Probus Antoninianus, RIC V Probus 106

Monetary Context

The antoninianus designated as RIC V Probus 106 was produced during the later phase of the Roman imperial monetary crisis, a period dominated by hyper-inflation, recurrent political instability, and massive currency debasement. Emperor Aurelian had enacted a major monetary reform in 274 AD intended to stabilize the crumbling radiate denomination, which had fallen to silver purities of two percent or lower during the mid-third century. Aurelian's reformed radiate, often termed the aurelianus by modern numismatists, established a regulated weight standard around 3.8 to 4.2 grams and a controlled alloy nominally containing one part silver to twenty parts base metal, an alloy ratio of roughly five percent silver frequently marked on Italian and Balkan issues with the mark of value XXI. Although early typological references such as Roman Imperial Coinage classify these radiates under the overarching heading of silver, they were effectively billon or silvered bronze tokens whose nominal value was sustained through imperial fiat. Upon his accession in 276 AD, Probus preserved the technical parameters of Aurelian's reform without significant alteration. The striking of RIC V Probus 106 at Lugdunum operated within this stable yet fiscally strained framework. Large-scale military expenditures on the Rhine and Danube frontiers required substantial, continuous infusions of base radiates to satisfy army pay, making the radiate the indispensable medium of transaction across both military encampments and civilian markets throughout the northwestern provinces.

Production and Mint Organization

Production of RIC V Probus 106 is exclusively attributed to Lugdunum, modern Lyon in France. Lugdunum had served as an essential center of Gallic minting since the Julio-Claudian era and was formally reopened under Aurelian in late 274 AD following the suppression of the secessionist Gallic Empire. Under Probus, Lugdunum maintained four organized workshops, known as officinae, which were designated on reverse exergues or fields by letters such as A, B, C, and D, or roman numerals I through IIII, though certain early issues omit explicit officina marks. The metallurgical execution of radiates at Lugdunum adhered to the reform standards, employing cast bronze flans prepared in multi-cavity open or bivalve moulds. These blanks were pickled in organic acid baths to dissolve surface copper and enrich the exterior silver content, a technique known as depletion silvering, before being hot-struck between engraved iron dies. The die-engravers at Lugdunum were renowned for a refined, classical plastic style that set their output apart from the harsher, more geometric portraiture of Balkan and eastern mints like Siscia or Cyzicus. Probus 106 exemplifies this superior Gallic craftsmanship through high-relief carving, intricate detailing of armor plates, and precise rendering of textile drapery.

Obverse Design and Iconography

The obverse of RIC V Probus 106 displays an elaborate martial bust of Probus turned to the left, which ranks among the most celebrated compositions of third-century Roman coin art. In accordance with the standard iconographic formula of the double-denominational radiate, the emperor wears the radiate crown, symbolic of Sol Invictus and imperial solar authority. In the primary variant of this type, Probus is depicted with a crested helmet beneath or combined with the radiate crown, heavily armored in a military cuirass, and seen either from the front or occasionally angled from behind. He carries military implements across his body, clutching a thrusting spear in his right hand and bearing a round decorative shield on his left arm. Certain die variations omit the helmet, presenting the imperial portrait with the radiate crown directly resting upon cropped military hair while preserving the spear and shield arrangement. This heroic, armed posture departed from traditional civic portrayals of the princeps, purposefully emphasizing Probus as an active military commander personally responsible for defending the Roman frontier against Germanic incursions. The leftward orientation, combined with weapon accoutrements, was an ideological visual cue favored extensively by western workshops during his reign to project vigilant preparedness.

Reverse Iconography and Attributes

The reverse of RIC V Probus 106 depicts the personification Felicitas standing draped and facing right. In her right hand she holds an upright caduceus, the ancient heraldic staff associated with commerce, peaceful negotiation, and harmony, while resting a cornucopiae, the horn of plenty brimming with agricultural abundance, in her left arm. The figure is robed in long flowing drapery that cascades over her feet, executed with the delicate fabric folds characteristic of the Lugdunum engravers. Felicitas was a long-standing personification in the Roman imperial pantheon, embodying the state of divine favor, blessedness, and civil security enjoyed by the empire under legitimate imperial stewardship. By showing her turned to the right with her traditional attributes, the design provides an ideological complement to the aggressive military posture displayed on the obverse. While the obverse declared the emperor's readiness for war, the reverse proclaimed the fruits of his victories: the restoration of domestic peace, agricultural prosperity, and general well-being for the Roman populace. The peaceful iconography served an important political purpose in reassuring the provincial inhabitants of Gaul, who had endured decades of civil fragmentation, raiding, and economic strain.

