The epic Byzantine portrait thread

[Valentinian]

4 hours ago, voulgaroktonou said:

Follis, Syracuse, 716-17. 9.18 gr. 34.2 mm. 7 hr. Sear 1496; Hahn 16. Although the obverse is anepigraphic, the coin is signed in the emperor’s name on the reverse by his monogram above the mark of value: Θεοδοσίου.

Wow! That must be the finest extant. It is incomparably better than the DOC, Hahn MIB III, Grierson, and Berk/England coins. Whitting and the BN don't illustrate one. D'Andrea et a. 725a is bold, but much smaller and missing the left branch (tooled off while smothing?). This coin is the one that comes up first under Sear 1496 at
https://coins.labarum.info/en/catalog
The coin is amazing! 

[voulgaroktonou]

19 hours ago, Severus Alexander said:

I guess @Valentinian is right and I should have included both Leontius and Tiberius III in the same time slot... I will be posting them together. 🙂 Three coins of Leontius and three of Tiberius, for a total of five. Ah... you think my math is faulty?

I have both a full follis and a half for Leontius, with the better portrait probably being on the half:

The full is one-eyed:

Neither portrait is much to write home about.

My third Leontius is also a Tiberius III, and indeed my favourite portrait of the latter.  It's an overstrike, of course: SB 1366 over top of SB 1334. (Thus my weird math.) The loros of Leontius is clearly visible on the reverse:

My next Tib III, a year 1, is a bit rough, but I like the portrait's style:

Finally, I have one of the standing types that we also saw from quant.geek and voulgaroktonou:

I believe these are pretty scarce. It might be my nicest Tiberius III coin; his military dress is particularly clear.

Great to see you join the thread, @quant.geek!  You have some stellar examples, as usual. Between you and @voulgaroktonou our gallery of AE will be fabulous!

Voulgaroktonou, I love that overstrike on the Maximianus.  I happen to have an overstrike from the same time period and similar vicinity... a generic Syrian Umayyad fals (Album 153) over a Licinius AE3 from Ticinum. The Licinius portrait and Sol undertype are pretty obvious in this image with the reverse rotated:

As you can see, there are bits of the Roman legend visible too. There's enough of the coin underneath that I was able to pin it down: RIC VII 4 (Ticinum).

So I did post 6 coins after all. 😄 

That's a wonderful overstrike!

[voulgaroktonou]

1 hour ago, Valentinian said:

Wow! That must be the finest extant. It is incomparably better than the DOC, Hahn MIB III, Grierson, and Berk/England coins. Whitting and the BN don't illustrate one. D'Andrea et a. 725a is bold, but much smaller and missing the left branch (tooled off while smothing?). This coin is the one that comes up first under Sear 1496 at
https://coins.labarum.info/en/catalog
The coin is amazing! 

Thank you, my friend. You saw it in person when you visited us last.

[voulgaroktonou]

6 hours ago, Hrefn said:

Phillipicus    AD 711-713.  Solidus of Constantinople 

Phillipicus was one of the more disastrous emperors.  He was detailed to the Chersonese by Justinian II to deal with matters there.  Instead, he made common cause with Cherson and overthrew Justinian II.  He had the emperor and his son Tiberius slain.  Phillipicus was a monothelite who alienated the Pope and deposed the Patriarch of Constantinople, Cyrus, in favor of his own candidate.  The Bulgars raided up to the walls of Constantinople and when the emperor diverted troops from the East to oppose them, the Muslims made progress in the East capturing several cities.  He was overthrown by the military.   

This coin marks the last appearance of the scipio, the eagle-topped consular scepter.  4.41 grams. Berk-204.  Purchased from Harlan Berk 3/2001 

 

A beauty!

[TheTrachyEnjoyer]

Theodosius III Ravenna Tremissis, a fun coin I picked up a while ago. It is the second known example of the type and only in private hands with the other in the Hague.

Recently sold because it doesn’t fit into my collection. I figured I would share anyways since I haven’t seen too many Theodosius IIIs in this thread

[TheTrachyEnjoyer]

7 hours ago, voulgaroktonou said:

Philippikos, 711-13

The emperor we know as Philippikos was baptized Bardanes. In 711, Justinian sent him with an expedition to punish Cherson, but once there, his army revolted and declared Bardanes emperor, he taking the new name Philippikos. More concerned with religious controversy than effectively dealing with the ever present Arab menace, on 3 June 713 he was deposed and blinded by officers of the Opsikion theme in favor of Anastasios II.

Follis, Constantinople, 711/12. 2.99 gr. 22.2 mm. 7 hr. Sear 1455; Hahn 21; DO 9a.  Overstruck on a follis of Justinian II (Sear 1428). When the reverse is turned 90 degrees to the right, one can see the portrait of Justinian as well as much of inscription of the host coin. The portrait of Justinian’s son Tiberios, however, has been obliterated by the overstriking.

