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Follis - Michael VII Doukas Constantinopolis
| Issuer | Byzantine Empire |
|---|---|
| Year | 1071-1078 |
| Type | Standard circulation coin |
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| Obverse description | Frontal nimbate bust of Christ Pantokrator, with the Christogram IC-XC divided at upper left and upper right of the field. A nimbus with cross is depicted behind the head. The right hand is raised in a gesture of benediction, while the left hand holds the Book of Gospels. A star appears in both the left and right fields, flanking the bust. The portrait follows the established Byzantine hieratic convention for sacred imagery. |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Greek |
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| Additional information |
Michael VII's reign coincided with the catastrophic aftermath of Manzikert — the 1071 defeat that effectively ended Byzantine control over Anatolia and gutted the empire's primary tax base and recruiting ground. His government responded by debasing the gold coinage so aggressively that the historian Attaleiates recorded grain prices spiraling beyond the reach of ordinary people, earning Michael the sardonic nickname "Parapinakēs," meaning he had shaved a quarter off the measure of grain.
Bronze folles of this period circulated into an economy already fracturing under military collapse and fiscal desperation. BCV 1878 is among the anonymous-style transitional issues before the coinage reform attempts that would fall to his successors.