Coin Item Number: 3095/1670 from the MOA: University of British Columbia

Description

Byzantine coin from ‘Anonymous Folles’ Period, 970-1092. Obverse: Christ, sitting on throne, facing front; he has a nimbus cruciger around his head, which is a cross within a halo; he wears a pallium, which is a woolen cloak; to left, he raises his hand in benediction; to left, inscription says ‘IC’; to right, ‘XC’. Reverse: there is an inscription of three lines, which says ‘ISXS/bASILE/bASIL’; above, there is a pattern of lines with a cross; beneath, there is a cross. The inscription on the obverse in translation says ‘Jesus Christ’. The inscription on the reverse in translation says ‘Jesus Christ, King of Kings’.

History Of Use

"Follis" (denomination); Sear# 1856. The Sear catalogue suggests that this style of coin may belong to Constantine X.

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.