 

Half follis, Constantinople, 711/12. 2.69 gr. 20.2 mm. 6 hr. Sear 1456; Hahn 22; DO 12. Philippikos’ portrait on his coinage is depicted crowned, wearing the loros, and holding in his right hand a globus cruciger, and in his left, an eagle tipped scepter, or Scipio.

 

Anastasios II, 713-15

The protasekretis (chief of the imperial chancery ) Artemios was crowned as Anastasios on 4 June 713, following the deposition of Philippikos. Luckily for the empire, in his short reign he proved a much more energetic ruler than his predecessor. Reports of large-scale Arab campaign preparations in Syria induced him to prepare Constantinople for the worst. He appointed competent thematic officers, including the future Leo III; ordered individuals in Constantinople to be able to support themselves for three years or else to leave the city; rebuilt the fleet; restored the land and sea walls; erected siege weapons; and stored grain. He also dispatched a fleet in 715 to destroy the Arabs' timber supply in Phoenicia, but the expedition broke up in Rhodes and the Opsikion troops revolted in favor of Theodosios III. After a six-month struggle, Anastasios abdicated, became a monk, and was exiled to Thessalonike.

Hexagram, Constantinople, 713-15. 2.24 gr. 20 mm. 6 hr. Sear 1468A; Hahn 27. Struck with solidus dies. By the reign of Justinian II, the increasingly rare hexagrams were being struck with dies intended for solidi. Unfortunately broken, but hard to get in any grade.

 

Half siliqua?, Constantinople, 713-15. 0.78 gr. 14.6 mm. 7 hr. Unlisted in Sear et al. It is perhaps better to denote the denomination as ceremonial silver. Another example appeared in NAC 23, 19 March 2002, lot 1740. The cataloger there wrote “We have attributed this very interesting coin to the reign of Anastasius II, but it might as well belong to the reign of Leo III.” Although the portrait does seem to place this piece in the first quarter of the 8^th century, Hahn records a ceremonial piece with similar reverse for Constantine IV (Hahn 69). Per private communication with Simon Bendall, C. Morrison acquired 2 specimens, one for the Bibliotheque Nationale (Sternberg 31, 1988, lot 579 = Leu 36, May 1985, lot 392. 0.63 gr.), and for DO, the NAC example noted above. For a discussion of this coin, see C. Morrisson, “Imperial generosity and its monetary expression: the rise and decline of the largesses”, in Donation et Donateurs dans le Monde Byzantin, pp. 25 - 43, esp. p. 40.

 

Follis, Constantinople, 713-14. 3.75 gr. 23.9 mm. 6 hr. Sear 1469; Hahn 28; DO 7a

 

Silver Half Siliqua, Rome, 713-715. 0.21 gr. 8.4 mm. 6 hr. Sear 1482A (this coin); Hahn et al. unlisted. O’Hara, “A find of Byzantine silver from the mint of Rome for the period A. D. 641-752”, (Revue Suisse de Numismatique, v. 64 (1985), pp. 105-40, #26 (this coin). The reverse features a monogram for ROMA.

 

Theodosios III, 715–17

Theodosios, a tax collector, was acclaimed emperor by troops revolting against Anastasios II. Reluctantly accompanying the rebels, he entered Constantinople in late fall 715. Little is known of his reign. In 716 he concluded a treaty with the Bulgar khan Tervel, probably anticipating the impending Arab attack on Constantinople. When Maslama invaded Byzantine territory that same year, the thematic generals Artavasdos and Leo III deposed Theodosios. He abdicated on 25 March and both he and his son became monks.

Hexagram, Constantinople, 715-717. 2.27 gr. 19 mm. 4 hr. Sear 1491; Hahn 12.

 

Follis, Syracuse, 716-17. 9.18 gr. 34.2 mm. 7 hr. Sear 1496; Hahn 16. Although the obverse is anepigraphic, the coin is signed in the emperor’s name on the reverse by his monogram above the mark of value: Θεοδοσίου.

 

Truly amazing coins

[Severus Alexander]

WOW @voulgaroktonou, @Hrefn, and @TheTrachyEnjoyer - amazing stuff!!! 🤩🤩🤩 

Before I post my coins for this slot, I would really like to get our experts (in addition to the above, I'll tag @quant.geek and @Valentinian, too) to cast their eyes upon this odd coin, which may or may not belong here:

It’s 18mm x 24mm, and 4.85g. The anepigraphic obverse is extremely unusual for a full follis, though it does occur on halves of the period (we've seen some above). I don't see any evidence that it's a very lightly struck half follis (hardly leaving a dent on an earlier follis undertype on the reverse) but I suppose this is a bare possibility. Doesn't really make sense, though, given the strong strike on the obverse.

