Constantine VI and Irene AV Solidus. Constantinople, AD 792-97. IRINH AΓOVSƮI, bust of Irene facing, wearing crown and loros, holding globus cruciger in right hand and cruciform sceptre in left / CONSƮANƮINOS bAS’ Θ, bust of Constantine VI facing, beardless, wearing crown and chlamys, holding globus cruciger in right hand and akakia to chest in left. Sear 1594; DOC 3. 4.47g, 20mm, 6h. Fleur De Coin. Exceptional in this grade. Perfect, lustrous surfaces. Very Rare. After the death of her husband Leo IV, Irene assumed the regency for her son Constantine VI, and on their earliest joint issues both are depicted holding the globus cruciger as a sign of sovereignty. Over the next decade they shared a complicated and, at times, uneasy ruling relationship with each trying to gain power over the other until in 790 Irene was exiled for a brief period; on the coinage, she is reduced to only holding a cruciform sceptre. However, when this piece was struck sometime after 792, Irene had re-established herself as the dominant force, and this is marked by a dramatic change in the style of the coinage, as Grierson clearly demonstrates (Byzantine Coins, Methuen & Co, London, 1982). Gone are the figures representing the deceased members of the ruling family that had characterised the gold coinage of the Isaurian Dynasty, and instead Irene is depicted on the obverse, once again holding the globus cruciger and styled in the legend as Augusta. Constantine, in contrast, is always shown beardless as though he were still a child, and his title is followed by the officina letter, clearly confirming that his portrait is on the reverse of the coin.