Obverse: GAL VALERIA AVG; Diademed and
Draped Bust of the Empress Facing Right
Reverse: VENERI VICTRICI; Venus Standing to
the Left, Holding an Apple; S M T S (in
exergue)
Galeria Valeria was the daughter of Emperor
Diocletian and married Galerius upon his
elevation as Caesar in 293 A.D. in order to
cement the alliance between the two rulers.
However, it appears as though their marriage
was not a happy one. The couple produced no
children. After Galerius died in 311 A.D.,
Valeria went to live at the court of Maximinus
Daia, who became Emperor of the East upon
Galerius’ demise. Shortly thereafter,
Maximinus proposed to Valeria. Yet it seems
that he was more interested in her wealth and
the prestige of marrying the widow of one
emperor and the daughter of another than he
was in her as a person. Valeria refuse his
proposal, thus invoking his rage. Maximinus
banished her to Syria against the wishes of
her father Diocletian, who was now retired at
his Dalmatian villa. A civil war erupted
between Maximinus and Licinius and after
Licinius won, Valeria became a fugitive, leading
her to seek safe haven with her father.
However, Diocletian passed away before she
could reach the coast and Valeria had to travel
from village to village in disguise, perpetually
living in fear of being discovered. Eventually,
after a year on the run, she was discovered in
the Greek city of Salonika and was executed.
