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To participate in the forum you must log in or register. | Author |
 Replies: 6 / Views: 1,833 |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
4883 Posts |
Flavius Honorius became the Western Roman Emperor at only the age of ten. During his rule (if it can be called that) spanning almost three decades, he had to deal with not only barbarian invasions, but multiple usurpers as well. His fatal error was being drawn into palace intrigue, resulting in the arrest and execution of his best general and advisor, Stilicho. After this, Rome was sacked by King Alaric and his Visigoth horde, this being the first time that'd happened in eight centuries. Amazingly, Honorius held on to power (such as it had become) and died thirteen years later of natural causes, but chaos continued even after his passing as he left no heir. The pictured specimen was found today banging around loose within a bag of well worn Byzantine coppers. I normally don't bother too much with late Roman bronzes, but this one interested me for its ¾ facing portrait and the fine detail extant on the helmet's feather plume. I'll be inordinately pleased with myself if I've gotten from scratch the identification correct on this. I have it as RIC X 95 (Sear 20994). The personification is supposedly not Concordia, but rather Constantinopolis holding Victory. The mint mark in this instance appears to be SMKD rather than SMKA, which is attributed to Cyzicus.   Colligo ergo sum
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Moderator
 United States
34424 Posts |
I agree--that 3/4 portrait is super!
"If you climb a good tree, you get a push."
-----Ghanaian proverb
"The danger we all now face is distinguishing between what is authentic and what is performed."
-----King Adz
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Moderator
United States
23731 Posts |
This is in nice condition, especially for being an AE4 which these usually are.
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Pillar of the Community
 United States
4883 Posts |
Well, what are the chances? I came across another Honorius today also with that distinctive ¾ facing portrait.   I'm having a tougher time with this one's precise identification, though. I believe the mint mark to be SMKA, which would again indicate it was struck at Cyzicus. The device on the reverse I think can be taken to represent the emperor facing, head right, holding a standard and a globe, which is known on other issues of Honorius. I'm uncertain as to the reverse legend, however, as there's an awful lot of it missing. In any case, given the characteristics I'm reasonably sure of, I don't see a catalogued match. Colligo ergo sum
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Pillar of the Community
United States
4778 Posts |
Cyzicus was in the Eastern Empire, not the west. It was common during this time for the two empires to strike coins depicting the other half's emperor.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
949 Posts |
You might need the print catalog to get all of this, but here it is
The second coin is a second example of the first, with the same CONCORDI-A AVGG reverse from the mint at Cyzicus (in the East) which at this time was operating with but a single officina, so despite appearances the mint mark is the same as the first. With the two coins you can reconstruct the complete inscriptions on both sides.
RIC X 95 is the catalog number for this type, mint, and obverse (honoring Honorius) but is issued under the authority of Arcadius and was listed under him. The complete obverse inscription reads: DNHONORI-VSPFAVG
I can see what is happening with the officina mark, the final A of the mint mark. The final downstroke on the right is very short and not symmetric with the downstroke on the left side of the letter. With the slight curve of the crossbar it takes on the appearance of a P or in the first case a D. But both have a short tail on the right side that is the descending part of an A.
One final note, the fact that the emperor in the East produced such a coin for the emperor in the West is a demonstration of what the reverse of the coin is meant to represent; Concord between the imperial houses. And in anticipation of a final question, this coin was part of a set of three with this reverse, one for Arcadius, one for Honorius, and one for Theodosius II. All 3 minted at Cyzicus.
Edited by lrbguy
04/29/2017 08:52 am
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Pillar of the Community
United States
4883 Posts |
Quote:
The second coin is a second example of the first Looking more closely, I can now see that you're correct. That's Victory, not just a globe, beiing held on the second coin as well. Quote:
RIC X 95 is the catalog number for this type, mint, and obverse Thank you for confirming my original identification. Colligo ergo sum
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Replies: 6 / Views: 1,833 |
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Posted 04/19/2017 9:34 pm
