ARCADIUS
AD 383-408
AE2. 5.21g, 22.2mm
MINTED: Constantinople mint, AD 383-388
REF: RIC IX Constantinople 83c
OBVERSE: D N ARCADIVS P F AVGVSTVS, pearl-diademed, draped, and cuirassed bust left.
REVERSE: VIRTVS E-XERCITI, Emperor standing right, holding standard and globe, left foot on captive; cross in left field, CONSΓ in exergue.
 
Grade/Notes:
Fine. Two-tone brown patina. A pleasant example of the larger, AE2-sized Late Roman Bronze. A scarce variety with the obverse spelling out AVGVSTVS in full rather than the usual AVG.   
 
Historical Notes:
Arcadius was the eldest son of Theodosius I, but still a child when his father made him co-emperor in 383.  Arcadius's realm was the eastern half of the Roman Empire, and when Theodosius died in 395, the Western Roman Empire was inherited by his younger brother, Honorius.  Unlike his father, Arcadius proved to be weak-willed and ineffectual, concerned more with religious affairs than the governance of his domains.  Throughout his reign, he was either under the influence or caught between the power struggles of his his wife, Aelia Eudoxia, and a string of courtiers such as the eunuch Eutropius, the magister militum Gainus, and the Praetorian Prefects Rufinus and Anthemius.  He died of unknown causes in May 408 at the age of 31 and was suceeded by hi 7-year old son, Theodosius II.