The epic Byzantine portrait thread

[voulgaroktonou]

Heraclius and Heraclius Constantine. From left to right, and bottom.

Heraclius is on the left, his son, on the right.

 

Ceremonial Miliaresion, Constantinople, 615-24. 4.34 gr. 25.2 mm. 7 hr. Sear 789; Hahn 129; T. 223-4.

Hexagram, Constantinople, 636-637. 4.58 gr. 24.3 mm. 7 hr.

Hexagram, Ravenna, 615-638, 6.04 gr. 25.1 mm. 6 hr.  Sear 903; Hahn 153; DO 277; BNP 1-3; BM 440-41; T. 221-2. Although no mint mark is present, Ravenna presents itself by style (Here, Heraclius resembles a cuddly teddy bear; his son seems to have walked off the set of the “Walking Dead”.) Further, the Ravennate hexagrams use Roman forms of the letters D, V, and T, compared to the Greek: δ, υ, τ.

[voulgaroktonou]

Heraclius, Heraclius Constantine, Heraclonas, and Martina. From left to right, and bottom.

Hexagram, Constantinople, 637-41.  6.58 gr. 23 mm. 6 hr. S. 803; Hahn 146; DO 68; BNP 16; BM 108; R. 1500. Heraclonas, Heraclius, and Heraclius Constantine.

Ceremonial Miliaresion, Constantinople 637-41.  3.78 gr. 21.2 mm. 6 hr. Sear 791; Hahn 131; BNP 1. Obverse same as previous.

Half siliqua, Carthage, 617-41. 0.52 gr. 11.6 mm. 1 hr. Sear 871; Hahn 149; DO 233; BNP 3-4; BM 343-6; R. 1460-64. A beardless Heraclius on the obverse; reverse, Heraclius Constantine and Martina.

[Al Kowsky]

5 minutes ago, voulgaroktonou said:

Revolt of the Heraclii

Follis, Alexandretta, 610/11. 9.66 gr. 31.5 mm. 6 hr. Sear 723; Hahn 16b; DO 17.

Bearded bust of Heraclius (on left) and of his father, the exarch of Africa, Heraclius. The revolt of Heraclius against Phokas lasted from summer 608 to November 610, when the latter was overthrown and executed. The year 14, as indicated by X/IIII, would be anomalous, but it represents the 14th indictional year(610/11). An indiction was a 15-year cycle originally based upon tax revenue.

This is a very rare coin type 🤩, gold solidi depicting father & son are untouchable at auction.

[voulgaroktonou]

3 minutes ago, Al Kowsky said:

This is a very rare coin type 🤩, gold solidi depicting father & son are untouchable at auction.

Thanks to a private collection I curated for many years, DO now has another splendid solidus of the revolt, plus a lead seal of the exarch and his son that has to be seen to be believed.

[Valentinian]

The story of Heraclius has many twists and turns. There are many coin types that are interesting and related to history.

30-27 mm. 9.11 grams.
This type is from the revolt, 608-610, before he took Constantinople and became Augustus. Notice the title in the obverse legend: CONSULII (not AVG).
Minted at Alexandretta in Syria not far from Antioch. Site finds and patinas like this one show it was not from the famous Alexandria. 
Sear 722. Indiction year 14.
ex Vecchi 8 (Dec. 1997). 

Here is a follis of year 2 from Cyzicus:

32-29 mm. 11.43 grams.
Sear 839.

Several mints used a type with three figures standing side by side:

30-21 mm. 4.72 grams.
Heraclius Constantine (left), Heraclius, and Martina. 
Year 17 (626/7)
KYΠPI  for Cyprus. Grierson page 121 says "probably at Constantina". 
Sear 849.
This type with three standing figures was extensively copied by the Arabs when they conquered Syria.  

Arab-Byzantine. 23 mm. 4.35 grams.
Struck at the city of Tiberias on the Sea of Galilee in the "Jund of Jordan". Greek on the left and below and Arabic for "Tabariya" on the right.

The Byzantines had a mint at Syracuse that overstruck earlier coins with large countermark-like dies:


32 mm. 14.49 grams.
Countermark of a facing bust (of Heraclius) and a monogram for him
opposite a countermark SCLs for Sicily. 
Sear 882 on an older coin of Justin.
DOC Heraclius 241.6

His reign lasted from 610 to 641, which is a long time during which many world-changing events happened. Conflicts with the Sasanian Empire and then the Arabs make for interesting history and the coins of the period are fascinating.

I have a page on the pronunciation of his name:
http://augustuscoins.com/ed/Byz/Heraclius.html

 

Edited June 15, 2023 by Valentinian
typo

[Al Kowsky]

2 hours ago, Valentinian said:

The story of Heraclius has many twists and turns. There are many coin types that are interesting and related to history.

30-27 mm. 9.11 grams.
This type is from the revolt, 608-610, before he took Constantinople and became Augustus. Notice the title in the obverse legend: CONSULII (not AVG).
Minted at Alexandretta in Syria not far from Antioch. Site finds and patinas like this one show it was not from the famous Alexandria. 
Sear 722. Indiction year 14.
ex Vecchi 8 (Dec. 1997). 

Here is a follis of year 2 from Cyzicus:

32-29 mm. 11.43 grams.
Sear 839.

Several mints used a type with three figures standing side by side:

30-21 mm. 4.72 grams.
Heraclius Constantine (left), Heraclius, and Martina. 
Year 17 (626/7)
KYΠPI  for Cyprus. Grierson page 121 says "probably at Constantina". 
Sear 849.
This type with three standing figures was extensively copied by the Arabs when they conquered Syria.  

Arab-Byzantine. 23 mm. 4.35 grams.
Struck at the city of Tiberias on the Sea of Galilee in the "Jund of Jordan". Greek on the left and below and Arabic for "Tabariya" on the right.

The Byzantines had a mint at Syracuse that overstruck earlier coins with large countermark-like dies:


32 mm. 14.49 grams.
Countermark of a facing bust (of Heraclius) and a monogram for him
opposite a countermark SCLs for Sicily. 
Sear 882 on an older coin of Justin.
DOC Heraclius 241.6

His reign lasted from 610 to 641, which is a long time during which many world-changing events happened. Conflicts with the Sasanian Empire and then the Arabs make for interesting history and the coins of the period are fascinating.

I have a page on the pronunciation of his name:
http://augustuscoins.com/ed/Byz/Heraclius.html

 

Congrats on your father & son follis 🤩. I love that follis with the Sicilian counterstamps 😍.

[Al Kowsky]

4 hours ago, voulgaroktonou said:

Thanks to a private collection I curated for many years, DO now has another splendid solidus of the revolt, plus a lead seal of the exarch and his son that has to be seen to be believed.

I'd love to see photos of your lead seal & revolt solidus 😉. The last revolt solidus I saw at auction was lot 723, from CNG 123, from the Carthage mint, & it sold for $14,700 😲! I managed to score my Heraclius solidus, Sear 732, at that same auction ☺️. The Carthage revolt solidus is pictured below.  

[Hrefn]

Some of these have been posted previously.  An amazing variety of portraiture to see them all together.  

 

#1 is from early in the reign, estimated by Berk as circa 610-613 AD.  His son Heraclius Constantine was made co-Emperor in 613 AD.  Berk-114.               4.45 grams.    Purchased from Harlan Berk 6/1993.

#2 shows a very young Heraclius Constantine.  The die work is excellent.  Capital “I” in the reverse field.   Purchased from CNG, electronic auction 55 lot 168 on 12/2002.

#3 is Berk-123.  S-749.  The rulers are a bit older. There is a pellet to the right of the cross.  Purchased 8/1989 from Tom Cederlind.

#4 is a Solidus from Ravenna, distinguished by style and by the heavy annulus border on the reverse.  Berk says circa 613-4AD, 4.46 grams, Hahn-110 c2, same dies.  Purchased from Harlan Berk 6/1993.  Inferior example sold by Heritage for $3500 in 2014.

#5(above) solidus from Constantinople features Heraclius, Heraclius Constantine and Heraclonas standing.  The reverse has a Heraclian monogram to the left of the cross potent.  Probably 639-41 AD.  From Roma Numismatics, London e-sale 59 lot 1035 on 11 July 2019.  Also 4.46 gms.

#6 (below) is very similar, with addition of an epsilon to the right of the cross potent.  Hahn 53, 4.48 gms.  From Harlan Berk, 3/1990, lot 36.

