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NYINC Signature Sale 3105 9 Jan 2023
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Ancients
Galla Placidia, Western Roman Empire (AD 421-450). AV solidus (21mm, 4.47 gm, 11h). NGC AU 5/5 - 4/5. Rome, AD 421. D N GALLA PLA-CIDIA P F AVG, pearl-diademed, draped bust of Galla Placidia right, seen from front, Christogram on right shoulder, wearing double beaded 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 / VOT XX-MVLT XXX, Victory standing facing, head left, long jeweled cross in right hand; star in upper left field, R-M across fields, COMOB in exergue. RIC X 2007. Depeyrot 45/2. Beautiful style dies and fresh, broad flan.
Ex Andre Constantine Dimitriadis Collection (Heritage Auctions, Auction 3032 10 April 2014), lot 23742; Moneta Imperii Romani Byzantini (Stack's, NY Auction, 12 January 2009), lot 3026; Leu Numismatik, Auction 72 (12 May 1998), lot 585
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-21mm-447-gm-11h-ngc-au-5-5-4-5/a/3105-32117.s?type=DA-DMC-CoinArchives-WorldCoins-3105-01092023
HID02906262019
© 2022 Heritage Auctions | All Rights Reserved
Estimate: 15000-25000 USD
Galla Placidia, Western Roman Empire (AD 421-450). AV solidus (21mm, 4.47 gm, 11h). NGC AU 5/5 - 4/5. Rome, AD 421. D N GALLA PLA-CIDIA P F AVG, pearl-diademed, draped bust of Galla Placidia right, seen from front, Christogram on right shoulder, wearing double beaded 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 / VOT XX-MVLT XXX, Victory standing facing, head left, long jeweled cross in right hand; star in upper left field, R-M across fields, COMOB in exergue. RIC X 2007. Depeyrot 45/2. Beautiful style dies and fresh, broad flan.
Ex Andre Constantine Dimitriadis Collection (Heritage Auctions, Auction 3032 10 April 2014), lot 23742; Moneta Imperii Romani Byzantini (Stack's, NY Auction, 12 January 2009), lot 3026; Leu Numismatik, Auction 72 (12 May 1998), lot 585
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-21mm-447-gm-11h-ngc-au-5-5-4-5/a/3105-32117.s?type=DA-DMC-CoinArchives-WorldCoins-3105-01092023
HID02906262019
© 2022 Heritage Auctions | All Rights Reserved
Estimate: 15000-25000 USD