The New York Sale
Auction LI 12 Jan 2021
View prices realized
► Sale information
Find similar lots
Leo III with Pope Gregory III. Silver 1/8 Siliqua (0.28 g), 731-741. Rome. Crowned and draped bust of the Byzantine emperor Leo III facing, holding cross; in left and right fields, star. Reverse: Cross, the arms terminating in the letters G-R-E-O (GRegOrivs). DOC 92; O'Hara & Vecchi 29; MEC 1, 1030; SB 1534C. Probably the finest known example. Far superior than the only other example we could find selling recently (Künker 194, 2292, PRL EUR 4800). No corrosion. Extremely Fine. Estimated Value $2,500
This exceptional and very rare fractional siliqua represents the very earliest coinage struck by the Popes of Rome. The obverse features the portrait of the reigning Byzantine Emperor Leo III but the reverse names Pope Gregory III through the use of a cruciform monogram. The type combination is notable because Gregory III was the last pope to fully recognize Byzantine authority and seek the approval of his election from the Exarch of Ravenna before his consecration on 18 March 731. However, Gregory's personal relationship with Leo III was very rocky.
When Gregory III attempted to rein in the emperor's taste for iconoclasm, his representative in Constantinople was arrested. To this, Gregory responded by calling a Church synod that outright condemned iconoclasm and took pains to encourage the veneration of sacred images and relics.
By this point Leo III was beside himself with rage and dispatched a fleet to force the pope to bring his views in line with those of the emperor. He subsequently ordered the appropriation of Papal territories in Sicily and Calabria.
Despite the great acrimony between Gregory III and Leo III over iconoclasm, both secular and religious ruler could agree that the Lombards were a major threat to their respective power in Italy. Thus, when Ravenna fell to the Lombard King Lituprand in 738, the pope assisted in its recapture. Unfortunately, the Lombards continued their advance in Italy despite attempts by Gregory III to gain additional support from the Frankish King Charles Martel. By the time of the pope's death in 741, mainland Italy was almost completely overrun by the Lombards, with only a small corridor of territory remaining to link Rome to the Exarchate of Ravenna.
This exceptional and very rare fractional siliqua represents the very earliest coinage struck by the Popes of Rome. The obverse features the portrait of the reigning Byzantine Emperor Leo III but the reverse names Pope Gregory III through the use of a cruciform monogram. The type combination is notable because Gregory III was the last pope to fully recognize Byzantine authority and seek the approval of his election from the Exarch of Ravenna before his consecration on 18 March 731. However, Gregory's personal relationship with Leo III was very rocky.
When Gregory III attempted to rein in the emperor's taste for iconoclasm, his representative in Constantinople was arrested. To this, Gregory responded by calling a Church synod that outright condemned iconoclasm and took pains to encourage the veneration of sacred images and relics.
By this point Leo III was beside himself with rage and dispatched a fleet to force the pope to bring his views in line with those of the emperor. He subsequently ordered the appropriation of Papal territories in Sicily and Calabria.
Despite the great acrimony between Gregory III and Leo III over iconoclasm, both secular and religious ruler could agree that the Lombards were a major threat to their respective power in Italy. Thus, when Ravenna fell to the Lombard King Lituprand in 738, the pope assisted in its recapture. Unfortunately, the Lombards continued their advance in Italy despite attempts by Gregory III to gain additional support from the Frankish King Charles Martel. By the time of the pope's death in 741, mainland Italy was almost completely overrun by the Lombards, with only a small corridor of territory remaining to link Rome to the Exarchate of Ravenna.