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Beauty is in the eye of the Byzantine Beholder


Furryfrog02

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I tend to agree.  Something got messed up and we ended up with some crappy coppers, but the gold coins maintained their beauty...

Byzantine Empire: Anastasius I (491-518) AV Tremissis, Constantinople (Sear 8; DOC 10; MIBE 12)

Obv: DN ANASTASIVS PP AVG; pearl diademed, draped, cuirassed bust right
Rev: VICTORIA AVGVSTORVM; Victory advancing right, head left, holding wreath and cross on globe, star to right; CONOB in exergue

 

Sear-8.thumb.jpg.f49d0511f52e8462cf9c5c7c1c34b985.jpg

Edited by quant.geek
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@quant.geekTHAT IS COOL! I love all of the Byzantine errors. They just didn't give AF. 

The only one I have with 4 heads (unfortunately all different lol) is this:
1314268798_ConstantineVIandIreneFollis.png.2e06be03ce85c6d78ceee9d349f67959.png

Constantine VI and Irene. 780-797 AD, AE Follis, Constantinople. crowned busts of Constantine VI, unbearded, wearing chlamys, holding cross on globe, on left and Irene, wearing loros, holding cross-headed sceptre, on right, dot between their faces / crowned busts of Leo III, with short beard, wearing loros, on left, Constantine V, with short beard, wearing loros, in centre and Leo IV, wearing chlamys, on right, two dots to left and right, all above horizontal line beneath which is large M, X to left, N to right, A below

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12 minutes ago, quant.geek said:

I tend to agree.  Something got messed up and we ended up with some crappy coppers, but the gold coins maintained their beauty...

Byzantine Empire: Anastasius I (491-518) AV Tremissis, Constantinople (Sear 8; DOC 10; MIBE 12)

Obv: DN ANASTASIVS PP AVG; pearl diademed, draped, cuirassed bust right
Rev: VICTORIA AVGVSTORVM; Victory advancing right, head left, holding wreath and cross on globe, star to right; CONOB in exergue

 

Sear-8.thumb.jpg.f49d0511f52e8462cf9c5c7c1c34b985.jpg

Imo Byzantine copper can look fine if you look hard enough for good examples (and in my opinion even the awful ones have their own charm).

For instance just this year I found this nummus of Anastasius that still looks somewhat decent, at least in my opinion

Nummus of Anastasius

Edited by Zimm
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1 minute ago, Zimm said:

Byzantine copper can also look fine if you look hard enough (and in my opinion they have their own charm).

For instance just this year I found this nummus of Anastasius that still looks somewhat decent, at least in my opinion

Nummus of Anastasius

That's not bad at all for such a small coin AND a Byzantine to boot!

My Annastasius nummus is much less....nice...

422766311_AnastasiusNummus.png.48963c10ab9fae342b681f1435e1611b.png

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The larger coppers are somewhat fine, and even the trachy has a lot of good character in them, as long as they are struck properly. @Furryfrog02, Let's do FIVE.  Its getting a bit crowded now...

 

Byzantine Empire: Constantine VI & Irene (780-797) Æ Follis, Constantinople (Sear 1596; DOC III.6)

Obv: Crowned facing busts of Constantine VI and Irene, holding globus cruciger and cruciform scepter, respectively; cross above
Rev: Crowned facing busts of Constantine V, Leo III and Leo IV surmounting horizontal bar above large M; X and N flanking M, A below

Sear-1596.thumb.jpg.a22566f239afd92abc24dd7830f1b122.jpg

 

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13 minutes ago, Furryfrog02 said:

But does it count if he isn't on the flan? I'm not sure haha.  You really can't see him at all so I don't count him 😛

With five, it gets  hard to display them all, unless the flan is large or somewhat oval.  Syracuse only minted coins with a max of four heads and the last of the multi-headed coins was struck by Theophilus, after which, it had fallen to the Arabs:

Byzantine Empire: Theophilus (829-842) Æ Follis, Syracuse (Sear-1680; DOC 29c; Anastasi 555 bis)

Sear-1680.jpg.751d05bebb0cbb3cd03182bfa5386512.jpg

 

 

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I like that Theophilus.

