Confusing Tiberius II Constantine Follis - Help Please.

Do you think he would mind Echizento? I mean, is that what people sometimes do? I did have a look at his website to see if he invited that sort of approach, but couldn't find anything obvious. I did see the paid option, but the combination of his charges plus two way postage from the UK seemed a bit over the top for what could still turn out to be a quite ordinary coin.

OK thanks Echizento, I will give it a go. So you have spoken to him before? It is good to hear that such preeminent person of the field is also a nice guy...

Well I will see if he can advise me..and I will look into the British Museum too. Thanks for the advice Echizento! It's very much appreciated. If I eventually get any further I will let you know...

Echizento, I thought I would l let you know that I have just written to David Sear about this coin and sent him these better images. The only Email I could find on his website was info@davidsear.com though. This is one he uses to invite comments about his website etc. If anyone happens to have a more direct email address, that might be better..?

Well...the mystery has been solved.

Sadly the truth of the matter is not nearly so exciting as my imagination allowed. Perhaps the journey as an educative tool was more valuable than the destination. For me at least. Nice to communicate with David Sear though.

Here was the bulk of his reply regarding this coin:

'This is, in fact, a Nicomedian issue of Maurice Tiberius and the type is listed in my Byzantine catalogue as no. 511A. A similar specimen is illustrated on plate 24 of Hahn's Money of the Incipient Byzantine Empire (no. 75Ab). It is not particularly rare and the attribution rests on a 1960 article by Veglery and Zacos (Spink's Numismatic Circular 68, pp. 260-61) relating to blundered inscriptions of Tiberius found on coins of the Nicomedia mint in the early years of the reign of his successor.'

So it certainly seems that Echizento was closest to the truth at the outset...

It would be absolutely fantastic to have him here. A complete privilege. But he must be in such great demand everywhere he looks in the ancient coins world...I am sure he needs to be very selective when considering joining fora.

Still....mystery solved on this occasion.

Ok...sigh...I will concede. Some people just don't like placing photographs of themselves on the I nternet and I am one of them. But I will make this one exception.