This might not be the prettiest coin in the world but it might have the coolest story to tell of all the coins I've bought this year! In a historic first, the empress Irene managed to be the first woman to claim power over the Roman Empire, something that would not have been possible had she not been as determined and cunning as she was and had her son Constantine VI (who she was meant to be the regent for until he became old enough to rule on his own) not proven to be so incompetent and ignorant as to his mother's true intentions. Ultimately the son failed to wrestle power back from the mother and was blinded on her orders. What I love about this coin is how there's a hole straight through where Constantine's face is supposed to be on the reverse while Irene's face is unblemished, summing up the story of their reign better than words could! Any of you have coins of one of the Roman Empire's only female rulers? BZ116670. Bronze follis, DOC III p. 345, 7; Morrisson BnF 26/Cp/AE/3; Wroth BMC 10; Tolstoi 17; Ratto 1779; SBCV 1598, VF, nice portrait of Irene, Constantine's head unstruck or flattened, tight flan, holed, Constantinople (Istanbul, Turkey) mint, weight 2.407g, maximum diameter 18.5mm, die axis 180o, Jan 792 - 19 Aug 797 A.D.; obverse facing crowned bust of Irene, wearing loros and crown with cross and pendilia, globus cruciger in right hand, cruciform scepter in left hand; reverse facing crowned bust of Constantine VI, beardless, wearing chlamys, globus cruciger in right hand, pellet on left, cross over pellet on right, all above horizontal bar; below bar a large M, flanked by smaller X left and N right, A below; ex Ira and Larry Goldberg auction 140 (3-5 Jun 2024), lot 1587 (part of); ex Paul Rynearson Collection of Holed Ancient Coins; scarce;