There appears to be an undertype, but I can't make out what it is. There are remains to the right of the portrait, and the X on the right hand M upright may be part of it.

The emperor is wearing a chlamys (if you have any doubts, see the clear fibula above his shoulder). I believe the globus cruciger in r.h./chlamys combination narrows things down to: Justinian II 1st reign, Anastasius II, or Leo III.

Justinian II: The portrait looks the most like JII to me. On the other hand, the size & weight are too small for any first reign JII's that I've seen - it can't be from early in the reign, and virtually all of JII's Constantinople folles are year 2! Sear does list a year 10 example of SB 1260, but I've never seen one. Have you? Might it be that? Maybe... still doesn't explain the lack of obverse legend, I don't think. (The X on the rhs of the reverse seems to come from an undertype, but I suppose it could also be from a double-strike, thus year 10.) One last con: the extended knobs on the top of the M seem to appear first for Tiberius III.

Anastasius II: The hairstyle doesn't look right for Anastasius II to me, he tends to have wavier hair; and again, the anepigraphic obverse doesn't make sense, at least it's not listed. Still, a possibility? At least the size and weight would be OK...

Leo III: His early folles (717-720) are rare and confusing, with SB 1513 (helmeted & cuirassed bust, holding spear and shield) only having been attributed to him relatively recently. However, his earliest solidi feature the bust type shown on my puzzling follis. It's exceptional for an emperor's solidus portrait types not to be mirrored in AE, thus my suggestion that this could be an early follis of Leo III, perhaps when the mint was experimenting during the chaotic period when he took the throne.

The portrait is actually quite similar to the amazing silver fraction (chi-rho reverse) that @voulgaroktonou posted above, which the experts have said is ambiguous between Anastasius II and Leo III.  Interesting!

So the main contenders are: a late first reign Justinian II, a weird anepigraphic Anastasius II, or an unreported early Leo III.  Whatever it is, it seems to be extremely rare.  

Asking everyone: What do you think I've got here? Desperately seeking advice!!

Edited June 28, 2023 by Severus Alexander

[Severus Alexander]

No solutions yet for my puzzle coin above... but hope springs eternal!

I have only one coin of each emperor in this slot.  For some reason I found Anastasius II the most difficult to obtain at a reasonable cost.

Philippicus (Constantinople):

Anastasius II Artemius (also Constantinople, half follis; overstruck on a coin of Justinian II, 2nd reign... Tiberius's head is visible at 12 o'clock on the reverse):

Theodosius III of Adramytium (follis of Syracuse):

 

I'd say the Philippicus wins the (very sad) beauty contest between these three coins.

[voulgaroktonou]

Leo III, emperor (717–41); founder of the Isaurian dynasty. His baptismal name was perhaps Konon. Leo was reared in Mesembria, where his family had been resettled under Justinian II. In 705 he came to the attention of Justinian after donating 500 sheep to his army; he followed Justinian to Constantinople and rose to prominence. Leo was named strategos of the Anatolikon theme by Anastasios II, after whose deposition he joined forces with Artavasdos to force the abdication of Theodosios III. Leo entered Constantinople on 25 Mar. 717 and secured his throne by resisting the siege of Maslama.

Throughout his reign, Leo was concerned with the defense, organization, and unity of the empire. His Ecloga was an important revision of Justinianic law. He is perhaps best known for initiating the movement that we call Iconoclasm, the destruction of holy images, citing the various Mosaic prohibitions against graven images, as given in Exodus, Leviticus, and Deuteronomy.

He associated his son Constantine (V) with himself on the throne in 720.

 

Leo alone, 717-20.

Top row:

Pattern silver Solidus or ceremonial issue, Constantinople, 717-720. 3.04 gr. 19 mm. 6 hr. Sear 1511; Hahn 23; T. 43; Füeg 2

Pattern silver Solidus or ceremonial issue, Constantinople, 717-720. 2.56 gr. 23.9 mm. 6 hr. Sear 1511; Hahn 23; T. 43; Füeg 2 (officina I (10) not recorded).

Bottom row:

Follis, Constantinople, 717-720. 7.22 gr. 25.6 mm. 6 hr. Sear 1513; Hahn 25; DO 24

Half Follis, Constantinople, 717-720. 4.18 gr. 23.7 mm. 6hr. Sear 1517 (var); H. 27 (var); DO 25 (var). Officina B not recorded.

Decanummium, Constantinople, 717-720.  1.44 gr. 19 mm. 6 hr. Sear 1521; Hahn 28; Berk 847 (this coin). Ex Berk/England sale 12/7/89, lot 288.

