Probus — Antoninianus, TEMPOR FELICI, Lugdunum

Struck at Lugdunum between 276 and 282, this antoninianus belongs to the reign of Probus, the Pannonian soldier-emperor who spent six years rebuilding the Rhine and Danube frontiers after the collapse of the Gallic Empire. Lugdunum was his principal western mint, paying the armies of Gaul, and its engravers cut some of the finest portraits of the period. The obverse legend reads IMP C PROBVS P F AVG around a radiate, cuirassed bust.

The reverse legend TEMPOR FELICI abbreviates Temporum Felicitas, the happiness of the times. Felicitas stands right holding a caduceus, the herald's staff of peace and commerce, and a cornucopiae for plenty. It is a claim of restored prosperity issued while Probus was still clearing the Rhine of the Franks and Alamanni. The officina mark I sits in the exergue.

Attribution: RIC V Lugdunum 104 var.

Mint: Lugdunum (I)

Weight: 3.62 g

Diameter: 23.32 mm

Catalogued in the NumisLens cabinet — NL-FH48Y-WP92W

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Attribution is believed to be correct, but ancient coin attributions can vary and the catalogue reference may be subject to revision.