#7 is a tremissis from Constantinople.  Purchased at auction from Superior Galleries 30 May 1990, lot #7378.  Amazing huge flan of standard tremissis mass circa 1.4 gms.  The impressive annular border is reminiscent of the Ravenna mint. 

[Jims,Coins]

 

AR Hexagram – minted at Constantinopolis during the reign of Heraclius between 5 Oct. 610 – 11 Jan. 641. Obv. Heraclius with short beard (on l.) and Heraclius Constantine, beardless (on r.) seated facing on double throne; each wears crown with cross and chlamys, and holds gl. cr. in r. hand; between their heads, cross. Rev. DE4S.ADI4CA.ROMANIS. Cross potent on globe above three steps; base of cross sometimes forked. BCVS #795. 2 Figures/Cross on steps, F, somewhat off-ctr & crude on unround flan with weakness at edges.

AE Follis - Minted at Cyzicus during the reign of Heraclius between 5 October 610 - 11 January 641, regnal year of 16 = 625/6. Obv. No Legend. Heraclius (in center), Heraclius Constantine (on r.) and the Empress Martina (on l.) all stg. facing, each wearing crown and chlamys, and holding gl.cr. in r. hand; the figures of Heraclius Constantine and Martina are usually indistinguishable, but the above arrangement is assumed to be what is intended. Rev. Large M; to l., Monogram 23 or 24 or 26; above, A/N/N/O and cross; to r., numerals representing the regnal year, beneath Officina letter; in ex., KYZ. BCVS #841

[voulgaroktonou]

1 hour ago, Al Kowsky said:

I'd love to see photos of your lead seal & revolt solidus 😉. The last revolt solidus I saw at auction was lot 723, from CNG 123, from the Carthage mint, & it sold for $14,700 😲! I managed to score my Heraclius solidus, Sear 732, at that same auction ☺️. The Carthage revolt solidus is pictured below.  

 

[voulgaroktonou]

Before I can do that, Al, I'll have to ask DO for permission. They were part of a private collection I curated for 30 years, but now belong to DO; I'll get back with you after I have gotten their permission.

[Nerosmyfavorite68]

My poor coin photography results kept me from participating for a while.  I have a 'Rome style' military mint follis from Maurice, a 20 nummi Rome mint, as well as some regular coins of both Maurice and Phocas. I also have a nice Phocas Solidus and an okay 30 nummi.

I have too many coins of Heraclius to post.  The 'Jerusalem'/Syrian military mint one isn't photographed.

Glenn W. Woods description:

Heraclius, 610-641, Gold Solidus, Sear-734, MIB-8a, Officina-H, struck 613-616 at Constantinople, 4.42 grams, 20.9 mm. Nice VF

Obv: D D N N HERACLIUS ET HERA CONST P P AVG - Facing busts of Heraclius with short beard on left and Heraclius Constantine beardless on right, each wearing chlamys and elaborate crown with cross, cross above between

Rev: VICTORIA AVGU - Cross potent on three steps, CONOB in exergue

Nicely centered with fully lustrous 'mint state' surfaces, but a bit unevenly struck with the left side of both surfaces missing. 'M' graffiti in the upper obverse field is noted for accuracy. Still a pleasing example with an especially nice portrait of Heraclius.

 

An unusually worn Seleucia:  I bought this one because it was unusually large and it didn't have bronze disease.  There were only two available on vcoins at the time.

Title: *Sear 844* Byzantine Empire. Heraclius (AD 610-641) with Heraclius Constantine Æ 35mm Follis
Attribution: Sear Byzantine 844 Seleucia Isauriae mint
Date: Dated year 7 - AD 616/7
Obverse: Facing crowned busts of Heraclius, on left, and Heraclius Constantine, smaller, on right
Reverse: Large M, Christogram above, ANNO to left, ςΙ (date) to right, A (officina) below, SEL ISA in exergue
Size: 35.30mm
Weight: 14.52 grams
From the Peter Lee Collection.

Peter Lee must have had good taste.  Many were rather decrepit, but there were such coins as a Justinian Ravenna follis, which I snapped up.

