I'm excited to join the Leontius club!

[Nerosmyfavorite68]

I'm excited to fill a long-time want.  Today, a proper envelope showed up, stiff and complete with a cardboard mailer inside, not a floppy bubble mailer.  I thought, surely this can't be the Tom Vossen order, for it was only last Monday, and perhaps the mailman had ignored signatures again and this was the long-lost American registered coin?  Silly rabbit, registered disappears, like the U.S.S. Cyclops.  It was the Tom Vossen package.  He initially was in the Netherlands, but the return address says Germany. I don't know how he does it, but his parcels are the fastest non-FedEx I've had from Germany.

Leontius isn't that expensive for AE's, but it's hard to find a nice one that isn't super-expensive.  I've seen a lot of really decrepit coins for the amount I paid.  I'm an opportunistic buyer, and when I saw a nice Leontius and a nice Tiberius III, respectively, I pounced on those puppies.  I didn't expect to go on a Byzantine spree lately, it just kind of happened that way.

This really does fill a long-time hole.  Like Phocas, Leontius featured more realistic portraits on his coins. I don't usually go for fractions, but the portrait, which reminds me of The Captain from Dr. Who's Pirate Planet, was quite charming.

Leontius. 695-698. AE ½ Follis / 20 Nummi (3.53g, 28mm). Constantinople mint. Dated RY 1 (695/6). Obv.: facing bust of Leontius, bearded, wearing crown with cross on circlet and lozenge-pattern loros, globus cruciger in right hand; cross in right field. Rev.: large K, cross above, A/N/N/O to left, A to right. SB 1335.

 

Presumably, that's A A to the right of the K.  Year 1, Alpha officina.

 

I also purchased an unremarkable obol, which by coincidence, also filled another need. It came in a coin capsule, which I can re-use as a riser in coin photography.

Feel free to post any coins of Leontius.

[rasiel]

Well done! Definitely a harder level ruler to score. I got mine just a few weeks ago after pining away for one for a long time. Hoping to see other Leontiuses on the rest of the thread (Leontius II if we want to be technical. Don't forget the 5th century usurper)

Rasiel

[Nerosmyfavorite68]

Wow, what a sweet example!  The portrait is even more realistic than my example (for the time period).

[CaveBear2]

Grierson noted that the Leontius portrait on those solidus were the work of the man who also engraved the "fine style" portrait of Constantine IV and Justinian II (first reign).

Always sounded far fetched to me, but why not? The style is indeed similar and those 3 types of solidus are scarse so the number of dies is rather limited and could be the work of one man.

Edited June 26 by CaveBear2

[Hrefn]

I also have wished for a Leontius solidus for many years, and finally acquired one this year.  It came with a tag saying Leu 12/66.

 

[ewomack]

It's true. Even semi-decent Leontius coins seem difficult to come by, but I agree that nicer ones come at a sometimes insane premium. I picked up this "okay" Æ one not too long ago. The portrait got me, since it shows some of his ferocious fuzziness. He's an interesting one historically as well.

Leontius (695 - 698), Æ Follis, Constantinople, Obv: Legend obscure, bearded bust of emperor facing, wearing crown and loros, and holding globus cruciger, small cross in right field; Rev: large M, ANNO on left, probably year 1, officinal Δ; 23-24mm, 4.01g, MIB 32 var., Sear 1334 var.

 

[Nerosmyfavorite68]

It's pretty decent.  Even the Sear plate coins of 1334-5 weren't all that great.  It compares favorably with them.

I'm drawn to certain coins of the 'dark ages'.  A declining population and little construction kinda sounds awesome, actually.  If I could only have one, I'd take the no construction part.

I've given up on the American coin (only the USPS could manage not to have a paper trail for registered mail), but I soon expect to show another addition from the same time period.