Solidus in the name of Basiliscus

Basiliscus ruled as Eastern emperor for just twenty months before Zeno retook Constantinople in 476 — the same year this piece was struck in Italy under Odoacer, who deposed Romulus Augustulus and simply continued issuing coinage in the name of whichever Eastern figure held nominal legitimacy. Basiliscus himself died shortly after his deposition, reportedly sealed in a waterless tower in Cappadocia and left to starve. That this solidus invokes his name while he was already a fugitive emperor underscores how disconnected Italian mint operations had become from political reality in the East.