Traveling over the weekend and found a couple Probus Antoninian coins in a Saturday market in Switzerland. These were the best two coins out of a small selection of ancients, as the guy mostly had Swiss coins. Got the two for 25 Francs each. 1. Probus bust left eagle sceptre, Reverse horseback left riding down foe. (277) IMP C M AVR PROBVS P F AUG VIRTVS PROBIA AVG XXIP Bit more than 3g, 21mm RIC vii 818 Probus RIC vii 818 by Homer2 posted Sep 4, 2023 at 5:09 PM Probus RIC vii 818 reverse by Homer2 posted Sep 4, 2023 at 5:09 PM 2. Probus bust right, Fides Left (280-281) PROBV S P F AUG FIDES M ILITVM 4g, 22mm C252, RIC 170 Probus RIC 170 by Homer2 posted Sep 4, 2023 at 5:09 PM Probus Fides Reverse RIC 170 by Homer2 posted Sep 4, 2023 at 5:09 PM
Nice pick ups. Until last week I never had a Probus in my collection. Probus, 276-282 AD. AR Antoninianus (4.98 gm; 23 mm). Lugdunum mint. IMP C PROBVS . P . F . AVG, radiate and cuirassed bust right. PAX AVG, Pax standing left with branch in upraised hand and raising hem of skirt while holding sceptre; Officina D in left field. RIC 119(D.RC) Aug 1st, 2023, (Pars Coins) VAuctions, esale #7, Lot # 120
Thanks! Also hit a Roman fort on the way out of town. Irgenahusen outside of Zurich. No coins there for me, but was in very good condition, and was supposed to be in use until 1140. Built over a 1st century villa. Fort Irgenhausen 2 by Homer2 posted Sep 4, 2023 at 5:35 PM Fort Irgenhausen 3 by Homer2 posted Sep 4, 2023 at 5:35 PM Fort Irgenhausen 4 by Homer2 posted Sep 4, 2023 at 5:35 PM Fort Irgenahusen 5 by Homer2 posted Sep 4, 2023 at 5:35 PM Fort Irgenhausen 1 by Homer2 posted Sep 4, 2023 at 5:35 PM
Probus has some great coins. My only Probus is special for being from a less well known mint and for being a “plate coin” from Doug Smith’s website. Roman Empire Probus, BI Antoninianus, Tripolis mint, second officina, struck ca. AD 276-282 Dia.: 22 mm Wt.: 3.82 g Obv: IMP C M AVR PROBVS P F AVG, radiate, draped and cuirassed bust right Rev: CLEMENTIA TEMP•, emperor standing right, holding eagle-tipped sceptre, receiving globe from Jupiter, holding sceptre, crescent in lower centre, KA in ex. Ref.: RIC V(b) 927. Ex Doug Smith Collection (illustrated on his webpage for Probus), acquired in 1997 from Kreuzer
Here's a Probus that is primarily notable for coming from the collection of Richard J. Plant (1928-2020), the "Reverend of Numismatics" and author of many books on ancient & medieval coins. (His coins were sold by Noonan and by Naville a couple years ago. I grabbed about a dozen modest but attractive enough & interesting coins. Blogpost about it.)
This antoninianus of Antioch has absolutely nothing special. Its'not rare at all, it is not in silver, or even billon, and if it may have been once silvered, all the silvering has gone now It's worth peanuts on the market But I like it anyway Late 3rd c. small change... And the flan is bizarre, a little like if it had been elongated at a souvenir shop
I really like the OP coin with Probus on horseback. I don’t believe I have one of those. Below is my favorite Probus on horseback coin.
