(See our website for complete terms of sale and bibliographical information regarding abbreviations used.)
Please place your orders by email and refer to the inventory number provided at the beginning of each listing. The coins also appear as individual records on our website. All coins are offered subject to prior sale and no order is valid until confirmed by us in writing and accompanied by a formal invoice.
OUR GUARANTEE
We unconditionally guarantee the authenticity of all our coins. A coin may be returned for any reason within 10 days, but we ask that you first contact us and ship the piece back fully insured. Upon receipt of the return and providing it is in the same condition as originally sent out, we will issue a refund, minus any shipping and credit card charges. This guarantee does not apply if coins are removed from encapsulation.
NGC ENCAPSULATED COINS
Most of our coins are sold encapsulated in NGC holders. Such coins have been evaluated, graded, and encapsulated by NGC Ancients. NGC Ancients does not encapsulate any coins that in their opinion are fakes, of uncertain authenticity or have been repaired. In some cases, we offer raw coins, and these may be encapsulated upon request.
PAYMENT TYPES
Title does not pass until payment is made in full. Payment must be received within 7 days of the sale date. In the United States payment may be made by bank wire, money order or personal check drawn on a US bank. CREDIT CARDS (VISA, MC, AMEX) are generally accepted but an additional 4% service charge will be added. Payments from overseas (all foreign countries including Canada) may be made by bank wire.
SALES TAX
Sales tax will apply to all merchandise delivered within New York State and other select states as required.
SHIPPING CHARGES FOR COINS
United States: $50 for FEDEX or EXPRESS MAIL (delivery in 1–2 days within the US). Foreign, including Canada: $120 via fully trackable Fed Ex or USPS Global Express Mail. It is the responsibility of the buyer to comply with all customs regulations and pay for all duties/taxes in their country.
ILLUSTRATIONS USED IN THIS CATALOGUE
Coins are illustrated 1:1 and in various enlargements. In certain cases, we have also included images of older catalogues or publications wherein the specific piece is documented.
CREDITS
We are grateful to Oliver Hoover for his assistance in cataloguing and providing the historical notes, and to Mary Lannin for her editorial help. Photography and catalogue layout are the work of Alex Marinescu of Marinescu Designs, LLC. Images for the 2 Lysimachi parallels on page 9 are courtesy of the American Numismatic Society, and the painting of John Hookham Frere, by John Hoppner (now in the Musée des beaux–arts du Canada) is in the public domain. The paintings on the cover and in the Roman section are from Thomas Cole’s series of five paintings, The Course of Empire, now in the New York Historical Society, with images in the public domain.
WE WILL BE ATTENDING THE FOLLOWING COIN SHOWS AND LOOK FORWARD TO SEEING YOU
ANA 2024 World’s Fair of Money, Rosemont, IL, August 6–10, 2024
Whitman Baltimore Winter Expo, November 14–16, 2024
70th Annual F.U.N. Convention, Orlando, FL, January 9-12, 2025
New York International Numismatic Convention, Barclay InterContinental Hotel, NYC, January 16-19, 2025
GREEK COINAGE
19680. CALABRIA. TARENTUM. Ca. 380–340 BC.
Silver Didrachm (nomos), 7.86 g, 20 mm. Issue of 355–340 BC.
Obv. Helmeted warrior holding shield dismounting horse left, A in upper left field, Z below horse, kylix below. Rev. [T]APAΣ, dolphin rider right, holding trident and arrow, ΦI below.
Fischer-Bossert, Chronologie, Group 44, 635 (V246/R489); Vlasto 389 (same reverse die); HN Italy 870. Ex CNG 36, 12/5/1995, lot 1665 (with auction ticket).
NGC graded CHOICE VF, Strike 5/5, Surface 4/5, an extremely rare variety showing the dolphin rider facing right, with only two other specimens on CoinArchives. $ 750
A DIDRACHM OF ACRAGAS PROVENANCED BACK TO THE RODOLFO RATTO JUNE 1929 SALE AND PUBLISHED IN WESTERMARK
19681. SICILY. ACRAGAS. Ca. 500–470 BC.
Silver Didrachm, 8.68 g, 19 mm. Issue of 480/78–470 BC.
Obv. AK–PA, eagle with folded wings standing right. Rev. Crab. Westermark, Akragas, Group IV, 255.1 (O86/R176, this coin cited); HGC 2, 97; SNG ANS 937 (same dies).
Ex Oldenburg 26 11/1/1991, lot 37 = Hirsch XXV, 9/28/1960, lot 1738 = Ratto stock cat. XI, 1934, 997 = Rodolfo Ratto 6/24/1929, lot 60 (illustrated on plate III).
NGC graded CHOICE VF, Strike 4/5, Surface 5/5, Westermark publication noted on label, dark gray cabinet patina with hints of blue iridescent toning on the obverse. $ 4250
19397. SICILY. LEONTINI. Ca. 455–430 BC.
Silver Litra, 0.84 g, 14 mm.
Obv. ΛEON, head of roaring lion right. Rev. Apollo standing left, sacrificing from a phiale over altar holding branch, barley grain in right field.
Boehringer 50 (same dies); SNG Lockett 810 (this coin); Weber 1391 (this coin); HGC 1, 692. Ex Triton III, 11/30/1999, lot 216 = Richard Cyril Lockett Collection (Glendining’s, Lockett Greek Part I, 10/25/1955-10/28/1955), lot 692 = Weber Collection no. 1391, there stated to be “Ex Hookham Frere sale, 1888.”
NGC graded VF, Strike 5/5, Surface 3/5, “wavy flan,” the Lockett and Weber publications noted on label. $ 3850
John Hookham Frere (1769–1846) was a noted British diplomat, classicist and author. He is known for several translations of plays from the Greek, including Aristophanes. After 1820 he moved with his wife to Malta, where he immersed himself in the study of the classical world and linguistics. Presumably it was at this time that he assembled his coin collection which was sold by Christie’s on 1/8/1888.
19423. SICILY. MESSANA. Ca. 425–413 BC.
Silver Tetradrachm, 17.29 g, 27 mm.
Obv. ΜΕΣΣΑΝΑ, nymph Messana driving biga of mules left, [pair of facing dolphins in exergue]. Rev. ΜΕΣΣΑΝΙΟΝ, hare springing right, cicada below.
Caltabiano, Monetazione, 516 (O205’/R214); SNG ANS 373 (same dies); Jameson 650 (same dies). Ex Colin E. Pitchfork Collection (CNG Electronic Auction 445, 6/5/2019), lot 42 (professionally conserved since to remove encrustation) = CNG 66, 5/19/2004, lot 117.
NGC graded CHOICE XF, Strike 3/5, Surface 3/5, “brushed,” “overstruck,” with attractive multicolored toning throughout. $ 6500
PHILISTIS TETRADRACHM FROM THE SARTIGES AND DR. MIRSKY COLLECTIONS PUBLISHED IN CARROCCIO’S SIRACUSA ELLENISTICA
15849. SICILY. SYRACUSE. PHILISTIS, wife of Hieron II, 275–215 BC. Silver Tetradrachm (16 litrai), 14.01 g, 27 mm. Issue of 240–215/4 BC.
Obv. Diademed and veiled head left, filleted grain ear in right field. Rev. BAΣIΛIΣΣA[Σ] ΦIΛIΣTIΔOΣ, Nike driving quadriga right. Caltabiano, Carroccio, et al, Siracusa ellenistica: Le monete ‘regali’ di Ierone II, della sua famiglia e dei Siracusani (Messina, 1997), 143.1 (D2/R3, this coin cited) = Sartiges 153 (this coin listed and illustrated); HGC 2, 1554. Ex Heritage 3024, 4/19/2012, lot 24578 = Rockefeller University/Dr. Alfred E. Mirsky Collection (Gemini VII, 1/9/2011), lot 188 = Vicomte de Sartiges Collection.
NGC graded CHOICE XF, Strike 5/5, Surface 3/5, “edge scuff,” the Sartiges provenance noted on label. $ 5500
19620. SICILY. SYRACUSE. AGATHOCLES, 317–289 BC. Silver Tetradrachm, 17.05 g, 25 mm. Issue of ca. 310–306 BC.
Obv. K[OPAΣ], wreathed head of Kore right. Rev. [A]ΓAΘOKΛE[OΣ], Nike standing right, nailing armor to trophy, AI monogram beneath left wing, triskeles in right field. Ierardi 102 (O21/R58); HGC 1, 1536.
