|
ID: |
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90010164 |
| Type: |
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Roman Imperial |
| Issuer: |
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Probus |
| Date Ruled: |
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AD 276-282
|
| Metal: |
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Bronze |
| Denomination: |
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Medallion |
| Struck / Cast: |
|
struck |
| Weight: |
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22.85 g |
| Die Axis: |
|
12 h |
| Obverse Legend: |
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IMP PROBVS P F AVG |
| Obverse Description: |
|
Laureate, draped, and cuirassed bust left, holding forward pointing spear in right hand, and shirld on left arm; shield ornamented with Victory moving to left,leading the emperor, who is on horseback to left, his right hand raised in salutation, followed by a soldier marching left |
| Reverse Legend: |
|
MONETA A_VG |
| Reverse Description: |
|
The Three Monetae standing facing, their heads to left; each holds a cornucopiae in her left hand and, in her right, a pair of scales, suspended over a pile of coins at her feet. |
| Primary Reference: |
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CalicÓ 4195 |
| Reference2: |
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Bastien, Buste, pl. 119, 2 (same obverse die) |
| Reference3: |
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Cohen 376 |
| Reference4: |
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Pink VI/1 p. 47 |
| Photograph Credit: |
|
Classical Numismatic Group |
| Source: |
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http://www.cngcoins.com/Coin.aspx?CoinID=138728 |
| Special Comments: |
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Very rare. With considerable traces of the original silvery, billon surface as well as possible traces of ancient gilding. |
|
Grade:
|
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Pink VI/1, P. 49, 1st issue |
| Notes: |
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Sale: Nomos 1, Lot: 164 RIC 593 Ex Triton VII, 13 January 2004, 1028.Probus issued a goodly number of what can be termed ‘heavy aurei’ (similar in weight to the old standard issues of the earlier 3rd and 2nd centuries but one and a half times that of the usual pieces struck by Probus himself). These were surely designed for donatives: this one celebrates the emperor’s arrival in Rome in 277. The attractive toning on this coin is similar to that found on coins from a number of hoards, such as Bosco Reale near Naples and the Getrudenstrasse Hoard from Cologne, and derives from the decomposition of the container in which the coins were originally buried. From the collections of Erich von Schulthess-Rechberg, ‘ESR’, Hess-Leu [17], 23 March 1961, 374 and Apostolo Zeno, I, Dorotheum 975, 13 June 1955, 2104.The coinage of Probus is renowned for the remarkable bust types used on its obverses. This piece is no exception. We not only have a military bust, but one protected by a highly ornamental shield bearing a scene of triumph. The emperor is riding to the left, his hand raised to acknowledge the cheers of the onlookers we must imagine to have been there; he is preceded by Victory and followed by a soldier who strides along, his right hand raised and holding a wreath in the emperor’s honor.This medallion has the added interest of coming from two great collections: E. von Schulthess was a cultured Swiss banker whose family had collected coins and other things for generations, but whose Roman coins were all acquired with the help of Leo Mildenberg during the 1950s. The other attested owner of this piece was Apostolo Zeno (1668-1750), a Venetian nobleman who was a famous poet and librettist (he wrote the texts for 36 operas). He served as poet laureate to the Habsburg emperor in Vienna in 1718, but when he retired to Venice in 1729 he seems to have devoted the rest of his life to coin collecting. His collections, bought by the Abbey of St. Florian in Austria in 1747, were sold beginning in 1955. Obviously, all the coins in this collection were acquired primarily during the second quarter of the 18th century, though many of them may well have been found in the 17th century or earlier. |
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