THEODOSIUS II. 402-450 AD. AV Solidus (21mm, 4.46 gm). Thessalonica mint. Struck 430-440 AD. D N THEODOSIVS P F AVG, diademed and helmeted three-quarter facing bust, holding spear over right shoulder and shield / VOT XXX MVLT XXXX, Constantinopolis enthroned left, foot on prow, holding globus cruciger and sceptre; star in right field; TESOB. RIC X 366; DOCLR 390; D.M. Metcalf, "The Minting of Gold Coinage at Thessalonica in the Fifth and Sixth Centuries and the Gold Currency in Illyricum and Dalmatia" in
Studies in Early Byzantine Gold Coinage, ANSNS 17 (1988), 29ff (unlisted dies); Depeyrot 52. Superb EF with considerable lustre. Rare.
The Thessalonican mint solidi of Theodosius II are often unwittingly referred to by dealers as rare. They are, in fact, not; Dr. Metcalf records 130 specimens. However, there are four substantive types, and this particular type is indeed rare with Metcalf (1988) recording just six specimens and Depeyrot (1996) recording nine.
