|
ID: |
|
Eudocia2Solidi |
| Type: |
|
Roman Imperial |
| Issuer: |
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Aelia Eudocia |
| Date Ruled: |
|
AD 421-460
|
| Metal: |
|
Gold |
| Denomination: |
|
Medallion 2 Solidus |
| Struck / Cast: |
|
struck |
| Date Struck: |
|
AD 423-440 |
| Weight: |
|
8.93 g |
| Obverse Legend: |
|
AEL EVDO_CIA AVG |
| Obverse Description: |
|
Draped bust right, with pearl diadem |
| Reverse Legend: |
|
SALVS REI PVBLICAE |
| Reverse Description: |
|
Empress, nimbate, seated facing on throne, arms crossed before breast, feet on footstool shaped like ship's prow |
| Exergue: |
|
CONOB |
| Mint Mark: |
|
CONOB/ star in left field |
| Mint: |
|
Constantinople |
| Primary Reference: |
|
RIC unlisted |
| Photograph Credit: |
|
Gemini Numismatic Auctions, LLC |
| Source: |
|
http://geminiauctions.com |
| Notes: |
|
Freeman & Sear - Gemini I, Session 2, Lot 483
Tkalec, 18 February 2002, lot 277 and Berk 126, April 2002, lot 563 (both same reverse die). Otherwise unpublished. Extremely rare: third known specimen, from the same reverse die as the other two, but from a new obverse die. Some areas of flat striking on obverse and reverse but virtually as struck
Athenaïs, the daughter of a pagan professor of rhetoric and philosophy, was selected by the empress Pulcheria, for her beauty and intellect, to be the bride of Theodosius II. Baptized as Eudocia, the new Christian convert married the emperor on 7 June 421 and was elevated to the rank of Augusta on 2 January 423. For the next two decades she exercised considerable influence at the court. But in 440/1 two of her closest allies fell into disgrace, and Eudocia herself was repudiated in late 442 or in 443 on suspicion of adultery. The empress spent the rest of her life in retirement in Jerusalem, but even there she was subject to the hostile scrutiny of her household by the jealous and suspicious emperor. Eudocia died on 20 October 460, still protesting her fidelity to Theodosius.
Estimated Value: $ 75,000 (Lot Unsold) |
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