Follis

2025-09-17T18:55:26Z

2A02:8071:59F0:6280:3550:2925:5518:6DF6: link

{{Short description|Roman bronze coin}}
{{Other uses}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2022}}
[[File:A_follis_from_Trier_of_Diocletian.jpg|thumb|A follis of [[Diocletian]]. 27 mm.]]

The '''follis''' (plural ''folles''; {{langx|it|follaro}}, {{langx|ar|فلس|fals}}) was a type of coin in the [[Roman currency|Roman]] and [[Byzantine coinage|Byzantine]] traditions.

==Roman coin==
[[File:Roman Imperial Follis Caesar Constantius II 325.jpg|left|thumb|Caesar [[Constantius II]] on a follis AE3, 18 mm, of [[Heraclea Lucania|Heraclea]] of the year 325.]]
The term ''follis'' is used for a large [[bronze]] Roman [[coin]] denomination introduced by Diocletian in about 294. The term "[[nummus]]" is now thought to be the actual ancient term, but usage of "nummus" has not caught on.<ref>{{cite web|title=Describing Ancient Coins – Roman Imperial Coins – the Late Empire| website=Ancient Greek and Roman Coins| url=https://www.forumancientcoins.com/dougsmith/voc5.html|url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061006081242/http://dougsmith.ancients.info/voc5.html |archive-date=6 October 2006|access-date=6 November 2023}}</ref> At first the follis weighed about 10 grams and was about 4% silver, with a thin layer of silver on the surface. Over the next decades it declined both in size and in silver content.

The word ''follis'' means bag (usually made of leather) in Latin, and there is evidence that this term was used in antiquity for a [[Seal (emblem)|sealed]] bag containing a specific amount of coinage. It has also been suggested that the coin was named Follis because of the ancient Greek word "φολίς" meaning a thin layer of metal (''cf.'' Latin ''[[wiktionary:folium#Latin|folium]]'', "[[Metal leaf|leaf]]") which covers the surface of various objects, since originally, this coin had a thin layer of silver on top. The 'follis' of Diocletian, despite efforts to enforce prices with the [[Edict on Maximum Prices]] (301), was revalued and reduced as time passed. By the time of [[Constantine the Great]], it was smaller and barely contained any silver. A series of [[Constantinian bronzes]] was introduced in the mid-4th century, although the specific denominations are unclear and debated by historians and numismatists. They are referred to as AE1, AE2, AE3 and AE4, with the first being the largest (near 27 mm) and the last the smallest (averaging 15 mm) in diameter. Namely:

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;" border="1"
|-
! AE1 !! AE2 !! AE3 !! AE4

|-
| over 25 mm || 21 – 25 mm || 17 – 21 mm || under 17 mm
|}
===Discoveries===

Large hoards of folles have been discovered all across the Roman empire. For example, in [[Seaton Down Hoard|Seaton Down]], Devon, England, near the site of a second- to third-century Roman villa and fortifications, 22,888 ''folles'' were found in 2013.<ref name=guardianpa>{{cite news| title=Roman coin hoard, one of the largest found in UK, unearthed by builder |newspaper=The Guardian | date=26 September 2014 | url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2014/sep/26/roman-coin-hoard-clinton-devon-estates | access-date=14 November 2023}}</ref> Fourth century ''folles'' represent the largest category of coin finds in the United Kingdom.<ref>{{cite web | title=An introduction to Roman coins | publisher=The Portable Antiquities Scheme - British Museum | url=https://finds.org.uk/romancoins | access-date=6 November 2023}}</ref> Between 30,000 and 50,000 exceptionally well-preserved ''folles'' from the first half of the fourth century were discovered in the sea near the north-east shore of [[Sardinia]] in 2023.<ref name=tondo>{{cite news| last=Tondo | first=Lorenzo | title=Up to 50,000 Roman coins discovered off coast of Sardinia |newspaper=The Guardian | date=6 November 2023 | url=https://www.theguardian.com/science/2023/nov/06/up-to-50000-roman-coins-discovered-off-coast-of-sardinia}}</ref>

==Byzantine coin==
[[File:ByzantineBronzes.jpeg|thumb|40 ("M" is "40" in Greek) and 5 ("Є" is "5" in Greek) nummi of [[Anastasius I (emperor)|Anastasius]].]]
[[File:Follis-Constantine VII and Zoe-sb1758.jpg|thumb| A Byzantine follis of [[Constantine VII]] and [[Zoe Karbonopsina|Zoe]]. 914-919AD. 26 mm.]]
The term "follis" is used for the large bronze coin denomination (40 nummi) introduced in 498, with the [[Anastasius I Dicorus#Administrative reform and introduction of new coinage|coinage reform of Anastasius]], which included a series of bronze denominations with their values marked in [[Greek numeral]]s.

The [[fals]] (a corruption of ''follis'') was a bronze coin issued by the [[Umayyad]] and [[Abbasid]] [[caliphate]]s beginning in the late 8th century, initially as imitations of the Byzantine follis.

==See also==
*[[Trifollaro]], a medieval coin worth 3 ''folles''
*[[Falus]], former Moroccan coin
*[[Fils (currency)|Fils]], modern subdivision of certain Arab currencies

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Sources==
{{commons category}}
* {{citation|first=Philip |last=Grierson |title=Byzantine coinage |publisher=Dumbarton Oaks |year=1999 |isbn=978-0-88402-274-9 |url=http://www.doaks.org/publications/doaks_online_publications/byzcoins.pdf |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20100613032220/http://doaks.org/publications/doaks_online_publications/byzcoins.pdf |archivedate=13 June 2010 }}
* {{citation | first = Michael F. | last = Hendy | title = Studies in the Byzantine Monetary Economy c.300–1450 | publisher = Cambridge University Press | year = 1985 | isbn = 0-521-24715-2}}
* {{Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium}}

==External links==
* [http://www.forumancientcoins.com/dougsmith//galeriusfol.html A close look at a follis by Doug Smith]
* [http://colnect.com/coins/list/country/23488-Byzantine_Empire Follis Coin Catalog information and details]
* [http://forumancientcoins.com/Articles/Introducing_the_Follis.htm Article from Forum coins]

{{Roman coinage}}
{{Byzantine coinage}}

[[Category:Coins of ancient Rome]]
[[Category:Numismatics]]
[[Category:Coins of the Byzantine Empire]]
[[Category:294]]

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Follis