Basil II and Constantine VIII, 1023-1028, Anonymous Follis

Basil II and Constantine VIII, anonymous follis, AE, Constantinople, circa 1023–1028. 6.77 g, 27 mm. Obverse with facing bust of Christ Pantokrator, nimbate with cruciform halo, holding the Gospels; legend +EMMANOVHΛ. Reverse with the inscription of Christ’s kingship in four lines, +IhSUS XRISTUS bASILEU bASILE. Struck on a broad, typically irregular Byzantine bronze flan of the period. Reference: SBCV 1818.

Anonymous folles of the late 10th and early 11th centuries replaced the imperial portrait with a dominant religious type, projecting dynastic legitimacy through the image and name of Christ rather than the name of the reigning emperor. This Constantinopolitan issue belongs to the long-running series continued under Basil II and Constantine VIII and circulated widely in the empire, reflecting both the central mint’s output and the monetary role of large bronze in urban and market transactions.