An unusually nice Heraclius Sicily large module:

ex Rodolfo Spahr collection.

an unusually nice example of one of the most common coins of Byzantium, S 805

Some hexagrams with varying styles:

 

[catadc]

An interesting portrait of Heraclius Constantine on this 30 nummi.

[wittwolff]

One coin solo and one with his son:

[Al Kowsky]

I often hear collectors say "I don't buy coins for investment, I buy them because I like them", but let's be honest, when it's time to sell your coins you'd like to get more than you paid for them 😏. What many collectors are doing with high grade coins is slabbing them, myself included, & if they come back with the right info on the slab you can be rewarded with a nice return on your investment ☺️. Sometimes getting a coin slabbed can backfire, especially if problems are pointed out on the slab that weren't disclosed on the coin's original listing 🫢. I think this may be the case with the top coin pictured below 🤔. Lately many Byzantine coins from the Mike Gasvoda collection have appeared at CNG auctions, & most of them have been slabbed. Both coins pictured below were sold at CNG Feature Auction 123, lots 724 & 725, & both coins came from the Gasvoda collection. I ended up winning the bottom coin, lot 725, for $949.38. The top coin was originally won by Mike Gasvoda in CNG Triton XVIII, lot 1301, Jan. 2015, in a raw state, for $2,587.50, it had an estimate of $750. It is truly a handsome coin 🤩. In CNG Feature Auction 123, lot 724 sold for only $1,225 with an estimate of $1,500 🥹. The original listing of this coin in 2015 didn't note an edge bend or edge markings, & the scratches on the 3 steps were hardly visible on the 2015 photo.

 

[robinjojo]

Here are a couple of interesting folles with overstrikes plus an Alexandretta follis.

Heraclius, follis, Cyzicus, RY 3 (612/3 AD).  Struck over an Anastasius follis, Constantinople.

S 839

12.39 grams 

Heraclius, follis, Constantinople, RY 3 (612/3 AD)  Double rotated struck and over struck on likely a follis of Phocas.

 

Heraclius, follis, Alexandretta, 608-610 AD. 

Berk 534

10.62 grams

[Hrefn]

@Al Kowsky from your prior remarks, and mine, it is obvious our collecting history spans the time from before encapsulation of ancient coins was even contemplated, until today.  The process was developed to standardize the grading of US, thus machine-made modern coins, and commoditize them.  Slabbed, one MS-63 Full Bands 1943-S Mercury dime is identical to another for all practical purposes.  You could buy and sell them sight unseen, with complete confidence.

Given the ease with which images are transmitted nowadays, what collector of ancient coins would ever spend any significant sum on an unseen coin?  Even if slabbed?   The variables of style, strike, surface, condition, wear, scratches, graffiti, clipping, edge bends, die rust, centering, over strike, spotting, scuffing are so numerous and important to valuation that TPGS grade alone is insufficiently descriptive to allow expending a serious portion of one’s collecting budget.  All of which is well illustrated by your post above.  

The mania for perfection which swept the US collecting community in the late 1980’s has splashed over into the ancient coin community, and it is certainly affecting the market (Hello, Heritage!) but there is an older, deeper, and more scholarly community here which is almost unaffected.  I am probably one of the more “condition-conscious” longtime ancient collectors.  I only purchased about 20 coins last year, and I am up to 14 for this year.  But I will happily accept some minor clipping so long as the coin is about full weight.  A bit of die rust is not a deal-killer.  Historical importance trumps perfect condition.  A tiny rim bend?  That just means it’s 1500 years old. 

When the time comes to sell my collection (“How about now?” says wife) I will have to make a tactical decision to slab or not slab.   However selective I have been over the years, I have been looking for somewhat different indications of value than the “slabbers.”  My coins may not all slab 5/5.  

To bring this back to Heraclius, here’s one more.  It’s a screenshot, so I apologize for that.  It illustrates the limitations of the slab to describe points of interest to the historian/collector.   

Solidus of Heraclius and his son Heraclius Constantine.   Blundered OBV inscription suggests a Greek speaking celator who had trouble with the Latin H,  blundering it in Heraclius and omitting it in Heraclius Constantine.  His U is an upsilon.  The R on the obverse is odd.    Purchased 9/22 from heritage.  From the Historical Scholar collection.  Auction 95300 lot 61288

[Simon]

22.55mm and 5.9gm , it is a very nice SBCV-842

[Al Kowsky]

2 hours ago, robinjojo said:

Here are a couple of interesting folles with overstrikes plus an Alexandretta follis.

