Honorius Silver Siliqua RIC X Honorius 1228

Monetary Context and the Late Imperial Siliqua

The siliqua occupied a central position within the late Roman tri-metallic currency structure. Instituted during the monetary transformations of Constantine I and formalized under his fourth-century successors, the denomination supplied an indispensable medium of exchange intermediate between the high-value gold solidus and the debased base-metal nummi. In official accounting, the siliqua functioned at an exchange ratio tied directly to the solidus, conventionally valued at twenty-four siliquae to one gold coin. By the accession of Honorius as sole ruler in the Western provinces in AD 395, imperial silver output had become sporadic and increasingly localized, focused primarily on supplying state outlays rather than sustaining commercial liquidity. RIC X Honorius 1228 was struck under the authority of the juvenile Augustus under the guardianship of the general Stilicho. The issue formed part of an aggressive administrative drive to satisfy military commitments and bureaucratic payrolls during a decade marked by heightened fiscal strain. Theoretical weight standards for the siliqua stood at roughly 2.27 grams, corresponding to 1/144 of a Roman pound of silver. By the close of the fourth century, real operational averages frequently drifted closer to 1.80 to 2.00 grams. This specific emission represents one of the final massive silver strikings manufactured in northern Italy before the formal withdrawal of the court from Mediolanum to Ravenna in AD 402.

Production Standards and the Mediolanum Mint

The Mediolanum mint served as the primary administrative and logistical center for Western Roman imperial coinage throughout the 390s. Struck in fine silver, RIC X Honorius 1228 carries the signature exergual mark MDPS, an abbreviation denoting Mediolanum Pecunia Signata or Mediolanum Postulatum/Pura Siliqua, which assured users of certified silver quality issued under palatine oversight. Dies were cut by accomplished imperial engravers attached to the comitatensian establishment. Blank preparation involved casting flans that were subsequently hammered cold or slightly annealed, resulting in flans ranging typically between 13 and 17 millimeters in diameter. Surviving data from documented hoards demonstrate a mean struck weight clustered between 1.70 and 2.10 grams, although individual unclipped specimens reach 2.20 grams. Die carving exhibits remarkable stylistic homogeneity, pointing to strict centralized supervision over the officinae active at Mediolanum. Output volumes were exceptionally vast compared to later fifth-century Western silver. Metallurgical analyses of contemporary Mediolanum silver confirm that fineness remained relatively high, generally exceeding 90 to 95 percent silver, though minor alloy variations occur due to remelted stock.

Obverse Iconography and Epigraphy

The obverse of RIC X Honorius 1228 features the right-facing bust of Honorius rendered in late antique imperial style. The young Augustus is depicted pearl-diademed, draped, and cuirassed. The pearl diadem, consisting of a double strand of pearls punctuated by a central frontal gem, remained the standard signifier of supreme imperial sovereignty introduced in the fourth century. The portrait does not seek veristic likeness, presenting instead an idealized, youthful visage marked by large, wide-set eyes gazing slightly upward, a straight nasal bridge, and tightly gathered curls beneath the diadem. Over his shoulders rests the paludamentum, or imperial military mantle, pinned at the right shoulder by a round jeweled fibula, beneath which the plates of a military cuirass are visible. The surrounding inscription D N HONORI-VS P F AVG is divided neatly across the crown of the head. Die cutters consistently engraved the legend with sharp, sans-serif late Roman lettering, maintaining strict symmetry to frame the imperial silhouette.

Reverse Iconography: Virtus Romanorum

The reverse iconography of RIC X Honorius 1228 presents a classical personification of Roma, embodying imperial resilience during an era of acute external pressure. Roma is seated facing left upon a military cuirass, draped in a stola and mantle, wearing a crested helmet. In her extended right hand, she supports a globe upon which stands a small winged Victory holding a laurel wreath and a palm branch over her shoulder. In her left hand, Roma holds a vertical or slightly inverted spear. The resting posture upon captured armor coupled with the presentation of Victory emphasizes martial triumph and the enduring dominion of the Roman state. Engravers at Mediolanum created multiple delicate variations in the rendering of Roma's seat, sometimes emphasizing the anatomical plates of the cuirass, and occasionally varying the angle of the spear. The exergue beneath the ground line carries the mint signature MDPS, which securely distinguishes this Western imperial product from contemporary issues of Rome or Siscia.

Inscriptions and Official Titulature

The legends on RIC X Honorius 1228 convey standard late imperial constitutional and ideological formulae. The obverse legend reads D N HONORI-VS P F AVG, expanding to Dominus Noster Honorius Pius Felix Augustus. The title Dominus Noster, or Our Lord, firmly reflects the autocratic Dominatus, while Pius Felix emphasizes dutiful devotion and good fortune under divine favor. The reverse inscription VIRTVS RO-MANORVM translates as the Courage or Virtue of the Romans, an ideological appeal invoked repeatedly on late fourth-century silver to reassure the civil elite and military commanders of the state's invincibility. The break in the reverse legend, typically divided as RO-MANORVM above Roma's helmet, balances the coin design. The exergual legend MDPS combines the mint name of Mediolanum with an official abbreviation certifying the quality or state authorization of the silver strike.

Typology and Chronological Classification

In the standard classification established by J. P. C. Kent in Roman Imperial Coinage Volume X, type 1228 is securely assigned to the principal series of Honorius struck at Mediolanum between the death of Theodosius I in January AD 395 and the relocation of the Western imperial residency to Ravenna in AD 402. Within this timeframe, the Mediolanum mint executed massive parallel silver strikings for Honorius and his eastern brother Arcadius, alongside smaller issues struck in the name of Theodosius during the brief initial weeks of AD 395. RIC X 1228 represents the standard, unreduced issue for Honorius bearing the reverse legend VIRTVS ROMANORVM with Roma seated on a cuirass. Kent differentiated this type from earlier emissions by specific stylistic refinements in portraiture and legend spacing. The termination of the series in AD 402 coincided directly with the siege of Mediolanum by Alaric's Goths, which compelled the imperial court and moneyers to establish the new palatine mint at Ravenna.

Circulation, Hoards, and Clipping

Coins of type RIC X Honorius 1228 circulated extensively across the Western provinces, leaving a profound numismatic footprint from northern Italy and the Gallic frontiers to Roman Britain. In Britain, where the siliqua was the dominant imported silver medium in the late fourth century, specimens of this Mediolanum type appear in huge quantities across late hoards such as the Hoxne Hoard, the Dorchester Hoard, and the Terling Hoard. A pervasive phenomenon affecting this type in Britain is deliberate edge-clipping. Between roughly AD 405 and the complete severing of administrative ties with the empire, siliquae in British contexts were systematically shaved around their peripheries, shearing away legends and mint marks while leaving the central portrait and seated Roma intact. Numismatists interpret this clipping as either an official response to silver shortages aimed at expanding the local coin pool or a communal survival measure during post-Roman monetary fragmentation. Even on the European continent, worn and unclipped specimens continued to circulate well into the fifth century as recognized silver bullion.

References

1. The Changing Face of Silver Coinage in the Fourth Century AD. pp. 29-43
2. The Late Roman Gold and Silver Coins from the Hoxne Treasure. pp. 39-47
3. The Roman Imperial Coinage, Volume X: The Divided Empire and the Fall of the Western Empire (AD 395-491). pp. 129, 321, no. 1228
4. The Value, Number and Availability of Roman Silver Coins in the Late Fourth Century. pp. 5-24
5. Online Coins of the Roman Empire: RIC X Honorius 1228. Type record ric.10.hon_w.1228