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Follis - Basil I, Leo VI and Constantine VII Constantinopolis
| Issuer | Byzantine Empire |
|---|---|
| Year | 870 |
| Type | Standard circulation coin |
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| Reverse description | The reverse field is entirely occupied by a five-line Greek inscription in large, bold majuscule characters, a format characteristic of middle Byzantine copper coinage. The text, reading +bASIL / CONSZAM / ZSLEOnEn / eObASILS / ROMEOn, proclaims the names and titles of the ruling Macedonian emperors in the dative case. A decorative cross or cross-pattee introduces the legend at the upper left, and a star or pellet punctuates the conclusion of the text. The flat, unadorned field and absence of any figural imagery is typical of the reformed follis type of the ninth century. |
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| Edge | Plain |
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| Additional information |
This follis commemorates one of the more politically calculated acts of Basil I's reign: the co-coronation of his son Constantine in 869 and the elevation of Leo, his eldest, as co-emperor before him. The triple portrait arrangement was a deliberate dynastic advertisement — Basil, a Macedonian peasant who had murdered his way to the throne in 867, needed the imagery of hereditary continuity he hadn't inherited. Constantine would predecease his father; Leo ultimately reigned as Leo VI and earned the epithet "the Wise."