Heraclius, follis, Cyzicus, RY 3 (612/3 AD).  Struck over an Anastasius follis, Constantinople.

S 839

12.39 grams 

Heraclius, follis, Constantinople, RY 3 (612/3 AD)  Double rotated struck and over struck on likely a follis of Phocas.

 

Heraclius, follis, Alexandretta, 608-610 AD. 

Berk 534

10.62 grams

Lovely earthen patina on your revolt follis 🤩!

[mc9]

Two different ( ugly ) portraits from Heraclius :

dN hERACLIYS P P AVG : diademed, draped and cuirassed bust right
VICTORIA AVGY S //CONOB, cross
Tremissis, Constantinopolis, A.D. 610-641, Sear 786

[Al Kowsky]

2 hours ago, Hrefn said:

@Al Kowsky from your prior remarks, and mine, it is obvious our collecting history spans the time from before encapsulation of ancient coins was even contemplated, until today.  The process was developed to standardize the grading of US, thus machine-made modern coins, and commoditize them.  Slabbed, one MS-63 Full Bands 1943-S Mercury dime is identical to another for all practical purposes.  You could buy and sell them sight unseen, with complete confidence.

Given the ease with which images are transmitted nowadays, what collector of ancient coins would ever spend any significant sum on an unseen coin?  Even if slabbed?   The variables of style, strike, surface, condition, wear, scratches, graffiti, clipping, edge bends, die rust, centering, over strike, spotting, scuffing are so numerous and important to valuation that TPGS grade alone is insufficiently descriptive to allow expending a serious portion of one’s collecting budget.  All of which is well illustrated by your post above.  

The mania for perfection which swept the US collecting community in the late 1980’s has splashed over into the ancient coin community, and it is certainly affecting the market (Hello, Heritage!) but there is an older, deeper, and more scholarly community here which is almost unaffected.  I am probably one of the more “condition-conscious” longtime ancient collectors.  I only purchased about 20 coins last year, and I am up to 14 for this year.  But I will happily accept some minor clipping so long as the coin is about full weight.  A bit of die rust is not a deal-killer.  Historical importance trumps perfect condition.  A tiny rim bend?  That just means it’s 1500 years old. 

When the time comes to sell my collection (“How about now?” says wife) I will have to make a tactical decision to slab or not slab.   However selective I have been over the years, I have been looking for somewhat different indications of value than the “slabbers.”  My coins may not all slab 5/5.  

To bring this back to Heraclius, here’s one more.  It’s a screenshot, so I apologize for that.  It illustrates the limitations of the slab to describe points of interest to the historian/collector.   

Solidus of Heraclius and his son Heraclius Constantine.   Blundered OBV inscription suggests a Greek speaking celator who had trouble with the Latin H,  blundering it in Heraclius and omitting it in Heraclius Constantine.  His U is an upsilon.  The R on the obverse is odd.    Purchased 9/22 from heritage.  From the Historical Scholar collection.  Auction 95300 lot 61288

Hrefn, You give an excellent history & overview of the current slabbing phenomenon ☺️. We all know that coin grading is a subjective exercise regardless if the coin is slabbed or raw, & the final determination if we add a coin to our collection or not is the price. I've bought slabbed coins that I thought were over graded & some that I though were under graded. There are many points of contention with some of the remarks on slabs, like clipping. I've seen two coins of the same type where the heavier coin was labeled clipped & the lighter one wasn't 🤨. Unless a gold coin like an aureus or solidus is lighter by more than a 1/4 of a gram the weight shouldn't be that important. Most of the ancient gold coins were traded by weight & not denomination, that's why they very rarely have marks of value on them. Surface evaluation can also be very contentious 😖. One important safeguard that slabbing can offer is protection of altering the surface of a coin like tooling, smoothing, & repatination. Anyway, I think your solidus is an excellent addition 😉. The quality of strike & perfect centering enhance it. 

