Follis - Béla III

Béla III came to power after years at the Byzantine court in Constantinople, where he had been groomed as a potential heir to Manuel I Komnenos. That exposure left a direct mark on Hungarian coinage: the follis issues of his reign show unmistakable Byzantine influence in both fabric and type, a departure from the debased silver that had dominated the Árpád monetary system for decades. He was also, by contemporary accounts, the wealthiest ruler in Latin Christendom at the time — his income reportedly rivaled that of the French crown.

The multiple CAC references reflect genuine die variation across the series rather than simple subtype bookkeeping.