Coin Item Number: 3095/1614 from the MOA: University of British Columbia

Description

Byzantine coin from ‘Anonymous Folles’ Period, 970-1092. Obverse: bust of Christ, facing front, a nimbus cruciger around his head, holding the Book of Gospels in front; to left, inscription says ‘IC’; to right, ‘XC’; there is a second, fainter inscription to the left, ‘ENMA’. Reverse: an inscription of four lines, which begins with a cross: ‘InSϤ/XRISTOS/bASILEϤ/bASILE’ ('Jesus Christ, King of Kings'); above and beneath, there is a pattern of curly lines and dots.

History Of Use

"Follis" (denomination); Sear# 1813. The Sear catalogue says that this coin most likely belonged to Basil II and Constantine VIII.

Narrative

The ‘Anonymous Folles’ are a group of coins spanning just over a century. They often have a depiction of Christ in place of any images or inscriptions which would indicate the emperor to whose reign they belong, thus rendering them anonymous.