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January Signature Sale 3089 21-22 Jan 2021
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Ancients
Galla Placidia, Western Roman Empire (AD 421-450). AV solidus (20mm, 4.34 gm, 1h). NGC Choice XF 5/5 - 4/5. Ravenna, AD 439. D N GALLA PLA-CIDIA P F AVG, pearl-diademed, draped bust of Galla Placidia right, seen from front, cross on right shoulder, wearing double necklace and earring, hair elaborately weaved with long plait up the back of head and tucked under diadem, crowned with wreath by hand of God reaching down from above / BONO REI-PVBLICAE, Victory standing facing, head left, long jeweled cross with horizontal crossbar in right hand, folds of stola in left; star in upper left field, R-V across fields, COMOB in exergue. RIC X -, cf. RIC X 2022 for type of Justa Grata Honoria. Depeyrot 15/2. Biaggi -. Bold style obverse with lovely delicate style reverse die. Extremely rare - the only example in sales archives in the past 20 years.
Ex Continental Collection (Triton XX, 10 January 2017), lot 917; Numismatica Genevensis SA 1 (27 November 2000), lot 180
The daughter of Theodosius I, Galla Placidia was born in AD 392 and proved to be a much more formidable character than her weakling brothers, Honorius and Arcadius. She would need such fortitude for, following the siege of Rome in AD 408-410, she was captured and held hostage by Visigoths. Whether by coercion or choice, she soon wed Atualf, son and successor of King Alaric. Perhaps she hoped the wedding would spur a modus vivendi between Roman and Barbarian, but if so her hopes were dashed by the murder of Ataulf in AD 416. A swap of hostages returned her to the Western Roman court, and in AD 417 Honorius married her off to the elderly general Constantius III, later briefly co-Emperor of the West. Although the union was not a happy one, it did produce a son and daughter. After the death of Constantius in AD 421, Honorius began to show a strange, incestuous attraction to his sister and she fled to the East Roman court of Theodosius II. When Honorius died, in AD 423, and the Western throne was usurped by Johannes, Placidia returned with a sizeable army to depose the usurper in favor of her five-year-old son, who was duly installed as Valentinian III. She remained in Italy, ruling the Western Empire as regent until her son came of age, and played a major role in political and religious affairs until her death, in AD 450. Her mausoleum in Ravenna is a masterpiece of early Medieval architecture and is a UNESCO World Heritage site.
https://coins.ha.com/itm/ancients/roman-imperial/ancients-galla-placidia-western-roman-empire-ad-421-450-av-solidus-20mm-434-gm-1h-ngc-choice-xf-5-5-4-5/a/3089-31071.s?type=CoinArchives3089
HID02906262019
© 2020 Heritage Auctions | All Rights Reserved
Estimate: 8000-10000 USD
Galla Placidia, Western Roman Empire (AD 421-450). AV solidus (20mm, 4.34 gm, 1h). NGC Choice XF 5/5 - 4/5. Ravenna, AD 439. D N GALLA PLA-CIDIA P F AVG, pearl-diademed, draped bust of Galla Placidia right, seen from front, cross on right shoulder, wearing double necklace and earring, hair elaborately weaved with long plait up the back of head and tucked under diadem, crowned with wreath by hand of God reaching down from above / BONO REI-PVBLICAE, Victory standing facing, head left, long jeweled cross with horizontal crossbar in right hand, folds of stola in left; star in upper left field, R-V across fields, COMOB in exergue. RIC X -, cf. RIC X 2022 for type of Justa Grata Honoria. Depeyrot 15/2. Biaggi -. Bold style obverse with lovely delicate style reverse die. Extremely rare - the only example in sales archives in the past 20 years.
Ex Continental Collection (Triton XX, 10 January 2017), lot 917; Numismatica Genevensis SA 1 (27 November 2000), lot 180
The daughter of Theodosius I, Galla Placidia was born in AD 392 and proved to be a much more formidable character than her weakling brothers, Honorius and Arcadius. She would need such fortitude for, following the siege of Rome in AD 408-410, she was captured and held hostage by Visigoths. Whether by coercion or choice, she soon wed Atualf, son and successor of King Alaric. Perhaps she hoped the wedding would spur a modus vivendi between Roman and Barbarian, but if so her hopes were dashed by the murder of Ataulf in AD 416. A swap of hostages returned her to the Western Roman court, and in AD 417 Honorius married her off to the elderly general Constantius III, later briefly co-Emperor of the West. Although the union was not a happy one, it did produce a son and daughter. After the death of Constantius in AD 421, Honorius began to show a strange, incestuous attraction to his sister and she fled to the East Roman court of Theodosius II. When Honorius died, in AD 423, and the Western throne was usurped by Johannes, Placidia returned with a sizeable army to depose the usurper in favor of her five-year-old son, who was duly installed as Valentinian III. She remained in Italy, ruling the Western Empire as regent until her son came of age, and played a major role in political and religious affairs until her death, in AD 450. Her mausoleum in Ravenna is a masterpiece of early Medieval architecture and is a UNESCO World Heritage site.
https://coins.ha.com/itm/ancients/roman-imperial/ancients-galla-placidia-western-roman-empire-ad-421-450-av-solidus-20mm-434-gm-1h-ngc-choice-xf-5-5-4-5/a/3089-31071.s?type=CoinArchives3089
HID02906262019
© 2020 Heritage Auctions | All Rights Reserved
Estimate: 8000-10000 USD