be seen next to Christ's left shoulder, so this is an overstrike which is not at all uncommon with these coins. If you have a class C please share it, I am curious to see what else is out there
This one was 9.5 GBP with commissions, excludin shipping. Obverse is better, but reverse is not that great under that sand.
i just picked this one up for 99 cents a couple weeks ago. It's not pretty, but I bought it for the hint of overstrike on the reverse.
I had a string of bad luck with Anonymous Class C Follis and the Constantine X Ducas follis. Several of them got stolen during transit, multiple times. It took a while til I got one that arrived safely in my hands. These are tough to get in good condition:
I really like your example. I actually prefer it from mine as yours has a deeper strike. These types are certainly plentiful, finding them in the right condition is the problem. I hope there wasn't a stunner among the ones that were lost in transit.
The one I lost sold for about 400EUR at an auction a few months ago, but there was nothing I could do about it, unfortunately. It was gone for so long, that I just couldn't muster up the documentation to prove that I bought it...
@Quant.Geek, I Hate it when that happens. There are horror stories yet to be told. @Only a Poor Old Man, it's never anything less than inspiring to see how your deeply multifaceted engagement with this stuff converges with your budget. Segueing from the sublime to the ridiculous (...some of us have been here), these are my examples, of Class C and the follis of Tancred, as regent for Antioch, c. early 12th century, which imitates the reverse.
I fell in love with this one a few years back. The obverse was attractive, the reverse also nicely struck but off center. You got a deal on yours @Only a Poor Old Man . I am sure I paid a lot more than 15 26.23mm 7.8gm It also seems more of a bust than a 2/3rds figure but it does go past his waist.