Classical Numismatic Group, LLC - Triton XXVIII – Sessions 1-4 . 797 Numistats ref: 673286

No match
Roman Imperial Category
Galla Placidia. Augusta, AD 421-450. AV Solidus (21.5mm, 4.46 g, 6h). Constantinople mint, 10th officina. Struck under Theodosius II and Valentinian III, AD 423-425. AEL PLACI DIA AVG, pearl-diademed and draped bust right, wearing earring and necklace; being crowned by manus Dei above / VOT XX MVLT XXX, Victory, draped, standing left, holding long jeweled cross in right hand and fold of drapery in left; star in upper left field; I//CONOB. RIC X 230; Depeyrot 75/4; Biaggi –; Mazzini –. Toned, slight doubling, spot of die rust on obverse. Near EF. Extremely rare from this officina, with fewer than twenty known of all. An excellent example for this very difficult issue.


Galla Placidia, daughter of Theodosius I, was born in AD 392. Following the siege of Rome in 408-410, the princess was captured by Visigothic armies under Alaric and his successor Ataulf, whom she later married. This marriage failed to produce the intended Romano-Gothic dynasty, as Ataulf was murdered after only a short time in power. By 416 Galla had been restored to the Roman court in the west.

Galla continued to be involved in court politics and, in 417, married Constantius III, then magister militum. She bore a son, the future Valentinian III. Unfortunately, her husband’s reign as co-emperor with Honorius was cut short by his untimely death. For a time, the widow remained on friendly terms with the emperor, but by 423, Galla and her son had fled to Constantinople and the court of Theodosius II. She would return to the Italian peninsula at the head of a large army in 424 to overthrow Johannes, who had been raised to the purple following the death of Honorius, after which Galla ruled in the west as regent to her son, Emperor Valentinian III.

Despite her major role in the political affairs of the early 5th century, Galla’s true passion was for the Church. She tolerated neither heretics nor non-believers in her government and was involved in the construction of numerous churches and chapels. Among these works was the San Giovanni Evangelista in Ravenna, built in fulfillment of a vow made when Galla and her children were caught in a storm on the Adriatic during their flight from Italy. Galla Placidia died in AD 450, her mausoleum is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Description
Near EF Grade
2876.25 EUR Starting
4793.75 EUR Estimate
EUR Realized