The official Stack's Bowers Galleries auction for the ANA World's Fair of Money is nearly here, and we have a final ancient coin to preview -- a historically significant piece and a terrific rarity. This piece is deserving of a word not often thrown around in numismatics: unique. The Solidus described here is truly one of a kind. This coin was produced in the Arles Mint (southern France) during the reign of the Western Roman Emperor Honorius. During a period of substantial decline, Honorius managed to exacerbate the erosion of Roman power and influence. Widely considered an unfit ruler, he was thrust into power at a young age and as such relied heavily on his principal general, Stilicho. After Stilicho's execution by a power-hungry minister, the army formerly under Stilicho's control defected en-masse to the Visigoth horde preparing to invade Italy. Led by their king Alaric, the Visigoths laid siege to Rome.

Honorius, now lacking an able general to marshal the culturally diverse Roman armies, believed he could wait passively for the Visigoths to tire themselves outside the gates of Rome while his reinforcements arrived from distant provinces. Unfortunately, the starvation inflicted on the Roman populace coerced them to open the gates to Alaric. This event marked the first time Rome was under the control of an invading foreign force since an invasion of Gauls over eight centuries earlier. Thankfully the damage to the city was mild, although the psychological blow to Roman power was substantial.

The coin features a pearl-diademed, draped and cuirassed bust of Honorius facing right, with the legend: "D N HONORI - VS" around. The reverse shows a triumphant Honorius in military attire, in his left hand he holds a globe, surmounted by the deity Victory. In his right hand, he holds a labarum while his left foot pins down a bound captive. Some scratches are present though overall this singular example retains a wholesome and attractive nature.

To read the complete article, see:
Unique and Historically Significant Honorius Solidus Featured as lot #30102 in the Stack's Bowers Galleries 2015 Chicago ANA (www.stacksbowers.com/NewsMedia/Blogs/TabId/780/ArtMID/
2678/ArticleID/65293/Unique-and-Historically-Significant-Honorius-Solidus
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