26 Centuries of Gold
393-423 Honorius
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Coin Details
| Origin/Country: |
ANCIENT - WESTERN ROMAN EMPIRE (4th CENT AD - 5th CENT AD) WESTERN ROMAN EMPIRE Honorius, AD 393-423 |
| Item Description: |
AV Solidus foot on bound captive. Rome. rv emperor with |
| Full Grade: |
NGC MS Strike: 5/5 Surface: 4/5 |
| Owner: |
deposito |
Owner Comments:
Honorius was the emperor of the Western Roman Empire who presided over the sack of Rome on August 24, 410 by Visigoth barbarians. This makes the reverse on this coin ironic. It shows the emperor stepping on a bound captive barbarian as Victory crowns the emperor with the wreath of victory. At the time of the attack on Rome, Honorius was safe in Ravenna.
This was the first time in almost 800 years that Rome had fallen to an enemy. The previous sack of Rome had been accomplished by the Gauls under their leader Brennus in 387 BC, almost 800 years earlier. The sacking of 410 is seen as a major landmark in the fall of the Western Roman Empire. St. Jerome, living in Bethlehem at the time, wrote that "The City which had taken the whole world was itself taken."
This coin was purchased raw at a Bruun Rasmussen auction in 2017.