I’m the only boss

“The obverse and the reverse are identical. How come?”, said Maurizio. “Yes, that is quite remarkable, Maurizio. The repetition of the same imperial type on both sides was unprecedented on Byzantine coinage before Irene. But this doesn’t mean that there weren’t similar designs. There was in that same century a similar coin with two portraits, but this concerned two different emperors (Leo III and Constantine V, see attached images).Kotsis, K., ‘Defining Female Authority in Eighth-Century Byzantium: The Numismatic Images of the Empress Irene (797–802)’, Journal of Late Antiquity 5:1 (2012) 196-198

The double portrait of Irene accentuated the absence of imperial colleagues on her coins. Because she wasn’t a descendant within the lineage of her husband, the so-called Isaurian dynasty, she lacked a predecessor with whom she could be associated. Putting her son on the coin would be very strange, as she had overthrown him and her grandson had died, too. Flipping the coin doesn’t present another portrait: you cannot escape from Irene. The messages are clear: Irene is the sole ruler and the Isaurian dynasty has ended. There will be a new dynasty.”

“Something is still puzzling me”, said Maurizio. “There is a hole in the coin. What is the cause of that?”