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Showcase Auction 61238 5 Dec 2021
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Ancients
Aelia Pulcheria, Eastern Roman Empire (AD 414-453). AV solidus (20mm, 4.47 gm, 6h). NGC MS 5/5 - 4/5, edge scuff. Constantinople, AD 414. AEL PVLCH-ERIA AVG, pearl-diademed, draped bust of Aelia Pulcheria right, seen from front, star on shoulder, wearing 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 / SALVS REI-PVBLICAE, Victory seated right on cuirass and shield, inscribing Christogram on shield that she supports on her left knee; star in left field, CONOB in exergue. RIC X 205.
From the Ed's Treasures Collection
Aelia Pulcheria was the daughter, sister, and wife of three different East Roman emperors. Born circa AD 398 to Arcadius and Aelia Eudoxia, she had a more forceful and dominating personality than her timid younger brother, Theodosius II. When Arcadius died in AD 408 and Theodosius ascended the throne at the age of seven, Pulcheria became her brother's protector. In AD 414, the Senate declared her Augusta, or Empress, at which point she dismissed the Praetorian prefects and took over the regency herself. She declared her intent to remain a virgin, possibly to avoid a political marriage and end her independent power. The Imperial Palace came to resemble a convent, with Pulcheria playing the Mother Superior. She saw to it Theodosius learned how to look, act, and perform rituals like an Emperor; however, he lacked backbone, which she had to provide. Under her guidance, the East Roman Empire intervened in the West and installed her nephew, Valentinian III, on the throne (AD 424-425). While to the East, a brief war against Persia was successfully prosecuted (AD 421). In the AD 430s, her influence was temporarily eclipsed by Theodosius' brilliant and beautiful wife, Aelia Eudocia, who fostered a brief swerve toward Pagan philosophy and learning. However, Pulcheria engineered adultery charges against Eudocia and forced her exile. When Theodosius was killed in a riding accident in AD 450, Pulcheria briefly ruled as sole Empress before bowing to demands that she marry and thus chose a suitable man to rule as Augustus. She wisely chose the lowborn but capable Marcian, who proved to be the strong, even-handed ruler the Empire needed. Pulcheria died in AD 453, having kept her vows of virginity and defense of her Imperial dynasty for a half-century.
https://coins.ha.com/itm/ancients/roman-imperial/ancients-aelia-pulcheria-eastern-roman-empire-ad-414-453-av-solidus-20mm-447-gm-6h-ngc-ms-5-5-4-5-edge-s/a/61238-99178.s?type=DA-DMC-CoinArchives-WorldCoins-61238-12052021
HID02906262019
© 2020 Heritage Auctions | All Rights Reserved
Aelia Pulcheria, Eastern Roman Empire (AD 414-453). AV solidus (20mm, 4.47 gm, 6h). NGC MS 5/5 - 4/5, edge scuff. Constantinople, AD 414. AEL PVLCH-ERIA AVG, pearl-diademed, draped bust of Aelia Pulcheria right, seen from front, star on shoulder, wearing 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 / SALVS REI-PVBLICAE, Victory seated right on cuirass and shield, inscribing Christogram on shield that she supports on her left knee; star in left field, CONOB in exergue. RIC X 205.
From the Ed's Treasures Collection
Aelia Pulcheria was the daughter, sister, and wife of three different East Roman emperors. Born circa AD 398 to Arcadius and Aelia Eudoxia, she had a more forceful and dominating personality than her timid younger brother, Theodosius II. When Arcadius died in AD 408 and Theodosius ascended the throne at the age of seven, Pulcheria became her brother's protector. In AD 414, the Senate declared her Augusta, or Empress, at which point she dismissed the Praetorian prefects and took over the regency herself. She declared her intent to remain a virgin, possibly to avoid a political marriage and end her independent power. The Imperial Palace came to resemble a convent, with Pulcheria playing the Mother Superior. She saw to it Theodosius learned how to look, act, and perform rituals like an Emperor; however, he lacked backbone, which she had to provide. Under her guidance, the East Roman Empire intervened in the West and installed her nephew, Valentinian III, on the throne (AD 424-425). While to the East, a brief war against Persia was successfully prosecuted (AD 421). In the AD 430s, her influence was temporarily eclipsed by Theodosius' brilliant and beautiful wife, Aelia Eudocia, who fostered a brief swerve toward Pagan philosophy and learning. However, Pulcheria engineered adultery charges against Eudocia and forced her exile. When Theodosius was killed in a riding accident in AD 450, Pulcheria briefly ruled as sole Empress before bowing to demands that she marry and thus chose a suitable man to rule as Augustus. She wisely chose the lowborn but capable Marcian, who proved to be the strong, even-handed ruler the Empire needed. Pulcheria died in AD 453, having kept her vows of virginity and defense of her Imperial dynasty for a half-century.
https://coins.ha.com/itm/ancients/roman-imperial/ancients-aelia-pulcheria-eastern-roman-empire-ad-414-453-av-solidus-20mm-447-gm-6h-ngc-ms-5-5-4-5-edge-s/a/61238-99178.s?type=DA-DMC-CoinArchives-WorldCoins-61238-12052021
HID02906262019
© 2020 Heritage Auctions | All Rights Reserved