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.

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

Culture: Byzantine
Title: Solidus (Coin) of Emperor Theodosius I
Origin: Constantinople
Date: 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; 4.50 g
Credit Line: Gift of Martin A. Ryerson
Reference Number: 1922.4904

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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