Numismatica Ars Classica
Auction 138 18-19 May 2023
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Licinia Eudoxia, wife of Valentinian III.
Solidus, Ravenna after 439, AV 4.41 g. D N ELIA EVDO – XIA P F AVG Pearl-diademed and draped bust r. cross over shoulder. Rev. BONO – REI PVBLICAE R – V Victory standing l., supporting long jewelled cross; in upper field, star. In exergue, COMOB. C –. RIC –. LRC –. Depeyrot –. Ranieri 115 (this coin).
Of the highest rarity, apparently the only specimen known. Insignificant
metal flaw on obverse, otherwise good extremely fine
Ex NAC sale 59, 2011, 1204.
As the only daughter of the eastern emperor Theodosius II and the wife of the western emperor Valentinian III, Licinia Eudoxia was not only Augusta, but possessed the finest pedigree in the 5th Century Roman world. After nearly two decades of marriage, Eudoxia's husband, Valentinian III, was murdered in a palace coup in 455. The chamberlain Petronius Maximus emerged as the next emperor, and in doing so forced the widow Eudoxia to marry him. Desperate for a solution, Eudoxia is thought to have summoned help from the Vandal king Gaiseric. Considering her eldest daughter was engaged to one of Gaiseric's sons, she may have thought she was exercising good judgement, but it was a harmful invitation. Gaiseric responded quickly, and in less than three months a Vandal army was headed for Italy. While attempting to flee Rome after a reign of only 76 days, Petronius Maximus was murdered by an angry mob. The Vandals then sacked Rome for more than two weeks, taking anything of value they could find, including Eudoxia and her two daughters, whom they took as captives. The three Imperial women remained hostage in Carthage for the next seven years, until their release was secured through a large payment by the Eastern emperor Leo I. Whether Eudoxia first returned to Rome or Constantinople is not known, but she is thought to have lived in Constantinople until about age 70. It is surprising that Eudoxia made her appeal to the Vandals, as only five years earlier she personally witnessed how her sister-in-law Honoria (also an empress facing a forced marriage) had summoned help from Attilla the Hun, which resulted in a devastating Hunnic invasion that nearly ended with the sack of Rome. The reverse of this solidus, inscribed BONO REIPVBLICAE (Bono Reipublicae nata: 'born for the good of the state'), represents a common acclamation formula that seldom is used for coins, though it earlier had appeared in full form on coins struck by the usurper Magnus Maximus (383-388) for his son, Flavius Victor. There seems to be no agreement concerning which late Roman women issued solidi with this reverse: Honoria is acknowledged in both Dumbarton Oaks and RIC, but Licinia Eudoxia is denied in both. A solidus of Eudoxia's mother-in- law Galla Placidia is listed in the Hunterian collection (pl. 90, no. 1), but is not described in Dumbarton Oaks or RIC. The present specimen has three diadem tails, different from the four diadem tails considered diagnostic for a suspected Eudoxia invention attributed to Cigoi.
Solidus, Ravenna after 439, AV 4.41 g. D N ELIA EVDO – XIA P F AVG Pearl-diademed and draped bust r. cross over shoulder. Rev. BONO – REI PVBLICAE R – V Victory standing l., supporting long jewelled cross; in upper field, star. In exergue, COMOB. C –. RIC –. LRC –. Depeyrot –. Ranieri 115 (this coin).
Of the highest rarity, apparently the only specimen known. Insignificant
metal flaw on obverse, otherwise good extremely fine
Ex NAC sale 59, 2011, 1204.
As the only daughter of the eastern emperor Theodosius II and the wife of the western emperor Valentinian III, Licinia Eudoxia was not only Augusta, but possessed the finest pedigree in the 5th Century Roman world. After nearly two decades of marriage, Eudoxia's husband, Valentinian III, was murdered in a palace coup in 455. The chamberlain Petronius Maximus emerged as the next emperor, and in doing so forced the widow Eudoxia to marry him. Desperate for a solution, Eudoxia is thought to have summoned help from the Vandal king Gaiseric. Considering her eldest daughter was engaged to one of Gaiseric's sons, she may have thought she was exercising good judgement, but it was a harmful invitation. Gaiseric responded quickly, and in less than three months a Vandal army was headed for Italy. While attempting to flee Rome after a reign of only 76 days, Petronius Maximus was murdered by an angry mob. The Vandals then sacked Rome for more than two weeks, taking anything of value they could find, including Eudoxia and her two daughters, whom they took as captives. The three Imperial women remained hostage in Carthage for the next seven years, until their release was secured through a large payment by the Eastern emperor Leo I. Whether Eudoxia first returned to Rome or Constantinople is not known, but she is thought to have lived in Constantinople until about age 70. It is surprising that Eudoxia made her appeal to the Vandals, as only five years earlier she personally witnessed how her sister-in-law Honoria (also an empress facing a forced marriage) had summoned help from Attilla the Hun, which resulted in a devastating Hunnic invasion that nearly ended with the sack of Rome. The reverse of this solidus, inscribed BONO REIPVBLICAE (Bono Reipublicae nata: 'born for the good of the state'), represents a common acclamation formula that seldom is used for coins, though it earlier had appeared in full form on coins struck by the usurper Magnus Maximus (383-388) for his son, Flavius Victor. There seems to be no agreement concerning which late Roman women issued solidi with this reverse: Honoria is acknowledged in both Dumbarton Oaks and RIC, but Licinia Eudoxia is denied in both. A solidus of Eudoxia's mother-in- law Galla Placidia is listed in the Hunterian collection (pl. 90, no. 1), but is not described in Dumbarton Oaks or RIC. The present specimen has three diadem tails, different from the four diadem tails considered diagnostic for a suspected Eudoxia invention attributed to Cigoi.