7th century ‘barbarous’ folles : secondary mint in Eastern part of the Byzantine Empire under...

8/20/2019 7th century ‘barbarous’ folles : secondary mint in Eastern part of the Byzantine Empire under Persian rule / Henri …

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COINAGE AND HISTORY IN THE

SEVENTH CENTURY NEAR EAST

4

Edited by

ANDREW ODDY, INGRID SCHULZE

and WOLFGANG SCHULZE

Proceedings of the 14th Seventh Century Syrian

Numismatic Round Table held at The Hive, Worcester,

on 28th and 29th September 2013

Archetype Publications, London 2015


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7th

Century ‘barbarous’ Folles;a Secondary Mint in the Eastern Part of the Byzantine Empire

under Persian Rule

Henri Pottier1

The analysis of the coinage of folles in Syria during the Persian occupation was published in 2004

in ‘Cahiers Ernest-Babelon’2 and complemented by a paper in 2010 in RN .

3 These folles were

struck in what was designated the ‘Syrian mint’. In practice, these coins were probably struck in

two different mint places, both depending on the same authority, as indicated by the fact that both

were struck to the same weight standards, which differed from the imperial ones.

During the research on the Syrian folles, some imitations of Heraclius and Heraclius Constantine’sfolles were recorded which clearly were not part of the ‘Syrian’ mintage for various reasons:

different style, different weight standards and use of immobilized dates. As a consequence werecorded them in a separate chapter AA3, entitled ‘Barbarous imitations’.4

Now, due to the kind contribution of members of the Seventh Century Syrian Numismatic Round

Table, the number of known specimens has reached 39, which seems enough to start a first analysis.

Generally the term ‘ barbarous’ is used for masking the absence of an answer to the following

questions: by whom, when, where and why were these folles struck? However, the barbarous

adjective is judiciously used to characterize the style of the figures represented on the obverses of

the folles that clearly show that the die engravers were unskilled.

The aim of this paper is to try to give a more civilized, or at least a less barbarous, picture of these

coins.

The classification and the analysis of the ‘Syrian’ folles produced in Syria during the Persian

occupation (610-30) have been made easier since it was demonstrated that their dates and officina

numbers were really meaningful. Unfortunately, this is not the case for the barbarous folles where

the dates and officina number are just copies of models locally circulating at that time.

As a consequence, the only criteria we used for classification and dating proposal are:

Iconography

Mark of value M or m

Pseudo-mintmark

Similarity of immobilised dates

Die links

Metrological data

Origin of the recorded coins

1 Henri Pottier is an independent scholar [email protected]

2 H. Pottier, Le monnayage de la Syrie sous l’occupation perse (610-630). Coinage in Syria under Persian rule,

Cahiers Ernest-Babelon 9, CNRS éditions, Paris, 2004, with a Historical introduction: the Persian Near East (602-630 AD) by Clive Foss 3 H. Pottier, Le monnayage de la Syrie sous l’occupation perse (610-630) Complément , RN 2010, pp. 447-476.

4 H. Pottier, op. cit. fn. 2, pp. 87, 139 f., Pl. XVII


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We consider four different series of similar crude style. The representation of the two figures is

clumsy or caricatured, or even erroneous: sometimes their feet are turned right when they are facing

or the globus cruciger is reduced to a simple cross in their right hands. The style of some obverses is

comparable to the style of some Pseudo-Byzantine coins struck in Greater Syria after the Arab

conquest.

The obverse iconography of the various series imitates the imperial folles of Heraclius andHeraclius-Constantine minted during the regnal years 3 to 6, i.e. between October 612 and 616. Itindicates that the production of barbarous folles started after 612, unlike the Syrian coins, minted

shortly after the Persian occupation that first imitate the obverses of Phocas folles.

Series 1. Rv. m

The mark of value m characterizes the first type of barbarous folles like it did for the first type ofSyrian coins. The model imitated for the reverse certainly was the follis minted in Antioch under

the reign of Phocas. This is confirmed by the pseudo-mintmark THEUP as well as by the

immobilized dates 1/I or II/1 from the last regnal years of Phocas. This series is also characterized

by particularly blundered obverse inscriptions where most of the letters are replaced by meaninglesssigns.

Three of the five obverse dies from series 1 are linked with specimens from two other series,

reinforcing its status as the first series. The average weight is 10.41 + 1.25g, similar to the imperialstandards of Phocas as well as of Heraclius folles dated 3 to 6, i.e. 10.97g. The reference to Antioch

indicates that the barbarous mint was located in the Eastern part of the Byzantine Empire.

Series 2. Rv. M – heavy module – pseudo-date 8

The mark of value M matches the reverse of the imperial folles of Heraclius. However, the

immobilized dates refer to the latest regnal year 8 (1II or ЧIII) of Phocas. One of the obverse dies[6] could be a crude imitation of Phocas and Leontia.

The pseudo-mintmarks derive from NIKO, CON or KYZ, generally in a blundered form. Therecorded officinae A, Γ and Δ are meaningless, probably copies of imperial models. Among these,the imperial Antioch folles, particularly under Mauritius Tiberius, were mainly produced by the

officinae Γ and A. Three of the 13 obverse dies are linked to folles of the series 1, confirming that both series are produced by the same mint.

