“Always Victorius”

Triton XIX, Lot: 612. Estimate $50000. Sold for $85000. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

Probus. AD 276-282. AV Aureus (20mm, 5.21 g, 6h). Rome mint. 6th emission, AD 281/2. IMP PROB VS P F AVG, laureate, draped and cuirassed bust left / VICTORIOS O SEMPER, Probus standing left, in military dress, holding scepter, between four captives. RIC V 143; Pink VI/1, p. 59, 42; Bastien, Monnaie, p. 59, i; Calicó 4237 (no illustration); Biaggi –. Superb EF, full mint luster. Extremely rare, only one example in CoinArchives of this reverse type - see CNG 58 (19 September 2001), lot 1313.

Probus spent the first several years of his reign fighting off invaders from the north and east, and suppressing internal revolts from several of his field commanders. The most pressing concern at the time of Probus' accession was the invasions of the Franks in the north and Germanic tribes (including the Vandals and Burgundians) in the center and south. It took Probus two years (277-278) to defeat these tribes and restore the Roman frontier on the Rhine and Upper Danube. In 279, he turned his attention eastward, defeating the Getae on the Lower Danube, and then crossed into Asia Minor to suppress a band of robbers led by Lydius the Isaurian. Next came the suppression of a revolt in upper Egypt led by a Nubian tribe, the Blemmyae. Lastly, came the revolts of Bonosus, Proculus, and Saturninus, each of whom either died in battle or was betrayed by his troops. Finally, in 281 Probus returned to Rome to celebrate his many victories with a triumph held toward the end of the year. Accompanying this triumph were lavish games and gladiatorial contests, as well as a large donative. This aureus, celebrating the "Always Victorius" Probus, was part of that donative.