[sand]

Heraclius overthrew the abysmal Emperor Phocas in 610 AD. By the end of Phocas's terrible reign, the Byzantine Empire was threatened on multiple frontiers. During the first part of Heraclius's reign, the Sasanian Empire, whose state religion was Zoroastrianism (although other religions were tolerated), conquered all of Anatolia, and conquered all of the Holy Land including taking the True Cross from Jerusalem to the Sasanian capital, and conquered all of Egypt, and marched all the way to the gate of Constantinople. However, Constantinople was protected by its massive walls and a strong navy, and the Sasanians were not able to take Constantinople. Then, Heraclius initiated reforms to rebuild and strengthen the military. Then, Heraclius defeated the Sasanians, and Heraclius reconquered Anatolia, and reconquered the Holy Land and recaptured the True Cross, and reconquered Egypt. But then, the Rashidun Caliphate, whose religion was the new religion of Islam, stormed out of Arabia, and conquered the Sasanian Empire, and conquered the Holy Land, and conquered much of Egypt. Also, during Heraclius's reign, the Byzantine Empire lost much of northern Greece, and all of its lands in Spain. Therefore, by the end of Heraclius's reign in 641 AD, the Byzantine Empire was greatly diminished, as shown on the map below.

Here's my Heraclius 40 nummi bronze coin. There are many nice and interesting Heraclius gold, silver, and bronze coins in this thread. Many of the coins show a Heraclius bust by himself, or a Heraclius bust with a family member, or the standing figure of Heraclius, standing beside various family members. The portraits on the coins, continue the Byzantine tradition of simple depictions of faces, but often with detailed depictions of the clothing and crown. My coin shows Heraclius wearing armor, and a crown, which may also be a helmet, with a plume on top of the crown/helmet. My coin is similar to the Cyzicus folli of @Valentinian and @robinjojo. My coin has wear or corrosion on the face, so that the mouth and beard are not visible. Also, my coin has weakness or wear or corrosion on the Emperor's right side, so that his right hand, and the cross that his right hand is holding, are not visible. However, I like the coin.

Heraclius AE 40 Nummi Follis. Regnal Year 3. Minted 612 AD To 613 AD. Cyzicus Mint. Sear 839. Diameter 29.8 mm. Weight 9.95 grams. Obverse : Heraclius Bust Facing Front. Reverse : Large M Regnal Year "III" Mint "KYZ" Officina B Under Large M.

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

[Nerosmyfavorite68]

I advanced the day of my coin buy to slide under the deadline.  I bought some Byzantine, some not shown, for the large flans.  I don't usually like Kyzicus, but the flan made it nice and the portrait's not bad for the type.

Heraclius - 610-641 - AE Follis - Kyzicus - 35mm, 10.69g SB 839 earthen highlights

Heraclius - 610-641 - AE Follis - S805 - 35mm, 11.34g Constantinople, A off, yr 3 (perhaps)

[Pellinore]

Some coins of the Emperor Heraclius have entered my collection over the years, but being in the first place an Orientals collector, what I always looked for are the bronze coins of 12 (and 6) nummi that are said to have been minted during the occupation of Alexandria by the Persians of King Xusro II.
I had one dodecanummium (Latin Greek for "12 nummi coin"), but that was eaten up by bronze disease and I sold it to a friend who's less afraid of that affliction. But a few years ago I was lucky and three toppers came in, a 12 nummi of the large module, a ditto of the small module and a silly coin looking out from the inside of a mirror.

3552. Heraclius, 610-641. 12 nummi, Persian occupation of Egypt. Larger module. Alexandria, ca. 618-628. Facing beardless bust of Heraclius with crown set on crescent and surmounted by a cross set on a crescent (!), wearing cuirass; in field to left, star; in field to right, crescent. Rev. Large IB, with cross potent on globe between; in exergue, AΛЄΞ. 24 mm, 16.18 gr. DOC 192. MIB 202a. SB 856. Zeno 251794 and see this Zeno Gallery. This coin "From a European collection, formed before 2005". This issue is usually attributed to the period of the Persian occupation of Egypt, which lasted from 618 to 628.

3551. Heraclius, 610-641. 12 nummi, Persian occupation of Egypt. Alexandria, ca. 618-628. Facing beardless bust of Heraclius with crown surmounted by a cross, wearing cuirass; in field to left, star; in field to right, crescent. Rev. Large IB, with cross potent on globe between; in exergue, AΛЄΞ. 19 mm, 9.60 gr. 6h. DOC 191. MIB 202b. SB 855. Göbl 8.9. This coin is "From a European collection, formed before 2005".

