cf.S-1602. RARE. Bust of Irene wearing crown and loros, facing, holding globus cruciger and cruciform scepter, pellet in left field; Reverse: Bust of Irene wearing crown and loros, facing, holding globus cruciger and cruciform scepter, "C" in left field, "I" in right field. The first woman who ruled the Byzantine Empire by her own authority. Irene plotted the downfall of her son and predecessor Constantine IV and assumed the throne after her son was exiled and blinded. Her rule was marred by failings, most notably a great financial deterioration which further weakened the Empire and prevented the necessary resistance it could muster against the competing regional powers, notably the Arab Abbasid Dynasty, the Bulgarians and the new empire in the West under Charles the Great, whos coronation took place in Rome in 800. Well centered, lustrous and with abundant eye appeal.NGC MS, Strike: 4/5 Surface: 4/5.
