Coin Item Number: 3095/1457 from the MOA: University of British Columbia

Description

Byzantine coin from ‘Anonymous Folles’ Period, 970-1092. (Likely Nicephorus III, 1078-1081.) Obverse: bust of Christ, facing front; he has a nimbus cruciger around his head, which is a cross within a halo; to left, inscription says ‘IC’; to right, it is illegible. Reverse: large cross; in the middle, there is an ‘X’; on each of the four ends, there is one large pellet and two small pellets; to lower left and lower right of cross, there are floral ornaments; to upper left and upper right of cross, there are crescents.

History Of Use

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.