OBVERSE: IMP C PROBVS AVG CONS V
REVERSE: PROVIDENT AVG = Providentia standing left, holding globe and sceptre
BUST TYPE: H2 = Radiate bust left in consular robe, holding eagle-tipped sceptre (scipio)
FIELD / EXERGUE MARKS: Q/*//SXXI
WEIGHT 3.46g / AXIS: 6h / WIDTH: 20-23mm
Extremely rare and desirable dated consular legend CONS V - by far the rarest among consular legends in Probus' coinage.
This coin is part of the famous coded Eqviti series (see the letter "Q" in left field, which is the 2nd letter of the EQVITI word struck by the second officina, i.e. officina "S"), discovered and first published by Alexander Missong in his articale ‘Gleichartig systemisirte Münzreihen unter Kaiser Probus’ (1873).
There were 6 officinae at the Ticinum mint at that time; each one struck a different reverse with a different letter from the EQVITI code.
For more information about the (A)EQVITI series see the below excellent article by Gert Boersema:
