Galeria Valeria (AD 293-311). AV aureus (20mm, 5.33 gm, 12h). NGC Choice AU 4/5 - 3/5. Nicomedia, ca. December AD 308-May AD 310. GAL VAL-ERIA AVG, diademed, draped bust of Galeria Valeria right, seen from front / VENERI V-I-CTRICI, Venus standing facing, head left, apple raised in right hand, fold of stola drawn up in left; SMN in exergue. Calicó 4964. RIC VI 53. Extremely rare with only three other examples of the type in sales archives. Featuring a simple yet elegant portrait of Galeria Valeria, this wonderful piece is well-struck on a flan that shines brightly and flashily. Ex Numismatica Ars Classica, Auction 138 (18 May 2023), lot 826; Numismatica Ars Classica 34 (24 November 2006), lot 81; Numismatica Ars Classica, Auction 27, (12 May 2004), lot 505. The daughter of Diocletian, Galeria Valeria became a pathetic pawn in the deadly power struggles of the early fourth century AD. Diocletian married her off to his junior emperor, Galerius Caesar, in AD 292 or 293, providing a dynastic link between the two houses. Although they had no children together, the couple seemed compatible and perhaps Valeria helped expand her husband's influence over her father. Although some sources claim she was a closet Christian, she does not appear to have resisted the Great Persecution, masterminded by her husband and implemented by her father. Diocletian's retirement in AD 305 brought her husband to supreme power, but the Tetrarchic system began breaking down almost immediately. In AD 311, Galerius was stricken with a wasting illness and on his deathbed asked his co-emperor Licinius I to look after Valeria. But she seems not to have trusted Licinius (for good reason, as it later turned out) and instead sought refuge in the court of Maximinus Daia, who proposed marriage to her. When she refused, Daia confiscated her wealth and banished her to Syria, despite the protests of the retired Diocletian. When civil war brought Daia's downfall in AD 313, she escaped with her mother to Thessalonica, where they remained in hiding until discovered by agents of Licinius in AD 315. Diocletian having died, Licinius cold-bloodedly ordered the execution of Valeria, her mother, and all other living relatives of previous Tetrarchs. HID09801242017 © 2024 Heritage Auctions | All Rights Reserved

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