Johannes, usurper, 423-425. Tremissis (Gold, 13 mm, 1.46 g, 6 h), Ravenna. D N IOHAN-NES P F AVG Pearl-and-rosette-diademed, draped and cuirassed bust of Johannes to right. Rev. VICTORIA AVGVSTORVM / R - V / COMOB Victory advancing right, holding wreath in her right hand and globus cruciger in her left. Depeyrot 12/3. RIC 1904. Very rare. Struck from somewhat worn dies and with minor graffiti, otherwise, very fine.


Johannes ascended to power following the sudden death of Honorius on 15 August 423, which left the Western Roman Empire without a ruler for three months. With Theodosius II in Constantinople hesitating to appoint a successor, Johannes was declared emperor on 20 November 423 by the Roman Senate and the military leadership in Italy. Little is known about his personal background, except that he was a Christian and possibly of Gothic origin. Johannes sought to reach an agreement with Theodosius II, but the Eastern emperor instead appointed his five-year-old nephew, Valentinian, as Caesar of the West in 424 and dispatched an army to Italy to remove the usurper. Johannes was overthrown and killed in May 425 as part of a conspiracy, and Valentinian, who would later be known as Valentinian III, succeeded him. Notably, Johannes was the last Western Roman emperor to depict himself with a beard on his coinage.