Ancient Art & Numismatics
B15 A Rare Byzantine Gold Solidus of Constantine VI and Irene (780-797 C.E.), Probably the Finest Known
Constantine VI and Irene, 780 – 797
Solidus circa 797-802, AV 4.38 g. EIRINH – bASILISSH Crowned bust of Irene facing, wearing loros, holding globus cruciger and cruciform sceptre. Rev. EIRINH – bASILISSHQ Crowned bust of Irene facing, wearing loros, holding globus cruciger and cruciform sceptre. DO 1a.2. Sear 1599.
Rare and possibly the finest specimen know. A perfect Fdc
The legacy of Irene on Byzantine coinage began in 780, when she assumed the regency for her son, Constantine VI, and ended with her removal from the throne in 802. The entire series has been studied by Franz Füeg, who presents a convincing arrangement in his Corpus of the Nomismata from Anastasius II to John I in Constantinople, 713-976.
Füeg suggests she did not appear on the initial type of 780-787, which shows on its obverse her son seated beside his deceased father, Leo IV, and on its reverse the young emperor’s deceased grandfather and great-grandfather. The type makes sense for such a young emperor, who still had not reached the age of majority, for it stresses his dynastic qualifications.
What followed from 787 to 793 is a series that demonstrates a significant rise in the profile of Irene, for she is portrayed beside her son. The other side is dedicated to Constantine VI’s deceased father, grandfather and great-grandfather, all three of whom are shown seated.
In the next series, which Füeg places from 793 to 797, the ancestors are shed and the coins are devoted wholly to mother and son. While Constantine VI is portrayed on the reverse, Irene occupies the obverse. Her facing bust is topped with a crown that chroniclers of the 10th Century call a ‘modiolos’; the iconic spikes that radiate from her diadem may, in fact, be stylized flowers or palm fronds.
The last phase of Irene’s coinage was struck from 797 to 802, after the poor character of Constantine VI had made it possible for his mother to have him deposed and blinded. With that remarkable event, the throne of Constantinople was now occupied solely by Irene, making her the first woman to rule in her own right. Her reign did not long endure, though. After manifold problems she fell victim to a palace coup and was sent into exile, dying not long afterward.
These final solidi are extraordinary in that Irene’s portrait appears twice. It is hard to imagine what prompted the idea of occupying both sides with the same design. Both portraits and inscriptions are absolutely identical except for the inconsequential detail that the reverse inscription is followed by a control mark.
Memories of the rebellion remained strong with Constantine V, presumably because it was conceived by his brother-in-law and elder sister. We are told by Theophanes that three decades later a resentful Constantine V forced Anna to exhume the bones of her late husband and toss them into charnel pits reserved for executed criminals.
NAC59, 1237
B15 A Rare Byzantine Gold Solidus of Constantine VI and Irene (780-797 C.E.), Probably the Finest Known
Constantine VI and Irene, 780 – 797
Solidus circa 797-802, AV 4.38 g. EIRINH – bASILISSH Crowned bust of Irene facing, wearing loros, holding globus cruciger and cruciform sceptre. Rev. EIRINH – bASILISSHQ Crowned bust of Irene facing, wearing loros, holding globus cruciger and cruciform sceptre. DO 1a.2. Sear 1599.
Rare and possibly the finest specimen know. A perfect Fdc
The legacy of Irene on Byzantine coinage began in 780, when she assumed the regency for her son, Constantine VI, and ended with her removal from the throne in 802. The entire series has been studied by Franz Füeg, who presents a convincing arrangement in his Corpus of the Nomismata from Anastasius II to John I in Constantinople, 713-976.
Füeg suggests she did not appear on the initial type of 780-787, which shows on its obverse her son seated beside his deceased father, Leo IV, and on its reverse the young emperor’s deceased grandfather and great-grandfather. The type makes sense for such a young emperor, who still had not reached the age of majority, for it stresses his dynastic qualifications.
What followed from 787 to 793 is a series that demonstrates a significant rise in the profile of Irene, for she is portrayed beside her son. The other side is dedicated to Constantine VI’s deceased father, grandfather and great-grandfather, all three of whom are shown seated.
In the next series, which Füeg places from 793 to 797, the ancestors are shed and the coins are devoted wholly to mother and son. While Constantine VI is portrayed on the reverse, Irene occupies the obverse. Her facing bust is topped with a crown that chroniclers of the 10th Century call a ‘modiolos’; the iconic spikes that radiate from her diadem may, in fact, be stylized flowers or palm fronds.
The last phase of Irene’s coinage was struck from 797 to 802, after the poor character of Constantine VI had made it possible for his mother to have him deposed and blinded. With that remarkable event, the throne of Constantinople was now occupied solely by Irene, making her the first woman to rule in her own right. Her reign did not long endure, though. After manifold problems she fell victim to a palace coup and was sent into exile, dying not long afterward.
These final solidi are extraordinary in that Irene’s portrait appears twice. It is hard to imagine what prompted the idea of occupying both sides with the same design. Both portraits and inscriptions are absolutely identical except for the inconsequential detail that the reverse inscription is followed by a control mark.
Memories of the rebellion remained strong with Constantine V, presumably because it was conceived by his brother-in-law and elder sister. We are told by Theophanes that three decades later a resentful Constantine V forced Anna to exhume the bones of her late husband and toss them into charnel pits reserved for executed criminals.
NAC59, 1237