I've got just a lonely solo Theophilus. 

1965514421_TheophilusFollis.png.cea7c928566bf17c4a17c02f59566684.png

Theophilus AE Follis. 830-842 AD. Constantinople. ThEOFIL' bASIL', crowned, three-quarter length figure of Theophilus facing, pellets on crown, wearing loros, holding labarum and cross on globe / ThEO-FILE AVG-OVStE SV-nICAS in four lines

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That particular coin has so many variations in them! The one I like, which I haven't found yet, is the one with a small cross below with globe.  Its somewhat scarce.  The other variations have varying tufas and labarum.  As an example of the cross-type, which is "labeled" as a half-follis is:

 

3280660.jpg.0a33a821f418a4b41b70a228fc0f8885.jpg

 

Here is mine where the labarum has four dots as opposed to a cross in yours:

 

Byzantine Empire: Theophilus (829-842) Æ Follis, Constantinople (Sear-1667; DOC 15a)

Obv: ΘEOFIL bASIL Three-quarter length figure facing, wearing loros and crown surmounted by tufa, holding labarum and globus cruciger.
Rev: + ΘEOFILE AVGOVSTE SV hICAS. Legend in 4 lines.

 

Sear-1667(1).jpg.6c4ebeac2f15d31209b64888b4fbc90b.jpg

 

and one that was minted in a undetermined provincial mint. Seems he needs a haircut...

Byzantine Empire: Theophilus (829-842) Æ Follis, Uncertain Provincial Mint (Sear 1685; DOC 17)

Obv: Crowned half-length bust facing, holding labarum and globus cruciger
Rev: + ӨЄO/FILЄ AVG/OVSτЄ SV/ ҺICAS in four lines

 

Sear-1667(2).thumb.jpg.9149ec734adbd9540a2acd6e10ee8021.jpg

Edited by quant.geek
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During my forays into the world of cyberspace auctions, I occasionally come across an interesting non-coin item, such as this Byzantine medallion.

Byzantine bronze medallion, 7-12 centuries AD, possibly St Basil of Caesarea.

37.07 grams

635764066_D-CameraByzantinemedallion7-12censpossiblyStBasilofCaesarea37.07gRoma813-19-21.thumb.jpg.de2c4b77607cb156f16761920b7aff66.jpg

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My mom called Byzantine AE 'slag heaps' when I started collecting :classic_laugh:.

 

Here's my favorite AE of the year: already posted in the old place:

3wrGEF7cmLW264Wkee8AS9dwgN5RRF.jpg.84a291264d5450f177592ae5ae93d4fb.jpg

It's no Nero Sestertius, but it's an attractive coin.

Justinian I (527-565). Æ 40 Nummi (37mm, 20.77g, 6h). Theoupolis (Antioch), year 20 (546/7). Facing helmed and cuirassed bust, holding globus cruiciger. R/ Large M; cross above, date across field; A/9HЧΠ. MIBE 145a; DOC 217; Sear 220.

11129.jpg.fe4f44ac1fe31b2d950c34a98180c9ad.jpg

Bn9fm6H8Do5spmN3CM4iQ7trkp2KZ6.jpg.568ae542714e533192cfdbb7d6b00d23.jpg

These are more slag heap territory, but the Justinian II is average for the type, and so is the Justinian Ravenna.

 

My worst slag heaps aren't photographed, although they're about like this or better.

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That Ravenna is rough! But I like that the mint is clear.