3553. Heraclius, with Heraclius Constantine, 610-641. AE 12 Nummi, a crude and irregular imitation of a dodekanummion from Alexandria. Irregular mint in Egypt, perhaps under Sasanian occupation. Obv. At the left, the beardless bust of Heraclius Constantine facing; at the right, the draped bust of Heraclius at the right side, with long beard, facing; between them, a long cross. Rev. Cross potent on a triangle = two steps flanked by mirrored B and I! Text in exergue is unreadable. 18 mm, 6.2 gr., 6h.

Cf. Goodwin, T.: Some Aspects of 7th C Egyptian Byzantine Coinage, fig. 6d (for similar type). See also Castrizio, D.: Le monete della necropoli nord di Antinoupolis (2010), both articles on Academia. Castrizio shows 3-5 comparable retrograde coins (in a hoard of 309 pcs), but none exactly like mine. One may distill from these articles that this type of imitation coin was possibly minted in or near Antinoupolis, on the Nile 200 miles upstream from Persia-occupied Alexandria.

It was marked by the auction house "From the collection of J. Knudsen, formed from the late 1970s to the late 1990s."  I found the name of Knudsen (a Danish name, but it could well be German) here on Numis, in a contribution by @Harry G. But apparently nothing more was found out about this collector Knudsen of Hamburg.

 

[Al Kowsky]

7 hours ago, sand said:

Heraclius overthrew the abysmal Emperor Phocas in 610 AD. By the end of Phocas's terrible reign, the Byzantine Empire was threatened on multiple frontiers. During the first part of Heraclius's reign, the Sasanian Empire, whose state religion was Zoroastrianism (although other religions were tolerated), conquered all of Anatolia, and conquered all of the Holy Land including taking the True Cross from Jerusalem to the Sasanian capital, and conquered all of Egypt, and marched all the way to the gate of Constantinople. However, Constantinople was protected by its massive walls and a strong navy, and the Sasanians were not able to take Constantinople. Then, Heraclius initiated reforms to rebuild and strengthen the military. Then, Heraclius defeated the Sasanians, and Heraclius reconquered Anatolia, and reconquered the Holy Land and recaptured the True Cross, and reconquered Egypt. But then, the Rashidun Caliphate, whose religion was the new religion of Islam, stormed out of Arabia, and conquered the Sasanian Empire, and conquered the Holy Land, and conquered much of Egypt. Also, during Heraclius's reign, the Byzantine Empire lost much of northern Greece, and all of its lands in Spain. Therefore, by the end of Heraclius's reign in 641 AD, the Byzantine Empire was greatly diminished, as shown on the map below.

Here's my Heraclius 40 nummi bronze coin. There are many nice and interesting Heraclius gold, silver, and bronze coins in this thread. Many of the coins show a Heraclius bust by himself, or a Heraclius bust with a family member, or the standing figure of Heraclius, standing beside various family members. The portraits on the coins, continue the Byzantine tradition of simple depictions of faces, but often with detailed depictions of the clothing and crown. My coin shows Heraclius wearing armor, and a crown, which may also be a helmet, with a plume on top of the crown/helmet. My coin is similar to the Cyzicus folli of @Valentinian and @robinjojo. My coin has wear or corrosion on the face, so that the mouth and beard are not visible. Also, my coin has weakness or wear or corrosion on the Emperor's right side, so that his right hand, and the cross that his right hand is holding, are not visible. However, I like the coin.

Heraclius AE 40 Nummi Follis. Regnal Year 3. Minted 612 AD To 613 AD. Cyzicus Mint. Sear 839. Diameter 29.8 mm. Weight 9.95 grams. Obverse : Heraclius Bust Facing Front. Reverse : Large M Regnal Year "III" Mint "KYZ" Officina B Under Large M.

sand, That's an attractive follis & excellent synopsis of Heraclius' reign ☺️. Phocas left the empire in shoddy condition before Heraclius had him executed & Heraclius managed to restore much that was lost. J. J. Norwich in his book Byzantium, The Early Centuries, named his chapter on Heraclius, The First Crusade, a very fitting title for his reign.