AUTHENTIC ANCIENT COIN

Bronze coin in 24k gold plated silver pendant hanging 2” long and 1.25” across. 

In the 10th century “anonymous folles” were struck in the place of earlier coin motifs depicting specific deified emperors. Instead, the anonymous folles featured the bust of Jesus on the one side and on the other, the inscription “XRISTUS/bASILEU/bASILE”, which translates to “Christ, King of Kings”.  The Byzantine coinage had a prestige that lasted until close to the end of the Empire. When European rulers began issuing their own coins once more, they tended to follow a more simplified version of these so-called folles, using full face portraits.