Query: whence cometh my coin? I've gotten better at reading these and doing basic attribution, but mint identification is mighty tough. the guy i bought it from says siscia, but i just don't see it. is he right? help appreciated! probus ae antoninianus, RIC 204, Van Meter p. 262 no. 48.
the guy is right...its siscia... the siscia mints ex are: XXIQ XXIS XXIP XXI XXIB XXIV XXIS ect... Your coin is not RIC 204 but an RIC 767H.2 Probus AE Antoninianus. Siscia, AD 279. IMP C M AVR PROBVS P F AVG, radiate, helmeted, cuirassed bust right, holding spear & shield / SOLI INVICTO, quadriga to left, driven by Sol, holding whip & globe, XXIQ CM above in ex. Cohen 663.
I think it may have been tooled...I am going to get a second opinion. I could be completely wrong about it being tooled...otherwise...above is your coin info tooled or not
some features might have carved to make it seem a bit less worn than it is...I got a quick answer though and I think I am wrong...sorry to worry you. I compared it to some others and the forehead looked...wrong...but I think it is I that is wrong
no worries -- thanks for looking. i'd much rather know if i had a counterfeit or altered coin than to believe it was the genuine article. i certainly feel better that this isn't the case, however. still curious about the 'CM' in exergue. any idea? also, any suggestions for reading material re: mint markings?
You can post it over on ancients.info for Barry Murphy or someone to look at, but I don't think it's been tooled.
guys, are you sure it's siscia? here's a quick snippet from doug smith's page on probus's antoniniani. he notes that both siscia and cyzicus used the 'XXI' or 20-to-1 marking, and that each noted the officina either following or elsewhere on the reverse. but -- and this is what i think is key -- he notes that while siscia used no city mark, cyzicus use CM or MC. my coin has CM plainly evident over XXIQ (4th officina, as i read it). Siscia none XXI Letter following XXI or in field Cyzicus CM or MC in field or in exergue [then] XXI [then] Letter in field or in exergue see this page: http://dougsmith.ancients.info/probus.html see especially his second coin illustrated under the cyzicus section. i'd be curious to know what you think. man, this stuff is a lot of fun!
You are right...the CM stands for "Cyzici Moneta" It was pointed out to me that it is also a bit of an error coin...if you look at the 'R' in 'probus' it look like the engraver started with a 'P', realized the mistake and made it into an 'R' Sorry to steer you wrong man...but you are right...it is Cyzicus...
Hello Vercingetorix, As stated by Drusus, CM stands for Cyzici Moneta. Then the Q after XXI is for the 4th officina. Your coin is from Cyzicus, 3rd emission, 4th officina. Source . Rome V, the coinage of Probus (cgb.fr). There are coins similar to yours, p 51, # 533 to 536. From that source, it's RIC 511H Cucumbor