NGC graded XF, Strike 4/5, Surface 4/5, FINE STYLE, a specimen with superlative multicolored iridescence. $ 9750
THREE TETRADRACHMS FROM THE WILLIAM STANCOMB COLLECTION
PUBLISHED IN SNG STANCOMB
15078. THRACE. MESAMBRIA. CIVIC ISSUE IN THE NAME AND TYPES OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT, ca. 280–225 BC.
Silver Tetradrachm of Alexander type, 16.64 g, 30 mm. Issue of ca. 280–225 BC.
Obv. Head of young Heracles right in lion skin headdress. Rev. ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ ΑΛΕΞΑΝΔΡΟΥ, Zeus enthroned left, holding eagle and scepter, helmet above monogram in left field.
Price 982; Karayotov, Coinage of Mesambria, 59 (citing Price); SNG Stancomb 233 (this coin listed and illustrated)
Ex William Stancomb Collection, Roma Numismatics E–Sale 66, 1/9/2020, lot 14, acquired from David Miller in 1993.
NGC graded CH VF, Strike 4/5, Surface 4/5, SNG publication noted on label, dark gray cabinet patina. A particularly rare and elusive issue, the Pella database does not currently list any specimens, and there are only two other pieces on CoinArchives. $ 1500
15323. THRACE. ODESSUS. CIVIC ISSUE IN THE NAME AND TYPES OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT, ca. 280–200 BC.
Silver Tetradrachm of Alexander type, 16.62 g, 29 mm. Issue of ca. 280–225 BC.
Obv. Head of young Heracles right in lion skin headdress. Rev. ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ ΑΛΕΞΑΝΔΡΟΥ, Zeus enthroned left, holding eagle and scepter, KAP monogram in left field, OΔH monogram below throne.
Price 1159; Black Sea Hoard 278 (same dies); SNG Stancomb 247 (this coin listed and illustrated).
Ex William Stancomb Collection, Roma Numismatics XIX, 3/26/2020, lot 14.
NGC graded XF, Strike 4/5, Surface 4/5, SNG publication noted on label, gray patina. The Pella database currently lists 2 specimens in the American Numismatic Society and Münzkabinett Berlin. $ 1250
15330. THRACE. ODESSUS. CIVIC ISSUE IN THE NAME AND TYPES OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT, ca. late 2nd–1st CENTURIES BC.
Silver Tetradrachm of Alexander type, 15.36 g, 30 mm. Issue of ca. 200–180 BC.
Obv. Head of young Heracles right in lion skin headdress, the face with features recalling those of Mithridates VI of Pontus. Rev. ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ ΑΛΕΞΑΝΔΡΟΥ, Zeus enthroned left, holding scepter and eagle, ΘE in left field, ΟΔΗ monogram below throne.
Price 1184; SNG Stancomb 269 (this coin listed and illustrated).
Ex William Stancomb Collection, Roma Numismatics XIX, 3/26/2020, lot 16, acquired from P. Beirne in July 1988.
NGC graded XF, Strike 4/5, Surface 3/5, “slight bend,” SNG publication noted on label. The Pella database currently lists 3 specimens in the British Museum and the Ashmolean Museum. $ 950
15422. THRACE. ODESSUS. CIVIC ISSUE IN THE NAME AND TYPES OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT, ca. 280–200 BC.
Silver Tetradrachm of Alexander type, 16.80 g, 27 mm. Issue of ca. 280–225 BC.
Obv. Head of young Heracles right in lion skin headdress. Rev. ΑΛΕΞΑΝΔΡΟΥ, Zeus enthroned left, holding eagle and scepter, complex monogram and inverted amphora in left field.
Price 1156; Black Sea Hoard 209; SNG Stancomb –.
Ex William Stancomb Collection, Roma Numismatics E–Sale 70, 5/7/2020, lot 21, acquired from David Miller, 5/11/2005.
NGC graded CHOICE XF, Strike 4/5, Surface 4/5, “lt. smoothing,” Stancomb provenance noted on label. Rare variety of Odessus with 6 other specimens on CoinArchives. The Pella database currently lists 4 specimens in the American Numismatic Society, Bibliothèque nationale de France and the British Museum. $ 750
THASOS AND ITS SATYRS
From the late sixth century BC, the standard type for Thasian coinage depicted an ithyphallic satyr, perhaps to be identified with Silenus, the drunken boon companion of the wine–god Dionysus, carrying off a protesting nymph. Thrace, which included few Greek cities, except along the coast, had a reputation in Greek thought as a land of wilderness, where the powers of nature held sway, rather than the civilization of the Greek polis. As such, it was exactly the sort of place where rustic fertility spirits like satyrs were thought to dwell. These half–man and half–goat creatures were generally believed to inhabit the lonely and wild places of the world, like caves, forests and mountaintops. The satyrs were renowned for their excessive love of wine and music, and for their uncontrolled lust, which led them to carry off nymphs that took their fancy, usually with disastrous and comedic results.
NGC graded CHOICE XF, Strike 5/5, Surface 4/5, elegant gray toning, dies of great style and detail, with sharply struck full faces on both the satyr and nymph.
$ 2500
19496. KINGDOM OF THRACE. LYSIMACHUS,
305–281 BC.
Silver Tetradrachm, 17.06 g, 29 mm. Lifetime issue of Abydus, ca. 297/6–282/1 BC.
Obv. Head of deified Alexander the Great right, with the horn of Ammon. Rev. ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ ΛΥΣΙΜΑXΟΥ, Athena enthroned left, holding Nike crowning Lysimachus’ name, ΠYTΩ control monogram in left field, X control below throne.
Thompson unlisted, but cf. Thompson 72 (same obverse die, reverse with ΠYTΩ control and griffin’s head) and 73 (with the same controls and griffin’s head in a different arrangement = ANS 1944.100.45420).
NGC graded CHOICE VF, Strike 5/5, Surface 4/5. $ 1800 ABYDUS VARIETY UNKNOWN TO
ALEXANDRIA TROAS LIFETIME EMISSION STRUCK WITH A RECUT REVERSE DIE
14401. KINGDOM OF THRACE. LYSIMACHUS, 305–281 BC.
Silver Tetradrachm, 17.08 g, 31 mm. Lifetime issue of Alexandria Troas, ca. 297/6–282/1 BC.
Obv. Head of deified Alexander the Great right, with the horn of Ammon. Rev. ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ
Athena enthroned left, holding Nike crowning Lysimachus’ name, ΠY control monogram in left field, A on shield in exergue.
Thompson unlisted, but cf. Thompson 158 (= ANS 1944.100.45499) struck with the same dies, where the reverse has the horse’s head control; Meadows, “The Earliest Coinage of Alexandria Troas,” Numismatic Chronicle 164 (2004), p. 62, no. 17, citing specimens from Sternberg 8, 1978, lot 44 and Münzkabinett Berlin.
NGC graded CHOICE XF, Strike 5/5, Surface 4/5, extremely rare, 1 of 3 specimens on record, perhaps the only one struck with the previously undocumented recut reverse die.
This variety was unlisted in Thompson’s article, although her no. 158 illustrates an ANS specimen struck from the same dies, but with the horse head symbol in the exergue. On this piece the horse head has been erased and replaced with the shield, an instance of very careful recutting. This coin substantiates Meadows’ arrangement where the horse head variety appears prior to that with the shield.
$ 4500
MINTED SOON AFTER LYSIMACHUS’ DEATH
19624. KINGDOM OF THRACE. LYSIMACHUS, 305–281 BC.
Silver Tetradrachm, 17.14 g, 29 mm. Early posthumous issue of Amphipolis or Byzantium, ca. 280–270 BC.
Obv. Head of deified Alexander the Great right, with the horn of Ammon. Rev. ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ
Athena enthroned left, holding Nike crowning Lysimachus’ name, MΦ control monogram in left field, AP monogram below throne. Thompson –; Marinescu, Making and Spending Money along the Bosporus: the Lysimachi Coinages Minted by Byzantium and Chalcedon and their Socio–Cultural Context (Columbia University Dissertation, 1996), issue 2, no. 4 (as Byzantium), specimens include London (1898,0602.100) and Paris (R 2035).
NGC graded CHOICE AU, Strike 4/5, Surface 3/5, “brushed.” This coin is either among the very last issues of Amphipolis or the first issues of Byzantium, struck soon after Lysimachus’ death. $ 3300
The staters of Alexander the Great were introduced to finance his conquest of the Persian Empire, but their popular types lived on to be reproduced and imitated by cities and kings well into the second century BC. The types are thought to have been originally intended to channel the old Greek desire for revenge against Persia for the invasion of Greece in 480–479 BC by referring to Athens (destroyed by Xerxes I in 480 BC) in the representation of Athena and to the Greek victory over the Persian fleet at the Battle of Salamis (480 BC) in the depiction of Nike holding a naval stylis (mast and cross arm). However, over time the Hellenic propaganda of the types was gradually lost and came to represent “good money” to later coin users.
