Catalog
Solidus - Anastasius I Dicorus SECVRITAS REIPVBLICAE, Constantinopolis
| Issuer | Byzantine Empire |
|---|---|
| Year | 507 |
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| Currency | First Solidus Nomisma (498-720) |
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|---|---|
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| Reverse description | The enthroned, nimbate figure of Emperor Anastasius I is depicted full-face, robed in consular dress and seated on a jewelled throne. He holds a mappa in his right hand and a sceptre surmounted by a globus cruciger in his left, symbolising imperial and divine authority. An eight-pointed star appears in the left field. The exergue bears the mint mark CONOB, denoting the Constantinople mint and confirming the gold standard, while the reverse legend SECVRITAS REIPVBLICAE encircles the composition. |
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| Mint | Constantinople Mint |
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| Additional information |
Anastasius I inherited a treasury so depleted by his predecessor Zeno that meaningful monetary reform had been impossible for decades. His solution — the sweeping copper coinage overhaul of 498 AD — is well documented, but the gold solidus was simultaneously being standardized in ways that matter for this specific type. The Constantinople mint's output under Anastasius is divided across multiple officinae and die marriages, and the MIB I Nb2 classification places this piece within a tightly defined emission tied to his later reign consolidation following the Isaurian wars.
Anastasius died in 518 leaving a surplus of 320,000 pounds of gold — a fiscal turnaround that began precisely in the years this solidus was struck.