VOT XX MVLT XXX

Bust of Galla Placidia to the right, draped with latin cross on right shoulder, wearing a diadem of pearls, a necklace of pearls and long earrings. Above, the hand of God crowning her.

An angel standing left and holding a long Latin cross adorned with jewels. A star above the angel.

Coin illustrated in RIC X plate 8 n° 231, source: Sale 73.4656. I noticed a Latin cross on the left shoulder. Its presence is uncertain, the quality of the photo and the wear of the coin do not allow us to be sure. The crosses are very often located on all coins of all types and all mints, at the bottom of the drapery. On the illustration of the RIC X, the bottom of the drapery clearly does not have a cross. But on the top of the shoulder there is a shape suggesting a cross. It sometimes happens that the cross is indeed located at the top of the shoulder as on this coin:

Photo of a coin sold the 04/11/2018 by Numismatic Naumann, Auction 71, lot 594, link to the sale: https://www.acsearch.info/search.html?id=5493717, link to their website: https://www.numismatik-naumann.at/.

On the reverse I noted ''Angel'' in the description. We can also say that this is Victoria but the image of the victory at that time had indeed become that of an angel symbolizing the Christian victory. I note that this character is probably also a representation of the Empress in the guise of the angel. Indeed, the character often wears the same double pearl diadem and the clothes are decorated like those of Galla Placidia. I have noticed many times that on the coinage of various Empresses the character on the reverse is depicted as the Empress.

Unlike other mints, the pearl necklace never seems double. I also notice that this type, whether without or with an officina mark and for the various obverse legends, always shows a Latin cross on the reverse with a dot on each side at the base. As well as a dot located above, at the end of the horizontal part of the cross on the left with another dot positioned in the same way at the other end of the cross. AYC #4 (1) better illustrates these dots. This detail seems unique to the Constantinople mint. There is at least one dot on the example illustrated by the RIC X.