Heritage World Coin Auctions
NYINC Signature Sale 3037 Sess. 2-4 5 January 2015
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Irene (AD 797-802). AV solidus (19mm, 4.45 gm, 6h). Constantinople, sole rule (AD 797-802). ЄIRIhH bASILISSH, crowned facing bust of Irene, wearing loros, crown with two pinnacles, holding globus cruciger in right hand and cross-tipped scepter in left / · ЄIRIhH bASILISSH X, crowned facing bust of Irene, wearing loros, holding globus cruciger in right hand and cross-tipped scepter in left. Sear 1599. DOC 1c. Rare. Well struck and lustrous. NGC MS 4/5 - 4/5, clipped (though weight is correct for issue). The brief sole reign of the Empress Irene was a milestone in both Roman and Byzantine history, as it marked the first time a woman ruled the Empire in her own right. Previous empresses had effectively wielded supreme power, but only by using a male figurehead as nominal ruler. After Constantine embarrassed the regime with a series of military blunders and public scandals, Irene had him ousted and blinded in 797, seizing sole power for herself. She tried to win popularity with generous handouts and tax reductions, but the state's coffers soon emptied and she faced a series of military disasters that further undermined her position. Furthermore, the accession of a female promoted the Pope in Rome to declare the imperial throne vacant and the Frankish king Charlemagne was duly crowned "Empror of the Romans" in 800. He in turn sent Irene an offer of marriage which might have united Eastern and Western Christendom under one government and changed the course of history, but it was not to be: In 802 Irene was ousted in a coup led by her finance minister Nicephorus, who exiled her Lesbos, where she died the following year. Her devotion to icons led to her canonization in the Orthodox Church.
Estimate: 15000-18000 USD
Irene (AD 797-802). AV solidus (19mm, 4.45 gm, 6h). Constantinople, sole rule (AD 797-802). ЄIRIhH bASILISSH, crowned facing bust of Irene, wearing loros, crown with two pinnacles, holding globus cruciger in right hand and cross-tipped scepter in left / · ЄIRIhH bASILISSH X, crowned facing bust of Irene, wearing loros, holding globus cruciger in right hand and cross-tipped scepter in left. Sear 1599. DOC 1c. Rare. Well struck and lustrous. NGC MS 4/5 - 4/5, clipped (though weight is correct for issue). The brief sole reign of the Empress Irene was a milestone in both Roman and Byzantine history, as it marked the first time a woman ruled the Empire in her own right. Previous empresses had effectively wielded supreme power, but only by using a male figurehead as nominal ruler. After Constantine embarrassed the regime with a series of military blunders and public scandals, Irene had him ousted and blinded in 797, seizing sole power for herself. She tried to win popularity with generous handouts and tax reductions, but the state's coffers soon emptied and she faced a series of military disasters that further undermined her position. Furthermore, the accession of a female promoted the Pope in Rome to declare the imperial throne vacant and the Frankish king Charlemagne was duly crowned "Empror of the Romans" in 800. He in turn sent Irene an offer of marriage which might have united Eastern and Western Christendom under one government and changed the course of history, but it was not to be: In 802 Irene was ousted in a coup led by her finance minister Nicephorus, who exiled her Lesbos, where she died the following year. Her devotion to icons led to her canonization in the Orthodox Church.
Estimate: 15000-18000 USD