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Justin I AE Pentanummium 'E' w. B officiana. Constantinople


thenickelguy

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Justin I was the Eastern Roman emperor from 518 to 527.

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He was raised in a peasant family and may have been a swine herder.

As a teenager, he and two companions fled from a barbarian invasion. Taking refuge in Constantinople, the capital of the Eastern Roman Empire, they possessed nothing more than the ragged clothes on their backs and a sack of bread among them.
Illiterate at the time of his arrival there, Justin joined the newly formed palace guard.

In time he rose through the ranks of the army to become commander of the imperial guard, and when Emperor Anastasius died he out-maneuvered his rivals and was elected as his successor. 
His reign is significant for the founding of the Justinian dynasty.

In either 519 or 522 Justin abandoned the tradition of depicting pagan symbols on the reverse of his coins and seals. "During the reign, the characteristic identifying the reverse female figure as Victory, a high girdle below the breasts, was substituted by a tunic, therefore identifying the figure as an angel.
This was a very public and widespread restatement of the Empire as a Christian state.

I believe this coin is roughly 15mm.

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Nice coin! My coin of Justin I is a little different.

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Justin I, AE Pentanummium, 512-518 AD, Constantinople. DN IVSTINVS PP AVG, pearl diademed, draped, cuirassed bust right / Large chi-rho, officina letter to left, value letter epsilon (5) to right. SB 75, DO 21c

Heres my similar Justinian I:

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Justinian I, AE Pentanummium, 527-565 AD, Antioch. DN IVSTINIANVS PP AVG, pearl diademed, draped, cuirassed bust right / epsilon with + at centre, star to right. SB 244, DOC 271.

Got lucky buying both for around $5 each. This is an amazing hobby where you can get coins this old for less than a breakfast sandwich.

 

Edited by Orange Julius
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Nice coin @thenickelguyand great pick-ups @Orange Julius- I have yet to get any of these small denominations, but definitely it is cool to get something so intrinsically historical for less than a breakfast burrito costs. Shows where our priorities are as a society. I asked my nephew to tell me the name of a Roman emperor and he couldn't name any (not even Caesar). Similarly, I asked my sister to name a Byzantine emperor and she couldn't name one either, even though she spent some time in a Ph.D. program focusing on women's roles in late antiquity. Sometimes I wonder what the heck they are teaching these days!!!

Edited by Ancient Coin Hunter
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I was debating whether to post a Justinian or a Justin one, but why not both  😁

 

Byzantine Empire: Justin I & Justinian I (527) Æ Pentanummium, Antioch (Sear 133; DOC 17; MIBE 13)

Obv: +D N IVSTINVS ЄT IVSTINIANVS P P A; Diademed, draped, and cuirassed busts of Justin and Justinian facing
Rev: Tyche of Antioch seated left, head facing; river-god Orontes swimming to right below; Э to left; all within distyle shrine

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Byzantine Empire: Justin I (518-527 CE) Æ 12 Nummi, Alexandria (Sear 112; DOC 58; MIBE 68)

Obv: DN IVSTINIANVS PP AVG; Diademed, draped, and cuirassed bust right
Rev: Cross between large IB; AΛEΞ in exergue

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Byzantine Empire: Justin I (518-527 CE) Æ Follis, Cyzicus, IY 4 (Sear 96; DOC 41)

Obv: D И IVSTINVS PP AVG; Bust of Emperor facing right, diademed in cuirass and paludamentum
Rev: Large M, K - Y across field, cross above; INςΔ in exergue
Dim: 34 mm, 16.26 g

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Byzantine Empire: Justin I (518-527 CE) Æ Follis, Nicomedia (Sear 83; DOC 28b; MIB 35; Berk 65)

Obv: DN IVSTINVS PP AVG; Bust of Emperor facing right, diademed in cuirass and paludamentum
Rev: Large M, star to left, cross above, star to right, officina letter; NIKM in exergue

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Byzantine Empire: Justin I (518-527) Æ Follis, Thessalonica (Sear 78; DOC 23; MIBE 70)

Obv: DN IVSTINVS PP AVG; Pearl-diademed, draped, and cuirassed bust right
Rev: Large M; cross above, star to left and right; THЄSSOB in exergue

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