Sale: CNG 66, Lot: 1720. Estimate $200.  Closing Date: Wednesday, 19 May 2004.  Sold For $900. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

MAURICE TIBERIUS. 582-602 AD. Æ Half Follis (4.46 gm). "Rome" mint. Crowned, draped, and cuirassed facing bust, holding globus cruciger / Large XX; ROM. DOC I 283; MIB II 155 (military mint); SB 587. Good VF, brown patina. ($200)

From the Christopher Connell Collection.

The portrait used on Maurice's Rome mint half folles is identical to that used on pieces from the "CON" mint (cf. SB 576, as Constantine in Numidia). The precise origin of these pieces is unclear, and the entire series of bronze coins dubbed Moneta Militarii Imitativa by Hahn remains one of the most perplexing mysteries of 6th century Byzantine numismatics.