Christian Rome
Late Roman Imperial Art as Seen on Coin Weights
August 19, 2024
The design of both these weights is a wonderful example of fourth/fifth-century artistic style. Most contemporary weights have similar silver inlays, but they are usually just Greek letters or a cross and rarely boast a design as interesting as two imperial busts. Most of these double-bust weights depict members of the family of Theodosius I (r. 379-395), predominantly his sons Arcadius (r. 395-408) and Honorius (r. 395-423). My guess is that the two figures depicted in both weights seen here are indeed the brothers Arcadius (Eastern emperor) and Honorius (Western emperor), as it became a common fashion in imperial imagery of the period to show the two rulers of the East and West side by side, an outward display of unity that masked a dividing empire.
Bronze commercial weights were commonplace in the later Roman Empire and most were related to the standardization of the gold solidus (4.5 grams). Most weights, however, were larger, such as this weight (above) of 1 Roman ounce. The example above, purchased by Miller Ancients in 2022, is 26.39 gm, not far off from the modern ounce of 28.35 gm. There exist Roman weights as large as 6 ounkia (over 100 grams) and as small as a fraction of a solidus (around 1 gram); some earlier Greek weights are far larger, with weights of several minae reaching hundreds of grams.
In ancient times, these weights were necessary – clipping of gold and silver coins became a major issue in the late 4th century. Many silver siliquae and gold solidi of the period are slightly below their full weight, as criminals attempted to remove some precious metal along the edges and therefore spend a less valuable coin while pocketing small amounts of gold and silver for free. Some of the silver siliquae from the period are so heavily clipped that the whole legends are nonexistent and only the portraits remain. Those who illegally clipped coins and were caught faced severe punishments, sometimes death, as the crime was considered tantamount to forgery by Roman authorities. Clipping coins remained a capital offense in Britain until the 17th century.
Above: Dual-portrait weight of impressively fine style, ca. late fourth-early fifth centuries AD
The design of both these weights is a wonderful example of fourth/fifth-century artistic style. Most contemporary weights have similar silver inlays, but they are usually just Greek letters or a cross and rarely boast a design as interesting as two imperial busts. Most of these double-bust weights depict members of the family of Theodosius I (r. 379-395), predominantly his sons Arcadius (r. 395-408) and Honorius (r. 395-423). My guess is that the two figures depicted in both weights seen here are indeed the brothers Arcadius (Eastern emperor) and Honorius (Western emperor), as it became a common fashion in imperial imagery of the period to show the two rulers of the East and West side by side, an outward display of unity that masked a dividing empire.