Gemini, LLC
Auction 11 12 January 2014
View prices realized
► Sale information
Find similar lots
Probus. 276-282 AD. Antoninianus, 3.89 (11h). Siscia. Obv: IMP C PROBVS P F AVG Bust radiate, cuirassed left, seen from front, right hand holding spear over shoulder, shield covering left shoulder and arm; on cuirass, facing head.of Medusa enclosed by U-shaped border below and with two small wings above. Rx: ADVENTVS AVG Emperor on horseback left, raising right hand and holding transverse spear in left; in exergue, XXIP (officina 4). Alföldi, Siscia V, 5/42 (2 spec. in Vienna). Probus website, RIC 626, first illustration (this coin, image submitted by Phil Davis). EF
Ex Phillip Davis Collection
A small Medusa head, often placed between two sections of an aegis left and right of it, frequently decorates Probus' cuirass. The larger Medusa head on our coin, with distinct eyes, nose, mouth, and protruding tongue, and tightly surrounded by a border perhaps meant to represent the aegis, seems to be unusual; we could find no parallels in CoinArchives Pro, Berk photofile, the Gloucester Hoard publication, or the Hunter catalogue (Glasgow). The Probus website, under Mint of Siscia, illustrates our very coin under RIC 626, plus three other Siscia coins showing a rather large Medusa head on Probus' cuirass, though in different bust types than on our coin and combined with different reverse types: RIC 812 (fourth image), RIC 820 (last image), and RIC 821 (first image)
Ex Phillip Davis Collection
A small Medusa head, often placed between two sections of an aegis left and right of it, frequently decorates Probus' cuirass. The larger Medusa head on our coin, with distinct eyes, nose, mouth, and protruding tongue, and tightly surrounded by a border perhaps meant to represent the aegis, seems to be unusual; we could find no parallels in CoinArchives Pro, Berk photofile, the Gloucester Hoard publication, or the Hunter catalogue (Glasgow). The Probus website, under Mint of Siscia, illustrates our very coin under RIC 626, plus three other Siscia coins showing a rather large Medusa head on Probus' cuirass, though in different bust types than on our coin and combined with different reverse types: RIC 812 (fourth image), RIC 820 (last image), and RIC 821 (first image)