19720. MACEDONIAN KINGDOM. ALEXANDER III, THE GREAT, 336–323 BC.
Gold Stater, 8.59 g, 17 mm. Issue of Sidon, ca. 333–305 BC
Obv. Head of Athena right, wearing large Corinthian helmet with griffin ornament below the plume. Rev. [Α]ΛΕΞΑΝΔΡΟΥ, Nike standing, her hair gathered in a topknot, looking left, holding wreath in right hand and stylis over left shoulder, star below right wing. Price 3463.
NGC graded AU, Strike 5/5, Surface 3/5, attractive and lustrous, with exceptional centering and a full head Nike. The Pella database currently lists 7 specimens in the American Numismatic Society, Bibliothèque nationale de France, Münzkabinett Berlin and the British Museum. $ 7950
19661. MACEDONIAN KINGDOM. ALEXANDER III, THE GREAT, 336–323 BC.
Gold Stater, 8.60 g, 18 mm. Lifetime issue of Amphipolis, 328/5–323 BC.
Obv. Head of Athena right, wearing large Corinthian helmet with snake ornament below the plume. Rev. ΑΛΕΞΑΝΔΡΟΥ, Nike standing, looking left, holding wreath in right hand and stylis over left shoulder, cantharos in left field. Price 168.
Ex Wild Rose Collection, previously ex Dr. Plumacher Collection, Peus 431, 4/27/2022, lot 3157, purchased from Münzhandlung Ritter on 8/21/1998.
NGC graded CHOICE XF, Strike 5/5, Surface 3/5, “edge marks,” a lifetime issue struck from an attractive obverse die with a full head Nike reverse. The Pella database currently lists 11 specimens in the American Numismatic Society, Münzkabinett Berlin and the British Museum. $ 6200
The standard Macedonian shield (aspis in Greek) depicted on coins of the Hellenistic period and later is a circular defensive weapon with a varying central pictorial device surrounded by a series of crescents and stars along the edge. Shields such as this are also known from Macedonian funerary art, usually with a central star or sun burst, and are often considered to be the shields carried by hypaspists (literally “shield–bearers”)—an elite element of the Macedonian phalanx whose members often served as bodyguards to the king. As such, already in the fourth century BC, these shields were taking on the character of a Macedonian ethnic symbol.
The shield became very prominent on Macedonian coinage during the second reign of Antigonus II Gonatas as Macedonian king (272–239 BC), when it was featured as the regular obverse type for his silver tetradrachms. The image of Pan placed in the center of the shield refers to a spectacular victory over the Galatians that won him the kingship for the first time in 277 BC. The god was said to have appeared during the fighting creating panic among the Galatians, thereby allowing Antigonus to win the day. The shield featuring Pan became the standard type for the tetradrachms of the Macedonian Antigonid dynasty down to the reign of Philip V (221–179 BC), who replaced Pan with a depiction of the hero Perseus. The reverse type of Antigonus’ Pan shield coinage features Athena Alcidemos, a goddess of specific importance to the Macedonian kingdom. Her cult was centered on the city of Pella, which served as the capital of the Antigonid kings of Macedon.
19349. MACEDONIAN KINGDOM. ANTIGONUS II GONATAS, 277–239 BC.
Silver Tetradrachm, 17.07g, 31 mm. Issue of Amphipolis, ca. 271/5–260 BC.
Obv. Macedonian shield with bust of Pan in the center, lagobolon over his shoulder, stellate designs within double crescents around border. Rev. BAΣIΛEΩΣ ANTIΓONOY, Athena Alcidemos brandishing shield and thunderbolt left, helmet in lower left field, ΗΛ control monogram in lower right field.
Panagopoulou, Early Antigonids, Period I, p.65, no. 146b (O8/R138, this coin cited); HGC 3, 1042.
Ex Private American collection (JTB), Triton XXVII, 1/9/2024, lot 164 = Triton XXVI, 1/10/2023, lot 131 = purchased from CNG inventory 926177 (May 2012) and previously in the Sukenik collection = Heritage CICF Signature Sale 3019, 4/26/2012, lot 23085 (“Mayflower Collection”) and acquired from Numismatic Fine Arts in 1987.
NGC graded XF, Strike 5/5, Surface 4/5, publication data noted on label, with various sale tickets.
19379. MACEDONIAN KINGDOM. ANTIGONUS II GONATAS, 277–239 BC. Silver Tetradrachm, 17.01 g, 31 mm. Issue of Amphipolis, ca. 229–221/0 BC.
$ 2250
Obv. Macedonian shield with bust of Pan in the center, lagobolon over his shoulder, stellate designs within double crescents around border. Rev. BAΣIΛEΩΣ ANTIΓONOY, Athena Alcidemos brandishing shield and thunderbolt left, helmet in lower left field, TI control in lower right field.
Panagopoulou, Early Antigonids, Period IV, p. 199, no. 37 (O11/R35); HGC 3, 1042. Ex Bob Guynn Collection.
NGC graded VF, Strike 5/5, Surface 4/5.
$ 1750
19629. ATTICA. ATHENS. 2nd–1st century BC.
Silver “New Style” Tetradrachm, 16.85 g, 33 mm. Issue of ca. 135/4 BC, struck under magistrates MENED–, EPIGENO–, and THEOPHR–,with control symbol Asclepius.
Obv. Helmeted head of Athena Parthenos right. Rev. AӨE, owl standing right, head facing, magistrates’ names in fields, Asclepius (god of health and medicine) standing left, A on amphora, ΓΛ in exergue, all within olive wreath. Thompson, New Style, 347a–c (same obverse die); HGC 4, 1602.
NGC graded AU, Strike 5/5, Surface 4/5, struck on a broad medallic planchet.
17195. ATTICA. ATHENS. 2nd–1st CENTURY BC.
$ 3400
Silver “New Style” Tetradrachm, 16.85 g, 29 mm. Issue of ca. 116/115 BC, struck under magistrates SOCRATES, DIONYSODO–, and ZOILOS, with control symbol Apollo Delios.
Obv. Helmeted head of Athena Parthenos right. Rev. AӨE, owl standing right, head facing, magistrates’ names in fields, Apollo Delios, holding the Three Graces and a bow, B on amphora, ΣO in exergue, all within olive wreath. Thompson, New Style, 616c (same dies).
NGC graded XF, Strike 4/5, Surface 4/5, with a particularly interesting symbol.
19368. CORINTHIA. CORINTH. Ca. 306–300 BC.
Silver Drachm, 2.46 g, 16 mm.
$ 2450
Obv. Pegasus flying right, koppa below. Rev. Head of Aphrodite left, T in lower right field. HGC 4, 1865; BCD Corinth 165; SNG Lockett 2133 (this coin listed and illustrated).
Ex CNG 51, 9/15/1999, lot 356 (part of), with auction ticket = Richard Cyril Lockett Collection (Glendining’s, Lockett Greek Part III, 5/27/1959), lot 1831 (part of).
Good VF, dark gray old cabinet patina.
$ 1500
18745. CRETE. CYDONIA. Ca. 450–330 BC.
Silver Hemidrachm, 2.69 g, 14 mm.
Obv. Tortoise with segmented shell, A in left field, KA monogram in right field. Rev. Incuse square with skew design and crescent within. E.S.G. Robinson, “Pseudaeginetica,” Numismatic Chronicle (1928), 8; SNG Copenhagen 402; Le Rider, Crétoises, pl. xxviii, 8; CNG Triton XXIII, 1/14/2020, lot 280 (same dies, realized $ 10,000 hammer); Nomos 16, 5/10/2018, lot 112 (same dies, realized 8,000 CHF hammer).
Ex Hirsch 175, 9/23/1992, lot 288.
NGC graded CHOICE VF, Strike 4/5, Surface 3/5, with attractive multicolored iridescence.
$ 3600
FROM THE 1953 PHAESTUS REGION HOARD (IGCH 152) AND PLATE COIN IN LE RIDER’S CRETOISES
17130. CRETE. CYDONIA. Ca. 320–270 BC.
Silver Stater, 10.80 g, 24 mm.
Obv. Head of a Maenad right, wearing an ivy wreath, earrings and necklace, control monogram in left field obscured by two countermarks applied there. Rev. Cydon standing left, stringing his bow, hound at right.
