Siliqua was minted in Trier between May 15, 392 and January 17, 395 for Arcadius, the elder son of Theodosius I and his formal co-caesar.
Roman Imperial
Arcadius (383-408), Siliqua 392-395, Treveri mint
Obverse: diademed and draped bust right
D N ARCADIVS P F AVG
Reverse: Roma seated left on cuirass, holding Victory on globe in her right hand and long scepter in her left, TRPS in exerque
VIRTVS ROMANORVM
Weight 0.7 g
Siliqua the basic silver denomination in the 4th century, are definitely rarer than bronze denominations and were also quickly devalued by reducing their weight, while maintaining the high quality of silver. As siliqua was minted on quite thin plates, they were often cut off at the ends, hence the lack of most of the legend of the offered specimen. Nevertheless, the remnants of the reverse legend and the characteristic depiction of Roma allow for a fairly certain identification (it is not only possible to decide whether we are dealing with the "b" or "c" variant, as they differ slightly in the obverse legend).
