GALERIA VALERIA, wife of Galerius
Augusta, AD 308 – 314
AE Follis. 6.12g, 25.3mm
MINTED: Siscia mint, AD 310-311
REF: RIC VI Siscia 211
OBVERSE: GAL VALERIA AVG, Diademed and draped bust right.
REVERSE: VENERI VICTIRCI, Venus standing left, holding apple and drawing robe over shoulder; crescent in left field, A in right field, SIS in exergue.

Grade/Notes: 
Very Fine/Fine. Deep black patina. Well-centered. Some roughness and porosity.
 
Provenance:
From an old Swiss collection, purchased in the 1960s or 1970s from Numiphil Basel (with their original ticket)
 
Historical Notes: 
Galeria Valeria was the daughter of Emperor Diocletian, and the wife of his successor, Galerius. When Galerius fell ill and died in 311, Galeria and her mother Prisca were forced to seek refuge at the court of Maximinus II. Maximinus proposed marriage to Galeria to strengthen his position against Emperor Licinius and his other rivals, but when she refused, he confiscated her properties and exiled her to Syria. Subsequently, Maximinus died in 313, and Licinius sought the death of both Galeria and her mother. They fled into hiding but were eventually discovered at Thessalonica, where Galeria was captured by a mob and beheaded in the central square of the city.