House of Emirates® is thrilled to offer its elite clientele this extraordinary gold Byzantine Solidus of Emperor Heraclius, struck at the Constantinople mint between 610–641 AD, a masterpiece of imperial propaganda and sacred authority preserved in majestic gold.
Numista rarity index : 87/100, pretty high.
This exceptional coin survives as a silent witness to that legacy and is accompanied by a Certificate of Authenticity issued by our Numismatic Expert, Dr. Luca Salvaggio, ensuring its historical integrity and collectability as an investment-grade trasure.
Measuring 19 mm and weighing 4.5 grams, this Gold Solidus stands as a tangible relic from one of the most turbulent and transformative eras in Byzantine history, when the Eastern Roman Empire teetered between annihilation and renewal.
The reign of Heraclius marked a dramatic turning point for Byzantium. Ascending the throne in 610 AD amid civil war, economic exhaustion, and devastating Persian invasions, Heraclius inherited an empire on the brink of collapse. What followed was a saga of resilience unmatched in imperial history. Personally leading his armies deep into enemy territory, Heraclius achieved a miraculous reversal of fortune, defeating the Sassanian Persians after decades of humiliation, reclaiming the lost eastern provinces, and restoring the True Cross to Jerusalem. This coin was struck during those defining decades, when gold coinage was not merely currency, but a statement of divine legitimacy, military victory, and dynastic continuity.
The obverse legend DD NN HERACLIYS ET HERA CONST PP AVG introduces a rare and powerful dual portrait. To the left appears Heraclius, facing forward with a short beard, clad in the chlamys and wearing a flat crown surmounted by a cross, embodying the fusion of Roman imperial tradition and Christian kingship. To the right is his son and co-emperor, Heraclius Constantinus, depicted smaller and beardless, symbolizing succession, youth, and the future of the dynasty. Above both figures, the cross dominates the design, leaving no doubt that imperial authority now flowed directly from Christian faith. This was a bold ideological declaration struck in pure gold and circulated across the known world.
The reverse, bearing the legend VICTORIA AVGY E, proclaims triumph through a commanding cross potent set upon a base and three steps, widely interpreted as an allusion to Golgotha and the victory of Christianity itself. The letter I in the right field identifies the officina, while CONOB in the exergue—Constantinopolis Obryzum—guarantees the coin’s refined gold purity from the imperial mint of Constantinople. Together, these elements transform the solidus into a sacred object of state power, faith, and economic trust.
For centuries, the Byzantine solidus was the most respected gold currency in the world, accepted from Western Europe to the Middle East and beyond, its weight and purity virtually unchanged.
A coin of this caliber is not simply owned—it is inherited from history, embodying empire, faith, victory, and eternal gold in one breathtaking artifact.
