Justin I AE 40 Nummi or Follis. AD 518-527. Constantinople mint. 1st officina.

Crowned facing figures of Heraclius, wearing military attire, holding long cross and resting hand on hip, [and Heraclius Constantine, wearing chlamys, holding globus cruciger; cross above?] / Large M, cross above; A N N O [...] (date) across field; officina letter below, CO[N] in exergue. Cf. SB 810. 11.16gr, 35mm, 8h.

Near Very Fine. Overstruck on a Follis of Justinian I (traces of [...]ANV[...] on reverse).

From the collection of a gentleman, acquired on the London art market in the 1990s.

VRBS ROMA, helmeted and mantled bust of Roma to left / She-wolf standing to left, suckling the twins Romulus and Remus; two stars above; ΓSIS in exergue. RIC 240; LRBC 750. 2.28gr, 19mm, 1h.

Good Very Fine.

Found Heronsgate Resevoir, Chorleywood, UK, 1970s. Property of a North London, UK, gentleman.

[...]ᙏAUΓ C(?)N P AUτ, facing cuirassed bust, wearing crown with trefoil ornament, holding shield with left hand and globus cruciger(?) with right / Large M, cross above; [A] N N O X III [date; RY 13 (AD 594/5)] across fields, B below; τUЄUP in exergue. Not in list of Schulze et al, "Heraclian Countermarks on Byzantine Copper Coins in Seventh-Century Syria" in Byzantine and Modern Greek Studies Vol. 30, No 1 (2006). For host coin: DOC -; MIB 96 var. (bust type); SB 533 var. (same). 10.54gr, 31mm, 6h.

Very Fine. Unpublished and apparently a unique emission.

Property of a North London, UK, gentleman.

A highly collectable lot that combines historical and numismatic value. This countermarked Follis served as a kind of revaluation in relation to the monetary reforms of Heraclius, which was implemented between circa 633 and 636 on a 40 Nummi of Theoupolis (Antioch) during the reign of Maurice Tiberius. The revaluation of circulating bronze coins (old and new) through countermarking was a common practice during the struggles with the Arab invaders and due to the severe shortage of cash in Syria at that time. From a numismatic point of view, the most interesting thing is the type of host coin. The bust of Maurice Tiberius from the mint of Theoupolis depicts him wearing only consular robes, holding a globus cruciger in his right hand and an eagle-tipped sceptre in his left hand, while the crown is more elaborate (SB 533). The cuirassed bust of our coin with the shield and [the globus cruciger] is more consistent with the issues of other mints (and denominations) than with those of Antioch. Could this be a countermarked contemporary imitation? Or could it be that, due to a lack of local currency, dies from different mints were used interchangeably? More possible explanations could shed more light on the coinage of that sensitive period.