{{Short description|Roman and Byzantine bronze coins}} {{Other uses}} {{Use dmy dates|date=January 2022}} {{More citations needed|date=March 2026}}[[File:A_follis_from_Trier_of_Diocletian.jpg|thumb|An AE1 follis of Diocletian, 27 mm]]
The '''follis''' (plural ''folles''; {{langx|it|follaro}}, {{langx|ar|فلس|fals}}) is both a general term for specific types of bronze coinage that circulated during the Late Roman Empire and for bronze coinage of the Byzantine Empire worth 40 nummi.
==Roman coin== [[File:Roman Imperial Follis Caesar Constantius II 325.jpg|left|thumb|Constantius II as Caesar on an AE3 follis, 18 mm, minted in Heraclea in 325 AD.]] The term ''follis'' is used for a large bronze Roman coin denomination introduced by Diocletian in about 294 AD. The term ''nummus'' is now thought to be the actual ancient term, but usage of the word 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 had a silver content of about 4%, 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" (which is 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 coins. 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 the coin originally had a thin layer of silver. The follis of Diocletian, despite efforts to enforce prices with the Edict on Maximum Prices in 301 AD, 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, 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|A follis (or 40 nummi, marked by "M" for "40" in Greek) next to a pentanummium (or 5 nummi, marked by "Є" for "5" in Greek), both of Anastasius.]] [[File:Follis-Constantine VII and Zoe-sb1758.jpg|thumb| A Byzantine follis of Constantine VII and Zoe, minted in 914-919 AD. 26 mm.]] The term follis is also used for the large bronze coin denomination of 40 nummi introduced in 498 AD with the coinage reform of Anastasius, which included a series of bronze denominations with their values marked in Greek numerals.
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'' *Falus, former Moroccan coin *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