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Solidus - Aelia Pulcheria VOT XX MVLT XXX, Constantinopolis
| Issuer | Eastern Roman Empire |
|---|---|
| Year | 423-424 |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | 4.42 g |
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| Obverse description | Pearl-diademed and draped bust of Aelia Pulcheria facing right, rendered three-quarter from the front, adorned with a necklace and earring. The hair is elaborately arranged in an intricately woven coiffure with a long plait drawn up the back of the head and secured beneath the diadem. Above, the hand of God descends from the upper field to bestow a wreath upon the empress, a compositional element expressing divine legitimacy. The obverse legend is inscribed in Latin around the bust. The portrait exhibits the refined, idealized court style characteristic of early fifth-century Constantinopolitan die engraving. |
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| Mintage | ND (423-424) CONOB - 10th officina (I) - ND (423-424) CONOB - 1st officina (A) - ND (423-424) CONOB - 2nd officina (B) - ND (423-424) CONOB - 3rd officina (Γ) - ND (423-424) CONOB - 4th officina (∆) - ND (423-424) CONOB - 5th officina (ϵ) - ND (423-424) CONOB - 6th officina (S) - ND (423-424) CONOB - 7th officina (Z) - ND (423-424) CONOB - 8th officina (H) - ND (423-424) CONOB - 9th officina (Θ) - ND (423-424) CONOB - without officina mark - |
| Additional information |
Aelia Pulcheria assumed the regency of the Eastern Empire in 414 at roughly fifteen years old, declaring herself a consecrated virgin in a move that simultaneously shielded her from dynastic marriage pressure and consolidated religious authority in her own hands. The VOT XX MVLT XXX votive legend dates this solidus to the vicennalia celebrations of Theodosius II in 423–424, placing it squarely within Pulcheria's years of effective political dominance over her younger brother's court at Constantinople.
Her name on an imperial solidus was itself a statement. Female regnal coinage from this mint in this period is genuinely scarce in the archaeological record.