Sale: Triton VI, Lot: 1222. Estimate $2000.  Closing Date: Monday, 13 January 2003.  Sold For $3000. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

THEODORA. 1055-1056 AD. AV Tetarteron (4.04 gm). Constantinople mint. IC XC, Christ, nimbate, enthroned facing, holding Gospels / +QEODW ,font face=symbol>LUGOU, crowned facing bust of Theodora, wearing saccos and loros, holding sceptre and globus cruciger. DOC III 2.10; BN 5 var. (legend); SB 1838. EF. Very Rare. ($2000)

Theodora was the sole surviving member of the Macedonian dynasty founded by Basil I, and she and her sister Zoe had influenced court affairs either directly or covertly for nearly thirty years, through the reigns of Romanus III, Michael IV, Michael V and Constantine IX. After the death of Constantine she ruled in her own name for over a year, the first empress to do so since Irene. The elderly empress ruled with a firm hand, in stark contrast to the weak emperors that preceded and followed her.