Bronze Follis Emperor Justinian I (543 AD | Era of the Reconquest of Italy)
- Genuinely antique: almost 1,500 years old
- Great emperor: built the Hagia Sophia
- A one-off: with its own patina
- Genuinely antiqueReal money used by merchants and soldiers in Byzantium
- Great emperorRegarded as one of late antiquity's most important rulers
- A one-offPatina and traces of circulation make each piece unique
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The eastern Roman empireFollis of Justinian I
You are looking at the front.
Between the day someone struck this piece with a single hammer blow and the day you hold it, there are roughly
1,500years
- Struck by hand
- Original, not a restrike
- 28 mm across
- 30 days return policy
Where it belongs
Eleven epochs, a thousand years, one shelf.
In the west the emperorship ended in 476, in the east it ran for another thousand years. The coins become flatter and more frontal, and the reverse often carries nothing but a large value mark. Justinian built the Hagia Sophia and took back North Africa and Italy; under Heraclius much of it was lost again.
7th to 5th century BC
Archaic Greece
5th to 4th century BC
Classical Greece
6th century to 330 BC
Achaemenid Persia
5th to 2nd century BC
Carthage
336 to 30 BC
The hellenistic age
3rd to 1st century BC
Celtic tribes
27 BC to AD 235
The Roman empire
AD 235 to 284
Crisis of the third century
AD 284 to 313
The tetrarchy
AD 306 to 363
The Constantinian dynasty
AD 395 to 1453
The eastern Roman empire
Your piece
Keeping it
First things first: do not clean it.
The dark layer on bronze and the matte grey on silver are called patina. It has grown over centuries and collectors treat it as a mark of authenticity. Polishing it away does not give you a nicer piece, it gives you a damaged one: auction houses regularly value a brightly cleaned coin below the same coin with its patina intact.
Hold it by the edge
Fingerprints contain acid and salt. Take the piece between thumb and forefinger by the rim, over a soft surface.
Store it dry and dark
Moisture is the only real enemy. A pouch or a capsule in a dry place is enough; PVC sleeves are not, they attack the surface.
No agents, no brush
No vinegar, no silver cloth, no ultrasound. If you want a crust removed, let a conservator do it, not the kitchen sink.
Bronze Follis of Emperor Justinian I – Pocket Change from the Golden Age of Byzantium
A piece of world history you can hold in your hand: this bronze follis passed through the hands of merchants, craftsmen and soldiers in the Byzantine Empire back in the 6th century AD. Minted under Emperor Justinian I (527–565), the builder of the Hagia Sophia. Roughly 28 mm in diameter, about 17 g of bronze, with a bold, large M on the reverse. Not a modern series product, but an antique original carrying nearly 1,500 years of history.
Justinian I – the Emperor Who Sought to Surpass Solomon
Justinian is regarded as one of the most significant rulers of late antiquity. After the Nika riots of 532, he had Constantinople's destroyed main church rebuilt. The architects Anthemius of Tralles and Isidore of Miletus completed the Hagia Sophia in just five years; it was consecrated in December 537. "Solomon, I have surpassed thee!" the Emperor is said to have exclaimed at the sight of the massive dome. For almost a thousand years, this building remained the largest church in Christendom – and it still stands today.
- Corpus Iuris Civilis: Justinian's jurists codified Roman law, laying a foundation on which European legal tradition still rests today.
- Reconquest of the Mediterranean: General Belisarius won back North Africa, followed by the long Gothic Wars in Italy (535–554).
- Justinianic Plague: From 542 onward, the plague ravaged Constantinople. Some researchers even interpret striking portrait changes on folles from 542/543 as traces of the Emperor's own illness – a numismatic puzzle still debated today.
The Design: Imperial Bust and the Large M
With the coinage reform of 538, the coin's design changed fundamentally. Instead of a side profile, the obverse now shows the Emperor facing forward, wearing helmet, diadem and armor, holding the globus cruciger in his right hand and a shield in his left. The inscription reads D N IVSTINIANVS PP AVG – "Our Lord Justinian, Perpetual Augustus."
- Denomination mark M: The Greek numeral letter M stands for 40 nummi, i.e. a full follis – the largest bronze coin in the Byzantine system.
- ANNO and regnal year: ANNO on the left, the year of the Emperor's reign on the right. A piece marked ANNO XVII corresponds to the year 543/544 AD.
- Officina: The letter below the M indicates the workshop within the mint.
- Mint mark in the exergue: CON for Constantinople; other mints include NIKO (Nicomedia), KYZ (Kyzikos) and THEUP (Antioch).
Technical Specifications
- Face value: Follis (40 nummi)
- Material: Bronze – fineness, denomination and year of minting vary
- Diameter: approx. 28 mm
- Gross weight: approx. 17 g
- Country of origin: Eastern Roman Empire (Byzantium)
- Condition: Circulated piece, grade of preservation varies
- Series: History · Investment type: Coin · Purpose: Collector's item
- Delivered via insured value shipping
Circulated Coinage with Character – Every Piece a One-of-a-Kind
These pieces once served as circulating currency and bear the marks of their duty: darker patina, individual centering, nicks, wear, and in places weaker legends. That is precisely their charm. Since the year of minting, mint, and reverse variant may vary, the piece you receive will differ from the illustration – you are getting an original, not a series product. Please understand that the image shown in the shop is only an example and may individually differ from the delivered item in appearance and condition due to historical circumstances. A tip from experience: never polish the natural patina to a shine – it is part of the coin's history and, for connoisseurs, a mark of quality.
Whoever holds this follis in their hand is holding money from a time when Constantinople was the richest city in the known world.
Follis, Solidus, and the Question of Size
In the Byzantine Empire, the follis was everyday money for the general population, while the golden solidus served as the leading currency of the Mediterranean world. Justinian's reform of 538 temporarily turned the follis into a real heavyweight of over 20 grams; afterward the weight declined again, which is why coins from the 1540s are more compact. This gives collectors an interesting comparison: a follis offers the look of a large ancient coin and dense history, while a solidus from the same era scores with the precious metal value of gold and is traded accordingly higher. Later Byzantine emperors such as Heraclius also had folles struck – but Justinian's issues are considered the classic representatives of the type and are, for many collectors, the centerpiece of a Byzantine collection.
For Collectors and History-Minded Investors
Gold is humanity's oldest currency and has outlived every paper currency. This follis tells the other half of the same story: that of the everyday money that carried an empire. As a collector's item, it is ideal for entering the world of Byzantine numismatics, as a gift with substance, or as a tangible addition alongside Roman denarii, ancient bronzes and modern bullion coins. For those who value precious metals as a store of wealth, this piece offers the cultural-historical counterpart to the plain bar: a witness to history from the Eastern Roman Empire, whose appeal lies precisely in its individuality and its unmistakable patina.
Product depiction may differ from the final product.
