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Michael II & Theophilus Æ Follis...


ewomack

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I neglected Byzantine coins too long. All of this time collecting and only this year did I discover them. This Michael II popped into view and the portraits just said "bring us home!" So I did. This one also came with some provenance from a previous auction.

820_to_829_MichaelII_AE_Follis_01.png.0aebf71ccfb8111ccceb56429b203c68.png820_to_829_MichaelII_AE_Follis_02.png.662ffc7e9fe69bc2427853bd0179dea1.png
Michael II the Amorian (AD 820 - 829) with Theophilus Æ Follis; Constantinople mint; Obv: MIXAHL S ΘЄOFILOS, crowned facing busts of Michael (on left) and Theophilus (on right); cross above; Rev: Large M, X/X/X to left, cross above, N/N/N to right, Θ below; 29.12mm; 6.21 grams; Sear 1642

With this coin, I have inadvertently acquired a "royal flush" of Byzantine emperors in sequence from Leo V to Theophilus (813 to 842):

Leo V - 813 to 820
813_to_820_LeoV_AE_Follis_02_01.png.93ee3e95d208786026249c8ef7e6d32c.png813_to_820_LeoV_AE_Follis_02_02.png.f51e10fce06fd6ac3993f444dfb8948a.png
Leo V AD 813-820, Æ Follis (21.59mm, 5.48 grams) Constantinople Mint; Obv: LЄ-OҺ ЬASIL, crowned and draped bust facing, holding cross potent and akakia; Rev: Large M, [X/X/X] to left, cross above, N/N/N to right, A (officina) below, Sear 1629

813_to_820_LeoV_AE_Follis_01.png.202bc5c9abc7224e07594e5edb37c96e.png813_to_820_LeoV_AE_Follis_02.png.2bb085de5540bfbd5be277cefa501fa9.png

Leo V AD 813-820, AE Follis (23mm, 4.43 grams) Constantinopolis; LEON S CONST; facing busts of Leo (l.) and Constantine (r.);
Large M between XXX and NNN; cross above and A below; Sear 1630

Michael II - 820 to 829
820_to_829_MichaelII_AE_Follis_01.png.51e1e23f69507ab3ce40302ef8805a1c.png820_to_829_MichaelII_AE_Follis_02.png.be6e5845e88f163d3058d2c85d05096a.png
Attribution above

Theophilus - 829 to 842
829_to_842_Theophilus_AE_Follis_01.png.e23ef302d85964c93798d56e9a301fa2.png829_to_842_Theophilus_AE_Follis_02.png.cfd2328a962919052cc4ea14caf9f080.png

Theophilus (AD 829-842) Æ Follis; Constantinople mint; AD 830-842; Obv: ΘEOFIL bASIL; Half-length figure standing facing, holding labarum and globus cruciger; Rev: ΘEO / FILE AVG / OVSTE SV / hICAS in four lines; 27.66mm; 7.46 grams; Sear 1667

Edited by ewomack
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Minted at Constantinople during the reign of Michael II & Theophilus between 829 – 829 A.D. Obv. MIXIAHL.S.0EFILOS. Facing busts of Michael II, with short beard (on l.) & Theophilus, usually beardless (on r.) both crowned, the former wearing chlamys, the latter, loros; between their heads, cross. Rev. Large M between X/X/X & N/N/N; above, cross; beneath 0. BCVS #1642. 

Minted at Constantinople during the reign of Theophilus between 2 October 829 - 20 January 842. Obv. 0EOFIL‘bASIL’.: Three quarter length figure facing, wearing Loros and crown surmounted by tufa; he holds labarum in r. hand and gl. cr. in l. Rev. +0EO/FILEAVC/OVSTE SV/nICAS.: in four lines. BCVS #1667

441 Michael II obv.jpg

441 Michael II rev.jpg

81 THEOPHILUS OBV.jpg

81 THEOPHILUS REV.jpg

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13 hours ago, ewomack said:

I neglected Byzantine coins too long. All of this time collecting and only this year did I discover them. This Michael II popped into view and the portraits just said "bring us home!" So I did. This one also came with some provenance from a previous auction.

