Heritage World Coin Auctions
ANA Signature Sale 3066 17 Aug 2018
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Irene (AD 797-802). AV solidus (20mm, 4.50 gm, 6h). NGC Choice AU 5/5 - 4/5, lt. graffito. Constantinople. ЄIRInH-bASILISSH, bust of Irene facing, wearing loros and crown with cross, two pinnacles and pendilia, globus cruciger in right hand, cross-tipped scepter in left / • ЄIRInH-bASILISSH Χ, bust of Irene facing, wearing loros and crown with cross, two pinnacles and pendilia, globus cruciger in right hand, cross-tipped scepter in left. Sear 1599. DOC 3, Part 1, 1c. Well-struck with crisp details. The light graffito noted on the holder is so unobtrusive one must search to find it.
From the Collection of A Scottish Gentleman. Ex Canonicus Collection (Nomos AG, Auction 9, 21 October 2014), lot 323.
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 AD 780, Irene ruled as regent for her adolescent son Constantine VI. In AD 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 AD 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 AD 800. In AD 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.
HID02901242017
Estimate: 7000-9000 USD
Irene (AD 797-802). AV solidus (20mm, 4.50 gm, 6h). NGC Choice AU 5/5 - 4/5, lt. graffito. Constantinople. ЄIRInH-bASILISSH, bust of Irene facing, wearing loros and crown with cross, two pinnacles and pendilia, globus cruciger in right hand, cross-tipped scepter in left / • ЄIRInH-bASILISSH Χ, bust of Irene facing, wearing loros and crown with cross, two pinnacles and pendilia, globus cruciger in right hand, cross-tipped scepter in left. Sear 1599. DOC 3, Part 1, 1c. Well-struck with crisp details. The light graffito noted on the holder is so unobtrusive one must search to find it.
From the Collection of A Scottish Gentleman. Ex Canonicus Collection (Nomos AG, Auction 9, 21 October 2014), lot 323.
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 AD 780, Irene ruled as regent for her adolescent son Constantine VI. In AD 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 AD 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 AD 800. In AD 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.
HID02901242017
Estimate: 7000-9000 USD