I specialise in Probus and particularly his coinage from Lugdunum. Here is an example of a small selection of how I collect. The following are just a sample of a single reverse type (TEMPOR FELICI) from the 6th Emission (Bastien). Obv:– IMP C PROBVS P • F • AVG, Radiate, cuirassed bust right Rev:– TEMPOR FELICI, Felicitas standing right, holding caduceus and cornucopiae Minted in Lugdunum (I) Emission 6 Officina 1. A.D. 278 - 279 Reference(s) – Cohen 713. Bastien 269. RIC 104 Bust type F There is a single reverse die with the error TEMPR FELICI. Obv:– IMP C PROBVS P • F • AVG, Radiate, cuirassed bust right Rev:– TEMPR FELICI (sic), Felicitas standing right, holding caduceus and cornucopiae Mint – Lugdunum (I in exe) Emission 6 Officina 1. A.D.278 to A.D. 279 Reference:– Cohen -. Bastien -. RIC 104 Bust type F var. Not listed in Bastien or RIC with this reverse legend error. Obv:– IMP C M AVR PROBVS AVG, Radiate, cuirassed bust right Rev:– TEMPOR FELICI, Felicitas standing right, holding caduceus and cornucopiae Mint – Lugdunum (I in exe) Emission 6 Officina 1. A.D.278 to A.D. 279 Reference:– Bastien 266. RIC 103 Bust type F I bought the following coin because it seems to have undergone some reworking of the obverse legend. The OBV of the legend looks highly unusual in terms of letter sizing and spacing. Obv:– IMP C M AVR PROBVS AVG, Radiate, draped and cuirassed bust right (seen from the rear) Rev:– TEMPOR FELICI, Felicitas standing right, holding caduceus and cornucopiae Mint – Lugdunum (I in exe) Emission 6 Officina 1. A.D.278 to A.D. 279 Reference:– Bastien 264 (1 example cited). RIC 103 Bust type C var (not listed with this bust type in RIC) Possibly an oversrike. There is a lot of residual detail of a coin on the reverse but not enough to identify the undertype. Obv:– IMP C M AVR PROBVS AVG, Radiate, draped and cuirassed bust right (seen from the front) Rev:– TEMPOR FELICI, Felicitas standing right, holding caduceus and cornucopiae Mint – Lugdunum (I in exe) Emission 6 Officina 1. A.D.278 to A.D. 279 Reference:– Cohen -. Bastien 265 (1). Bastien supp1 -. Bastien supp 2/265 b pl. IX (1 ex.) . RIC 103 Bust type C var (Not listed with this bust type is RIC). The following coin is highly unsual in the series being from Officina 4 (IIII) Obv:– IMP C M AVR PROBVS AVG, Radiate, draped and cuirassed bust right (seen from the front) Rev:– TEMPOR FELICI, Felicitas standing right, holding caduceus and cornucopiae Mint – Lugdunum (IIII in exe) Emission 6 Officina 4. A.D.278 to A.D. 279 Reference:– Cohen -. Bastien -. RIC 103 Bust type F var (Not listed with this officna in RIC or Bastien).
Hi @Homer2 - a belated congrats on your coins of Probus. I especially like the horsemen that you and @Orange Julius shared and your photos of the Roman fort! I am just discovering this thread this weekend as I wrote-up an Alexandrian tetradrachm of Probus. Lots of nice Probus coins in this thread! I'll add a link to my write-up - https://www.sullacoins.com/post/soldier-emperor and this coin from the Ticinium coded EQVITI series (10th emission):
Thanks @Sulla80 and loving the post on Probus. I'm trying to be a sponge and soak up all the knowledge I can. Living in Germania Superior gives one the opportunity to see a bit of history wherever you go. My village has a Celtic stone in front of the Rathaus. I'll be on the lookout for some more examples and will be spending some time on your blog exploring.
@Sulla80 - I did collect the Alexandrian Tetradrachms of Probus for a while though I haven't added a coin to that sub-collection for a long time. The one coin that want to add is an Emperor on horseback variety, which is hard to find. There was one that I saw come on the market a few years back I was the underbidder even though I had already bid up to double what I had set out wanting to pay. I have a gallery of my Probus Tetradrachms here if anyone is interested:- https://www.forumancientcoins.com/gallery/thumbnails.php?album=1721 I am in the process of updating all the images to my current setup.
