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| Classical Numismatic Group > Triton XXIX | Auction date: 13 January 2026 |
| Lot number: 917 Price realized: 4,500 USD (Approx. 3,852 EUR) Note: Prices do not include buyer's fees. | Show similar lots on CoinArchives Find similar lots in upcoming auctions on  |
| Lot description: Odovacar. King, AD 476-493. AV Tremissis (14mm, 1.47 g, 6h). In the name of the Eastern Emperor Zeno. Mediolanum (Milan) mint. Struck AD 476-491. D N ZENO PERP ΛVG, pearl-diademed, draped, and cuirassed bust right / Cross within wreath with large central jewel; COMO[B]. RIC X 3610; Lacam Type 1, pls. CXCIX-B (1st-3rd illustrations) and 53, 66-67; MEC I, 58-60; Toffanin 545/5; Ulrich-Bansa pl. XV, 180α (same obv. die). Toned, trace deposits, tiny flan flaws, minor die wear on obverse. Good VF. Very rare. From an earlier obverse die state than the Ulrich-Bansa coin. This coinage dates to the period of Zeno's second reign wherein Odovacar was still attempting to be recognized as the legitimate Western ruler by the recalcitrant Zeno. From the James A. Lock Collection. Traditionally, the reign of Flavius Odovacar (AD 476-493) has been viewed as the end of the Western Roman Empire and the beginning of the Middle Ages in the West. A member of the foederati – allied Germanic tribes who served in the Roman army in return for land – Odovacar was appointed their leader in Italy in AD 475 by the magister militum Orestes, who promised in return a third of the Italian peninsula if Odovacar and his Germans would assist Orestes' revolt against the western emperor, Julius Nepos. Following the defeat of Nepos, Orestes elevated his son, Romulus, to the rank of Augustus, and immediately set about revoking his earlier arrangement with the foederati. Consequently, Odovacar revolted against Orestes, who was ultimately defeated and executed. Subsequently, Odovacar was proclaimed rex Italiae and, on 4 September AD 476, he compelled the young Romulus to abdicate, sending the imperial insignia to Zeno in Constantinople, and thus ending Roman imperial rule in the West. Zeno, however, insisted that the exiled Julius Nepos was still the legitimate western ruler and refused to recognize Odovacar's reign as legitimate. For his part, Odovacar instituted a number of wise policies during his reign, provided his foederati with lands in Italy and made them beneficiaries of a special tax. He retained the Roman administration, senate, legal institutions, and tax system – all of which gained him the support of the senate and people. This popularity, along with Odovacar's military successes against the Vandals and his alliances with the Visigoths and Franks, prompted Zeno, the Roman emperor in the East, to push for Odovacar's removal from power. In AD 488, Zeno called on the Ostrogothic king, Theoderic, to overthrow Odovacar. Over the next five years, Theoderic slowly pushed Odovacar back to the old Roman capital at Ravenna where, after a protracted siege, in AD 493, Odovacar surrendered. Under the terms of the peace, Theoderic and Odovacer would share the rule of Italy. At the banquet arranged to celebrate this treaty, however, Theoderic killed Odovacar with his own hands and promptly proceeded to eliminate Odovacar's family and supporters. Estimate: 750 USD |  |
