From Hadrian, to Probus. With love?
One amongst several unusual reverses of Probus, a coin which illustrates Roman awareness of their past numismatic history, even in the midst of a turbulent era.
Not listed in RIC V.2, it would fit between RIC 631 and 632. Not known by Andreas Alföldi and thus absent from his survey¹ of Probus' Siscia coins. A remarkable reverse, both because it reprises a type of Hadrian, and manages to bungle the legend while doing so. Thus far, only known from a specimen with the error. There are approximately 140 years between the two issues.
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Chronology: Pink's 4th emission of Siscia, 277 CE.
RIC bust type F, Bastiens's type B.
OBV.: IMP C M AVR PROBVS AVG
Radiate, armoured bust right.
REV.: ADVENTVS AVGSTI [sic] Cesures: ADVEN_T_VS AVGSTI
Roma (or Virtus) standing right, holding reverted spear and clasping hands with Probus in toga praetexta, standing left, and holding roll.
Mintmark: -|-//XXIT
Weight: 4.18 g.
Die axis: ?
Diameter: ?
Image provided courtesy of Paul-Francis Jacquier, JACQUIER NUMISMATIQUE ANTIQUE, ex Philippe Gysen.
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Hadrian denarius image courtesy of Gorny & Mosch
https://www.acsearch.info/search.html?id=193851
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¹ - Alföldi, Andreas
Siscia. V, Probus sisciai antoninianusai
Numizmatikai Közlöny, XXXVI-XXXVII, 1937-1938, p. 3-88.
Stádium Sajtóvállalat Részvénytársaság, Budapest, 1939.