My First ADVENTVS Coin

Roman Empire
Philip I the Arab (AD 244-249)
AR Antoninianus, Rome mint, struck ca. AD 245
Obv.: IMP M IVL PHILIPPVS AVG; Radiate, draped and cuirassed bust right
Rev.: ADVENTVS AVGG; Philip on horseback left, raising right hand and holding spear
Ref.: RIC IV 26b
Ex. Savoca 23rd Blue Auction (Aug. 2019)

Philip’s Adventus Coins

Philip I was Praetorian prefect for Gordian III during the Roman invasion of Persia in AD 243-244. When the Roman army was defeated at the Battle of Misiche, Gordian III was either killed in battle or killed by his disgruntled officers (probably instigated by Philip) after the battle. The army proclaimed Philip emperor and he quickly concluded a humiliating peace agreement with Shapur I of Persia. He then headed to Rome as quickly as he could to shore up his support in the senate.

The striking of this coin in AD 245 coincides with Philip’s entry into Rome (ADVENTVS) on his return from the east. This coin was almost certainly struck as part of a donative to the army to secure their continued loyalty as Philip looked to solidify his position.

The plural AVGG of the reverse legend apparently refers to the raising of the empress Otacilia to the rank of Augusta in 245 which marked an unusual use of this plural abbreviation on Roman coinage.

This is my first ADVENTVS type coin and I think it is a nice coin for the price I paid for it. Please post your Philip I and ADVENTVS coins!


Bust of Philip I rediscovered in 1778 and housed in the Vatican Museum (Author’s photo)

 

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Nice addition! I love the portrait it's beautiful. I don't have any Philip I or Adventvs coins yet, but maybe soon.

 

Very nice, I really like that portrait. Here are my coins from Philip:

 

My one and only Philip the Arab coin. I really like the patina and details on this coin.


Poor Annona looks like she's gonna puke.

 

Gotta hand it to you Curtis you have a great eye for quality, fantastic detailed coin. And great price, congrats.

 

Great coin, congrats Curtis.

Father & son:

 

Curtisimo, Nice score ! The portrait is excellent & the detail on the reverse is impressive, & to top it off the coin looks FDC .

 

While I upgraded some time ago, I never got rid of my first Philip which I saw as better style.


While not Adventus, there are other horse coins of note. This with father and son is from the officina numbered series.


Of course my favorite horse coins are Severan.

Geta as


Top of my heap are the Septimius Severus 'Emesa' mint coins. To specialists, they are different in some way justifying the multiples. Most here would see no reason for this and would prefer one high grade coin to cover them all. Years ago I traded away my finest of the common version (with scepter) for a rare Mars reverse. The dealer though I was a fool. He may have been right.

 

@Curtisimo, an excellent coin and Vatican Museum photo. As I don't have an Adventus Augg - I will add a coin of Otacilia Severa (with Pietas wearing a baseball glove on her right hand?) from AD 248.

Otacilia Severa AD 244-249, Rome, AR Antoninianus
Obv: OTACIL SEVERA AVG, diademed and draped bust right, set on crescent
Rev: PIETAS AVGG Δ, Pietas standing left, raising hand and holding box of perfumes, to left, altar

 

Excellent addition and very cool price to it

No Adventus here, but a family snapshot



Cheers my friend
Q

 

That’s a great new addition, @Curtisimo



Phillip I, Antoninianus, circa 248, (21mm., 3.04g). Radiate, draped and cuirassed bust right/Rev. Philip I and Philip II, on horses, galloping r., each raising r. hand and holding spear. RIC 10.


Philip I, Antoninianus, Rome, AD 247, (23mm, 4.55g), Radiate, draped and cuirassed bust right / Annona standing left, holding grain ears over prow and cornucopia. RIC IV 59.

 

Great coins, all! Thanks for sharing!

 

That's a lovely coin, @Curtisimo ! A fine acquisition for your collection! It seems the ADVENTVS design was quite popular among the barracks emperors; coins of Philip I, Trajan Decius, Trebonianus Gallus, Gallienus, and Probus make use of the motif.

