Owner Comments:
This coin is arguably the most ironic piece in this collection, and that is saying something. The obverse features Western Emperor Honorius, who ruled contemporaneously with one of the most shocking events in the history of the ancient world. That event — which unfolded in three devastating sieges over a three-year period — was the sacking of the Eternal City, the very first such violation in the history of the Roman Empire. Honorius’s own policies and catastrophic decisions played a pivotal role in the disaster, from the execution of his best military commanders to his stubborn refusal to negotiate while hiding safely in his heavily fortified capital of Ravenna. The stark irony, however, lies on the reverse of the coin. Struck in Rome around the time of the sack itself, the legend proudly boasts VRBS ROMA FELIX—"Happy City of Rome." But, the citizens who circulated this this inside the metropolis were anything but happy. They were a starving, terrified populace enduring the darkest chapter Rome had ever faced.
Following the execution of the brilliant Roman general Stilicho in 408 AD, the Western Roman Empire was left effectively defenseless. In a spasm of xenophobic paranoia, Honorius's political allies orchestrated the massacre of the families of thousands of barbarian
foederati (allied soldiers) serving in the Roman military. Enraged and seeking vengeance, these battle-hardened veterans defected en masse to the Visigothic king, Alaric. Alaric did not initially want to destroy Rome; he wanted land, recognized military titles, and a stable food supply for his people. When his diplomatic overtures to Honorius were repeatedly ignored, Alaric marched his immense army straight to the gates of Rome.
Alaric laid siege to the city three separate times between 408 and 410 AD. By capturing the port of Ostia and blockading the Tiber River, he completely severed Rome's vital grain shipments from North Africa. The resulting famine was apocalyptic. The citizens of Rome, who once gloried in the invincible might of the Empire, were reduced to extreme rationing, starvation, and, according to contemporary chroniclers, cannibalism. They stripped the gold and silver from their temples to pay Alaric a massive ransom, only for Honorius to sabotage the fragile peace negotiations from afar, sending zero military relief to the suffering city.
Finally, on August 24, 410 AD, the standoff reached its breaking point. Whether opened by rebellious slaves or desperate, starving citizens, the Salarian Gate was unbarred from the inside, and Alaric’s Visigoths poured in. For three days, the barbarians sacked the city. Because Alaric was a devout Christian, the physical destruction was somewhat restrained — he ordered his men to spare the major basilicas and those seeking sanctuary within them — but the psychological devastation across the Empire was profound.
In the aftermath, shockwaves reverberated from Britannia to the Levant. Also spreading throughout the Empire were coins such as this nummus, whose meaning had now been irrevocably altered. Instead of advertising the confident blessings of a "Happy Rome," they highlighted the Empire's inexorable disseverance and foreshadowed the final fall of the West that was still to come.
Coin Details: WESTERN ROMAN EMPIRE, Honorius (393-423), AE3 (Nummus) (2.11 g, 15 mm), Rome mint, NGC Grade: Ch F, Strike: 4/5, Surface: 4/5, Obverse: Diademed, draped and cuirassed bust right, D N HONORIVS P F AVG, Reverse: Roma standing facing, head right, holding trophy and victory on globe, VRBS ROMA FELIX / OF - T / SMROM, Reference: RIC 1280.
Image: Sony ɑ 7R Ⅴ camera / Sony FE 90mm f/2.8 Macro G OSS lens.