 

 

Leo alone, 717-20, continued.

Follis, Constantinople, 717-720. 3.47 gr. 21.9 mm. 7 hr. Sear 1513A (var); Hahn 24 (var). Officina A not in published references. Overstruck on a follis of Anastasios II. Emperor standing, wearing crown with loros and holding akakia and long cross.

Half Follis, Constantinople, 717-720. 3.64 gr. 22.9 mm 5 hr. Sear 1517A; Hahn 26; DO 85 (as Justinian II, first reign). Obverse all as before. Not pretty, but very rare.

 

 

Leo with Constantine V, 720-41.

Solidus, Constantinople, 720. 4.44 gr. 20.9 mm. 6 hr. Sear 1504; DO 3 var.; Füeg 3K (this coin) = Berk 216 (this coin)

Tremissis (electrum), Rome, 721-41. 1.40 gr. 16.4 mm. 6 hr. Sear 1534; DO 87

Tagging along after the previous Rome coin, a diminutive 30 Nummi, Rome, 717-41. 1.67 gr. 16.2 mm. 1 hr. Sear 1534D; Hahn 31a; BNP 1

 

Leo with Constantine V, 720-41, continued.

Follis, Constantinople, circa 725-732. 4.02 gr. 21.4 mm. 6 hr. Sear 1514; DO 31a; R. 1741. Reverse, Constantine above a balustrade; below, mark of value.

Half Follis, Constantinople, circa 725-732. 1.69 gr. 16.6 mm. 6hr.  Sear 1518; DO 34. Reverse as before.

 

Leo with Constantine V, 720-41, continued.

Follis, Constantinople, circa 732-735.  3.83 gr. 25.4 mm. 6hr. Sear 1516; DO 38a; BM (Leo V) 15; T. (Leo V) 13. Busts of Leo, bearded, and Constantine V, beardless,  facing, each crowned and wearing chlamys, and holding an akakia in right hand.

Half Follis, Constantinople mint. Struck circa 735-741. 1.98 gr. 18.4 mm. 5 hr. Sear 1520 (This coin); DO 41b. Obverse as before.   

 

Leo with Constantine V (or Artavasdos with Nikephoros? See penultimate entry with this photo repeated below.)

Follis, Constantinople, 732 (?). 2.61 gr. 20.8 mm. 6 hr. Sear 1515; DO 36. Ex Protonotarios collection. Anepigraphic. Facing busts of Leo and Constantine, holding between them a cross potent. Leo is bearded, and wears chlamys; Constantine is beardless, and wears loros. Both wear crowns with cross.

Half Follis, Constantinople, 732 (?).  1.20 gr. 17.6 mm. 6hr. Sear 1519; DO (37b) = Agora 1829b. Obverse as before.  

 

Follis, Syracuse, 717-20. 1.20 gr. 19.2 mm. 6 hr. Sear 1529; Hahn 30; DO 52. Leo standing, holding long cross and globus cruciger.

Follis, Syracuse, 731-41. 2.40 gr. 22 mm. 6 hr. Sear 1531; DO 55; Spahr 321, 321bis; Ricotti 190; BM 21-23; R. 1756. On obverse Leo; on reverse Constantine, each holding cross and akakia.

 

Artavasdos, 742–43.

The Armenian Artavasdos was appointed strategos (governor) of the Armeniakon theme by Anastasios II (713–15). He supported the revolt of Leo III against Theodosios III and subsequently received Leo's daughter Anna in marriage and increasing positions of rank in the government.  After Leo's death Artavasdos revolted against Constantine V in June of either 741 or 742, defeated him, and entered Constantinople, perhaps exploiting a reaction against Iconoclasm. He ruled with his eldest son Nikephoros as co-emperor and received support from the Papal Curia for his Iconodule leanings. His most notable achievement was the restoration of icons. However, Constantine defeated him in the summer of 743 and the restored emperor entered Constantinople on 2 Nov. of that year. Artavasdos and his sons were blinded in the Hippodrome.

 

Artavasdos with Nikephoros? (or Leo with Constantine V? See 6^th photo and entry above)

Follis, Constantinople.  2.61 gr. 20.8 mm. 6 hr. Sear 1515; DO 36 (both as Leo and Constantine). Ex Protonotarios collection.

Half Follis, Constantinople.  1.20 gr. 17.6 mm. 6hr. Sear 1519; DO (37b) = Agora 1829b. (both as Leo and Constantine).

