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Sale 72
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Lot 4224
Theodosius I, AD 379-395. Silver Medallion of 8 Siliquae (or 3 Light Miliarense) (12.92g) minted at Rome, AD 383-392. D N THEODO-SIVS P F AVG. Pearl-diademed, draped, and cuirassed bust of Theodosius right. Reverse: TRIVMFATOR GENT BARB. Theodosius, in military attire, standing slightly right, head left, holding labarum in crook of right arm, globe in left hand; to left, barbarian captive kneeling; R T in exergue. Gnecchi 7; RIC IX 52a; Toynbee pl. XXXIII, 8 (same obv. die); Cohen 34. Of far better quality than the two examples previously recorded. Gray toning with golden hues around the devices. A spectacular example with an impressive portrait, struck on sound metal. Of the highest rarity. Only the third specimen known. Extremely Fine.
Theodosius I, the Great was the last man to rule the entire Roman Empire and was a formative figure of the medieval era. His father, Theodosius the Elder, was a powerful general in the Roman army under the emperor Valentinian I (AD 364-375) and the younger Theodosius served under him during the critical British campaign of AD 367-368. He won rapid advancement and was made governor of Moesia in AD 375, but a period of disgrace followed the execution of his father for high treason in AD 376. Theodosius retired to his Spanish estates, but the disastrous battle of Adrianople in AD 378, in which the Goths smashed the Roman field army and killed the East Roman Emperor Valens, brought about his recall. Gratian, emperor of the West, appointed Theodosius as co-Augustus in January of AD 379, tasking him with restoring the shattered East Roman army and quelling the Gothic revolt. Years of arduous campaigning forced the Goths into relative submission in AD 382, but the peace treaty settled them in Thrace and allowed them a great deal of autonomy. In January of AD 383, Theodosius proclaimed his six-year-old son Arcadius as co-emperor, but in the same year Gratian was slain and replaced by the usurper Magnus Maximus. Civil war broke out in AD 388, when Maximus invaded Italy and Theodosius moved west to meet and defeat him. Theodosius remained in Italy for three more years to settle affairs and returned to Constantinople in AD 391, but the usurpation of Eugenius brought about another destructive civil war in AD 394. Again, Theodosius won the day and remained supreme over both halves of the Empire until his premature death in January of AD 395. A zealous Catholic, Theodosius had issued numerous edicts against paganism that effectively made Christianity the empire's state religion, leading later church authorities to hail him as "the Great."
This remarkable silver medallion was struck in Rome; comparable medallions have been recorded for Arcadius and Valentinian II, but not for Gratian, suggesting the issue postdates the latter's death in August of AD 383. On the reverse, Theodosius is depicted as "Vanquisher of the Barbarian Peoples," probably alluding to his hard-fought settlement with the Goths in AD 382.
Estimated Value $80,000 - 90,000.
Ex Numismatica Ars Classica 62, lot 2114.
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