BYZANTINE IMITATIVE: Unknown Issuer, AV solidus (4.09g), imitating issue of Constans II, facing bust with long beard and long horizontal moustache, stylized inscriptions around, large crescent below // cross potent on three steps, stylized legend around (based on VICTORIA AUGG / CONOB), a very interesting example! XF, ex Baldwins. The consignor purchased this coin from A.H. Baldwin & Sons in 1995, who described it as "Indian imitation of solidus." It has about the same weight as a solidus of Constans II (ca. 4.4g) and its edges are identical to Byzantine solidi of this period. The exact region or purpose of manufacture is uncertain. The crescent symbol below the bust resembles a similar symbol found on the obverse of some Sogdian copper coins from Chach in todays Uzbekistan, perhaps suggesting an origin somewhere along the Silk Road.