This barbarous series is the most numerous. The average weight is 11.64 + 0.65g, again similar to

11.26g, the imperial standard of the second type of Heraclius folles minted during the regnal years 6to 14.

Half-follis XX

The only recorded half-follis has XX as the mark of value, similar to the type of mark used during

the reign of Phocas. The reference to Phocas is also expressed by the blundered obverse inscription

starting with IIOCOΛ. However, we classify it, as well as a follis struck with the same obverse die,in the Heraclius series 2 due to the fact that its iconography is not in accordance with the imperial

figure of Leontia: she should hold a sceptre resting on her right shoulder and should wear a basilissa

crown with prependulia. Furthermore, the half-follis weight of 5.67g corresponding to a follis

weight of 11.34g is similar to 11.64g, the average weight of the series 2.


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Series 3. Rv. M – light module

This series is characterized by a very crude style, more blundered inscriptions and sometimes

without a date. Nevertheless, seven of the eight specimens are die linked: two of the three obverse

dies are linked to the series 1 and 2 as well as to the XX half-follis of series 2. Two of the reverse

dies are linked to series 2, confirming that all these series are produced by the same mint.

When the date is mentioned, it is 1/II, as in series 2. The officinae A and Γ here again are probablymeaningless. The average weight is 8.13 + 0.9g, similar to 8.25g, the imperial standard during the

regnal years 15 to 19.

Series 4. Rv. M – pseudo-date 3

The mark of value as well as the date III now correspond to the reverse of the imperial model.However, the mintmarks here are illegible and the officinae A, Γ and Є are probably meaningless.There are no die links to show that series 4 belongs to the same mint as the other series, but this

could be due to the limited number (6) of known specimens as some similarities in style suggest a

relation with series 1 to 3. Furthermore, the absence of die links could justify the chronologicalorder: the dies manufactured during the last phase could obviously not appear in the previous series.

Compared with the previous series, the weight 9.97 + 0.63g is coming back close to the weights of

series 1, but also close to the imperial standard of the regnal years 20 and 21. However, here again

the conclusion should take into account the limited number of known specimens.

Tentative conclusions

The derivation of the barbarous coins from the iconography of Heraclius and from Antioch follesunder Phocas leads us to com pare these series with the ‘Syrian’ folles minted in Northern Syria

(Emesa?) during the Persian occupation from 610 to 630. The common reason for the establishment

of both irregular mints in the Eastern part of the Empire is, without doubt, the need for currency for

trade in the occupied provinces after the closure of the Antioch mint and in the absence of coinage

supply from the other imperial mints.

Apart from this common origin, the output of the two mints presents different characteristics:

1. The production of the Syrian mint is higher than the barbarous one; currently the number of barbarous folles recorded is 39 while the number of Syrian specimens is more than 300.

Even with a larger production, the ‘Syrian’ coins seem to circulate in a quite limited area in Northern Syria, specimens having been found in excavations and hoards located in Apameaand Tell Bisa (i.e. close to Emesa). No specimen has been found either in the excavations in

Antioch or in Gerasa.

2. The obverse figures of the first barbarous series imitating Heraclius and Heraclius-Constantine mean that the mint activity started after 612. If the reason for starting minting

two years later than at the Syrian mint is that the Persian occupation occurred two years

later, the location of the barbarous mint could be Palestine. Hitherto, unfortunately the

provenances of the 39 known coins have not been recorded. The proportion of Syrian coins

circulating in Syria around 630 is estimated at about 0.5% of the total amount of Byzantine

coins locally in circulation. If the production of barbarous coins is 10 times lower, the

absence of barbarous coins in the excavations made in Palestine is not necessarilysignificant.


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3. The coins where the immobilized dates no longer refer to Phocas but rather to Heraclius has been classified as a fourth series, but in the absence of die links this classification is

questionable. A strange characteristic of series 4 is that four of the six specimens are

overstruck on earlier imperial Byzantine folles.

4. Even if the style of the emperor’s design is barbarous and cruder than the ‘Syrian’ style, the barbarous production follows some standards similar to those applied in Constantinople,

which is not the case for the Syrian mint.

Heraclius regnal years 3 to 6 6 to 14 15 to 19 20 to 21

Imperial Weight average (g)5 10.97 11.26 8.25 10.54

Barbarous Weight average (g) /series 10.41 11.64 8.13 9.97

95% confidence interval (g) 9.15-11.67 10.99-12.29 7.23-9.03 9.34-10.60

Comparison with imperial standards of Heraclius folles

The similarities of the barbarous weights standards with those applied in the various phases

of the imperial production lead us to tentatively date the various barbarous series inaccordance with the dates of the corresponding imperial phases. This weight correlation

contributes to a less ‘ barbarous’ aspect for this secondary mint.

Catalogue

The numbering of the coins and the dies is made according to the method applied in Cahier Ernest

Babelon and RN Complément.

The linked obverse or reverse dies are registered with bold numbers.

N* indicates that the coin (N) was already published in Cahier Ernest-Babelon.

