Aelia Flaccilla AE2 Bronze — Empress of Theodosius I

Own a Bronze Coin from the Mother of Arcadius and Honorius

A real Roman AE2 bronze of Aelia Flaccilla—wife of Theodosius I, mother of the future emperors Arcadius and Honorius, and an empress remembered by Christian writers especially for her piety and charitable activity.

✓ NGC Certified
✓ Guaranteed Authentic
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📷 Coin shown is a representative example. You will receive one authentic NGC-certified AE2 bronze of Aelia Flaccilla. Each coin is unique and will vary in grade, strike, centering, preservation, patina, and individual appearance.

👑 Wife of Theodosius I and mother of the emperors Arcadius and Honorius
🙏 Remembered in late antique Christian sources for personal piety and charity
🤲 An NGC-certified bronze from the Theodosian dynasty during the transformation of the late Roman Empire

Own This Piece of History

Why This Coin Matters

Aelia Flaccilla was the first wife of Theodosius I and became Augusta during a decisive period in the Christianization of the Roman imperial court.

Christian authors, especially Theodoret of Cyrrhus, praised her charitable activity and described her personally assisting the poor, sick, and disabled. These accounts were written within a tradition that presented exemplary Christian rulers in strongly moral terms, but they remain important evidence for the reputation Flaccilla acquired in Late Antiquity.

Her coinage also reflects the changing visual language of the late fourth-century court. Issues in her name can show the empress with explicitly Christian-associated symbols and gestures, including a chi-rho on some types and imagery of Victory and imperial piety. The precise meaning of individual reverse designs should be interpreted by type rather than assuming every Flaccilla coin carries the same religious message.

Flaccilla was the mother of Arcadius and Honorius. After Theodosius I died in AD 395, Arcadius ruled in the East and Honorius in the West. This succession entrenched separate eastern and western imperial administrations, although contemporaries still understood both courts as belonging to a single Roman Empire.

Flaccilla herself had died years earlier, probably in AD 386, and did not witness the succession of her sons.

It is reasonable to see her as an important early example of Christian imperial womanhood, but claiming that she single-handedly established the model followed by Byzantine empresses for centuries goes beyond the evidence. Her significance is strong enough without that extrapolation.

This AE2 bronze connects directly to the imperial family that would dominate Roman politics at the end of the fourth century and into the fifth.

Perfect For

• Collectors of the Theodosian dynasty
• Students of Late Roman Christian history
• Collectors of Roman imperial women
• NGC-certified ancient coin collectors
• History enthusiasts interested in the transition from Late Rome to Byzantium

What You'll Receive

• One authentic Roman AE2 bronze of Aelia Flaccilla
• Ruler: Aelia Flaccilla Augusta
• Period: reign of Theodosius I, before her death c. AD 386
• Denomination: AE2 Bronze
• NGC certified for authenticity and preservation
• Presented in an NGC holder
• Representative example of the type (each coin is unique)

Buy with Confidence

• NGC certified for authenticity and preservation
• Carefully sourced and verified
• 30-day return policy
• Secure shipping from the U.S.

Learn More

Continue the story in the Kinzer Coins Journal: Aelia Flaccilla Coins: Theodosius I, Christian Empress and the Victory Reverse.