| Heritage World Coin Auctions > Showcase Auction 61386 | Auction date: 21 April 2024 |
| Lot number: 24193 Price realized: 3,400 USD (Approx. 3,191 EUR) Note: Prices do not include buyer's fees. | Show similar lots on CoinArchives Find similar lots in upcoming auctions on  |
| Lot description: Ancients Theodora, Sole Reign (AD 1055-1056). AV tetarteron nomisma (20mm, 3.99 gm, 6h). NGC AU 5/5 - 4/5. Constantinople. IC-XC barred, bust of Christ facing, wearing nimbus cruciger with two pellets in each limb, pallium and colobium, right hand raised in benediction, book of Gospels cradled in left / + ΘЄOΔWIA-AVΓOC, half length bust of Theodora facing, wearing saccos, loros, and jeweled crown surmounted by cross and four pinnacles, with pendilia, globus cruciger in left hand, jeweled scepter in right. Sear 1838. Theodora was one of two daughters born to the Emperor Constantine VIII (AD 1025-1028). Unlike her sister Zoe, whom she detested, Theodora was bookish and solitary, preferring the life of the convent to the company of men. She was not above involving herself in the imperial family's intrigues, however, and in AD 1042, she briefly reigned as co-Empress with Zoe. However, the sisters could not agree on anything and Zoe was hastily married off to the aristocrat Constantine Monomachus, who accepted the throne as Constantine IX. Having outlasted all other members of the Macedonian dynasty, Theodora accepted the purple as sole ruler after the death of Constantine IX, in January AD 1055. On the whole she ruled with frugality, caution, and competence, but her micro-management of affairs earned criticism. After 18 months on the throne, she fell seriously ill and chose for her successor the highly unsuitable civil servant Michael VI Bringas. Her death, in August AD 1056, brought the 187-year run of the Macedonian dynasty to a close. https://coins.ha.com/itm/ancients/byzantine/ancients-theodora-sole-reign-ad-1055-1056-av-tetarteron-nomisma-20mm-399-gm-6h-ngc-au-5-5-4-5/a/61386-24193.s?type=DA-DMC-CoinArchives-WorldCoins-61386-04212024 HID02906262019 © 2024 Heritage Auctions | All Rights Reserved |  |
