Emperor Probus looks Left and Right

Received these two recently.

Probus was the Roman Emperor from AD 276 to 282.



Probus AE Antoninianus - Romae Aeternae
Radiate, cuirassed bust left, holding spear across shoulder
IMP C M AVR PROBVS P F AVG
Hexastyle temple, Roma seated within, globe in her right hand, scepter in her left hand
ROMAE AETERNAE
Exergue: XXIQ (Siscia mint)
Struck: AD 279
Size: 22.6mm
Weight: 3.49gm
Catalog: RIC 739



Probus AE Antoninianus - Victoria Avg
Radiate, cuirassed bust right
PROBVS P F AVG
Victory walking left, wreath in right hand, trophy in left hand, shield at her side
VICTORIA AVG
Exergue: R V with Thunderbolt between letters (Rome mint)
Struck: AD 282
Size: 21.7mm
Weight: 4.63gm
Catalog: RIC 215

 

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Already replied to this on the CU boards but both are very nice. I like the first best.

 

Beautiful pieces. As you guys know better than me, coins made during the "crisis of the Third Century" were hastily and poorly struck.

I love the coins of this turbulent period (from the death of Severus Alexander in AD 235 to the advent of Diocletion in AD 284).


guy

 

Very nice examples

 

Just a quick note to let you know that both coins are ex-my collection, some of which I had to part with due to job loss etc.
Glad to know that they both ended up in a good home.
At its peak my collection topped just over 1,000 coins of Probus.
The Rome mint coin is officina S (Digamma) rather than V BTW. The same error was on the seller website and I failed to notice it there!
Regards,
Martin Griffiths

 

I have always liked coins of Probus. The one with the temple especially is great. I have the one with the atypical chariot scene, looking at the horses head on.

Have ya'll seen the Probus' with the long skinny necks? Dang, you would think that would have earned a few lashing at least from the Imperial Guard! Those coins and the Licinius tiny busts have to be the least flattering Imperial portraits I have ever seen.

 

There is quite a bit of variation in the style of an individual bust type at this time within the production of a single mint even over a very short period of time. A lot of it is to do with the quality of the engraver.

It is quire hard to compare the styles of the following two coins both from Siscia but only a year or so apart. One has a quite long, thin neck and a gaunt face, the other being much more thick necked. The thick necked coin is based on the portraits of Florian and comes before approved portraits of Probus had been distributed.

RIC 666 Bust type C from A.D 277 (Pink)




RIC 716 Bust Type C from early A.D. 276 (Pink)



Regards,
Martin

 

Yeah, the long neck coins are pretty strange. Always wondered if it was just the accident or a style favored.

 

The great thing about Probus is the vast variety of obverse variations including some that are way beyond rare (e.g. the ones with Vota inscriptions on the shield). His reverses included a few very neat ones but quite a few boring ones as well. Another problem is that the Probus volume of RIC is as outdated as a book gets and the better references tend not to be in English (more a problem to some of us than others). Probus showed up on four or five of my old pages but there is a lot better information available out there for those with search engine skills. Those too lazy to search may start here:
http://probvs.net/probvs/

 

There are some great busts. The bust diversity is huge. Here are a couple of scarcer ones. As Doug states, the shield detail is also varied on those with shields, some making the coin much rarer....

The first is ex-my collection but now long gone.

Radiate, cuirassed bust left in elaborate cuirass decorated with Medusa medallion & holding Vitoriola (Victory on globe, facing left, holding wreath) in right hand, palm up



The second is still in my collection.

Radiate bust left wearing imperial mantle, holding Victory on globe in right hand



Martin

 

This is the one I want but, of course, I want in in mint state.
http://www.acsearch.info/record.html?id=36967


Buying uncleaned coins, your chance of getting one is about the same as winning three back to back lotteries for over $100 million each. The one below is much more common (only one lottery???).
http://www.acsearch.info/record.html?id=186272

Back in 1997 I did a page on selecting a specialty where I named Probus as one I'd consider if I did not collect Septimius Severus (my specialty back then). Since that time a lot more people have started collecting both but I think Probus has increased in price more than Septimius at least when you consider the ridiculous number of really rare ones a specialist might want to own.
http://dougsmith.ancients.info/special.html

 

I love the Probus coins (Probi ) from Alexandria:




guy

 

I have accumulated a collection of the Alexandrian coins too over the years. I have a gallery of some of them hosted on another forum:-

http://www.forumancientcoins.com/gallery/thumbnails.php?album=1721

There is a decent variety of dates and types but lacking the rare "Emperor mounted on horse" type.

