Another one such coin was sold recently. It is clearly visible that this coin were minted on
follis, which very reminded me the
anonymous follis Class I. Under the figure of the Virgin, traces of the
cross with characteristic elements are visible. But the
cross has plane ends of the
cross, while on the Class I folles, the
cross has smooth rounded outlines. On the
reverse, there are traces of the left half of the
bust of
Christ, which also well visible. Probably the host coin may bу Baldwin I (1098-1100) or Baldwin II, first reign (1100-1104)
follis, minted in County of Edessa (it very close in design to class I
follis).
New coin, according some information,
comes from the province of Malatya,
Turkey. It is not far from the
Antioch and the former Principality of Edessa. So, the S.
Bendall's version seems quite realistic to me. He notices that:
“...The copy from the Bates collection is particularly important because it is over-struck on the second copper issue of the Prince of Antioch, Tancred (end 1104 - December 1112)...
...No copy of this new anonymous Byzantine type has apparently been found in the western provinces of the empire... ...The three coins that I acquired before 1987 all came from what can be called an “Asian” source, while George Bates had formed almost all of his collection in Turkey.
That is why it is more plausible to think of a temporary mint in Asia Minor. As far as the dating is concerned, I will hypothetically suggest between around 1105/1106 and around 1118, 1105/1106 because of the Tancred coinage over-strike, and 1118 because it is unlikely that anonymous follis were minted after the death of Alexius I and because the princes of Antioch stopped minting copper coins of this module after 1120. In addition, in my experience, most overprints are generally practiced on coins older than a few years and still in circulation”.