As noted in the text to the 6^th photo above, most scholars place these 2 rare coins in the joint reign of Leo and his son Constantine. However, Henri Pottier, in his article “Restitution d’un follis a Artavasde, l’usurpateur usurpe (Constantinople 742/3)”, in Bulletin du Cercle d'Etudes Numismatiques, 26, 1 (1989) suggests on the basis of overstrikes, that they actually belong to the usurper Artavasdos. I hope he is right, for otherwise I will never have a portrait of him in my modest collection….

…and will have to be content with my worn and scratched miliaresion.

Miliaresion, 742-3. 1.73 gr. 20.9 mm. 11 hr. Sear 1745; DO 6; BNP 1. Ex Henri Pottier collection.

 

 

 

Edited June 29, 2023 by voulgaroktonou
Made a few corrections.

[Severus Alexander]

1 hour ago, voulgaroktonou said:

As noted in the text to the 6^th photo above, most scholars place these 2 rare coins in the joint reign of Leo and his son Constantine. However, Henri Pottier, in his article “Restitution d’un follis a Artavasde, l’usurpateur usurpe (Constantinople 742/3)”, in Bulletin du Cercle d'Etudes Numismatiques, 26, 1 (1989) suggests on the basis of overstrikes, that they actually belong to the usurper Artavasdos.

Your follis (SB 1515) appears to be an overstrike… have you been able to figure out the undertype, @voulgaroktonou?

[voulgaroktonou]

2 hours ago, Severus Alexander said:

Your follis (SB 1515) appears to be an overstrike… have you been able to figure out the undertype, @voulgaroktonou?

Looking back over my notes, @Severus Alexander, I find them frustratingly slim. It's been a while since I've had the coin in hand; will fetch it next week from the bank and have a look. I'm still thinking about that beautiful puzzle of yours!

[Severus Alexander]

@voulgaroktonou's museum-quality display of Leo III coins is an impossible act to follow, of course! Yet the show much go on...

My two best Leo III portraits (from during his reign - an important proviso) are on a couple of folles. This first one, from Constantinople (with Constantine V on the reverse), is tiny:

The coin is only 17.5mm (and 3.3g)... even smaller (though perhaps better produced) than at its worst under Constans II.

This Syracuse equivalent is somewhat bigger, at 20mm, though only weighing 2.74g. Production values are low, but I like the portrait:

I'm not sure which is my favourite portrait of the two.

I have only one coin of Leo from before the elevation of Constantine V in 720, an example of SB 1513A:

Yes, it's a piece of junk. 😄 BUT these are very rare, usually crappy (voulgaroktonou's example above is stellar for the type)... and it only cost me 2 quid at auction!  Apparently I was the only one who bothered to ID it. 👍

Finally, I do have a damaged miliaresion of Artavasdus:

Collecting this period on a small budget is challenging, to say the least!  One must be prepared to put up with coins that lack, well, pretty much any redeeming qualities! 😄 

[voulgaroktonou]

12 minutes ago, Severus Alexander said:

@voulgaroktonou's museum-quality display of Leo III coins is an impossible act to follow, of course! Yet the show much go on...

My two best Leo III portraits (from during his reign - an important proviso) are on a couple of folles. This first one, from Constantinople (with Constantine V on the reverse), is tiny:

The coin is only 17.5mm (and 3.3g)... even smaller (though perhaps better produced) than at its worst under Constans II.

This Syracuse equivalent is somewhat bigger, at 20mm, though only weighing 2.74g. Production values are low, but I like the portrait:

I'm not sure which is my favourite portrait of the two.

I have only one coin of Leo from before the elevation of Constantine V in 720, an example of SB 1513A:

Yes, it's a piece of junk. 😄 BUT these are very rare, usually crappy (voulgaroktonou's example above is stellar for the type)... and it only cost me 2 quid at auction!  Apparently I was the only one who bothered to ID it. 👍

Finally, I do have a damaged miliaresion of Artavasdus:

Collecting this period on a small budget is challenging, to say the least!  One must be prepared to put up with coins that lack, well, pretty much any redeeming qualities! 😄 

Those are great coins, @Severus Alexander!  I love all of your Leos above. I think he's my favorite east Roman emperor!

[Hrefn]

Must preface my submission with kudos to @voulgaroktonou.

My offering is short and sweet.  Further, I am only going to feature one side of each of these two solidi.  Beyond that, one of these coins shows Leo III alive, while on the other coin, he is dead!  Dead, I say!   Ah-Ha-Ha, ah-ha-ha-ha-ha!!!! 

Ahem, where were we?  

Um, yes.  The coin on the left was struck while Leo III was alive, and he is featured on the obverse as is customary.   The coin on the right was struck by his successor, son, and fellow iconoclast Constantine V.  This worthy placed his own portrait and that of his son on the obverse of his solidus, but this left him in a quandary.  Whom to put on the reverse?  As an iconoclast, the innovation of placing Jesus there was unavailable.  How about dear deceased Dad?

