Follis

The follis (plural folles; Italian: follaro, Arabic: فلس, Fels) was a type of coin in the Roman and Byzantine traditions.

Roman coin

In the past, the term follis was used to describe a large bronze Roman coin introduced in about 294 (the actual name of this coin is not known^[1]) at the time of the coinage reform of Diocletian. It weighed about 10 grams and was about 4% silver, mostly as a thin layer on the surface. However, later studies have shown that this is wrong, and that this coin may have been known as a "nummus". The word follis means bag (usually made of leather) in Latin, and there is evidence that this term was used in antiquity for a 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 folium, "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:

AE1	AE2	AE3	AE4
over 25 mm	21 – 25 mm	17 – 21 mm	under 17 mm

Discoveries

In Seaton Down, Devon, England, near the site of a second- to third-century Roman villa and fortifications, 22,888 folles were found in 2013.^[2] Fourth century folles represent the largest category of coin finds in the United Kingdom.^[3] 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.^[4]

Byzantine coin

The follis was reintroduced as a large bronze coin (40 nummi) in 498, with the coinage reform of Anastasius, which included a series of bronze denominations with their values marked in Greek numerals. A 40 nummi coin of Anastasius is depicted on the obverse of the 50 Macedonian denar banknote, issued in 1996.^[5]

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

See also

• Trifollaro, a medieval coin worth 3 folles
• Fals, Copper coin of Umayyads and Abbasids
• Falus, former Moroccan coin
• Fils, modern subdivision of certain Arab currencies

References

Sources

Proto-currencyRepublican eraEarly EmpireDiocletian eraLate EmpireNotable series