Phocas & Leontia AE Follis, Constantinople ANNO I CON E, 602/603, Sear 639

Phocas and Leontia, follis, bronze, reign 602–610, struck regnal year I (602/603) at Constantinople, 12.90 g, 30 mm. Obverse: DN FOCAE PP; Phocas standing left holding globus cruciger and Leontia nimbate standing right holding cruciform sceptre; cross between heads. Reverse: large M with cross above; ANNO in left field, I in right; CON E in exergue. Struck on an irregular broad flan with edge chips; obverse slightly off center with portions of legend off flan; reverse well centered with typical flatness at extremities. References: Sear 639; MIB 60a–b.

Historical significance: Struck in Phocas’s first regnal year after the overthrow of Maurice, this 40‑nummi issue from the capital mint names and depicts Augusta Leontia beside the emperor, while Christian symbols underscore imperial ideology. The large M denotes the denomination and the regnal formula ANNO I dates the coin to 602/603; CON E identifies the fifth officina of Constantinople.