Le Rider, Crétoises, p. 37, no. 282, and p. 201, 43, pl. XXXI, 14 (this coin listed and illustrated); Svoronos, Numismatique de la Crète ancienne, 4, pl. IX, 4.
Ex 1953 Phaestus Region Hoard (IGCH 152), no. 282.
NGC graded VF, Strike 3/5, surface 3/5, “countermarks,” Le Rider publication noted on slab; dark old cabinet patina, the obverse and countermarks boldly struck, reverse design somewhat soft due to a worn reverse die.
$ 6500
The reverse of this coin depicts Cydon, the eponymous hero for whom the Cretan city of Cydonia is named. According to Greek mythology, he came to Crete from Arcadia with his brother Gortys, the eponymous founder of Gortyna. Unfortunately, Cydon suffered great tragedy after founding his city when an oracle advised him to sacrifice a virgin to guarantee the protection of the city from its enemies. The fatal lot fell to his daughter Eulimine, who was duly sacrificed. Afterwards it was discovered that she had been carrying on an illicit affair and was with child at the time of her death. The magnitude of Cydon’s pain at sacrificing his daughter was thereby doubled and her death did not even procure the desired security for the city.
19350. CIMMERIAN BOSPORUS. PANTICAPAEUM. Ca. 90–75 BC.
Silver Didrachm, 8.73 g, 20 mm.
Obv. Head of Dionysus right, wearing ivy wreath. Rev. ΠΑΝΤΙ/ΚΑΠΑΙ/ΤΩΝ in three lines, grape bunch above, all within ivy wreath. SNG Lockett 1102 (this coin); Frolova & Ireland dies I/i; Anokhin 1116; MacDonald 168; HGC 7, 98.
Ex Richard Cyril Lockett Collection, Glendining 2/12/1958, lot 10117 = ex Clarence S. Bement Collection, Ars Classica VI, 1/28/1923, lot 884.
NGC graded CHOICE XF, Strike 4/5, Surface 5/5, Bement provenance noted on label, Lockett’s personal invetory record illustrated above. $ 4850
PUBLISHED
AND PLATED IN MARINESCU’S STUDY OF CIUS’ LYSIMACHI
19638. BITHYNIA. CIUS. CIVIC ISSUE IN THE NAME AND TYPES OF KING LYSIMACHUS OF THRACE, ca. 280–250 BC. Silver Tetradrachm of Lysimachus type, 16.82 g, 32 mm. Issue of ca. 260s–late 250s BC. Obv. Head of deified Alexander the Great right, with the horn of Ammon. Rev. ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ ΛΥΣΙΜΑXΟΥ, Athena enthroned left, holding Nike crowning Lysimachus’ name, club in outer left field, MYTO monogram in left field, bow case and A– monogram in exergue.
Marinescu, “Lysimachi Coinage of Cius, Bithynia,” in Ex Nummis Lux, Studies in Ancient Numismatics in Honour of Dimitar Draganov (2017), issue 21, no. 94.1 (this coin listed and illustrated) = Münz Zentrum 155, 4/28/2010, lot 70 = Baldwin’s 62, 9/29/2009, lot 11. NGC graded VF, Strike 5/5, Surface 4/5, publication history noted on holder. $ 2500
WHERE’S
19477. BITHYNIA. HERACLEA PONTICA. CIVIC ISSUE IN THE NAME AND TYPES OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT, late 3rd CENTURY BC.
Silver Tetradrachm of Alexander type, 17.37 g, 32 mm. Issue of ca. 200–190 BC. Obv. Head of young Heracles right in lion skin headdress. Rev. ΑΛΕΞΑΝΔΡΟΥ, Zeus enthroned left, holding eagle and scepter, HΛP in left field, S control on throne.
Price unlisted, but cf. Price 1281 using HΛP and a variety of other controls, including Heraclea’s civic symbol, Heracles’ club.
NGC graded CHOICE XF, Strike 4/5, Surface 4/5, “die shift,” “unlisted in M. Price” noted on label.
On this Price unlisted specimen Heraclea’s civic symbol, the club, is omitted. Whether this is an engraver’s error or by choice is not clear; if the latter, it is puzzling why the city would suddenly remove its civic symbol that so prominently graces the exergue of all Alexander tetradrachms in this series. $ 1500
19664. LESBOS, MYTILENE. Ca. 377–326 BC.
Electrum Hecte, 2.54 g, 11 mm.
Obv. Wreathed head of Persephone right. Rev. Butting bull left in linear square. Bodenstedt 88.
NGC graded CHOICE VF, Strike 4/5, Surface 3/5. $ 5750
19649. IONIA. COLOPHON. CIVIC ISSUE IN THE NAME AND TYPES OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT, ca. 215–180 BC.
Silver Tetradrachm of Alexander type, 30 mm. Issue of ca. 200–190 BC.
Obv. Head of young Heracles right in lion skin headdress. Rev. ΑΛΕΞΑΝΔΡΟΥ, Zeus enthroned left, holding eagle and scepter, KOΛ in left field, HΛ control on throne.
Price unlisted, but cf. Price 1854 using KOΛ and a variety of other controls.
NGC graded VF, “die shift.”
$ 1250
FROM THE PIXODARUS HOARD AND PLATED IN KINNS’ STUDY OF THE MINT
19625. IONIA. EPHESUS. Ca. 394–325 BC.
Silver Tetradrachm, 15.21 g, 25 mm. Issue of magistrate Aristagores, ca. 370–360 BC.
Obv. E – Φ, bee seen from above. Rev. Forepart of stag right, head reverted, palm tree at left, ΑΡΙΣΤΑΓΟΡH (magistrate) in right field. Kinns, “Pixodarus Hoard,” in Coin Hoards IX (2002), Class E, p. 178, obverse 62 (from the Pixodarus Hoard) and pl. 25, O62, (this coin illustrated).
Ex WCN Collection = ex Commander David R. Hinkle collection, Gemini V, 1/6/2009, lot 620 = Spink America 5/3/1995, lot 193. NGC graded CHOICE VF, Strike 5/5, Surface 3/5, dark toning. $ 3350
19626.
EPHESUS. Ca. 394–325 BC.
Silver Tetradrachm, 15.02 g, 24 mm. Issue of magistrate Comes, ca. 380–370 BC.
Obv. E – Φ, bee seen from above. Rev. Forepart of stag right, head reverted, palm tree at left, KOMHΣ (magistrate) in right field. Kinns, “Pixodarus Hoard,” in Coin Hoards IX (2002), Class C, p. 201.
NGC graded CHOICE VF, Strike 5/5, Surface 3/5. $ 2250
IONIA.
19650. IONIA. EPHESUS. Ca. 2nd CENTURY BC.
Silver Drachm, 4.17 g, 17 mm. Issue of magistrate Amyntes.
Obv. E – Φ, bee seen from above. Rev. Stag standing right, palm tree behind, [AM]YNTH[Σ] (magistrate) in right field. Kinns, “The Attic Weight Drachms of Ephesus: A Preliminary Study in the Light of Recent Hoards,” Numismatic Chronicle 159 (1999), Class F, see p. 66 and p. 84 listing the magistrate for obverses 31 and 32; Cahn 84, lot 358.
NGC graded AU, Strike 5/5, Surface 3/5, “brushed,” an extremely rare magistrate, with only two other specimens listed on CoinArchives. $ 1950
19684. IONIA. PHOCAEA. Ca. 387–326 BC.
Electrum Hecte, 2.51 g, 11 mm.
Obv. Head of a young woman left, her hair wrapped with a sphendone, seal swimming upward at lower right. Rev. Quadripartite incuse square.
Bodenstedt 100.
NGC graded AU, Strike 5/5, Surface 4/5, an attractive specimen of a seldom encountered variety. $ 2700
RARE LYDIAN TRITE ISSUE INSCRIBED “KUKALIM”
17732. LYDIA. KUKALIM, ca. 620–560 BC.
Electrum Trite (1/3 stater), 4.82 g, 14 mm.
Obv. Head of roaring lion left, “sun disk” on forehead, partial royal name KUKALIM in retrograde Lydian at left (right part of a larger die that included two confronted lion heads, small parts of the nose and open jaws of the lion head on the left are visible at the extreme edge of the planchet as illustrated in the reconstructed image above right). Rev. Pair of incuse punches.
Artemission, 107 (with right facing lion); Linzalone, LN1080; Weidauer Group XVIII, 114–115 (hectes); Wallace, Kukalim, pl. 1, 1–4; Kurth, G15.
