Heritage World Coin Auctions
NYINC Signature Sale 3061 7-8 Jan 2018
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Irene, as sole Augusta (AD 797-802). AV solidus (19mm, 3.82 gm, 6h). NGC MS 5/5 - 5/5. Syracuse, AD 797-798. [IREh] AΓOVST, bust of Irene facing, wearing loros and crown with pendilia, cross on semicircle and two triangular pinnacles, holding cross potent in right hand / IRIEN AΓOVST, crowned facing bust of Irene, wearing chlamys and holding acacia in left hand, two horn-like projections (back of throne?) behind. Spahr 339. Sear --, cf. 1601 differing reverse bust type). DOC 4 variant (same). Extremely rare, one of perhaps three known examples! Well struck and lustrous.
The brief sole reign of the Empress Irene marked the first time a woman ruled the Roman or Byzantine Empires in her own right. Alas, the experiment could not be called a success. The wife of the short-reigning Emperor Leo IV, Irene soon came to dominate domestic affairs in his government. When Leo died in 780, Irene ruled as regent for her adolescent son Constantine VI. In 790 she was temporarily ousted by her son, but he showed no talent for ruling and Irene, in turn, had him ousted and blinded in 797, seizing sole power for herself. She tried to win popularity with generous handouts, but soon ran out of money just as the empire faced a series of military disasters. Furthermore, the accession of a female promoted the Pope in Rome to declare the imperial throne vacant, and he crowned the Frankish king Charlemagne "Emperor of the Romans" in 800. In 802 Irene was ousted in a coup led by her finance minister Nicephorus. The novel coinage of Irene's sole reign depicts the Empress on both sides in similar poses, as seen on this extremely rare issue from the provincial mint of Syracuse. The reverse is of particular interest, showing two horn-like projections from her shoulders which are probably the back of the famous "lion throne" of the Imperial palace in Constantinople.
HID02901242017
Estimate: 6000-8000 USD
Irene, as sole Augusta (AD 797-802). AV solidus (19mm, 3.82 gm, 6h). NGC MS 5/5 - 5/5. Syracuse, AD 797-798. [IREh] AΓOVST, bust of Irene facing, wearing loros and crown with pendilia, cross on semicircle and two triangular pinnacles, holding cross potent in right hand / IRIEN AΓOVST, crowned facing bust of Irene, wearing chlamys and holding acacia in left hand, two horn-like projections (back of throne?) behind. Spahr 339. Sear --, cf. 1601 differing reverse bust type). DOC 4 variant (same). Extremely rare, one of perhaps three known examples! Well struck and lustrous.
The brief sole reign of the Empress Irene marked the first time a woman ruled the Roman or Byzantine Empires in her own right. Alas, the experiment could not be called a success. The wife of the short-reigning Emperor Leo IV, Irene soon came to dominate domestic affairs in his government. When Leo died in 780, Irene ruled as regent for her adolescent son Constantine VI. In 790 she was temporarily ousted by her son, but he showed no talent for ruling and Irene, in turn, had him ousted and blinded in 797, seizing sole power for herself. She tried to win popularity with generous handouts, but soon ran out of money just as the empire faced a series of military disasters. Furthermore, the accession of a female promoted the Pope in Rome to declare the imperial throne vacant, and he crowned the Frankish king Charlemagne "Emperor of the Romans" in 800. In 802 Irene was ousted in a coup led by her finance minister Nicephorus. The novel coinage of Irene's sole reign depicts the Empress on both sides in similar poses, as seen on this extremely rare issue from the provincial mint of Syracuse. The reverse is of particular interest, showing two horn-like projections from her shoulders which are probably the back of the famous "lion throne" of the Imperial palace in Constantinople.
HID02901242017
Estimate: 6000-8000 USD