Honorius Silver Siliqua (RIC X Honorius 1267)

Monetary Context and Denominational System

During the early fifth century AD, the Western Roman monetary system operated under severe political and economic strain. The base denomination of the late imperial silver currency was the siliqua, a reduced fraction that traced its lineage to the reforms of Constantine I and the mid-fourth-century monetary restructuring. By the joint and sole reigns of the Theodosian house, the siliqua had undergone successive reductions in official mass, stabilizing theoretically around 1/216 of a Roman pound, or roughly 1.50 grams, before drifting in practice toward nominal weights between 1.35 and 1.20 grams. Gold remained the premier fiscal instrument of the state, embodied by the solidus and tremissis, while silver fulfilled targeted expenditure roles. Siliquae were struck primarily to execute specific imperial disbursements, including donatives distributed to civilian dignitaries and regular military stipends. The production of RIC X Honorius 1267 occurred at a critical juncture between AD 404 and AD 408, in the aftermath of Honorius's joint consulship with Aristaenetus and the imperial court's ceremonial sojourn in the ancient capital. While Ravenna became the fortified operational seat of the imperial administration, Rome retained deep symbolic preeminence and operational minting apparatus capable of striking precious-metal issues for prestige events and administrative payments.

Production Standards and the Rome Mint

RIC X Honorius 1267 was struck exclusively at the urban mint of Rome, a facility operating with reduced technical capacity compared to its fourth-century heyday but retaining experienced die-engravers. The mintmark appearing in the exergue is typically rendered as RMPS, an abbreviation that identifies the Rome workshop and indicates the precious-metal status of the coinage, conforming to the formula Roma Pecunia Signata or reflecting the officina marking of the city. Flans prepared for this emission were cast and hammered thin, reflecting the standard late Roman method of siliqua preparation. The weight standard of the Rome silver coinage under Honorius in this period remained lower than contemporary Eastern siliquae struck at Constantinople, illustrating the structural divergence between the two halves of the empire. Although target weights hovered in the range of 1.20 to 1.40 grams with fineness approaching 90 to 95 percent silver, production controls were less rigorous than those enforced for the solidus. Die engraving displays sharp, stylized cutting characteristic of early fifth-century Italian workshops, with clear differentiation between drapery folds, armor scales, and imperial diadems.

Obverse Iconography and Imperial Portraiture

The obverse of RIC X Honorius 1267 presents a standard imperial bust of Honorius oriented to the right. The emperor is depicted as pearl-diademed, draped, and cuirassed. The pearl diadem consists of a double strand of uniform pearl beads bound at the back of the head by a jeweled knot from which two fabric ties extend downward along the imperial neck. The facial features follow the rigid, formalistic style of the Theodosian dynasty: large almond-shaped eyes with drilled pupils gazing slightly upward or forward, a straight nose, and tight lips, conveying an impression of aloof, divinely sanctioned authority rather than an individualized physiognomic likeness. Over the emperor's shoulders, the paludamentum or military cloak is gathered and fastened above the right shoulder by a round button brooch or jewel, draped across the upper body to reveal sections of the cuirass beneath. This visual combination of the diadem, military cuirass, and consular drapery was a standard idiom of the fifth-century emperors, signaling imperial majesty, military guardianship, and civic legitimacy.

Reverse Iconography and Symbolic Motifs

The reverse iconography of RIC X Honorius 1267 features the personification of Roma seated left upon a stylized cuirass. Roma is depicted in traditional classical gear, wearing a crested helmet and dressed in a long, belted tunic that leaves one shoulder exposed in the manner of an Amazonian warrior. In her outstretched right hand, she holds a globe topped by a miniature winged Victory, who advances toward the goddess holding a celebratory laurel wreath and a palm branch over her shoulder. In her left hand, Roma supports an inverted spear, resting the point downward toward the ground line. The cuirass upon which she sits functions as a seat of war, representing the subjugation of external foes and the imperial peace achieved through Roman arms. This composition was deeply traditional, having served as a mainstay of late fourth-century silver issues under Valentinian II, Theodosius I, and Arcadius. In the context of AD 404 to 408, the choice to feature Roma upon a cuirass on silver issued at Rome itself was a deliberate evocation of the ancient city's martial heritage and eternal status, even as actual military dominance in the Western provinces was becoming precarious.