NGC graded CHOICE VF, Strike 3/5, Surface 4/5, the large denomination of a rare emission, showing most of the royal inscription ([KU]KALI[M]) identifying a man named Kukas, this specimen particularly interesting and rare as parts of the second lion are visible on the planchet. $ 11500
The Lydian legend KUKALIM on this coin has been translated as “I am of Kukas,” but the precise meaning of this remains a source of scholarly controversy. Kukas is often understood as the native Lydian form of Gyges, the Greek name given by Herodotus to the founder of the Mermnad dynasty of Lydian kings. It has sometimes been suggested that the coin “speaks” to indicate that it was produced by Gyges (c. 680–640 BC), but this would make it an improbably early electrum issue. Due to a reverse punch shared between KUKALIM issues and WALWET issues, the latter probably representing the Lydian form of the royal name Alyattes, it has been argued that KUKALIM must either represent another member of the royal family contemporary with Alyattes or serve to promote Alyattes as the son (i.e. legitimate heir) of Gyges.
19686. LYDIA. CROESUS, 561–546 BC.
Silver Siglos (half stater), 5.24 g, 15 mm.
Obv. Forepart of roaring lion right confronting forepart of bull left. Rev. Two incuse punches. Berk 9.23; SNG Kayhan 1025; SNG von Aulock 2877–2879.
Croseid silver only rarely bears countermarks, unlike the earlier electrum Lydian issues that are often covered with them. This specimen has a square countermark with a star (or flower) applied to the edge.
DOUBLE–PUBLISHED KUPRILLI STATER EX SAYAR AND EX VON AULOCK
19567. LYCIAN DYNASTS. KUPRILLI, ca. 470–440 BC.
Silver Stater, 9.66 g, 24 mm. Issue of Limyra (?).
Obv. Shield with Pegasus flying left, triskeles on hind quarters. Rev. Triskeles and inscription in incuse square.
Published: Wilhelm Müseler, Lykische Münzen in europäischen Privatsammlungen, no. IV,11 (this coin listed and illustrated); SNG von Aulock 4131 (this coin listed and illustrated).
Ex Dr. Kaya Sayar collection = Ex Hans Von Aulock collection = CNG 63, 5/21/2003, lot 573 = Spink America 5/3/1995, lot 268.
NGC graded XF, Strike 3/5, Surface 5/5, publication history noted on label, dark gray cabinet patina. $ 2950
19228. PAMPHYLIA. ASPENDUS. Ca. 380–325 BC.
Silver Stater, 10.91, g, 22 mm.
Obv. Two wrestlers in combat, LΦ between. Rev. EΣΤFEΔΙΙΥΣ, slinger to right, ready to shoot, triskeles in right field, all within dotted square.
Tekin Series 4; SNG BN 105; SNG von Aulock 4565.
NGC graded XF, Strike 4/5, Surface 3/5, “countermark”; the circular countermark is carefully applied to the reverse, away from the design, and may depict a lion’s skin. $ 850
IMPRESSIVE ALEXANDER DOUBLE STRUCK WITH ROTATION ERROR
19651. PAMPHYLIA. PERGE. CIVIC ISSUE IN THE NAME AND TYPES OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT, late 3rd CENTURY BC.
Silver Tetradrachm of Alexander type, 32 mm. Issue of year 26, ca. 196/5 BC.
Obv. Head of young Heracles right in lion skin headdress. Rev. ΑΛΕΞΑΝΔΡΟΥ, Zeus enthroned left, holding eagle and scepter, KC (date) in left field.
Price 2940.
NGC graded CHOICE VF, “double struck with rotation,” a particularly impressive and rare error for an Alexander tetradrachm, the second strike was rotated almost 180 degrees as shown by clear remnants on the edge of the coin’s reverse.
19615. PAMPHYLIA. SIDE. 3rd–2nd centuries BC.
Silver Tetradrachm, 16.67 g, 28 mm.
$ 950
Obv. Head of Athena right, wearing Corinthian helmet. Rev. Nike moving left, offering wreath, pomegranate and ΔEI–N below arm. SNG Copenhagen 392; SNG France 3, 674–676.
Seyrig, Side, p. 63, Appendix, no. 7; SNG BN 677; SNG von Aulock 4787.
NGC graded CHOICE XF, Strike 5/5, Surface 4/5, dies of exceptional quality, the reverse with a particularly elegant full head Nike who appears to be dancing.
$ 2000
19666. SELEUCID KINGDOM. SELEUCUS I, 312–281 BC.
Gold Stater of Alexander type, 8.60 g, 17 mm. Issue of Seleucia on the Tigris I Mint, ca. 300–296/5 BC.
Obv. Head of Athena with a large Corinthian helmet, a snake ornament below the plume. Rev. BAΣIΛEΩΣ ΣEΛEYKOY, Nike standing facing looking to left, holding wreath in right hand and stylis over left shoulder, monogram below left wing.
SC 115.2 var (monogram and position vary); ESM 1 var. (same); HGC 9, 4d; CSE 939 = Sunrise 170 var. (same, same obv. die).
NGC graded AU, Strike 4/5, Surface 3/5, an extremely rare variety unpublished in Houghton and Lorber’s Seleucid Coins, struck in Seleucus’ name. $ 7500
19688. PHOENICIA. ARADUS. CIVIC ISSUE IN THE NAME AND TYPES OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT, ca. 245–165 BC. Silver Tetradrachm of Alexander type, 17.20 g, 29 mm. Issue dated civic year 61, ca. 199/8 BC.
Obv. Head of young Heracles right in lion skin headdress. Rev. ΑΛΕΞΑΝΔΡΟΥ, Zeus enthroned left, holding eagle and scepter, palm tree in left field, AP monogram on throne, ΞA (date) in exergue.
NGC graded CHOICE XF, Strike 4/5, Surface 4/5. The Pella database currently lists 7 specimens in the following public collections: American Numismatic Society, Bibliothèque nationale de France, British Museum and Münzkabinett Berlin.
$ 750
19689. PHOENICIA. ARADUS. CIVIC ISSUE IN THE NAME AND TYPES OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT, ca. 245–165 BC. Silver Tetradrachm of Alexander type, 29 mm. Issue dated civic year 64, ca. 196/5 BC.
Obv. Head of young Heracles right in lion skin headdress. Rev. ΑΛΕΞΑΝΔΡΟΥ, Zeus enthroned left, holding eagle and scepter, palm tree in left field, AP monogram on throne, ΞΔ (date) in exergue.
NGC graded CHOICE VF, The Pella database currently lists 2 specimens in the British Museum.
$ 650
19721. PHOENICIA. ARADUS. Ca. 138/7–44/3 BC.
Silver Tetradrachm, 14.85 g, 28 mm. Issue dated civic year 142 (118/7 BC).
Obv. Veiled, draped and turreted bust of Tyche right. Rev. APAΔIΩN, Nike standing left, holding aphlaston in right hand and palm branch in left; BMP (date) / Phoenician heth /ΔN in left field; all within laurel wreath. Duyrat, Arados hellénistique, 3161–3164 (obverse 28); HGC 10, 72; SNG Berry 1426 (this coin listed and illustrated).
Ex Burton Y. Berry Collection and published in SNG Berry.
NGC graded CHOICE XF, Strike 4/5, Surface 3/5, “edge filing,” SNG Berry publication noted on label; an extremely rare year issue, with Duyrat listing 4 specimens and CoinArchives only one. $ 2700
TETRADRACHM FROM THE GOLDEN JUBILEE YEAR OF TYRE PLATED IN COHEN
19575. PHOENICIA. TYRE.
Silver Shekel, 14.14 g, 29 mm. Issue dated Tyre Year 50 (77/6 BC), TYRE’S GOLDEN JUBILEE. Obv. Laureate head of Melkart right. Rev.
eagle standing left on prow, LN (date) above club in left field, ΔI control monogram in right field, Phoenician letter B between eagle’s legs.
DCA Tyre Supplement Release 2, 176 (this coin illustrated).
NGC graded AU, Strike 4/5, Surface 4/5, DCA Tyre plate coin status noted on label, boldly struck with superb golden iridescent highlights. $ 3750
19635. PHOENICIA. TYRE.
Silver Half Shekel, 6.67 g, 21 mm. Issue dated Tyre year 137 (AD 11/2), struck during the LIFETIME OF CHRIST.
Obv. Laureate head of Melkart right. Rev. ΤΥΡΟΥ
eagle standing left on prow, PΛZ (date) above club in left field,
KP above MPΦ monogram in right field, Phoenician letter B between legs.
DCA Tyre Supplement Release 2, 841 (same dies).
