Who issued the “M”, “K”, “H” and “delta” follis and half-follis pieces with legend “XEPCONOC “?
Very similar coins were issued in the name of Maurice, so older attributions of the “XEPCONOC” types were also to Maurice, but now some scholars have argued that they were originally issued by Justin II. Under the old attribution the obverse figures are Maurice and his wife and the reverse figure is his son Theodosius. Grierson (p. 73) says, “If the coins all belong together it would seem reasonable to regard them as an insurrectionary coinage struck at Cherson in 602, the intention of the rebels having been initially to depose Maurice in favor of his son Theodosius and not the upstart adventurer Phocas.” According to this theory, the revolt prompted a new coin with a neutral legend, which was replaced by the emperor’s name when the outcome favored Maurice. This attribution is accepted by Sear. Anokin (1980) and Hahn (1978) concur in attributing them to Justin II (and the following period). Anokin argues the two-figure type resembles the regular type introduced by Justin II and Sophia.
