Roma Numismatics Ltd
Auction XVI 26 Sep 2018
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Probus AV Aureus. Lugdunum, AD 276. IMP C M AVR PROBVS AVG, laureate, draped and cuirassed bust right / VIRTVS AVGVSTI, Probus standing left, holding sceptre and crowning trophy at base of which are two seated captives. RIC 12; Calicó 4245 (this coin); C. 863 var. (not cuirassed); Bastien 160a, c. 4.73g, 22mm, 7h.
Mint State. Extremely Rare.
This coin published in X. Calicó, Los Aureos Romanos (2002);
Ex Numismatica Ars Classica 25, 25 June 2003, lot 565.
Probus' ascension to the throne in AD 276 occurred at an unstable time for the Roman Empire: three emperors had died over the last year, two of whom were assassinated and the third is rumoured to have been; the security of the empire was threatened by foreign invasion and Florian, the brother of the previous emperor Tacitus, had been declared emperor by the senate and army in the West in opposition to Probus in the East. Probus therefore had a difficult task ahead of him to defeat his rival for the throne and restore order to a destabilised empire.
Probus had employed a Fabian strategy to defeat Florian, avoiding an outright battle and instead relying on skirmishes, the intensity of the summer heat and the discontent this caused among Florian's army to weaken his enemy's position. Florian was soon killed by his own forces, and Probus was confirmed as emperor by the Senate with a minimum of bloodshed.
Despite the calamitous state of the Empire when Probus ascended the throne, he proved himself to be an efficient and productive emperor, defeating numerous foreign enemies and improving some parts of the areas devastated by war through engaging the army during peacetime in building projects such as growing vines in Gaul, Pannonia and Moesia. Though his rule is covered to an extent by ancient historiographers, the stories often do not match up and the picture we receive of Probus' rule is somewhat broad and lacking in detail. However, what the sources agree on are the great military achievements of this emperor and the respect he earned both from the conquered and his own people.
Unfortunately for numismatists, Probus' coinage is more focused on emphasising the emperor's virtus than recording specific achievements, thus making it difficult to establish a chronology or associate types with particular events. This coin, for example, celebrates the emperor's victory over enemies unspecified. Struck in the early months of his reign, it does however depict Probus in a far more individualistic manner than his later coinage, which often tends towards being highly stylised and showing the emperor in military attire, armed and helmeted - far more so than ever before seen on imperial coinage. Though this portrait is not so militarised as later issues, the origin of this emperor and the nature of his reign is still very much explicit in the combination of a familiar trophy reverse type with the laureate and simply cuirassed bust suggestive of an emperor predisposed to war.
Despite his virtues, there was little security to be found in wearing the purple during this period. A long series of civil wars had created a penchant for general-emperors, elected by the army and thereby required to repay the soldiers for their support. Further, internal divisions had left Rome vulnerable to foreign enemies with Germanic tribes attacking the upper Rhine and Danube regions and Aurelian's Persian campaign still unresolved. Finally, the threat of usurpation was ever present; over the six years Probus was emperor, he successfully put down three revolts but was ultimately assassinated by his own soldiers in AD 282 and replaced by the commander of the Praetorian Guard, Carus.
Mint State. Extremely Rare.
This coin published in X. Calicó, Los Aureos Romanos (2002);
Ex Numismatica Ars Classica 25, 25 June 2003, lot 565.
Probus' ascension to the throne in AD 276 occurred at an unstable time for the Roman Empire: three emperors had died over the last year, two of whom were assassinated and the third is rumoured to have been; the security of the empire was threatened by foreign invasion and Florian, the brother of the previous emperor Tacitus, had been declared emperor by the senate and army in the West in opposition to Probus in the East. Probus therefore had a difficult task ahead of him to defeat his rival for the throne and restore order to a destabilised empire.
Probus had employed a Fabian strategy to defeat Florian, avoiding an outright battle and instead relying on skirmishes, the intensity of the summer heat and the discontent this caused among Florian's army to weaken his enemy's position. Florian was soon killed by his own forces, and Probus was confirmed as emperor by the Senate with a minimum of bloodshed.
Despite the calamitous state of the Empire when Probus ascended the throne, he proved himself to be an efficient and productive emperor, defeating numerous foreign enemies and improving some parts of the areas devastated by war through engaging the army during peacetime in building projects such as growing vines in Gaul, Pannonia and Moesia. Though his rule is covered to an extent by ancient historiographers, the stories often do not match up and the picture we receive of Probus' rule is somewhat broad and lacking in detail. However, what the sources agree on are the great military achievements of this emperor and the respect he earned both from the conquered and his own people.
Unfortunately for numismatists, Probus' coinage is more focused on emphasising the emperor's virtus than recording specific achievements, thus making it difficult to establish a chronology or associate types with particular events. This coin, for example, celebrates the emperor's victory over enemies unspecified. Struck in the early months of his reign, it does however depict Probus in a far more individualistic manner than his later coinage, which often tends towards being highly stylised and showing the emperor in military attire, armed and helmeted - far more so than ever before seen on imperial coinage. Though this portrait is not so militarised as later issues, the origin of this emperor and the nature of his reign is still very much explicit in the combination of a familiar trophy reverse type with the laureate and simply cuirassed bust suggestive of an emperor predisposed to war.
Despite his virtues, there was little security to be found in wearing the purple during this period. A long series of civil wars had created a penchant for general-emperors, elected by the army and thereby required to repay the soldiers for their support. Further, internal divisions had left Rome vulnerable to foreign enemies with Germanic tribes attacking the upper Rhine and Danube regions and Aurelian's Persian campaign still unresolved. Finally, the threat of usurpation was ever present; over the six years Probus was emperor, he successfully put down three revolts but was ultimately assassinated by his own soldiers in AD 282 and replaced by the commander of the Praetorian Guard, Carus.