NGC graded VF, Strike 4/5, Surface 4/5, struck on a broad planchet, extremely rare date with only one other on CoinArchives, the coin cited in Cohen. $ 2250
18040. PHOENICIA. TYRE.
Silver Shekel, 13.55 g, 25 mm. Issue dated Tyre year 145 (AD 19/20), struck during the LIFETIME OF CHRIST.
Obv. Laureate head of Melkart right. Rev. ΤΥΡΟΥ ΙΕΡΑΣ
eagle standing left on prow, PME (date) above club in left field, KP above MPΦ monogram in right field, Phoenician letter B between legs.
DCA Tyre Supplement Release 2, 522.
NGC graded CHOICE VF, Strike 4/5, Surface 3/5. $ 2975
TYRE’S SESQUICENTENNIAL ANNIVERSARY YEAR
18035. PHOENICIA. TYRE.
Silver Shekel, 14.07 g, 25 mm. Issued dated Tyre year 150 (AD 24/5) (?), struck during the LIFETIME OF CHRIST.
Obv. Laureate head of Melkart right. Rev. ΤΥΡΟΥ
KP above monogram in right field, Phoenician letter A between legs.
DCA Tyre Supplement Release 2, 541 (same obverse die).
eagle standing left on prow, PN (date) above club in left field,
NGC graded CHOICE XF, Strike 3/5, Surface 4/5, a very rare year during the lifetime of Christ and the sesquicentennial anniversary issue of Tyre. Dating these is very difficult as the dates were very poorly engraved, but this specimen’s obverse and reverse dies suggest this is correctly identified – the obverse is that of Cohen 541 and the reverse is virtually identical and by the same engraver’s hand as that of the Cohen specimen. $ 2500
18455. PHOENICIA. TYRE.
Silver Half Shekel, 6.91 g, 19 mm. Issue of Tyre Years 155–158 (AD 29–33), a period corresponding to the final years of Christ’s life and the CRUCIFIXION.
Obv. Laureate head of Melkart right. Rev. ΤΥΡΟΥ
eagle standing left on prow, garbled date and club to left, KP and monogram to right.
DCA Tyre Supplement Release 2, 873 and 877 (both struck using the same obverse die).
NGC graded VF, Strike 5/5, Surface 4/5, labeled “yrs. 155–158 (AD 29–33), Cohen (Tyre.R2),873+7 (sod),” the latter indicating that this is the same obverse die as Cohen’s Tyre Supplement Release 2, 873 and 877. $ 2600
Half shekels struck just before Christ’s crucifixion are very difficult to identify since the dates are rendered very roughly using dashes and dots. However, the obverse dies used in this period offer indisputable proof. In this case, even though the date is not clear, the obverse die is documented as having struck specimens during this time frame, in particular years 155 (AD 29/30 = Cohen 873) and 157 (AD 32/3 = Cohen 877). Thus, this die was in use exactly during period viewed by most scholars as corresponding to the Crucifixion.
THE FINAL DATE POSSIBLE FOR THE “THIRTY PIECES OF SILVER”
19652. PHOENICIA. TYRE.
Silver Shekel, 13.55 g, 25 mm. Issue of Tyre year 158 (AD 32/33) (?).
Obv. Laureate head of Melkart right. Rev.
eagle standing left on prow, P[N]H (date) above club in left field, KP above N (?) control in right field, unclear Phoenician letter between eagle’s legs. DCA Tyre Supplement Release 2, 572 (same obverse die, reverse die with same control). NGC graded CHOICE VF, Strike 4/5, Surface 3/5. $ 6500
According to Luke 3:23, Jesus was “about 30 years of age” when he began his public ministry in Judaea. Based on this information, the relation of his death to the celebration of Passover on the 14th day of the month of Nisan in the Babylonian Jewish calendar, and astrological computations, modern scholarship has tended to place the Crucifixion on 9 April AD 33, although 7 April AD 30 has also been proposed. This shekel was struck in year 158 of Tyre, equivalent to AD 32/3, a time frame during the tumultuous events leading up to the Crucifixion. Given the time needed by coins to enter circulation from the mint, this shekel represents the freshest of the coins that would have been in the Temple treasury when Judas Iscariot betrayed Jesus for the price of 30 pieces of silver.
18171. PHOENICIA.TYRE.
Silver Shekel, 13.69 g, 24 mm. Issue dated Tyre year 160 (AD 34/5).
Obv. Laureate head of Melkart right. Rev. ΤΥΡΟΥ
eagle standing left on prow, [P]Ξ (date) above club in left field, KP above ΑΣK monogram in right field, Phoenician letter B between legs.
DCA Tyre Supplement Release 2, 587.
Nearly AU, Strike 2/5, Surface 3/5, obverse struck off center, an issue minted immediately post Crucifixion.
18169. PHOENICIA. TYRE.
Silver Shekel, 13.62 g, 24 mm. Issue dated Tyre year 161 (AD 35/6).
Obv. Laureate head of Melkart right. Rev. ΤΥΡΟΥ
$ 1650
eagle standing left on prow, [P]ΞA (date) above club in left field, KP above XE monogram in right field, Phoenician letter B between legs.
DCA Tyre Supplement Release 2, 592.
NGC graded CHOICE AU, Strike 4/5, Surface 2/5, an attractive specimen in high grade.
19653. PHOENICIA. TYRE.
Silver Shekel, 13.79 g, 23 mm. Issue dated Tyre year 166 (AD 40/1).
Obv. Laureate head of Melkart right. Rev.
$ 2950
eagle standing left on prow, PΞS (date) above club in left field, KP above ΦA monogram in right field, Phoenician letter B between legs.
DCA Tyre Supplement Release 2, 617 (same obverse die).
NGC graded VF, Strike 4/5, Surface 3/5, “flan flaw,” an extremely rare date with only one specimen (poorly preserved) on CoinArchives. $ 1750
THE JEWISH REVOLTS AGAINST ROME
In AD 66, decades of heavy taxation, cultural misunderstandings, outright abuse, and a growing sense of nationalism combined to ignite the First Jewish War (AD 66–70). Beginning in rioting over the abuses of the procurator Gessius Florus, unrest in Judaea turned into open revolt when Jewish rebels desirous of freedom from Rome defeated the three legions sent to restore order by Cestius Gallus, the Roman legate of Syria. Under these circumstances an independent provisional Jewish government was established in Jerusalem while the hardened general Vespasian and his son Titus were sent to crush the rebellion. In AD 67, the largely zealot defenders in Galilee were defeated and in AD 68–69 the Romans marched down the coast, capturing Caesarea and other settlements. At last, in AD 70, Titus captured Jerusalem after a terrible siege. The city and its Temple were destroyed in an orgy of violence and its wealth was carried off to adorn Titus’ triumph in Rome in AD 71.
The ruins of Jerusalem lay desolate for decades until Hadrian took a tour of Judaea in AD 129/30 and came up with the idea to refound the city as a Roman colony called Aelia Capitolina. The emperor’s plans, which included a temple dedicated to Jupiter Capitolinus, the chief god of the Roman pantheon, did not sit well with the Jewish population and when building began in AD 132 it sparked a major revolt lead by the messianic figure Simon bar Kokhba and the priest Eleazar of Modi’in. The so–called Bar Kokhba Revolt (AD 132–135) was a brutal affair which saw the guerilla tactics of the Jewish rebels inflict severe losses on the Roman forces sent to repress them. Only in the final year of the war, by which time Hadrian had taken personal command and some 10 different legions had seen action, were Simon and Eleazar finally cornered in the fortress of Bethar and killed. An appalling massacre, enslavement and exile of the Judaean Jews followed to seal Hadrian’s victory, but the Roman losses had been so great that he did not use the traditional opening to his dispatch to the Senate: “If you and your children are in health, it is well; I and the army are in health.”
18543. JUDAEA. JEWISH WAR, 66–70 CE.
Silver Shekel, 13.92 g, 23 mm. Issue of Jerusalem, dated year 1 (66/67 CE).
Obv. “Shekel of Israel, Year 1” (Paleo–Hebrew), chalice with smooth rim, pellet on either side. Rev. “Jerusalem the Holy” (Paleo–Hebrew), staff with three pomegranate buds.
Hendin 6383; Deutsch 24 (O8/R18); TJC 187.
Ex Michael Beall Collection, privately acquired from David Hendin via Herakles Numismatics, January 2016 (copy of consignment document with Hendin collection pieces available); ex David Hendin Collection.
