Solidus (Coin) of Emperor Theodosius I

383 (25 August)-388 (28 August)

Byzantine; minted in Constantinople (now Istanbul)

The front of this coin portrays the Emperor Theodosius I facing right.

On the back the personification of Rome sits with her foot on the prow of a vessel, holding a spear and a shield which bears an as yet untranslated inscription.

Status: On View, Gallery 153
Department: Arts of the Ancient Mediterranean and Byzantium

Culture: Byzantine
Title: Solidus (Coin) of Emperor Theodosius I
Place: Istanbul (Minted in)
Date Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.: Struck 383 CE–388 CE
Medium: Gold
Inscriptions: Obverse: D N THEODOSIVS P F AVG "Our Lord Theodosius, pious and fortunate Augustus" Reverse: CONCORDIA AVGGG I (In exergue: CONOB)
Dimensions: Diam.: 2.1 cm (7/8 in.)
Credit Line: Gift of Martin A. Ryerson
Reference Number: 1922.4904
IIIF Manifest The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world. Learn more.: https://api.artic.edu/api/v1/artworks/5723/manifest.json

Karen B. Alexander, “From Plaster to Stone: Ancient Art at the Art Institute of Chicago,” in Karen Manchester, Recasting the Past: Collecting and Presenting Antiquities at the Art Institute of Chicago (Chicago: Art Institute of Chicago; New Haven: Yale University Press, 2012),
p. 29.
Karen Manchester, Recasting the Past: Collecting and Presenting Antiquities at the Art Institute of Chicago (Chicago: Art Institute of Chicago; New York: Yale University Press, 2012), pp. 104-106, 114, cat. 26.
Elizabeth Hahn Benge, “From Aegina to Andronicus: A Survey of Coinage at the Art Institute of Chicago,” in Historia Mundi n. 5 (January 2016), p. 213.

Martin A. Ryerson (1856-1932), Chicago; given to the Art Institute of Chicago, 1922.

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Date Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.

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Date Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.

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IIIF Manifest The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world. Learn more.

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IIIF Manifest The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world.

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