Inscriptions and Epigraphy

The inscriptions on RIC V Probus 106 are concise and ideologically focused. The obverse features the continuous legend VIRTVS PROBI AVG, expanding epigraphically as Virtus Probi Augusti, meaning the Valor of Probus Augustus. Rather than reciting lengthy civil magistracies, imperial consulships, or tribunician numbers, the legend directs all attention to the moral and martial quality of virtus, the masculine courage and military excellence of the ruler. This obverse legend was specifically paired across several mints with active, weapon-bearing left-facing busts, reinforcing the verbal message with direct visual evidence of imperial readiness. On the reverse, the inscription appears as either TEMPOR FELIC or the longer variant TEMPOR FELICI, contracting the formula Temporum Felicitas or Temporum Felicitati. The reading translates as The Happiness of the Times or To the Happiness of the Times, framing the reign as a golden era of restored fortune. Depending on the specific emission and officina within the Lugdunum sequence, the reverse exergue may remain blank or feature workshop marks indicating the issuing officina. Epigraphic execution at Lugdunum is characterized by well-spaced, neatly formed lettering with neat serifs, avoiding the crowded letterforms seen at certain concurrent eastern mints.

Typology and Chronological Sequence

Within the typology of Probus's coinage, RIC V Probus 106 is situated in the middle to late emissions of the Lugdunum mint between 276 and 282 AD. In his fundamental study of the mint of Lyon, Pierre Bastien organized Probus's Lugdunum issues into successive chronological series based on progressive changes in obverse bust typologies, titulature, and officina markings. Bastien identified the TEMPOR FELIC and TEMPOR FELICI reverse types paired with the VIRTVS PROBI AVG obverse as part of the substantive regular issues produced during the middle phases of the reign, following the initial consolidation issues of 276 AD and preceding the final consular issues of 281 and 282 AD. While Percy Webb in the original 1933 volume of Roman Imperial Coinage grouped these variations under the single type number 106, modern classification recognizes distinct sub-varieties depending on whether Probus is depicted with a plain radiate crown or a combined helmet and radiate crown, whether his back is turned toward or away from the viewer, and whether the reverse legend terminates in FELIC or FELICI. These stylistic and epigraphic shifts reflect the routine replacement of working dies across active officinae during continuous production campaigns rather than discrete administrative monetary reforms.

Circulation and Archaeological Context

Coins of the RIC V Probus 106 type circulated primarily within the western provinces of the Roman Empire, including Gaul, Britannia, the Germanic frontiers, and northern Raetia. Archaeological excavations and hoard analyses demonstrate that reformed radiates struck at Lugdunum filled an urgent transactional void in these regions following the collapse of the Gallic Empire's heavily depreciated local currency. In major Romano-British and Gallic coin hoards, such as the Cunetio and Normanby hoards in Britain and numerous French hoards documented by Bastien and modern numismatists, Lugdunum radiates of Probus appear alongside those of Aurelian, Tacitus, and Florian, as well as surviving masses of billon radiates from the Tetrici. Due to the rapid commercial circulation and poor adhesion of the thin surface silver wash, the majority of surviving specimens exhibit significant surface wear, with the superficial silver layer stripped away to expose the underlying copper alloy core. The widespread recovery of this type in military camps along the Rhine reinforces its function as frontline currency used to pay Roman legionaries and auxiliary troops, who subsequently injected the coins into local civic markets.

References

1. Le monnayage de l'atelier de Lyon: De la réouverture de l'atelier par Aurélien à la mort de Carin (fin 274 - mi-285). pp. 145-180
2. Online Coins of the Roman Empire: RIC V Probus 106. Type record ric.5.pro.106
3. The Roman Imperial Coinage, Volume V, Part II. p. 30, no. 106