Numismatica Ars Classica
Auction 106 9-10 May 2018
View prices realized
► Sale information
Find similar lots
Probus, 276 – 282. Aureus, Siscia 276-282, AV 5.93 g. IMP C M AVR PROBVS AVG Laureate, draped and cuirassed bust r. Rev. AD – VENTVS AVG Emperor, in military attire, on horseback l., raising r. hand, preceded by Victory advancing l., looking backwards, holding wreath and palm branch; behind the Emperor, soldier standing l., holding spear and shield. In exergue, SIS. C –, cf. 30 (for a similar reverse type). RIC –, cf. 584 (for a similar reverse type). Calicó –.
Apparently unique and unrecorded. A superb portrait and an interesting and
finely detailed reverse composition. Virtually as struck and almost Fdc
Ex NAC sale 46, 2008, 668.
Probus began his military career around A.D. 250, advancing through the ranks under Valerian and Aurelian. He held a high position in the East under Tacitus (A.D. 275-276), and when the latter died from illness or assassination Probus was proclaimed emperor by the troops under his command. This was problematic because the army with Tacitus in Asia Minor had proclaimed the Praetorian Prefect, Florian, as emperor. In order to press his claim, Probus marched against Florian. The two emperors faced each other in Cilicia, but realizing the numerical superiority of Florian's army, Probus refused to engage in a pitched battle, instead allowing the summer heat to wear down the enemy forces and break their morale. This strategy was extremely effective. At last, the heat and the inability to bring Probus to battle brought Florian's officers to their breaking point. Florian was assassinated after a reign of only two months, leaving Probus the only claimant to the throne. With his rival out of the way, in A.D. 277 Probus advanced west, pushing back the Goths on the Danube frontier and earning the title of Gothicus along the way, before moving to deal with the depredations of the Franks and Alamanni who had been crossing the Rhine frontier into Gaul. After he reached the Rhine, Probus made a special trip to Rome in order to have his imperial title ratified by the Senate. This visit to the Eternal City is the probable subject of this unique and wonderfully preserved aureus.
The reverse legend makes it clear that the coin celebrates an adventus (ceremonial entry into a city) of Probus. Since the type was struck at Siscia, it might at first be tempting to link it to the emperor's Gothic campaign on the Danube frontier in A.D. 277. Probus almost certainly would have stopped at this important Pannonian city before or after driving the Goths back across the great river. However, as other known adventus types of Probus struck at Siscia are usually dated to A.D. 277, it seems more likely that this coin refers to Probus' entry into Rome later that year. The adventus at Rome was of special symbolic significance because it showed that his position as emperor, established and maintained by force of arms, was sanctioned by the Senate. Probus appears on the reverse of the coin, flanked by personifications of the two original sources of his power – Victory (over Florian and the Goths) and the army – and advancing into the city towards the full legitimacy that the Senate could bestow. It is notable that while this coin is unique, it is associated with another aureus that depicts the mounted emperor led by Victory, but without the soldier behind.
Apparently unique and unrecorded. A superb portrait and an interesting and
finely detailed reverse composition. Virtually as struck and almost Fdc
Ex NAC sale 46, 2008, 668.
Probus began his military career around A.D. 250, advancing through the ranks under Valerian and Aurelian. He held a high position in the East under Tacitus (A.D. 275-276), and when the latter died from illness or assassination Probus was proclaimed emperor by the troops under his command. This was problematic because the army with Tacitus in Asia Minor had proclaimed the Praetorian Prefect, Florian, as emperor. In order to press his claim, Probus marched against Florian. The two emperors faced each other in Cilicia, but realizing the numerical superiority of Florian's army, Probus refused to engage in a pitched battle, instead allowing the summer heat to wear down the enemy forces and break their morale. This strategy was extremely effective. At last, the heat and the inability to bring Probus to battle brought Florian's officers to their breaking point. Florian was assassinated after a reign of only two months, leaving Probus the only claimant to the throne. With his rival out of the way, in A.D. 277 Probus advanced west, pushing back the Goths on the Danube frontier and earning the title of Gothicus along the way, before moving to deal with the depredations of the Franks and Alamanni who had been crossing the Rhine frontier into Gaul. After he reached the Rhine, Probus made a special trip to Rome in order to have his imperial title ratified by the Senate. This visit to the Eternal City is the probable subject of this unique and wonderfully preserved aureus.
The reverse legend makes it clear that the coin celebrates an adventus (ceremonial entry into a city) of Probus. Since the type was struck at Siscia, it might at first be tempting to link it to the emperor's Gothic campaign on the Danube frontier in A.D. 277. Probus almost certainly would have stopped at this important Pannonian city before or after driving the Goths back across the great river. However, as other known adventus types of Probus struck at Siscia are usually dated to A.D. 277, it seems more likely that this coin refers to Probus' entry into Rome later that year. The adventus at Rome was of special symbolic significance because it showed that his position as emperor, established and maintained by force of arms, was sanctioned by the Senate. Probus appears on the reverse of the coin, flanked by personifications of the two original sources of his power – Victory (over Florian and the Goths) and the army – and advancing into the city towards the full legitimacy that the Senate could bestow. It is notable that while this coin is unique, it is associated with another aureus that depicts the mounted emperor led by Victory, but without the soldier behind.