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Showcase Auction 61288 18 Sep 2022
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Odovacar, as King of Italy (AD 476-493). AV solidus (21mm, 4.48 gm, 6h). NGC MS 3/5 - 2/5, edge filing, bent. Uncertain mint in Italy, in the name of Zeno, ca. 476-491. D N ZENO-PERP AVG, pearl-diademed, helmeted, and cuirassed bust of Zeno facing, head slightly right, spear in right hand over shoulder, shield decorated with horseman motif in left / VICTORI-A AVGGG, Victory standing facing, head left, long jeweled cross in right hand; star in right field, COMOB in exergue. RIC -. MEC 1 -. Lacam -. Cf. RIC X (Zeno) 3651-3654 for similar issues with different obverse legend and various officina marks after the reverse legend. Apparently unpublished. For similar types, see Numismatica Ars Classica, Auction 78 (26 May 2014), lot 1284 (additional G at the end of reverse legend; realized 6,000 CHF), and Roma Numismatics, Auction XXIII (24 March 2022), lot 1154 (with retrograde Z in exergue; realized 2,400 GBP). Of exceptional style for an imitative solidus and with a clear legend. An enigmatic issue of a mysterious ruler.
From the Historical Scholar Collection. Ex Classical Numismatic Group, Auction 105 (10 May 2017), lot 1024
History has granted Odovacar, or Odoacer as he is often known, a prominent place among the many Germanic commanders of the fifth century AD who exercised great power in the final days of the Western Roman Empire. The first of these generals was Stilicho, a faithful lieutenant of the emperor Honorius, who maintained Western Roman territorial integrity by skillfully managing the various threats to the empire, sometimes by diplomacy, and sometimes by force. Stilicho was executed in AD 408 at the urging of jealous courtiers, and in his absence the empire he had held together quickly began to fall apart. Rome was sacked in AD 410, and in the following decades, the empire lost all of Britain as well as parts of Gaul, Hispania, and Africa. Stilicho's role was filled a quarter-century later by Flavius Aetius, also of mixed Roman-Scythian origins. Aetius helped stem the tide of Roman territorial disintegration and impressively assembled a coalition of Germanic kingdoms to aid his legions in defeating Attila at the critical Battle of Chalons in AD 451. However, in a fate mirroring Stilicho, conniving courtiers made sure to turn the emperor against him; the young Valentinian III personally clubbed Aetius to death in AD 454. The Visigothic sack of Rome had occurred two years after Stilicho's murder, and in another parallel, Aetius' death was followed by the savage Vandal sack of Rome the following year. The third generalissimo to fill the power vacuum in what was left of the Roman West was Ricimer, a commander of Suevic origin. Ricimer was ineligible to sit on the throne due to his Arian faith and therefore was forced to be content to rule from the shadows. Holding the position of magister militum, he engineered the rise and fall of four emperors. Ricimer died of natural causes in AD 472, creating another power vacuum that was in time filled by none other than Odoacer. But what made Odoacer different than his three predecessors?
On the eve of the fall of the Western Roman Empire, there were two currents of power: the native Roman army, commanded by the patrician Orestes of Pannonia, and the Germanic contingents serving alongside those forces, which were led by a chieftain of mysterious origins named Odoacer. In AD 475, Orestes, who had replaced Ricimer as magister militum, overthrew the sitting emperor and placed his ten-year old son Romulus Augustus on the throne. In order to secure support for his son's rule, Orestes had promised land grants and estates to all Germanic troops in the Roman army that supported him, a difficult promise to keep. Discontent with Orestes' broken promises soon materialized into a mutiny, of which Odoacer soon became the leader. In the words of Edward Gibbon, Odoacer promised any soldier, Germanic or Roman, that if they supported his cause he would "extort the justice that had been denied to their dutiful petitions." Nearly all the Germanic forces serving under Rome abandoned Orestes and flocked to Odoacer. Orestes took refuge with a number of soldiers in the fortress of Pavia, but the town soon fell and Orestes was executed.
It was at this juncture that Odoacer made a critical decision that differentiated him from his three predecessors. Instead of appointing a new puppet emperor, he declared himself ruler of Italy on behalf of the emperor in Constantinople, Zeno. It was a radical step no commander had yet dared to take, but Odoacer's gamble paid off. Zeno recognized that from faraway Constantinople there was little he could do to dislodge the chieftain, so he granted the title of patrician, not king, to Odoacer and acknowledged him as the imperial viceroy in Italy. Odoacer ruled independently but always had to show nominal fealty to the East, with a tangible example of such subordination being this coin that bears Zeno's name and portrait. So it is more accurate to say that Odoacer "decided" that the Western Roman Empire had come to an end rather than to say he conquered or destroyed it. Odoacer ruled Italy for seventeen years until the arrival of the Ostrogoths, who were led by Theoderic the Great. Zeno had in fact encouraged the Ostrogoths to migrate to Italy and expressed support for Theoderic to depose Odoacer, as the Eastern court decided he had become too independent. In AD 493, Theoderic invited Odoacer and all his entourage to a spectacular banquet of alliance and mutual friendship, then proceeded to kill them all after dinner had been served. Few details about Odoacer or his reign survive, and he remains an important but murky historical figure.