Epigraphy and Legend Structure

The inscriptions on RIC X Honorius 1267 follow standard late Roman imperial epigraphic conventions. The obverse legend reads D N HONORI-VS P F AVG, with a distinct break in the imperial name dividing HONORI from VS across the top of the emperor's diadem. The formula expands to Dominus Noster Honorius Pius Felix Augustus, proclaiming Honorius as Our Lord, Dutiful, Fortunate, and Augustus. The lettering is composed of tall, neat Latin capitals with small serifs, executed with careful spatial planning around the perimeter of the die. The reverse legend reads VIRTVS RO-MANORVM, meaning The Virtue of the Romans, broken symmetrically above Roma's helmeted head between RO and MANORVM. This legend represents an appeal to collective civic and martial valor, emphasizing the enduring virtue of the Roman populace and legions. The exergual inscription RMPS anchors the design at the base of the flan, confirming the administrative and geographic origin of the issue at the Rome mint.

Typological Classification and Chronological Placement

In the cataloguing framework established by J. P. C. Kent in Roman Imperial Coinage Volume X, type 1267 is classified under the Western issues of Honorius during his sole effective control of the Italian mints from AD 404 to 408. This window is framed chronologically by Honorius's arrival in Rome in early AD 404 to celebrate his sixth consulship and his triumph over the Goths following the Battle of Pollentia, and closed by the political crises of AD 408 marked by the execution of Stilicho and the initial investment of Rome by Alaric. RIC X 1267 is distinguished from closely related siliqua varieties by the combination of its specific reverse posture, mintmark, and the seating of Roma on a cuirass rather than a throne. Earlier Mediolanum and Aquileia siliquae of the same legend had dominated Western production during the 390s, but following the transfer of the primary administrative court to Ravenna around AD 402, precious-metal striking resumed at Rome in concentrated bursts. Numismatists classify RIC X 1267 as an exact catalogued variety within this distinct phase of urban silver coin production.

Circulation, Hoard Evidence, and Post-Strike Modification

Siliquae of Honorius produced at Rome circulated across the dwindling Western provinces and beyond the frontiers. Although struck in Italy, significant quantities of late Theodosian silver found their way into northern Gaul and Britain, where silver siliquae remained a vital transactional medium into the early decades of the fifth century. British and western European hoard deposits, including find complexes such as the Hoxne and Coleraine hoards, demonstrate that Honorius's siliquae frequently underwent clipping. Clipped specimens had their outer silver margins sheared away to recover bullion, often obliterating the exergual mintmark and portions of the peripheral legends, while reducing individual coins to fractions of a gram. Within Italy, however, RIC X 1267 saw more regulated municipal circulation alongside older bronze denominations and contemporary gold solidi. The invasion of Italy by Visigothic forces in AD 408 drastically altered monetary circulation patterns, leading to extensive hoarding across central Italy and terminating the stable distribution of Rome mint siliquae.

References

1. Catalogue of Late Roman Coins in the Dumbarton Oaks Collection and in the Whittemore Collection. pp. 200-215
2. The Late Roman Gold and Silver Coins from the Hoxne Treasure. pp. 39-47
3. Fifth Century Silver Coinage in the Western Roman Empire. pp. 285-300
4. Online Coins of the Roman Empire: RIC X Honorius 1267. ric.10.hon_w.1267
5. The Roman Imperial Coinage, Volume IX: Valentinian I - Theodosius I. pp. xx-xxiv
6. The Roman Imperial Coinage, Volume X: The Divided Empire and the Fall of the Western Empire AD 395-491. p. 331, no. 1267