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36 Solidi - Justinian I SALVS ET GLORIA ROMANORVM
| Issuer | Byzantine Empire |
|---|---|
| Year | 527-565 |
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| Value | 36 Solidi |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Nimbate three-quarter-face bust of Emperor Justinian I facing right, depicted in full imperial military regalia comprising an elaborately ornamented crested helmet with plume, diadem, cuirass, and paludamentum. The emperor holds an upright spear in his right hand, while a decorated shield is visible behind his left shoulder. The effigy is rendered in the hieratic late antique style characteristic of early Byzantine imperial portraiture, with strong facial modeling and richly detailed accoutrements. The obverse legend in Latin frames the bust. |
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| Obverse lettering | D N IVSTINIANVS P P AVG (Translation: D(-ominus) N(-oster) IVSTINIANVS P(-er-)P(-etuus) AVG(-ustus) `Our Lord Justinian, Perpetual Emperor`) |
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| Additional information |
This multiple-solidus piece belongs to a category of Byzantine gold struck not for commerce but for ceremonial distribution — donatives given to military commanders and senior officials, particularly at imperial accessions and anniversaries. Justinian I's reign saw an aggressive reassertion of Roman authority in the West, with campaigns reconquering North Africa from the Vandals by 534 and much of Italy from the Ostrogoths by 554, and issues of this weight class served as instruments of that political theater as much as anything transactional.
The BCV 134 attribution places this among the rarest survivable artifacts of the period. Most known examples derive from hoards rather than excavation, suggesting deliberate preservation by recipients who understood their value from the moment of receipt.