Here's my ADVENTVS of T-Bone from the Antioch mint. It's not exactly high-grade silver.



My favorite Philip is still the elephant one!

 

Beautiful coins
My ADVENTUS coin from Probus.....




Probus, antoninianus
Probus, silvered antoninianus
Rome mint, 7th officina
279 AD
23.5 mm, 3.7g
Obv. IMP PRO-BVS AVG, Bust of Probus, radiate and cuirassed, facing right
Rev. ADVEN-TVS AVG, Probus, in military attire, on horseback left, raising his right hand in salute and holding sceptre in his left; to left, seated captive; in exergue: R, crescent, ς
RIC V 157

 

As always, BEAuuuutiful coin, wonderful photography and excellent write up
Here is my only Phil and phamily:

Philip I
A.D. 244-249. AR antoninianus(22.7 mm, 2.1 g,). Rome, A.D. 247. IMP M IVL PHILIPPVS AVG, radiate, draped and cuirassed bust of Philip I right / ROMAE AETERNAE, Roma seated left on shield, holding Victory on globe and spear. RIC 44b; RSC 169

Otacilia Severa
AR antoninanus, 244-249 CE Mint:Rome, 244-245 CE, 22mm x 25mm, 4.12g Obv: MARCIA OTACIL SEVERA AVG
Diademed and draped bust right, with a crescent behind her shoulders.
Rev: PVDICITIA AVG
Pudicitia seated left, right hand drawing veil from face and holding a transverse sceptre in her left arm.
Ref: RCV (2005) 9159; RIC IV

Philip II
(AD 247-249). Silver antoninianus Antioch. IMP M IVL PHILIPPVS AVG, radiate, draped, cuirassed bust of Philip II right / CONCORDIA AVGG, Concordia seated left, holding patera and cornucopiae. RIC 241 (R2) variant (bust l.)

 

..my sole Phillip l coin ...antoninianus featuring Annon....

 

Congrats, Curtis! I don't have an ADVENTVS, so like others, I'll show the Philip's I do have.

An Annona sestertius I just got last week...


And a Felicitas antoninianus I picked up earlier this year...

 

Nice coin and write-up, Curtisimo. Very informative indeed. The OP seems to be on the heavy side for these, which I'll address below (without knowing anything about why this is).

I have three Philip ADVENTVS antoniniani, which is kind of an accident - I like Philip's coinage very much, and if one comes up cheap ($20 or less) I will bid on them. This is how I wound up with three of them (none of them as nice as the OP). This is what happens when you bottom-feed.

Here is the grouping. A couple things that I find peculiar about these -

The top one appears to be made out of worse silver than usual - it is possibly even a counterfeit, or else just darkened more than usual for these. It is also the lightest of the bunch at 3.21 grams. My photos make it look lighter than it is; it is quite dark in hand.

The one on the bottom left is also quite dull. However, it is the heaviest of the bunch at 4.51 grams (but not as heavy as Curtisimo's). The flan diameter is about the same as the others, but it is thicker. I have seen CT discussions where extra-heavy antoniniani have been discussed - they seem to be fairly abundant, but mysterious. Or maybe 3.2-4.5 grams is just the normal acceptable weight range for these? Heck if I know.

The one on the bottom right looks more "typical" for Philip in terms of fabric, color, etc. It weighs 3.70 grams. It has toning/encrustation issues that I find appealing, although many would not. None of these have that bright-white look so many antoniniani have from this period.

 

Thanks for all the kind words everyone and great pile-on coins!

Thanks for the compliment I could easily say the same thing about the quality of your collection my friend.

Nice Philips! I really like the big Viminacium bronzes of Philip also. I got mine for about $10 and it would be hard to point at a coin I like better on a per dollar basis!

Thanks brother!

That would make a pretty cool and relatively affordable sub collection. 3rd century ADVENTVS types.

Nice Sestertius! You are getting really good with your in hand photos and cropping so that the photos make up a nice composition. Very distinctive of a Justin Lee coin photo!

Very interesting commentary about the weight of these. Thank you. Some really nice examples to illustrate your talking points as well!