In the year 476 Odoacer, a Germanic officer in the Roman imperial army, deposed the emperor of the Western Roman Empire and assumed the government of Italy. In 493, he was overthrown by Theoderic the Great, king of the Ostrogoths. This siliqua was issued during the reign of Theoderic (493-526). It is a copy of a coin from the Byzantine Emperor Anastasius, whose image is depicted on the obverse.