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Showcase Auction 61258 20 Feb 2022
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Leo II and Zeno, Eastern Roman Empire (18 January-17 November AD 474). AV solidus (21mm, 4.45 gm, 6h). NGC Choice AU 4/5 - 4/5, die shift. Constantinople, February-November AD 474. D N LEO ZE-NO PP AЧG, pearl-diademed, helmeted, and cuirassed facing bust (of Zeno?), head slightly right, spear in right hand over shoulder, shield in left decorated with horseman motif / SALVS REI-PVBLICAE, Leo II (on left) and Zeno (on right) enthroned facing, each nimbate, diademed and wearing imperial mantle, mappa in right hands; cross above, CONOB in exergue. RIC X 803 note (no officina, no ET in obverse legend and AЧG form). Depeyrot 93/1 var. (no officina).
From the Werner Collection. Ex Heritage Auctions, Auction 3076 Long Beach (5 September 2019), lot 30342; Marc Poncin Collection (Classical Numismatic Group, Mail Bid Sale 72, 14 June 2006, lot 1940); Classical Numismatic Group 66 (19 May 2004), lot 1660
RIC X notes that the sale referenced for 803, which also does not have an officina number, has a legend similar to this coin with out the "ET" between the emperors' names.
During his long, tumultuous reign, Leo I "The Great" relied on a Romanized Isaurian chieftain, Zeno, to do much of the reign's heavy lifting and dirty work. To cement the relationship, he married his daughter Ariadne to Zeno; about AD 467 she bore him a son who was named Leo after his grandfather. When Leo I died on 18 January AD 474, the child ascended to the Eastern Roman Throne as Leo II, but it soon became clear he needed a protector and the Byzantine Senate named his father Zeno as co-Augustus on February 9. The child fell ill toward the end of the year and died in November, leaving the unpopular Zeno as sole ruler. Rumors flourished that Zeno had poisoned his own son, but this seems as unlikely as it was unnecessary.
The very rare gold coinage of the brief joint reign depicts an armored figure on the obverse, presumably Zeno, while the reverse depicts the two rulers seated in a double throne. Interestingly, the smaller of the two figures, Leo II, is seated to the left, in the "senior" position.
https://coins.ha.com/itm/ancients/roman-imperial/ancients-leo-ii-and-zeno-eastern-roman-empire-18-january-17-november-ad-474-av-solidus-21mm-445-gm-6h-ngc-c/a/61258-98252.s?type=DA-DMC-CoinArchives-WorldCoins-61258-02202022
HID02906262019
© 2022 Heritage Auctions | All Rights Reserved
Leo II and Zeno, Eastern Roman Empire (18 January-17 November AD 474). AV solidus (21mm, 4.45 gm, 6h). NGC Choice AU 4/5 - 4/5, die shift. Constantinople, February-November AD 474. D N LEO ZE-NO PP AЧG, pearl-diademed, helmeted, and cuirassed facing bust (of Zeno?), head slightly right, spear in right hand over shoulder, shield in left decorated with horseman motif / SALVS REI-PVBLICAE, Leo II (on left) and Zeno (on right) enthroned facing, each nimbate, diademed and wearing imperial mantle, mappa in right hands; cross above, CONOB in exergue. RIC X 803 note (no officina, no ET in obverse legend and AЧG form). Depeyrot 93/1 var. (no officina).
From the Werner Collection. Ex Heritage Auctions, Auction 3076 Long Beach (5 September 2019), lot 30342; Marc Poncin Collection (Classical Numismatic Group, Mail Bid Sale 72, 14 June 2006, lot 1940); Classical Numismatic Group 66 (19 May 2004), lot 1660
RIC X notes that the sale referenced for 803, which also does not have an officina number, has a legend similar to this coin with out the "ET" between the emperors' names.
During his long, tumultuous reign, Leo I "The Great" relied on a Romanized Isaurian chieftain, Zeno, to do much of the reign's heavy lifting and dirty work. To cement the relationship, he married his daughter Ariadne to Zeno; about AD 467 she bore him a son who was named Leo after his grandfather. When Leo I died on 18 January AD 474, the child ascended to the Eastern Roman Throne as Leo II, but it soon became clear he needed a protector and the Byzantine Senate named his father Zeno as co-Augustus on February 9. The child fell ill toward the end of the year and died in November, leaving the unpopular Zeno as sole ruler. Rumors flourished that Zeno had poisoned his own son, but this seems as unlikely as it was unnecessary.
The very rare gold coinage of the brief joint reign depicts an armored figure on the obverse, presumably Zeno, while the reverse depicts the two rulers seated in a double throne. Interestingly, the smaller of the two figures, Leo II, is seated to the left, in the "senior" position.
https://coins.ha.com/itm/ancients/roman-imperial/ancients-leo-ii-and-zeno-eastern-roman-empire-18-january-17-november-ad-474-av-solidus-21mm-445-gm-6h-ngc-c/a/61258-98252.s?type=DA-DMC-CoinArchives-WorldCoins-61258-02202022
HID02906262019
© 2022 Heritage Auctions | All Rights Reserved