NGC graded CHOICE XF, Strike 5/5, Surface 4/5. $ 18500
18545. JUDAEA. BAR KOKHBA REVOLT, 132–135 CE.
Silver Sela (Tetradrachm), 14.49 g, 25 mm. Issue dated year 3 (134/5 CE).
Obv. “Simon” (Paleo–Hebrew), facade of the Temple, ark with scrolls within, star ornament above. Rev. “For the freedom of Jerusalem” (Paleo–Hebrew), lulav with etrog in left field.
Hendin 6439; Mildenberg 71 (O15/R53); TJC 267.
Ex David Hendin Collection; ex Alan Levin Collection, Goldberg 41, 5/28/2007, lot 2613.
19668. MACEDONIAN KINGDOM. ALEXANDER III, THE GREAT, 336–323 BC.
Gold Stater, 8.52 g, 18 mm. Early posthumous issue of Memphis, Egypt, struck by Ptolemy I ca. 323 BC, around the time of Alexander’s death.
Obv. Head of Athena with a large Corinthian helmet, a snake ornament below the plume. Rev. ΑΛΕΞΑΝΔΡΟΥ, Nike standing facing looking to left, holding wreath in right hand and stylis over left shoulder. CPE 2; Price 3961.
NGC graded CHOICE VF, Strike 5/5, Surface 5/5, CPE catalogues this as the first emission of the Memphis mint, struck around the time of Alexander’s death (323 BC). The Pella database currently lists 6 specimens in the American Numismatic Society, Münzkabinett Berlin and the British Museum. $ 5850
This coin represents the earliest coin issue struck by Ptolemy I. As he had only been appointed satrap of Egypt in Babylon shortly before, at which time he recognized the regency of Perdiccas for the incapacitated Philip III Arrhidaeus and the unborn Alexander IV, it is not surprising that the types closely follow the Athena and Nike imagery established by Alexander the Great for gold coins. As such an early issue, it was struck at Memphis, the old pharaonic capital, as the Greek city of Alexandria—destined to be the capital of the Ptolemaic Kingdom—was still under construction. It was probably not long after this coin was struck that Ptolemy famously hijacked the funeral cart of Alexander the Great and carried the body off to Egypt for entombment. Once Alexandria was complete, however, both the body of Alexander and the gold mint of Ptolemy I were transferred to the new city.
17313. EGYPT, PTOLEMAIC KINGDOM. PTOLEMY III, 246–222 BC.
Gold Mnaieion (Octodrachm), 27.70 g, 27 mm. Posthumous commemorative issue struck by Ptolemy IV, ca. 219–217 BC. Obv. Radiate bust of Ptolemy III, wearing aegis and holding trident over his left shoulder. Rev. BAΣIΛEΩΣ ΠTOΛEMAIOY, cornucopia wrapped with radiate royal diadem, ΔI below. CPE, 888; Svoronos, 1117; Olivier & Lorber, “Three gold coinages of third–century Ptolemaic Egypt” in RBN 159 (2013), 167 (Obv 4/ Rev 15) (this coin cited).
Ex Kölner Münzkabinett 115, 10/29/2021, lot 140 = Kricheldorf XXIII, 6/21/1971, lot 55 = Hirsch 43, 6/21/1965, lot 1261. Kölner Münzkabinett suggested that this is the same coin as that from the Consul Weber collection, J. Hirsch XXI, 11/16/1908, lot 4497, however, this is unlikely despite the very poor reproduction of the cast in the Hirsch sale. NGC graded VF, Strike 5/5, Surface 3/5, “graffito.” $ 18500
This impressive coin honors the deified Ptolemy III Euergetes, who famously invaded many parts of the Seleucid Empire during the Third Syrian War (246–241 BC), absorbing large sections of western and southern Asia Minor, as well as parts of Syria into the Ptolemaic Kingdom. It was struck under Ptolemy IV as a means of comparing him to his triumphant father after the former achieved his own impressive victory over the Seleucid king Antiochus III at the Battle of Raphia on June 22, 217 BC. Early in the battle, the larger Indian Seleucid war elephants defeated Ptolemy’s smaller African elephants and Antiochus III broke the Ptolemaic left wing, but Ptolemy IV and his queen Arsinoe III managed to rally the remaining phalanx and press on to victory. Gold coins such as this are very likely to have been the prize given to soldiers after the battle and a tool used to spur them to victory. According to 3 Maccabees 1.4, after all seemed lost, “Arsinoe continually went up and down the ranks, and with disheveled hair, with tears and entreaties, begged the soldiers to fight manfully for themselves, their children, and wives; and promised that if they proved conquerors, she would give them two minas of gold apiece. It thus fell out that their enemies were defeated in hand–to–hand encounter, and that many of them were taken prisoners.”
19551. PERSIA. ACHAEMENID EMPIRE. Ca. 485–420 BC.
Gold Daric, 8.28 g, 15 mm. Issue of Sardes.
Obv. King running right, wearing tall turreted crown, carrying bow and spear, small quiver on shoulder. Rev. Incuse punch. Carradice Type IIIb, group A/B (pl. XIII, 27); Meadows, Administration, 321; BMC Arabia, pl. XXIV, 26; Sunrise 24.
NGC graded CHOICE XF, Strike 4/5, Surface 4/5, nicely centered king with full bow.
A PAIR OF BILINGUAL COINS OF JUBA AND CLEOPATRA SELENE
$ 3200
Although Juba I of Numidia was defeated by Julius Caesar in 46 BC, his son Juba II was brought to Rome where he was raised by Caesar and later Octavian. After spending decades being educated in Rome and even obtaining Roman citizenship, Juba II was appointed client–king of Numidia by Octavian in 30 BC. In order to increase Juba’s royal prestige, Octavian also arranged for his marriage to Cleopatra Selene, the daughter of the recently defeated Cleopatra VII of Egypt and Mark Antony. Although eastern Numidia was annexed to Roman Africa in 25 BC, Juba II and Cleopatra Selene were given the kingdom of Mauritania, which was enlarged by the addition of western Numidia. Together they successfully ruled their new kingdom on behalf of Rome, and Juba II was ultimately able to pass it on to their son, Ptolemy in AD 21. Proud of their heritage, Juba II and Ptolemy gave their names on the coinage in Latin to indicate their Roman citizenship, while Cleopatra gave hers in Greek to allude to her descent from the Macedonian Ptolemaic dynasty of Egypt.
19064. KINGDOM OF MAURETANIA. JUBA II with CLEOPATRA SELENE, 25 BC–AD 23/4.
Silver Denarius, 2.93 g, 17 mm. Issue of Caesarea, Mauretania.
Obv. REX IVBA, diademed head of Juba II right. Rev. BACI–ΛIC–CA KΛЄΟΠΑΤΡA, Isis headdress above a crescent. Mazard 335 var. (the exact division of the reverse legend).
NGC graded CHOICE VF, Strike 4/5, Surface 4/5.
19364. KINGDOM OF MAURETANIA. JUBA II with CLEOPATRA SELENE, 25 BC–AD 23/4.
Silver Denarius, 2.84 g, 18 mm. Issue of Caesarea, Mauretania.
Obv. REX IVBA, diademed head of Juba II right. Rev. BA–CIΛI–CC KΛЄΟΠΑΤΡ, Isis headdress and sistrum. Mazard 309 var. (the exact division of the reverse legend, Mazard’s listed specimen has a final A in the queen’s name).
NGC graded CHOICE VF, Strike 5/5, Surface 5/5.
18884. KINGDOM OF MAURETANIA. PTOLEMY, ca. AD 21-40.
Silver Denarius, 1.97 g, 15 mm. Issue of Caesarea, Mauretania, dated year 6 or 7 (AD 28–30).
$ 1500
$ 1500
Obv. REX PTOLEMAE[VS], diademed and draped bust of Ptolemy right. Rev. R A V[I...or II], curule chair with wreath above and scepter.
Mazard 441 (unillustrated) or 442.
