Message:

<p>[QUOTE=&quot;zumbly, post: 7656917, member: 57495&quot;]With the prices for ancient coins running as hot as they have been this past year, I&#039;ve been sitting on my hands in auctions far more than in any of my previous years in the hobby.&nbsp; So, I was pleasantly surprised a few months ago that an impulsive one-increment-above-current-price bid that I placed in an auction scored me this very cool aureus of Probus.&nbsp; While it&#039;s true that it&#039;s not a high grade example, and that its flaws - dings, scratches, repaired hole, and removed mounting - probably put off many other bidders, I found its virtues outweighing its issues for me. </p><p><br /></p><p>I really liked the jugate portraits of Sol and Probus on the obverse, and on the reverse, I found especially interesting the legend SOLI INVICTO COMITI AVG, which while most familiar as a shortened form on the Sol standing coins of Constantine I, first appears here on this aureus issue of Probus.&nbsp; In other words, here&#039;s indisputable evidence that Probus was Sol&#039;s original bro!</p><p><br /></p><p>Another selling point for me was this aureus&#039;s provenance to Leo Biaggi de Blasys&#039;s famed collection of Roman gold, and it was a further bonus that my winning bid was about 30% lower than its hammer in the original 2008 NAC sale of the Biaggi collection.&nbsp; After my pic and description below is a short bio of Biaggi taken from a CNG auction description.</p><p><br /></p><p>Please also do feel free to share your favorite coins of Probus!</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]1316363[/ATTACH]</p><p><b>PROBUS</b></p><p>AV Aureus. 6.28g, 21mm. Serdica mint, AD 276-282. RIC 829 (R3) corr. (with AVG in rev legend); Biaggi 1640 (<i>this coin</i>). O: SOL COMIS PROBI AVG, Jugate busts left of Probus, helmeted and cuirassed, holding spear and shield, and of Sol, radiate. R: SOLI INVICTO COMITI AVG, draped bust of Sol right.</p><p><i>Ex Leo Biaggi de Blasys Collection (NAC 49, 21 Oct 2008, lot 400); ex Münzen und Medaillen AG Basel 19 (1959), lot 250</i></p><p><br /></p><p>&quot;Leo Biaggi de Blasys (1906-1979) was a Swiss sugar magnate and sportsman whose fascination with ancient Rome led to the creation of one of the world&#039;s greatest collections of Roman gold coins. Born in Genoa to a Swiss-Italian diplomat and a French mother, he became active in the Red Cross after 1943 and, with his father, he repeatedly helped Jews in Italy escape persecution in the later years of World War II. He was also alleged to have knowingly aided in the escape of high-ranking Nazis, a notion dismissed by his friends and relations. In 1961, he received the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic for his services. His collection focused on Roman gold from the Republic to late Empire, ultimately comprising over 2,000 specimens. The gold collection was purchased en bloc by Bank Leu (Zurich) in 1978, and slowly sold off to collectors over the next few decades. More than 500 ex-Biaggi coins were sold by Numismatica Ars Classica in their Auction 49 in 2008. The Biaggi pedigree remains highly prized among collectors of Roman gold.&quot;[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

Your name or email address:

Do you already have an account?

• No, create an account now.
• Yes, my password is:
• Forgot your password?

Stay logged in