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20 Nummi - Heraclius Constantinopolis
| Issuer | Byzantine Empire |
|---|---|
| Year | 610-641 |
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| Value | 1/2 Follis = 20 Nummi (1⁄576) |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Two imperial effigies facing, Heraclius bearded at left and his son Heraclius Constantine at right, both crowned with crossed diadems and clad in chlamys, each holding a globus cruciger in the outer hand; a cross occasionally appears between the two figures in the upper field. The composition reflects the co-emperorship proclaimed in 613 and follows the established Byzantine frontal portrait convention. |
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| Mint | Constantinople |
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| Additional information |
Heraclius seized power in 610 by sailing from Carthage to Constantinople with a fleet reportedly decorated with icons, deposing the murderous usurper Phocas almost immediately upon arrival. His thirty-year reign became one of the most militarily extreme in Byzantine history — near-total collapse against the Sassanid Persians in the 610s and 620s, followed by a stunning reversal that recovered Jerusalem and the True Cross, only for the Arab conquests to strip those gains within a decade of his death.
The Constantinople mint during his reign underwent significant administrative reorganization, and dating by regnal year was introduced on folles and their fractions — a practice that makes precise attribution of this fractional issue possible within broad ranges rather than single years.