Thus we find the recently departed loros-clad Leo III on the reverse (featured) of the second solidus.  The reverse of solidus 1 and the obverse of solidus 2 must wait until later.

 

 

[Nerosmyfavorite68]

 

Leo III with Constantine V (717-741). Æ 40 Nummi (19mm, 4.41g, 6h). Constantinople, year 20 (c. 720-1). Crowned and draped facing bust of Leo, holding globus cruciger. R/ Large M surmounted by crowned and draped facing bust of Constantine, holding globus cruciger; cross to r.; A/A - X/X across lower field. MIB 28; DOC –; Sear 1514

This is a nice example of the small module variety.  I'd like to find a large module one.

[Severus Alexander]

4 hours ago, Hrefn said:

The reverse of solidus 1 and the obverse of solidus 2 must wait until later.

Never fear, @Hrefn... we're allowed to see Constantine V on the reverse of the first solidus (assuming that's what's to be found there), since it shows him as co-emperor with Leo III:

But you were right to withhold Constantine V as senior emperor on the second one, lest the dreaded Donna Constantinopolis appear to scold you! 😄 (Of course some of us are missing her, though... everyone's been so bleedin' rule abiding! 😤)

[Hrefn]

2 hours ago, Severus Alexander said:

Never fear, @Hrefn... we're allowed to see Constantine V on the reverse of the first solidus (assuming that's what's to be found there), since it shows him as co-emperor with Leo III:

But you were right to withhold Constantine V as senior emperor on the second one, lest the dreaded Donna Constantinopolis appear to scold you! 😄 (Of course some of us are missing her, though... everyone's been so bleedin' rule abiding! 😤)

Your Imperial clemency is justly celebrated, @Severus Alexander.  It is the impecunious state of your subject’s solidus vault which stays my hand.  If I flip that first solidus now, my future post for Constantine V will be sadly reduced.  Unless I post the full coin twice - an act I am sure would raise the ire of Mme. C.   I hoped to escape her piercing and judgmental gaze by displaying the obverse now, the reverse later.  
I will post both sides of both solidi tomorrow, daring Her capricious wrath in the interest of thoroughness and numismatic scholarship.  

[voulgaroktonou]

9 hours ago, Hrefn said:

Must preface my submission with kudos to @voulgaroktonou.

My offering is short and sweet.  Further, I am only going to feature one side of each of these two solidi.  Beyond that, one of these coins shows Leo III alive, while on the other coin, he is dead!  Dead, I say!   Ah-Ha-Ha, ah-ha-ha-ha-ha!!!! 

Ahem, where were we?  

Um, yes.  The coin on the left was struck while Leo III was alive, and he is featured on the obverse as is customary.   The coin on the right was struck by his successor, son, and fellow iconoclast Constantine V.  This worthy placed his own portrait and that of his son on the obverse of his solidus, but this left him in a quandary.  Whom to put on the reverse?  As an iconoclast, the innovation of placing Jesus there was unavailable.  How about dear deceased Dad?

Thus we find the recently departed loros-clad Leo III on the reverse (featured) of the second solidus.  The reverse of solidus 1 and the obverse of solidus 2 must wait until later.

 

 

Wonderful coins, @Hrefn! Is it my imagination, or is the deceased Leo on the right starting to resemble a zombie?

[Valentinian]

Some types of Leo III come both small and larger. Sear 1514 is a case in point. The first one, in poor shape, is only 18-16 mm and 2.28 grams.

The next one has the same design and Sear number, but is much larger at 27-25 mm and 9.44 grams. 

The name of Leo is legible and some of the name of Constantine (V) on the reverse.

The next one is much different. It is Sear 1531 from the Syracuse mint.

21 mm. 3.80 grams.
ΛΕΟΝ down left (mostly illegible) ΔECΠ  (despot) either side of Leo standing.
KWNS down left ΔECΠ down right, either side of Constantine (V) standing. Struck 725-732 according to DOC

Edited June 30, 2023 by Valentinian

[Ancient Coin Hunter]

2nd coin there is awesome for the time....

[sand]

Well, we made it through the Byzantine Empire's "Twenty Years Of Anarchy", which was 695 AD to 717 AD, during which many interesting rarities have been posted. And, many interesting Leo III coins have been posted.

@quant.geek Interesting, rare Leontius coins.

@Severus Alexander Interesting, rare Leontius coins. Interesting Tiberius III coins. And, interesting, rare coins of Philippicus, Anastasius II, and Theodosius III. I especially like the Philippicus follis. And, interesting Leo III coins, and a very rare Artavasdus silver miliaresion.

