Roma Numismatics Ltd
Auction XXV 22-23 Sep 2022
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Constantius III AV Solidus. Ravenna, AD 421. D N CONSTANTIVS P F AVG, rosette-diademed, draped and cuirassed bust to right / VICTORIA AVGGG, Emperor standing to right, holding standard and Victory on globe, foot on bound captive lying on right below; R-V across fields, COMOB in exergue. RIC X 1325; Depeyrot 7/4. 4.48g, 22mm, 6h.
Extremely Fine; areas of weak strike on rev. Extremely Rare; rated R3 in RIC and one of only 9 or so coins of this Emperor to have been auctioned in the last twenty years.
From a private UK collection.
Not to be confused with Constantine III, the usurper in Britain of AD 407, Constantius III served as a general under Honorius, rising to prominence as magister militum by 411. He was dispatched to put down the revolt of the aforementioned Constantine III, who he compelled to surrender, imprisoned and beheaded during his return to Ravenna. Constantius further initiated a campaign against the Visigoths in Northern Hispania in 416, and starving them into submission accepted the surrender of their king Wallia, in the process securing the return of the emperor's half-sister Galla Placidia, who had been captured by Alaric around the time of the sack of Rome years earlier, and forced into marriage with Athaulf, successor to Alaric.
In recognition Honorius bestowed many honours on him, appointing him consul three times and arranging for him to marry his rescued sister Galla Placidia in AD 417. A little over four years later, Honorius made him co-emperor, an elevation well-received by the army, but not acknowledged by Theodosius II in the East. This tension was swiftly resolved by Constantius' death at Ravenna in September AD 421 after a mere seven months in power.
Largely by virtue of the brevity of his reign, the coinage of Constantius III is only represented by a small number of extremely rare gold solidi and tremisses struck in Ravenna. This particularly fine type, of which there have been only a handful of examples auctioned in the preceding twenty years, constitutes a rare opportunity to acquire a coin of this elusive and short-lived emperor.
Extremely Fine; areas of weak strike on rev. Extremely Rare; rated R3 in RIC and one of only 9 or so coins of this Emperor to have been auctioned in the last twenty years.
From a private UK collection.
Not to be confused with Constantine III, the usurper in Britain of AD 407, Constantius III served as a general under Honorius, rising to prominence as magister militum by 411. He was dispatched to put down the revolt of the aforementioned Constantine III, who he compelled to surrender, imprisoned and beheaded during his return to Ravenna. Constantius further initiated a campaign against the Visigoths in Northern Hispania in 416, and starving them into submission accepted the surrender of their king Wallia, in the process securing the return of the emperor's half-sister Galla Placidia, who had been captured by Alaric around the time of the sack of Rome years earlier, and forced into marriage with Athaulf, successor to Alaric.
In recognition Honorius bestowed many honours on him, appointing him consul three times and arranging for him to marry his rescued sister Galla Placidia in AD 417. A little over four years later, Honorius made him co-emperor, an elevation well-received by the army, but not acknowledged by Theodosius II in the East. This tension was swiftly resolved by Constantius' death at Ravenna in September AD 421 after a mere seven months in power.
Largely by virtue of the brevity of his reign, the coinage of Constantius III is only represented by a small number of extremely rare gold solidi and tremisses struck in Ravenna. This particularly fine type, of which there have been only a handful of examples auctioned in the preceding twenty years, constitutes a rare opportunity to acquire a coin of this elusive and short-lived emperor.