I recently scored 3 new...Honoriuses? Honori? 3 coins on which there is a portrait of Honorius. 1 or 2 are "in the name of" & issued by others, but I'm still clumping them together for this post. He helps bookend my much loved Arcadius type-set, so I'm probably a bit more pleased than I should be, but they're still cool coins. I'll start with the AE: Honorius, AE3, Lyon, 2.3g, 14.25mm X 13.33, 0° axis, RIC X-1361, rated R4 Ob: DN HONORI-VS PF AVG Re: (garbled version of) GLORIA RO-MANORVM Seems to be GLO[R?]....-MANVR; IN EX: LVG Emp. Stg. F., Hd. R. holds standard & rests L. hand on Gr. shield Picked up pretty cheap as a "possibly Arcadius?" on Ebay from a seller of vintage watches. Now for the silver: This one is so much better in-hand; nice heft, almost a Severen denarius. Got it on Ebay from lookusover, the ebay version of a brick & mortar store named Hawksworth Manor Antiques in Cincinnati. They say it came from a collection by Daniel Turner, Captain of the USS Constitution from 1839-1841 & a Vet. of the War of 1812. Such a person does exist & he did collect & his collection was sold relatively recently. I found a record of it on sixbids (or something like that), but without an acct, I can only see so much of the lot. The handwriting looks right (the coins were all wrapped in paper with notes written right on it). Mine came with the paper wrap, clearly very old. I about 1/2 believe it for now (default-skeptic); cool provenance if true. If anyone knows anything else about the collection ("Commodores Collection", they called it), I'd very much appreciate them sharing. Most of the other listed coins are significantly over priced, but at $85, I'm not sure they knew what this one was. Siliqua, 1.8g, 15mm X 14, 180° axis (+/- < 10°) Ob: DN HONORI-VS PF AVG Re: VRBS - ROMA Roma Std. L. on Cuir., holds Gr. Spr. & Vict. on globe holding palm (or Wr.?). IN EX: RVPS I got it assuming it was a Vandal imitation, RIC X-3801. But I'm starting to convince myself it's official, RIC X-1345, R4. Between the axis, mass, style & nice flan (for-type)...I don't know. I think I need someone to talk me down from my hopes. And the 3rd: Visigoth, in the name of Honorius, 0.7g, 14mm X 11, 0° axis, RIC X-3703 Ob: DN HONORI-VS PF AVG Re: VICTOR-IA AVGG Roma Std. L. on throne (supposed to be "on Cuir.", but this one looks enthroned. Maybe a Cuir. next to it?), holds Gr. Spr. & Vict. on globe holding Wr. MM chipped off (part of 1 letter left, maybe a P, R or T?) Listed as a Siliqua, but, with a Re Leg otherwise reserved to 1/2 Siliqua of the time (though the devices are for full Siliqua) & a pretty low mass (would you try & pass this tiny thing off as a full silver coin when paying your crazy mercenary army?), I think it's likely a fraction of some sort. Any opinions? Thoughts? I know the terms are for modern convenience & little is known of how it all breaks down with different fractions, especially with imitations, but still. Acquired from Savoca, Ebay And that's it. Fun stuff, thanks for looking. Now, back to playing dollies with my daughters before they destroy me with pure Daddy-No-More-Coins Tantrum-Power. P.S. As these were all purchased on Ebay, if anyone sees ANY reason to doubt their authenticity, please do not hesitate to burst my bubble.
I am no expert in these but have been calling mine Vandal-Gaiserius as it was sold to me as such by Stacks in 1997. Mine was described as 'large flan' which for these would mean almost big enough to have most of the design. Yours strikes me as a very nice example and certainly on a better flan than mine.
Fun stuff! I have only one Honorius in my numophylacium. Honorius, AD 393-423 Roman Æ centenionalis; 1.38 g, 13.8 mm, 6 h Nicomedia, AD 425-423 Obv: D N HONORI-VS P F AVG, pearl-diademed, draped and cuirassed bust, right; * behind Rev: GLORIA ROMANORVM, two emperors standing, supporting globe between them; SMNA in exergue Refs: RIC x, p. 272, 412; LRBC II 2456; RCV 21021; MIRB 75; Cohen 27.