@voulgaroktonou Nice, interesting, rare coins of Philippicus, Anastasius II, and Theodosius III. I especially like your Anastasius II hexagram, and your Theodosius III hexagram. Byzantine portrait silver coins are rare, and Byzantine portrait silver coins of Anastasius II and Theodosius III are extra rare and nice to see. And, interesting historical information about Philippicus, Anastasius II, and Theodosius III. And a nice, interesting collection of Leo III coins, and very rare Artavasdus coins. And, interesting historical information about Leo III and Artavasdus.

@Hrefn Nice, rare Philippicus gold coin. And, interesting historical information about Philippicus. And, an interesting Leo III gold coin (obverse photo).

@Nerosmyfavorite68 Interesting Leo III follis.

@Valentinian Interesting Leo III folli.

Leo III was the Byzantine Emperor from 717 AD to 741 AD. Leo III's reign was a welcome period of relative stability, after the chaos of the previous 20 years, during which there had been 6 Emperors. The following map shows the Byzantine Empire, at the end of Leo III's reign in 741 AD. During Leo III's reign, the Byzantine Empire regained the part of the Anatolian territory which had been lost during the reigns of Philippicus, Anastasius II, and Theodosius III. However, also during Leo III's reign, the Byzantine Empire lost 1 of the large islands west of the Italian peninsula, and lost some of the territory on the eastern coast of the Black Sea. At the end of Leo III's reign, the Byzantine Empire still held the city of Rome. However, unfortunately, Leo III introduced iconoclasm, the opposition to religious works of art, which eventually led to much destruction of Byzantine art, and seems to have been 1 of the causes of the split between Western Christianity and Eastern Christianity. Within the Byzantine Empire, there was a large amount of conflict, between the iconoclasts and the iconophiles. Byzantine iconoclasm lasted from 730 AD to 787 AD, and from 814 AD to 843 AD.

Here's my Leo III 40 nummi bronze coin. For the Byzantine 40 nummi bronze coins, Leo III is the beginning of the "equilateral triangle face" era of portraits, in which the face looks like an inverted equilateral triangle, instead of the inverted narrow triangle of the previous series of Byzantine Emperors (except for Leontius, whose face was portrayed as rectangular or oval). I like this very abstract style of portrait. One may even be tempted to call them "heart shaped heads". The obverse of my coin is off center, and has many areas of weakness or wear or corrosion, but Leo III's face is easy to see, and his globus cruciger is easy to see. The reverse is a mess, perhaps because of corrosion, and perhaps because of inexpert cleaning which a previous owner seems to have done, which seems to have left some cleaning scratches on the reverse.

Leo III AE 40 Nummi Follis. Minted 721 AD To 725 AD. Constantinople Mint. Sear 1514. DO 30b. Maximum Diameter 22.7 mm. Weight 4.95 grams. Obverse : Leo III Bust Facing Front, With Short Beard, Wearing Crown With Cross On Top, Globus Cruciger In Right Hand. Reverse : Constantine V Bust Facing Front, Beardless, Globus Cruciger In Right Hand, Large M Below.

EDIT : The map in this post, is a snapshot of the nice Youtube video titled "The History of the Byzantine Empire : Every Month".

Edited July 19, 2023 by sand

[Valentinian]

Constantine V, 741-775

His first AE issue from Constantinople was remarkably small in diameter. It is hard to tell sizes from photos, but it is much smaller than most "M" pieces of other emperors:

20-18 mm. 3.16 grams.
Sear 1555
DOC 3.1 Constantine V 6a, page 303, plate IX dated "741-(?)"
 

The next type of follis has Leo IV on the right as co-ruler and Leo the third, small, above an M on the reverse.

20-16 mm. 2.76 grams. Also quite small.
Sear 556
DOC 3.1 Constantine V 11, 4 photos on plate IX, none nicer than this one. "751-769(?)"
 

He also issued coins from Syracuse:

16 mm. 2.40 grams. (Even smaller than the Constantinople coins.)
KWNS for Constantine down left (Right-side legend off the flan. It should say ΔECΠ for despot like the reverse does.)
Standing figure of Constantine
ΛEON for Leo down the left  ΔECΠ for despot down the right.
Standing figure of Leo.
Sear 1568
DOC 3.1 Constantine V 18, "751-755" plate X. 

These are usually crowded like this one (or more so) and often have a hard green patina like this one which is typical for coins of Syracuse.
 

 

 

 

[voulgaroktonou]

Constantine V, emperor (741–75). Leo III crowned his son Constantine as co-emperor in 720 and in 732 married him to the Khazar khagan's daughter, who took the name Irene and bore him Leo (IV).  Constantine zealously advanced his father’s iconoclastic policies, persecuting iconodules in the bureaucracy, army, and church; his attacks on monks evolved into a campaign against monasticism as an institution. He also rejected the cult of saints, and was hostile to relics, except those of the True Cross. It might not be too far to consider him a precursor to Oliver Cromwell.

