Gold Solidus of Valentinian I (364–75)

Unknown

364–375 · Gold · Medieval Art

Valentinian restored Christian symbols, including the Chi-Rho emblem atop the emperor's standard. Coins connected an emperor to his subjects. He paid the army in coins, received taxes in coins, and was responsible for maintaining their weight and purity. These coins of early Byzantine emperors conveyed imperial ideals through inscriptions and images.

Artist

Unknown

Date

364–375

Medium

Gold

Culture

Byzantine

Department

Medieval Art

Credit line

Gift of Helen Miller Gould, 1910