Obverse: Dotted frame enclosing a bust of Verina in profile, with diadem. In the upper part a schematic manus dei holding a crown. In the field, in circular arrangement, the inscription: AELYERI. NAAYC (Ael(ia) Verina Aug(usta)).
Reverse: Dotted frame enclosing a standing Nike facing left, holding a large cross in the right hand. In the field, in circular arrangement, the inscription: VICTORI A AYCCC (Victoria Aug(usto-rum)) = Victory of the Augusti. In the exergue the inscription: CONOB (Con(stantinopolis) ob(ryzum)) = Constantinople, of pure gold.
Read moreWith the monetary reform of Constantine the Great, the solidus was established as the basic monetary unit of the empire. Its weight was 1/72 libra of pure gold and its denominations were the semission and the tremission, that is one half and one third of its value respectively. Its weight and purity of gold remained stable until the tenth century, and thus it acquired the status of an international currency, circulating from Scandinavia to the Indies. In the West it was known as the bezant, corruption of the word Byzantine.
Aelia Verina was the wife of Leon I, whom she married before his ascent to the throne, and mother of the subsequent empress Ariadne. Coins with her bust must have been minted only during her husband’s reign (457-474). She died around 484, in the fortress of Papyrion in Isauria.
CONSTANTINE SCAMPAVIAS