HONORIUS, and Bro... RI Honorius AE3 15mm Arcadius and Honorius Stdg Mommy... AELIA FLACILLA Aelia Flaccilla A.D. 373- 388 21mm 5.7gm AEL FLAC-CILLA AVG; draped, with elaborate head-dress, necklace and mantle. SALVS REI-PVBLICAE; Victory seated right, inscribing Christogram on shield set on a column, in right field T. In ex. ANTΓ RIC IX Antioch 61 Wife of Theodosius I and mother of Arcadius and Honorius Ex: @Victor_Clark And dad Theo... RI Theodosius I 379-395 CE AE 18mm Concordia
I like all three! Here is my only Honorius: Western Roman Empire, Honorius (son of Theodosius I and younger brother of Arcadius), 393-423 AD, AV Solidus, ca. 402-408 AD. Ravenna Mint [Note that the capital was moved from Milan to Ravenna in 402 AD.]. Obv. Pearl-diademed, draped, and cuirassed bust right [“slender bust” type; see Sear RCV V 20919 at p. 453], D N HONORI-VS P F AVG / Rev. Honorius in military attire, standing right, holding a plain military standard (a signum in the form of a vexillum, i.e., a banner draped vertically from a horizontal cross-bar attached to a pole) in right hand, and Victory on globe in left hand, his left foot set on (RIC: “spurning”) a bound barbarian captive seated left on ground with both legs visible and sharply bent at knees (bent right leg is raised upright; bent left leg lies flat on ground with left knee extending below exergue line and left foot resting against right leg*), VICTORI-A AVGGG, R-V [Ravenna] across fields and COMOB [Comitatus Obryziacum **] in exergue. RIC X 1287 at p. 328 (1994), Sear RCV V 20919 (2014), Dumberton Oaks Catalogue, Late Roman 735-736 & Plate 28 [P. Griessen. & M. Mays, Catalogue of Late Roman Coins in the Dumbarton Oaks Collection, etc. (1992) (see https://archive.org/details/docoins-late-roman/page/432/mode/1up and https://archive.org/details/docoins-late-roman/page/430/mode/1up )], Cohen 44. 21 mm., 4.45 g. Ex Collection of Egon Gerson [b. 1921; d. 2021]; David R. Sear A.C.C.S. Certificate of Authenticity dated Dec. 16, 1998, issued to Egon Gerson, No. 50AB/RI/CO/CN (“almost EF, flan slightly bent”). [Footnotes omitted.]
If you are interested in coins of Honorius, here is a web page listing his AE type set: http://augustuscoins.com/ed/ricix/HTypes.html Here is an example: AE3. VIRTVS EXERCITI Emperor crowned by Victory 395-401 [RIC, DOC] Honorius 19-18 mm. 2.98 grams. SMNB in exergue RIC X 57 Heraclea, page 246.
I always liked the large AE2s of the late empire. Big contrast between these and the typical miserably little AE4s.
Nice coins. The 1st, with the 2 Emps. stg. F., rarely comes that nice. Though, not to be that guy, but if I could geek out a min; it's actually Honorius & Theodosius II. They're often described as Arcadius & Honorius when sold, but that type, & a very similar one with them holding a globe btw instead (Esty-51 & 52; link provided above by the man himself), were struck starting right after the death of Arcadius. There's another type with Arcadius, Honorius & Theodosius II that was struck for all 3 (Esty-48). However, I've seen a few of them struck for Arcadius I got this one in a lot from St. James's Auction. The proof ain't there, but it's Cyzicus; the style & the way the "A"s are done like "H"s is classic Cyzicus. Probably a mule, BUT I've seen enough others over the yrs to make me wonder if maybe the type/s either started juuuuust before Arcadius died, or if a mint or 2 struck some in his name before word of his death reached them. Working theory. Anybody else have an example of either type (E-51 or 52) for Arcadius? I'd love to see them if so. And would very much appreciate any thoughts on the matter.
My only Honorius has a front facing bust (it was one of the reasons I bought it) Honorius AD 393-423. Cyzicus Follis Æ 18 mm, 2,63 g 401-403 AD D N HONORI-VS P F AVG, bust of Honorius, helmeted, pearl-diademed, cuirassed, facing front, holding spear in right hand behind head and shield decorated with cross on left arm / CONCORDI-A AVGG, Constantinopolis, helmeted, draped, enthroned, enthroned, facing front, head right, holding long sceptre in right hand and Victory on globe in left hand; beneath her right foot, prow. RIC X Arcadius 95
And while I'm at it, I've been itching for an excuse to post another similar find. This time Theodosius II. 1.6g; 15mm X 14; 0° axis; MM off-flan, traces of letters, just enough to tell something was there. Ob: DN THEODO-SIVS PF (VG?) P.-Diad. Dr. & Cuir. R. (no star behind bust, no crested-helmet & spr & sh.) Re: CONOR-(my guess)DIA AGV 2 Emp. (Not nimbate) Stg. F., each holds Gr. Spr. in outer hand & supports long cross Btw. The Re is pretty much that of a rare AE2 stuck for Val. III & Theo. II for distribution in Cherson (Esty-75). But the Ob of that type has a crested helmet & spr & sh. And it's larger & more massive. At this size, it's reasonably similar to the 2 types I went on about in the preceding reply (Esty-51 & 52). But those do not have a cross btw the 2 Emps., they either hold a globe or each have a Gr. Sh., AND the Ob has a star behind the bust. Plus there's the Re Leg., which seems to match the AE2 (E-75). The style is similar too, and the Leg.s on both sides of E-75 are usually somewhat blundered & sloppy, like this example. Ditto for Leo I, Zeno & Ael. Verina, for whom similar AE2s were stuck for the same region. This coin is a little crude; but not 5th C. imitation level crude; & it's a bit large & massive. Plus, in-hand, you can tell it was once a nice coin. The people I purchased it from have a bad habit of zapping coins & applying a fake patina, as they, unfortunately, did to this one; but what it once was is still apparent enough. I've had it a while now & the more I look at it, the more it looks like a smaller version of the AE2s with a MM of CON that were struck for Cherson. But that is just very unlikely. Most likely it's just a unusually nice imitation amalgamising Esty-51/52 & E-75. But... maybe not. That just doesn't quite fit either. Feel like I'm missing something obvious (I've considered it being a fake, & I don't think that's it), so I'm crowdsourcing the inter-webs for ideas. What say you, better numismatic-minds than mine of Cointalk?