https://coins.ha.com/itm/ancients/roman-imperial/ancients-odovacar-as-king-of-italy-ad-476-493-av-solidus-21mm-448-gm-6h-ngc-ms-3-5-2-5-edge-filing-bent/a/61288-95288.s?type=DA-DMC-CoinArchives-WorldCoins-61288-09182022
HID02906262019
© 2022 Heritage Auctions | All Rights Reserved
Odovacar, as King of Italy (AD 476-493). AV solidus (21mm, 4.48 gm, 6h). NGC MS 3/5 - 2/5, edge filing, bent. Uncertain mint in Italy, in the name of Zeno, ca. 476-491. D N ZENO-PERP AVG, pearl-diademed, helmeted, and cuirassed bust of Zeno facing, head slightly right, spear in right hand over shoulder, shield decorated with horseman motif in left / VICTORI-A AVGGG, Victory standing facing, head left, long jeweled cross in right hand; star in right field, COMOB in exergue. RIC -. MEC 1 -. Lacam -. Cf. RIC X (Zeno) 3651-3654 for similar issues with different obverse legend and various officina marks after the reverse legend. Apparently unpublished. For similar types, see Numismatica Ars Classica, Auction 78 (26 May 2014), lot 1284 (additional G at the end of reverse legend; realized 6,000 CHF), and Roma Numismatics, Auction XXIII (24 March 2022), lot 1154 (with retrograde Z in exergue; realized 2,400 GBP). Of exceptional style for an imitative solidus and with a clear legend. An enigmatic issue of a mysterious ruler.
From the Historical Scholar Collection. Ex Classical Numismatic Group, Auction 105 (10 May 2017), lot 1024
History has granted Odovacar, or Odoacer as he is often known, a prominent place among the many Germanic commanders of the fifth century AD who exercised great power in the final days of the Western Roman Empire. The first of these generals was Stilicho, a faithful lieutenant of the emperor Honorius, who maintained Western Roman territorial integrity by skillfully managing the various threats to the empire, sometimes by diplomacy, and sometimes by force. Stilicho was executed in AD 408 at the urging of jealous courtiers, and in his absence the empire he had held together quickly began to fall apart. Rome was sacked in AD 410, and in the following decades, the empire lost all of Britain as well as parts of Gaul, Hispania, and Africa. Stilicho's role was filled a quarter-century later by Flavius Aetius, also of mixed Roman-Scythian origins. Aetius helped stem the tide of Roman territorial disintegration and impressively assembled a coalition of Germanic kingdoms to aid his legions in defeating Attila at the critical Battle of Chalons in AD 451. However, in a fate mirroring Stilicho, conniving courtiers made sure to turn the emperor against him; the young Valentinian III personally clubbed Aetius to death in AD 454. The Visigothic sack of Rome had occurred two years after Stilicho's murder, and in another parallel, Aetius' death was followed by the savage Vandal sack of Rome the following year. The third generalissimo to fill the power vacuum in what was left of the Roman West was Ricimer, a commander of Suevic origin. Ricimer was ineligible to sit on the throne due to his Arian faith and therefore was forced to be content to rule from the shadows. Holding the position of magister militum, he engineered the rise and fall of four emperors. Ricimer died of natural causes in AD 472, creating another power vacuum that was in time filled by none other than Odoacer. But what made Odoacer different than his three predecessors?
On the eve of the fall of the Western Roman Empire, there were two currents of power: the native Roman army, commanded by the patrician Orestes of Pannonia, and the Germanic contingents serving alongside those forces, which were led by a chieftain of mysterious origins named Odoacer. In AD 475, Orestes, who had replaced Ricimer as magister militum, overthrew the sitting emperor and placed his ten-year old son Romulus Augustus on the throne. In order to secure support for his son's rule, Orestes had promised land grants and estates to all Germanic troops in the Roman army that supported him, a difficult promise to keep. Discontent with Orestes' broken promises soon materialized into a mutiny, of which Odoacer soon became the leader. In the words of Edward Gibbon, Odoacer promised any soldier, Germanic or Roman, that if they supported his cause he would "extort the justice that had been denied to their dutiful petitions." Nearly all the Germanic forces serving under Rome abandoned Orestes and flocked to Odoacer. Orestes took refuge with a number of soldiers in the fortress of Pavia, but the town soon fell and Orestes was executed.
It was at this juncture that Odoacer made a critical decision that differentiated him from his three predecessors. Instead of appointing a new puppet emperor, he declared himself ruler of Italy on behalf of the emperor in Constantinople, Zeno. It was a radical step no commander had yet dared to take, but Odoacer's gamble paid off. Zeno recognized that from faraway Constantinople there was little he could do to dislodge the chieftain, so he granted the title of patrician, not king, to Odoacer and acknowledged him as the imperial viceroy in Italy. Odoacer ruled independently but always had to show nominal fealty to the East, with a tangible example of such subordination being this coin that bears Zeno's name and portrait. So it is more accurate to say that Odoacer "decided" that the Western Roman Empire had come to an end rather than to say he conquered or destroyed it. Odoacer ruled Italy for seventeen years until the arrival of the Ostrogoths, who were led by Theoderic the Great. Zeno had in fact encouraged the Ostrogoths to migrate to Italy and expressed support for Theoderic to depose Odoacer, as the Eastern court decided he had become too independent. In AD 493, Theoderic invited Odoacer and all his entourage to a spectacular banquet of alliance and mutual friendship, then proceeded to kill them all after dinner had been served. Few details about Odoacer or his reign survive, and he remains an important but murky historical figure.
https://coins.ha.com/itm/ancients/roman-imperial/ancients-odovacar-as-king-of-italy-ad-476-493-av-solidus-21mm-448-gm-6h-ngc-ms-3-5-2-5-edge-filing-bent/a/61288-95288.s?type=DA-DMC-CoinArchives-WorldCoins-61288-09182022
HID02906262019
© 2022 Heritage Auctions | All Rights Reserved