After the triumph of the iconodules after 787, Byzantine historians displayed their hostility toward his aggressive support of Iconoclasm by nicknaming him and “Kopronymos” (“feces-named”) for supposedly having defecated while being baptized. Although his posthumous reputation among posterity was darkened because of his hatred of icon worship (in the 9th C. his bones were exhumed, burned, and cast into the sea), even his detractors acknowledged his prowess in military affairs. He further strengthened the empire by resettling colonists in areas that had been depopulated by invasion or plague.

Constantine associated his son Leo (IV) on the throne with him on June 6, 751, and he thereafter appears on the coinage with his father. Constantine additionally stresses the continuity of the dynasty by adding his deceased father Leo (III) to the reverse, as @Hrefn pointed out in an earlier post. In fact, under Leo IV, the coinage becomes a virtual family tree, with both his deceased father (Constantine V) and grandfather (Leo III) appearing on the reverses, with legends explaining the family relationship. In DOC v. 3:1, p. 292, Grierson writes: “this may show Muslim influence: it was a pictorial representation of the filiation formulae which played a major role in Arab personal names…”

 

Constantine alone, 741-751

Follis , Constantinople , 741 – late 740s (?) .  3.17 gr. 19.2 mm. 5 hr.  Sear 1555 (This coin); DO 6b

Half Follis Constantinople, ca. 741-750. 2.15 gr. 16.8 mm. 6hr. Sear 1558 (this coin); DO 7b; BM 27

 

Constantine V, with Leo IV, as well as with Leo III (top row), 751-775

Top row:

Follis, Constantinople, 751-769(?). 1.74 gr. 19.6 mm. 6hr. Sear 1556; DO 11; BNP 2-3; BM 23-25; T. 54; R. 1754-55.

Obv: Crowned facing busts of Constantine V and Leo IV.

Rev: Crowned facing half-length bust of Leo III, set on balustrade. Below, large M, to left, X; to right, N. Beneath, A.

Follis, Constantinople, 769-775. 3.13 gr. 20 mm. 6 hr. Sear 1557; DO 13; BM 26.

Obv: Constantine V and Leo IV seated on a double throne.

Rev: All as on previous coin.

Bottom row:

Half Follis, Constantinople, 769-775. 2.29 gr. 18.2 mm. 6 hr. Sear 1561; DO 14

Obv: Constantine V and Leo IV seated on a double throne.

Rev: K between immobilized X/X/X and N/N/N. This is the last issue of half folles to bear the traditional mark of value. Henceforth, the halves can only be distinguished from folles by their smaller size.

 

The mint of these is Syracuse.

Top row:

Follis, 741-775, 2.41 gr. 16.7 mm. 6 hr. Sear 1568 var.; DO 18 var; BM 33=R. 191. Full disclosure, I have not thought about this coin for years, and as I list it here, I realize I had unresolved questions. Sear 1568, et al. list the figure labelled ΚωΝS as bearded, with the figure labelled ΛεΟΝ as beardless, hence Constantine (V) and Leo (IV). However, here, the latter figure is bearded. (Leo III?). The issue is touched on by Grierson’s footnote 18.1 in DOC v. 3:1, p. 311. A clear inscription of ΝεΟV to the right on the reverse would clearly refer to Leo IV.  I would gratefully hear anyone’s thoughts on this issue.

Follis, 751-775, 3.71 gr. 21.2 mm. 6 hr. Sear 1569; DO 19c; BNP 5-15; BM 35-51; R. 1757-62.  

Obv: Busts of Constantine V and Leo IV.

Rev: Bust of Leo III holding cross potent.

 

Bottom row:

Follis, 1.79 gr. 16.3 mm. 6 hr. Sear 1569A; DO 20.

Obv: Busts of Constantine V and Leo IV. over balustrade.

Rev: Bust of Leo III over balustrade, holding cross potent.

[Hrefn]

As promised, here are both sides of the previously posted solidi, showing Leo III on one side and Constantine V on the other.  On the left hand coin Constantine V is junior emperor to his father.  On the right hand coin Constantine V, now senior emperor after his father’s death, is joined by his son Leo IV  ‘o neos or the new one, i.e. Leo, junior.  

[sand]

@Valentinian Nice and interesting Constantine V 40 nummi bronze coins from Constantinople and Syracuse.
@voulgaroktonou Nice and interesting Constantine V 40 nummi bronze coins from Constantinople and Syracuse. The red patina on your Syracuse Sear 1569 is interesting. And, interesting historical information about Constantine V.
@Hrefn Interesting Constantine V gold coin.