I I had a thought of collecting Byzantines by mint but some are pretty $$

Here is my Ravenna mint with sadly, no mintmark:
1896284667_JustinianIDecanummiumReginalYear29Ravenna.thumb.png.1a4ad828b334ae2fd4392a47fb8b5349.png

Justinian I. AE Decanummium. 527-565 AD. Ravenna. DN IVSTINIANVS PP AVG, helmeted, cuirassed bust facing, holding cross on globe and shield / Large I, ANNO to left, regnal year to right, all within wreath. No mintmark. SB 326

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I don't have many coins from Ravenna, aside from the ubiquitous decanummium of Justinian (they seem to popping up everywhere, lately).  But, here is one from Tiberius II:

 

Byzantine Empire: Tiberius II Constantine (578-582) Æ Decanummium, Ravenna (Sear-472)

Obv: DM TIB CONSTAN PP AVI (or similar); Crowned, cuirassed bust of Tiberius II facing, holding globus cruciger
Rev: Large I between two crosses; all within wreath

Sear-472.thumb.jpg.d3147523e6631fa66f7aeaefdb127489.jpg

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For someone who collects on the peripheries of this stuff, this is a Terrific thread.  Really loving it.

All of my earlier Byzantine AE goes back too far for there to be (dealers') pics.  But the discussion of the dialectic between design and strike evokes something much later, and western.  Hope this isn't too intrusive.

image.jpeg.2335e594868000d9db6ea0af972f5fc5.jpeg

 

image.jpeg.57837c810ee79ac06dbee67dd3214d05.jpeg

image.jpeg.034d687e7c6aa51c6c1c4470120b2e12.jpeg

German empire; Konrad and the future Heinrich III as Emperor and heir designate ('King of the Romans').  Denar of Speyer, issued just before the Great Schism, when the Salian emperors were still actively appropriating Byzantine visual rhetoric to bolster their own dynastic pretensions.  This one is a sadly typical strike.  But it also includes the joined, facing portraits that go back to the much earlier Byzantine precedent that you guys have been amply demonstrating.  Along with the ikonographic Mary orans with the infant Jesus on her breast (the little haloed guy), which shows up on Byzantine coins much more contemporaneously --I want to say during the Comnenan period.

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I love the appropriation (?) of the byzantine coin imagery from other later rulers as well as some contemporaries. 

Here is an example I have from Venice:

1166146961_PietroGradenigoVeniceARGrosso.png.b9d8349e79094b0d09c5e71c7e062d74.png

Venice.

Pietro Gradenigo (1289-1311)

49th Doge of Venice

AR Grosso

Obv: PE GRADONICO DVX S M VENETI. Doge and St Marco standing facing, holding banner between them. 

Rev: IC - XC. Christ Pantokrator enthroned facing.

Edited by Furryfrog02
Edited for grammar
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15 hours ago, Furryfrog02 said:

I love the appropriation (?) of the byzantine coin imagery from other later rulers as well as some contemporaries. 

Here is an example I have from Venice:

1166146961_PietroGradenigoVeniceARGrosso.png.b9d8349e79094b0d09c5e71c7e062d74.png

Venice.

Pietro Gradenigo (1289-1311)

49th Doge of Venice

AR Grosso

Obv: PE GRADONICO DVX S M VENETI. Doge and St Marco standing facing, holding banner between them. 

Rev: IC - XC. Christ Pantokrator enthroned facing.

I had always thought that the Venetians had appropriated this design from the Byzantines until recently when I made a purchase of a few of these coins and only then realized that it was the Byzantines who copied the Grosso of Venice, not the Venetians appropriating the Baslikon for their use.

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I am an Imperial Romans guy, however, after I saw this one I couldn't help it but grab it as it was very cheap. 
Leo VI +  Alexander, 886-912, Bronze Follis. 

Really liked the full body representation, with two figures shown at the same time but making it clear who is the better emperor

Spoiler alert: Alexander sucked. 

I need to take better pics of this one 😀

Imagen

Edited by GordianAppreciator101
Typo
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My personal favorite Justinian type (and probably the favorite coin of my entire collection):

Justinian Ae Decanummium, Carthage mint (18.mm, 3.5gms)

Obv: Bust of Justinian right with Christogram on breast

Rev: Large I between two stars, cross above; KART in exergue

153744290_JustinianCarthageChristogram2.jpg.8416e581e36539a499e4d4d0a7be6bf6.jpg

 

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