SERBIA. Stefan Uros IV Dusan, as Tsar, 1345-1355. Follaro (Bronze, 19 mm, 1.40 g, 4 h), engravers error without cross-tipped staff, Ulcinj. VRO - SIV - S Stefan Uros V, bearded and crowned, seated facing on throne decorated with lions, holding globus cruciger in his left hand; right to his head, cross. Rev. SЄ MA - RI - A Nimbate Virgin Mary, orans, standing facing. Jovanovic (SMC) 27-2. Apparently unpublished with this engravers error. Some deposits, otherwise, very fine.


This type has long been the subject of spirited debate among Serbian numismatists. It was at various times attributed to King Milutin (1282–1321) and to the son of Uroš IV Dušan, the later Stefan Uroš V (1346–1355). Today, however, it is generally accepted that the issue belongs to Stefan Uroš IV Dušan and was struck in the important coastal city of Ulcinj (cf. Miroslav M. Jovanović: Serbian Medieval Coinage, Belgrade 2014, p. 149).

What really turns this coin into a conversation piece is the clear engravers erros. For whatever reason - no accurate prototype at hand or simply a moment’s inattention - the staff of the cross-scepter never made it onto the obverse die. The cross, however, was struck in its usual spot and now appears to hover just to the left of the tsar’s head.