The boy king who had so much fun that he died

Discussion in 'Ancient Coins' started by ValiantKnight, May 5, 2016.

  1. ValiantKnight

    ValiantKnight Well-Known Member

    Athalaric, Ostrogothic Kingdom
    AE decanummium
    Obv: INVICT-A ROMA, Roma helmeted, facing right
    Rev: D N / ATHAL / ARICVS / REX, legend within wreath, X (10) below
    Mint: Rome; struck 526-534 AD
    Ref: COI 86; MIB 78; MEC 1, 133-4

    [​IMG]

    Just received a second Athalaric coin for my collection (I recently sold a nummus of him so I've had three altogether). I really like these legend-in-wreath Ostrogoth types with the king's name in them, and would buy more of these (along with many other coin types, goes without saying) if money was no object. I also have this type for Theodahad (almost had a Witiges as well :shifty:, so I'm still looking for a coin of him).

    Athalaric was the son of Eutharic and Amalasuntha, the latter being the daughter of the great King Theodoric of the Ostrogoths, making Athalaric his grandson. He was born in 516 AD, and he had a sister, Matasuntha. Theodoric had no male heir, so when he died in 526 AD, the ten year-old Athalaric was proclaimed king, but with his mother ruling in his name until he would become an adult. Amalasuntha, however, quickly found herself at odds against members of the Ostrogothic nobility. She wanted Athalaric to be educated and grow up like a Roman, while the nobles thought a tough and "Gothic" kind of upbringing was more suited for the young king. The nobles' influence won out, and Athalaric soon began to engage in heavy drinking and other indulgences. His health sharply declined and in 534 AD he died, at the age of 18.

    (the Ostrogothic Kingdom is in red)
    [​IMG]
     
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  3. JeffM-Houston

    JeffM-Houston Active Member

    Very cool bit of history.
     
    panzerman likes this.
  4. panzerman

    panzerman Well-Known Member

    Agreed! Nice coin, map layout.
     
    ValiantKnight likes this.
  5. chrsmat71

    chrsmat71 I LIKE TURTLES!

    cool VK, that reverse legend is clear as a bell.

    i still don't have any ostrogoth coins, here's a byzantine that i bet is pretty close to contemporary.


    [​IMG]
     
  6. stevex6

    stevex6 Random Mayhem

    Jango => congrats on scoring yourself a very cool and "readable" ostro-example!!!

    total winner (I like it)

    :rolleyes:
     
    Ancientnoob and ValiantKnight like this.
  7. TIF

    TIF Always learning.

    Great coin and writeup!

    Unfortunately, your interesting writeups have caused me to begin looking at the Migration Period section of auctions :D.
     
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  8. Mikey Zee

    Mikey Zee Delenda Est Carthago

    Wonderful write-up and such a cool coin!!! You have me constantly changing my wish list to accommodate 'barbarian' issues among all the others I still crave...
     
    ValiantKnight likes this.
  9. Dougmeister

    Dougmeister Well-Known Member

    "Party on, Wayne!"

    "Party on, Garth!"

    "Party on, Athalaric... (oh wait, dude... he's dead...)"
     
  10. ValiantKnight

    ValiantKnight Well-Known Member

    Thanks all!

    No you don't. You two will stick to collecting only Greeks, Romans, and everything else you currently collect.

    [​IMG]

    :D
     
    Last edited: May 7, 2016
  11. TypeCoin971793

    TypeCoin971793 Just a random guy on the internet

    I love it when coins are put into historical context. It makes them that much more interesting.
     
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  12. Alegandron

    Alegandron "ΤΩΙ ΚΡΑΤΙΣΤΩΙ..." ΜΕΓΑΣ ΑΛΕΞΑΝΔΡΟΣ, June 323 BCE

    LOL, well think / be Obiwan'ed of that whenever you get a hankering for RR's, Mr. Knight! :D
     
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  13. randygeki

    randygeki Coin Collector

  14. ValiantKnight

    ValiantKnight Well-Known Member

    Thanks for the additional compliments!
     
  15. Ancientnoob

    Ancientnoob Money Changer

    Nothing to see there...:yack:
     
    Jwt708, TIF and Alegandron like this.
  16. ValiantKnight

    ValiantKnight Well-Known Member

    You're darn right there isn't! :D But there's plenty in the Greek and early Roman sections, so go crazy there!
     
    Jwt708 likes this.
  17. ValiantKnight

    ValiantKnight Well-Known Member

    Thought I'd put up Athalaric's successor on here as well, Theodahad, who happened to be a nephew of Theodoric (making Theodahad Athalaric's great-cousin I think? If thats even a thing :confused:).

    Theodahad, Ostrogothic Kingdom
    AE decanummium
    Obv: INVICT-A ROMA, Roma helmeted, facing right
    Rev: D N / THEODA / HATHVS / REX within wreath, X below
    Mint: Rome (struck 534-536 AD)
    Ref: COI 90

    [​IMG]
     
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