November 2000 Coin of the Month


 

Here is a new find!  An early solidus of Justin I.  Throughout the transition of the 3/4 bust of Anastasius through the full facing bust of Justinian I, there were many slight changes, with this piece being one of them.  It is typical of the MIBE 3, Sear 56, but it has Diadem ties in the left obverse field which is not a normal feature of this coinage.  The same Diadem ties are used in the Thessalonican pieces of this time period and therefore this piece shows a transition of style.  The transition of the reverse to a facing Angel holding a long Cross and a Globus Cross has been made, but the obverse is of an older style.  Was it made by a Thessalonican die cutter that moved to Constantinople?  Or was it a transition piece?  While this was the first piece known to me at the time I discovered it, I have since found two similar coins in some older reference works, without any special attention given to them, both struck from different dies than my piece.  This leads one to think that it was a transitional piece instead of an error.