N** the coin (N) was already published in RN Complément.

The origin of the specimens is indicated as follows:

Private collections Publications AO A. Oddy (UK) X26 MIB 3

HP H. Pottier (B) Album S. Album and T. Goodwin, SICA 1

JPB J. - P. Blicq (B)

MD M. Donnevald (L) Public collection

NF N. Fairhead (UK) WLM Westfälisches Landesmuseum MünsterPP P. Pavlou (UK) (inv. no. 16902)RL R. Lemaire (B)

SM S. Mansfield (UK)

TG T. Goodwin (UK) Trade

TN T. Natschke (G) AA AA auction

WL W. Leimenstoll (G) eB eBay auction

WS W. and I. Schulze (G) CNG Classical Numismatic Group auction

5 C. Morrisson, Catalogue des Monnai es Byzantines de la Bibl iothèque Nati onale , Paris, 1970, p. 260.


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AA3 ‘Barbarous’ Ae Catalogue

coin obv-rv obv - rem. rv - (date) mintmark off mass origin remarks

n° dies (g)

1. m

1.1* 3.1-1 B [..] - TNOV II/Ч q /OЭH 10.41 HP 2 fig. inverted

2* 3.2-2 ANN-Λ/И/H cON' 12.15 NF3.(1)* 3.3-3 CIO - ΛTƆV AИИ - O/Ч/cI ? 7.12 HP 2 fig. inverted

3.2** 3.3-3 " " 11.74 HP

3a** 3.4-3a [ ] - HNTC ANNO - [ ] HЄЧP 9.66 HP

3b 3.4a-3b I - ΛΠ - NNI ИИ - ЄYΛ ? 10.9 eB3c 3.4b-3c blundered inscr. ANNO-[ ] invKHO 10.92 TG

2. M (1II heavy)

4* 3.3-4 ИИИ - 1/II OИIX Γ 10.61 PP 20 2 fig. inverted

5.1* 3.4-5 [ ]CHv-HNT AИИ - 1/II OHK(inv) Γ 10.23 RL

5.2* 3.4-5 " " 10.76 NF

5.3 3.4-5 " " 14.13 TG2

6* 3.5-6 ЄOИI - ЄNL AN - [1]/II ? O ? A 10.05 HP

6a 3.6-4 IIOCOΛ ITCNC ИИИ - 1/II OИIX Γ 13.56 Trade7* 3.6-7 " H/H/V ? Γ 12.70 NF

8* 3.7-8 [ ]-III/Ч OHIN A 11.55 MD

9* 3.8-9 [NCI- IIΛ.ΛIЄII] ANN-I1(inv) IЄ A ? X26 star above M

10** 3.9-10 I - cIPЄRAI ANN - [1]/II oNK Γ 12.10 TN

11 3.10-11 […] ANNO-U/II/I Γ 11.03 AO overstr.

12 3.11-12 SCLIU-O.[CRP] ANNO - [ ] [CO.] A 11.41 AO twice overstr.

13 3.12-13 OΛCI - NN [ ] - 1II KYZ 11.26 WS

14 3.13-14 NA - N I AИИ - [ ] [CON] 12.81 TG5 overstr. J II */M

15 3.14-15 […- . AVI ] ANNO - 1/II CON A 11.65 JPB overstr.16 3.15-16 ЄOИI - ЄNΛ ΛOI - ИΔVI YTV A 10.69 TG7 2 fig. inverted

17 3.4a-20 I – Λ/Π - NNI INV - CNЭ И Πr A 11.64 Trade

XX

17a 3.6-17 IIOCOΛ - [..] XX 5.67 WS


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3. M (1II light)

18 3.16-18 vNN - CO[S..] ANN-1II [..H] Γ 6.64 AO star above M

19.1 3.6-4 IIOCOΛ ИИИ - 1/II OИIX Γ 9.37 CNG

19.2 3.6-4 IIOCOΛ ИИИ - 1/II OИIX Γ 8.62 Trade

20 3.6-19 IIOCOΛ inv1/II- AИИ ? Γinv 8.03 Album rv inverted

21.1 3.4a-20 I - ΛΠ - NNI INV - CNЭ И Πr A 6.56 WS

21.2 3.4a-20 " " 9.39 WL

22 3.4a-21 " oN - ΛHИ ? A 8.02 AA

23 3.4a-22 " [ ]o - IHΛ A 8.79 eB

4. M (III)

24 3.17-23 [ ] - ΛCЄN NN - II/I ? ? A 9.14 TG6

25 3.18-24 ИИ - VTOO ANNO - III ? Є 9.93 TG3 overstr. Maur. T.26 3.19-25 [vN..] - [N]H ANN - II/I ? Γ 9.53 TG1 overstr. Phocas

27 3.20-26 NH-[.] A ANN - [.]/I [.O.] ? A? 11.2 WLM

28 3.21-27 IЄBP - [IISH] [ ]-[II/I] ? [ ] 9.50 AO 3 times overstr.

29 3.22-28 [ ] - CONP ANNO - II/I ? Є 10.53 AO overstr. Maur.T.


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