My scarcest is probably the following:-

Obv:– A K M AVP PROBOC CEB, Laureate, cuirassed bust right
Rev:– None, Nike advancing left, holding wreath in both hands
Minted in Alexandria, Egypt. Year 3. (LГ in left field)
Milne 4555. Curtis -, Emmett 3992(Year 3) Rated R5 (this coin). BMC -.
Ex-Olympus Coins February 1992
Ex-Keith Emmett Collection.



Martin

 

Martin: Your collection is both beautiful and fascinating.

Ancient Greek coins are beautiful. Republican Rome coins can be nice. Collecting the "twelve caesars" is admirable...

For me, however, the coins of the third century emperors (and usurpers) are the most exciting. I love their significance in an empire collapsing around them. How tragically ironic that a coin will have an insciption proclaiming the loyalty of the troops, only to be assassinated by a mutinying army.




RIC 28f, Bastien 168, C 256 Antoninianus Obv: IMPCMAVRPROBVSAVG - Radiate, cuirassed bust right.
Rev: FIDESMILITVM Exe: III - Fides standing left, holding a standard in each hand. 276 (Lugdunum)

I am always fascinated by the Romano-Egyptian coins' unique beauty and historical significance.

Great coins. Good stuff.

guy

Addendum: This coin's image and attribution were taken from dirtyoldcoins. This is not my coin.

 

Awesome coins willieboyd! I love the detail on the sheild of the Emperor on the obv of the first one, and the cuirass he is wearing on the second one is well detailed, plus a very nice depiction of Victory on the reverse, I also always liked the 'thunderbolt' in the mintmark. And I have also always liked temple reverses like in the first coin posted by you. Great coins willy.

Also the coins posted by maridvnvm are quite nice, I have no coins of Probus and know little of his reign, however I like the look of your examples. And bart9349 I think I like your Probus Ant with Fides on the reverse the most, or at least as much as the first two posted..... very beautiful example bart, impressive. Thanks for sharing.

 

My bad. Only the first two coins from Alexandria are mine. The last two coins I posted in this thread were from dirtyoldcoins.com.

I corrected my post.

guy

 

Ah, I see, that FIDES MILITUM one is very nice.

Your Alexandrian ones are nice too, I like the one with the eagle more, I always like eagle reverses, that's why I love collecting the Syrian tets struck between the time of Caracalla and the time of Trebonianus Gallus, those have some of my favorite eagle styles, however I did see an Alexandria tet.... it may have been of Probus, not sure, but on the reverse was the eagle standing between two standards or vexilla, I really thought that was a cool looking reverse, even though I don't much like most of the other Alexandrian tets from that time period.

 

Of the common coins of Probus, a reverse that is popular is the facing chariot of Sol. There are several varieties and mints but it is not that easy to find other reverses that are better suited to a round coin flan.


While I agree that there are interesting coins of Alexandria, I find the ones for Probus less thrilling than his regular Roman style issues. There are other rulers whose Alexandria coins stand out more to my eye so if I were allowed to have just one coin of Probus, it would be an antoninianus like these (but perhaps higher grade).

 

Those are fantastic examples Doug. Siscia is the only mint to attempt to illustrate clouds on this type, which is what those lines beneath the horses are trying to represent.

I love the spread quadriga type, which probably explains why I have gathered so many over the years, and it comes from so many mints too. I specialise in Probus from Lugdunum but do not have any of this type from there yet despite many years of searching.

I have examples from Rome, Siscia, Serdica and Cyzicus.



I also have a serious soft spot for the ADVENTVS types of Probus and indeed my favourite Probus in my collection is an ADVENTVS PROBI AVG from Lugdunum.



Martin

 

Those are some amazing examples Martin.

Constantine I and Probus are both coins I dunno what type to get.