Catalog
See full images - free registration
Continue with Google - no registration!
or register with email
Why register? Just to keep bots out of our catalog. Your email stays private - we will never share it or send you anything uninvited. We guarantee you that!
Follis "Heraclius and Constantine" - Sasanian Occupation of Syria
| Issuer | Sasanian Empire (Sasanian Empire (224-651)) |
|---|---|
| Year | 610-630 |
| Type | Standard circulation coin |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | Log in to see details |
| Diameter | Log in to see details |
| Thickness | Log in to see details |
| Shape | Log in to see details |
| Technique | Log in to see details |
| Orientation | Log in to see details |
| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
| Reference(s) | Log in to see details |
| Obverse description | Two imperial figures standing facing, identified as Heraclius and Heraclius Constantine, each wearing crown and imperial robes and holding a globus cruciger; a cross is depicted above between the two effigies. The style is characteristic of late Byzantine coin types struck under Sasanian occupation, with notably crude workmanship compared to contemporary Byzantine metropolitan issues. |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Log in to see details |
| Reverse script | Greek |
| Reverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Edge | Log in to see details |
| Mint | Log in to see details |
| Mintage | Log in to see details |
| Additional information |
Between 613 and 628, Sasanian forces under Shahrbaraz occupied Syria, Egypt, and much of Anatolia in the most devastating Persian advance into Roman territory since the Achaemenid period. The Byzantine administrative and monetary apparatus in these regions effectively collapsed. Local mints either shut down or, in some documented cases, continued striking Byzantine-type bronze under Sasanian tolerance — producing pieces whose attribution remains genuinely contested among specialists.
This follis falls into that uncertain zone: struck to Byzantine fabric, carrying Byzantine imagery, yet issued under Persian occupation. Whether it represents Byzantine continuity, Sasanian acquiescence, or opportunistic local production is a question the coin itself cannot answer.