Gold solidus of Justinian I, struck between 527 and 565
A gold solidus of Justinian I, struck at Constantinople between 527 and 565: the emperor in a plumed helmet, facing, with shield and cross-globe. Los Angeles County Museum of Art, gift of Dr Robert Majer, M.79.126.6.
Coin of the reign the pandemic struck. The plague reached Constantinople in 541, fourteen years into Justinian's rule, and this type was in circulation while it did its work. No contemporary picture of the epidemic survives; what survives is the state that met it.
public-domain — source (Wikimedia Commons (LACMA)). Free to reuse under the stated licence.
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