ZENO, RIC 910, Date 476-491 AD, GOLD SOLIDUS Constantinopolis, Victory, 1st Officina

★ Near extremely fine, good very fine condition - very unusual with deliberate punchmark - with the obvious clipping, perhaps a local reevaluation(?) - nice details at booth sides - full legends at booth sides - clipped - lovely toned - from the Maggiore Collection - ex Leu Numismatics Auction ★
Flavius Zeno
Reign: Zeno, second reign
Mint: Constantinople
Date: 476/491 AD
Nominal: Solidus
Material: Gold
Diameter: 19mm
Weight: 4.07g
Pedigree: From the Maggiore Collection
Pedigree: Ex Leu Numismatics Winterthur, Switzerland, Auction 6, Lot 1215, 9 December 2017
Reference: Depeyrot 108/1
Reference: RIC X Zeno (East) 910
OCRE Online: numismatics.org/ocre/id/ric.1...
Obverse: Bust of Zeno, helmeted, pearl-diademed, cuirassed, facing front, holding spear in right hand behind head and shield decorated with horseman on left arm
Inscription: D N ZENO PERP AVG
Translation: Dominus Noster Leo Perpetuus Augustus
Translation: Our Lord Leo, Perpetual Augustus
Reverse: Winged Victory standing left, holding with left hand a long jewelled cross; in right field, a star. Officina mark ending the lettering (Δ) and CONOB in exergue
Inscription: VICTORIA AVGGG A CONOB
Translation: Victoria Augustorum, Alpha, Constantinopolis Obryzum
Translation: Victory of the Augusts, Mintmark A Alpha = 1st officina, Constantinople 1/72 pound pure gold
Comment: Zeno, Latin Flavius Zeno (died April 9, 491 AD), was (Eastern) Roman Emperor from January 29, 474 AD until his death. He ruled as sole ruler from November 474 AD, interrupted by a 20-month exile from January 475 to July 476 AD. Popular uprisings and religious factions characterized his reign, but he managed to stabilize the Roman east with great difficulty. He was quite successful in foreign policy and was able to keep peace with the Sassanids. During his reign, the Western Roman Empire was abolished (476 or 480 AD), making Zeno de iure the sole emperor in the Roman Empire. Tarasicodissa (or Trascalissaeus), as he was known before his reign, was a member of the Isaurian tribe who lived in Isauria in the southwestern Anatolian mountains. The Romans viewed these “wild mountain people” as barbarians, even though they had already had Roman citizenship for over two centuries and were members of the Roman Empire. The frequently found claim that Tarasicodissa was an Isaurian "chief" is an assumption of modern research that has no support in the sources. Rather, he may have been one of many Roman soldiers of Isaurian origin who served the Eastern Roman emperors at the time. His father Flavius Zeno had already risen to great heights and even held the consulship in 448 AD.
However, Zeno was not accepted by the people and the elites because of the questionable legitimacy of his rule; there were revolts. His mother-in-law Verina allegedly hatched a plot to bring her brother Basiliscus, who had been the admiral in charge of the failed African expedition in 468 AD, to the throne, which succeeded in January 475 AD. Zeno was forced to spend the next 20 months in exile and used this time to build an army. The mismanagement and the growing unpopularity of Basiliscus among the army enabled Zeno to retake Constantinople without resistance in August 476 AD, after another army under General Illus defected to him and Armatus, Basiliscus' nephew, also switched sides had. Basiliscus was banished to Phrygia or Cappadocia, where he died shortly afterwards. In 480 AD, Julius Nepos died in Dalmatia, and Zeno became the all-Roman emperor from then on. However, in view of the weakness of his own position, in contrast to Leo I, he initially effectively wrote off most of the western territories when Odoacer no longer adhered to the agreements after a few years: Zeno was probably the Eastern Roman emperor with the least interest in the West. However, this corresponded above all to a realistic assessment of the situation. Zeno died on April 9, 491 AD, and since he had long outlived his only child, his wife Ariadne took a leading member of the court, Flavius Anastasius, as her husband and successor in imperial honors. Zenon's brother Flavius Longinus, who also had ambitions, was left behind and was passed over (the empire was not formally hereditary even in late antiquity).