Virtus in this case meaning the personification of the military virtues of manliness, courage and virtue. These virtues were vital for a third century Roman emperor to display and propagandize, lest his subordinates consider replacing him with someone more virtuous.
Obverse: IMP C M AVR PROBVS AVG. (Imperator Caesar Marcus Aurelius Probus Augustus) Emperor in armor facing left, wearing double diadem and carrying a spear.
Reverse: VIRTVS PROBI AVG. Virtue walking right, carrying a spear and trophy, Q in the right lower field.
The obverse of the coin shows the Emperor in later roman armor, carrying a spear showing his military virtues, and wearing the double diadem that marks the coin as a double denarius, today known as the antoninianus.
On this coin, the bronze can be seen beneath silver wash on the obverse, but the details of the emperor and his armor remain nice and sharp. A fair amount of the silver wash remains on the reverse with only a few bits of bronze showing through the silver.
This coin, from the Ticium mint, which has a mint mark of XXI. Just like the previous coin of Probus from the mint of Rome, it also has a letter from the word AEQVITI added to the coin's reverse, in this case a Q.
The obverse legend is interesting - Probus a third-century emperor who reigned from 276-282 A.D., is titled as Imperator or emperor, Caesar and Augustus - tying himself to the glory and power of Rome's first emperor and imperial dynasty.
2 comments:
Interesting coin. Find it, or buy it?
Thanks, I purchased this one.
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