820_to_829_MichaelII_AE_Follis_01.png.0aebf71ccfb8111ccceb56429b203c68.png820_to_829_MichaelII_AE_Follis_02.png.662ffc7e9fe69bc2427853bd0179dea1.png
Michael II the Amorian (AD 820 - 829) with Theophilus Æ Follis; Constantinople mint; Obv: MIXAHL S ΘЄOFILOS, crowned facing busts of Michael (on left) and Theophilus (on right); cross above; Rev: Large M, X/X/X to left, cross above, N/N/N to right, Θ below; 29.12mm; 6.21 grams; Sear 1642

With this coin, I have inadvertently acquired a "royal flush" of Byzantine emperors in sequence from Leo V to Theophilus (813 to 842):

Leo V - 813 to 820
813_to_820_LeoV_AE_Follis_02_01.png.93ee3e95d208786026249c8ef7e6d32c.png813_to_820_LeoV_AE_Follis_02_02.png.f51e10fce06fd6ac3993f444dfb8948a.png
Leo V AD 813-820, Æ Follis (21.59mm, 5.48 grams) Constantinople Mint; Obv: LЄ-OҺ ЬASIL, crowned and draped bust facing, holding cross potent and akakia; Rev: Large M, [X/X/X] to left, cross above, N/N/N to right, A (officina) below, Sear 1629

813_to_820_LeoV_AE_Follis_01.png.202bc5c9abc7224e07594e5edb37c96e.png813_to_820_LeoV_AE_Follis_02.png.2bb085de5540bfbd5be277cefa501fa9.png

Leo V AD 813-820, AE Follis (23mm, 4.43 grams) Constantinopolis; LEON S CONST; facing busts of Leo (l.) and Constantine (r.);
Large M between XXX and NNN; cross above and A below; Sear 1630

Michael II - 820 to 829
820_to_829_MichaelII_AE_Follis_01.png.51e1e23f69507ab3ce40302ef8805a1c.png820_to_829_MichaelII_AE_Follis_02.png.be6e5845e88f163d3058d2c85d05096a.png
Attribution above

Theophilus - 829 to 842
829_to_842_Theophilus_AE_Follis_01.png.e23ef302d85964c93798d56e9a301fa2.png829_to_842_Theophilus_AE_Follis_02.png.cfd2328a962919052cc4ea14caf9f080.png

Theophilus (AD 829-842) Æ Follis; Constantinople mint; AD 830-842; Obv: ΘEOFIL bASIL; Half-length figure standing facing, holding labarum and globus cruciger; Rev: ΘEO / FILE AVG / OVSTE SV / hICAS in four lines; 27.66mm; 7.46 grams; Sear 1667

 

I‘m always glad to see new people get into Byzantine coins. In my opinion it‘s a very underappreciated field.

 

I‘m not a big early-to-mid Byzantine coin collector (I focus more on late Byzantine ones), but I did manage to snag the same type as you a while back for a bit over 10€. It‘s not in the greatest of conditions but for that price you can‘t really complain.

 

B84622A5-CB0C-41D5-BE01-AFFC954561C3.jpeg

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@Zimm I would have happily paid 10€ for that coin, especially with its detail and relative completeness. Also, I'm not intentionally collecting mid-era Byzantium, I've just been picking up coins that appeal to me and learning about Byzantium along the way. I love the look of that era's coins, but I can see how the late issues have more interest historically and numismatically. I haven't explored that era much yet, but I'm guessing that it will come.

@Jims,Coins More nice examples! It's great to see what other people have.

@TheTrachyEnjoyer Yes, it's too late for me to turn back now. I've collected many kinds of coins over the years (ancient Roman, medieval and hammered, early US coppers, classic US, Japanese, Saudi Arabian, etc.) but nothing has mesmerized and pulled me in quite as much as Byzantine. I'm still trying to figure out why, but I think it relates to the relative obscurity of Byzantium in general and the unique aesthetics of Byzantine art. I love the portraits on the coins and their general look sits somewhere between Roman and medieval, not surprisingly. All hammered coins have that "human touch" that many moderns lack.

I would also really like to delve more into early Byzantium. So far, I only have a Justinian I follis from that era. Good examples seem difficult to find, especially for Maurice Tiberius and Phocas. The search goes on. All eras seem fascinating.

527_to_565_JustinianI_Follis_01.png.7bb4e7ecfcb265ecaa75294992ebd969.png527_to_565_JustinianI_Follis_02.png.eda07339bfdb7683dc255aa31b56ba13.png
Justinian I Follis (540/1 - Year 14), Constantinople mint, Obv: DN IVSTINIANVS PP AVG, helmeted, cuirassed bust facing holding cross on globe and shield; cross to right. Rev: Large M, ANNO to left, cross above, XIIII (date) to right, A below, CON in exergue, Sear 163

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