I have this Probus (silvered) Antoninianus that I am looking for a RIC reference for. Can anyone help me please? (I have it listed as Alfoldi Table XI, Type 23, No.11.) I believe (but could be corrected) that it is AE23mm, 5.5gm., Obv. IMPCPROBUSPFAVG, Radiate, Cuirassed (or Cuirassed and draped) bust R. Rev. CONCORDIAMILIT (or similar) Probus standing R. shaking hands with Concordia. In ex. XXIT (Siscia mint)
The RIC listing provided shows well the problem with RIC for coins of this period Number 666 not only covers this exact coin but those with four other bust types and all 14 officina letter variations. I really do not know if all obverse variations came with all reverse variations but how would you like a collection of 70 'different' coins all RIC 666? Changing a letter or two in the obverse legend will move you o a different RIC number from Siscia. Similar arrays of variation came from some other Probus mints and can be distinquished by style and the way the officinae were recorded. I suppose someone could add up how many variations of this reverse is possible but that is a job for someone else! If and when RIC V part 2 for Probus is reworked as is now being done for RIC V part 1, I would expect all these numbers to be separated.
@Topcat7, not long a go I had a similar question and I asked at probvs.net Greg Kryszczuk answered: "What is a catalogue number in RIC V, generally, is the combination of obverse legend and the reverse type. There can be many busts within the same catalogue number. If the coins were listed separately by bust type, the book would be 10 times as thick as it is, or even thicker, considering how many busts were in use by Probus. In regard to Lugdunum, RIC splits some of the coins into different periods, which it doesn't do at other mints. They can be only told apart by style." If you have Probus related questions you can contact send him an email and ask. You can find his contact information on the website https://probvs.net/probvs/ Hope this info is helpful
Probvs.net is a great resource but it takes a little while to figure out the layout. In particular, I prefer to open pages in a new tab rather than just clicking on them. There are may nice coins!
@Roman Collector , @dougsmit , @cmezner Thank you for the replies, and the advice. When I started my 'collection' I opted to use RIC numbers to identify my Roman coins, and where possible I would like to continue to do that. I do realize that some coins are 'unlisted' and I (now) realize that a 'single' listing may refer to several different coins. (Perhaps I should have stayed with collecting cars - easier to identify - harder to store.)
