Roman Empire, Galerius for his Wife Galeria Valeria, Follis

Galeria Valeria was the the daughter of Emperor Diocletian and married to Gaius Galerius Valerius Maximianus, her father's adopted son and co-emperor. The marriage had been contracted for political reasons; Diocletian wanted Galerius as tight as possible, because the loyalty of his son-in-law was important: As Ceasar (305-311) Galerius was responsible for the Danubian provinces and Greece, and advised Diocletian with ongoing problems.

Her coin portraits show Galeria Valeria with a thick neck, a large jaw and a prominent chin. She supposedly did not look much like that though. The style used for imperial coin portraits show all four Tetrarchs and their later caesars and co-emperors with thick necks, large jaws, prominent brows. In fact, all the portraits of these men look very much alike – this style of portraiture was intended to convey the image of a tough, united, no-nonsense group of men who ruled as imperial brothers. For Valeria's coins, the standard imperial portrait was changed only a little to make it look female.