Arcadius, Roman Emperor ; Honorius, Roman Emperor

Constantinople

1 Nomisma = 1 Solidus

Copper alloy (bronze or brass)

Struck

Disc or similar (ellipse, etc.)

2.00 cm

2.00 cm

- cm

Mass (g)	Mass (grain)	Date of measurement	Reference	fragmented	cleaned	reference weight
3.82	-	-	Auction Roma 2022	No	No	Yes

Symbol	Technique	Direction	Position	Number	Synecdoche
Roman Emperor	Stamped / Countermarked / Struck	FACING		Two	Bust
Aequitas / Justitia / Moneta	Stamped / Countermarked / Struck	LEFT	Standing	One
Nike	Stamped / Countermarked / Struck	LEFT	Standing	One
Balance scale	Stamped / Countermarked / Struck			One
Globe	Stamped / Countermarked / Struck			One
Palm tree	Stamped / Countermarked / Struck			One
Nike	Stamped / Countermarked / Struck	RIGHT	Standing	One

Auction Roma 2022: Lot 1617. Roman Imperial Æ Exagium Solidi Weight. Circa AD 420. DD NN AVG, diademed and draped busts (of Honorius and Theodosius II?) facing, each holding globus surmounted by crowning Victory / EXAGIVM SOLIDI, winged figure of Moneta (partially assimilated to Victory) standing to left, holding scales and palm. Described in RIC X, on p.8 = Sotheby 16 April 1985, 419; Bendall, Byzantine Weights -. 3.82g, 20mm, 1h. Near Very Fine; heavy encrustation. Extremely Rare; no other examples on CoinArchives. From the inventory of a North American dealer. Official solidus weights, based on a standard 'imperial pound', came into being with the law of Julian of AD 363, which established a zygostates - an official weigher of solidi in each city - to restore confidence in the solidus, which had become subject to widespread clipping. Exagium derives from the Latin exigere, "to drive out" - in this case, the underweight solidi, thereby maintaining an acceptable weight standard necessary for the imperial gold coinage to circulate at full value. Many such exagia display holes and/or plugs to bring the exagium to the correct weight, so unmodified exagia (especially examples that are underweight such as the present piece) are thus a rarity.
Asolati 2022: Exagia solidi imperiali con indicazione esplicita della funzione: Arcadio e Onorio, 395-403 d.C., exagium solidi. Zecca di Constantinopolis (?). D/ DD NN AVG; due busti frontali, affiancati, diademati, drappeggiati e corazzati, entrambi con globo niceforo. R/ EXAGIVM SOLIDI; Vittoria come Iustitia (?) stante a s. con bilancia e palma. b. Roma, E-Sale 98 (16/06/2022), lotto n. 1617: g 3,82; mm 20; h 1.

No

Language	Technique	Legend type
Latin	Stamped / Countermarked / Struck	Authority, Denomination, Legal status

DDNNAVG

EXAGIVM       SOLIDI

D(ominorum) N(ostrorum) Aug(ustorum). || Exagium solidi.

LATE ROMAN AND BYZANTINE

FROM 395 TO 420

Auction Roma 2022: suggests a date around 420.
Asolati 2022: suggests a chronological range from 395 to 403.

Name	Date of acquisition	Inventory number
Antiquities Trade	June 16, 2022	None

Reference	Page/Column	Reference (number)	Plate / Figure	Comment
Asolati 2022	258	6b	None	None
Auction Roma 2022c	None	1617	fig.	None

Asolati 2022: cf. RIC X, p. 8; Bendall 1996, –.