NGC graded XF, Strike 4/5, Surface 3/5, extremely rare, an issue of either year 6 or 7 (VII), the only years where the date is arranged horizontally across the field as on this specimen. $ 2750
THE 12 CAESARS of Rome
SUETONIUS’ 12 CAESARS
C. Suetonius Tranquillus (ca. AD 69-122), usually known in English simply as Suetonius, was a good friend of the senator and writer Pliny the Elder. Thanks to Pliny, he was favored by the emperors Trajan and Hadrian. Trajan appointed him director of the imperial archives and Hadrian made him his personal secretary. While Suetonius was in office and had access to the archives, he began writing his most famous work, De vita caesarum (“Concerning the Lives of the Caesars”), which is usually known in English as The Twelve Caesars
The Twelve Caesars is a collection of biographies of Roman rulers beginning with Julius Caesar and continuing with the eleven emperors from Augustus to Domitian following a formulaic arrangement. The work was highly influential and popular in antiquity both for its style and for the inclusion of a great deal of rumor, gossip, and salacious material. The popularity of Suetonius continued in the Medieval period and especially in the Renaissance, when the nobility began to commission artworks, like the so-called Aldobrandini Tazze, incredibly elaborate silver bowls, to display their erudition and knowledge of the stories contained in The Twelve Caesars. At the same time, the Renaissance love of ancient literature combined with a relatively new interest in ancient coins, inspired nobles to form collections illustrating the text of Suetonius. Editions of Suetonius were often illustrated with engravings of ancient coins.
Since then, it has been a popular pursuit for collectors the world over to seek out and assemble coin sets depicting each of the Roman rulers treated in the pages of The Twelve Caesars. This mode of collecting remains an enduring testament to both the popularity of Suetonius and to the tastes of the Renaissance elite.
THE COMPLETE 12 CAESARS IN SILVER ENCAPSULATED BY NGC AS A MATCHED SET
19451. ROMAN EMPIRE. COMPLETE SET OF 12 CAESARS SILVER DENARII.
The set features a denarius from each of the 12 emperors described in Suetonius’ work. The denarii are all encapsulated by NGC as a matched set under the same submission number, with grades ranging from XF to AU. All the coins are notation free and feature a diversity of interesting reverse types. The set includes the following coins, each of which is fully described in the pages that follow.
1st Caesar - Julius Caesar denarius: AU, Strike 3/5, Surface 3/5, FINE STYLE.
2nd Caesar - Augustus denarius: XF, Strike 4/5, Surface 4/5.
3rd Caesar - Tiberius denarius: CHOICE XF, Strike 4/5, Surface 4/5.
4th Caesar - Caligula denarius: XF, Strike 5/5, Surface 4/5.
5th Caesar - Claudius denarius: XF, Strike 4/5, Surface 3/5.
10th Caesar - Vespasian denarius: AU, Strike 5/5, Surface 4/5.
11th Caesar - Titus denarius: CHOICE XF, Strike 5/5, Surface 3/5.
12th Caesar - Domitian denarius: AU, Strike 5/5, Surface 4/5.
Images and descriptions of each individual coin follow. Sold only as a set.
Price on request
Illustration from Caii Svetonii Tranqvilli Opera Qvæ Exstant. Carolus Patinus Doctor Medicus Parisiensis, Notis & Numismatibus illustravit, Suisque sumptibus edidit, printed in Basel, 1675 (digitalized as part of the University of Basel holdings).
ROMAN IMPERATORIAL. JULIUS CAESAR, d. 44 BC. THE 1ST OF THE 12 CAESARS.
Silver Denarius, 4.10 g, 19 mm. Lifetime issue of C. Cossutius Maridianus minted in Rome, February–March 44 BC.
Obv. CAESAR PARENS PATRIAE, veiled head of Julius Caesar right, apex behind, lituus in front. Rev. C COSSVTIVS MARIDIANVS, legend shown in a cross–shaped design, A – A – A – FF between the arms of the cross. Crawford 480/19; Sydenham 1069.
Ex Münzen und Medaillen FPL 506 (January 1988), 41 = Waddell 2, 9/12/1987, lot 464.
NGC graded AU, Strike 3/5, Surface 3/5, FINE STYLE, with notation “cruciform inscription.”
Although he did not actually survive to assume power as an emperor or even a Roman king, as he was suspected of plotting to become, Julius Caesar is the originating Caesar of the Twelve Caesars. His coinage is known for its portraits of the dictator, which flaunted the Republican tradition of depicting only great ancestors, rather than living men, in order to avoid the customs of contemporary Hellenistic kings. On this issue of the moneyer Maridianus, Caesar’s image employs the traditional hyper-realistic model of the Republic seen on some of his earlier portraits but infuses it with a bit of Greek classicism to yield an image of great elegance.
ROMAN EMPIRE. AUGUSTUS, 27 BC–AD 14. THE 2ND OF THE 12 CAESARS.
Silver Denarius, 3.97 g, 19 mm. Issue of Lugdunum (Lyon, France), ca. 15–13 BC.
Obv. AVGVSTVS DIVI F, head of Augustus right. Rev. IMP X, butting bull right.
RIC I rev 167a.
NGC graded XF, Strike 4/5, Surface 4/5, with notation “bull butting.”
This coin reflects the pseudo-republicanism of Augustus’ reign: the attractive obverse portrait depicts the emperor with his head entirely bare, as in traditional republican portraits. The reverse emphasizes the Augustan theme of restoring the past: the exergue date is given in terms of his acclamations as imperator while the bull recalls the type used on Greek tetradrachms of Thurii during the fifth-fourth century BC and refers to the cognomen, Thurinus, that was given to the emperor as an infant.
ROMAN EMPIRE. TIBERIUS, AD 14–37. THE 3RD OF THE 12 CAESARS. Silver Denarius, 3.76 g, 19 mm. Issue of Lugdunum (Lyon, France).
Obv. TI CAESAR DIVI AVG F AVGVSTVS, laureate head of Tiberius right. Rev. PONTIF MAXIM, female figure (Livia as Pax), seated right on throne with decorated legs, holding scepter and olive branch.
RIC I rev 30.
NGC graded CHOICE XF, Strike 4/5, Surface 4/5, with notation “rv Livia as Pax.”
Unlike Augustus, Tiberius did not frequently change the types of his coinage in order to advertise different aspects of his legitimacy as ruler. Instead, for the bulk of his reign, his denarii largely feature the same types: his portrait and a depiction of his mother Livia in the guise of the goddess Pax (Peace). Issues of this type are widely believed to be the famous “Tribute Penny” mentioned in the Bible.
ROMAN EMPIRE. GAIUS (CALIGULA), AD 37–41.THE 4TH OF THE 12 CAESARS.
Silver Denarius, 3.36 g, 19 mm. Issue of Lugdunum (Lyon, France), AD 37.
Obv. C CAESAR AVG GERM P M TR POT, laureate head of Caligula right. Rev. AGRIPPINA MAT C CAES AVG GERM, draped bust of Agrippina the Elder right.
RIC I rev 8.
Ex Harlan J. Berk 68, 11/13/1991, lot 272.
NGC graded XF, Strike 5/5, Surface 4/5, with notation “rv Agrippina Sr.,” old cabinet patina with golden iridescent highlights throughout.
Gaius, was popularly known by the nickname Caligula (“Little Boots”) because as a child he was often seen in the military camps with his father Germanicus and wore footwear similar to that worn by the legionaries. Caligula was initially considered a model emperor. However, after the death of his younger sister Drusilla in AD 38, he began the descent into madness and cruelty for which he is most (in)famous. This denarius was struck in AD 40, the last full year of his reign, probably when the plot to assassinate him was already developing.
ROMAN EMPIRE. CLAUDIUS, AD 41–54. THE 5TH OF THE 12 CAESARS.
Silver Denarius, 3.79 g, 18 mm. Issue of Rome, AD 41–2.
Obv. [TI] CLAVD CAESAR AVG GERM P M TR [P], laureate head of Claudius right. Rev. EX S C / OB CIVES / SERVATOS, within oak wreath (corona civica).
RIC I rev 16 (rarity R2).
NGC graded XF, Strike 4/5, Surface 3/5, with notation “rv EX SC OB CIVES SERVATOS in wreath”; pleasing icy blue iridescent highlights.
When Caligula was murdered along with his wife and daughter as part of a plot by members of the senate and the praetorian guard, chaos ensued in the imperial palace. Surrounded by death, Caligula’s uncle Claudius hid behind a curtain, hoping to avoid being killed as well. He was discovered by one of the praetorian guards, but when he was pulled out into the open, he was not struck down, but hailed as the new emperor.
ROMAN EMPIRE. NERO, AD 54–68. THE 6th OF 12 CAESARS.
Silver Denarius, 3.37 g, 19 mm. Issue of Rome, AD 67–68.
Obv. NERO CAESAR AVGVSTVS, laureate head of Nero right. Rev. IVPPITER CVSTOS, Jupiter enthroned left, holding thunderbolt and scepter.
RIC I rev 53.
NGC graded CHOICE XF, Strike 5/5, Surface 3/5, with notation “rv. Jupiter std.”
In AD 65, the mounting senatorial discontent at Nero’s megalomaniac behavior finally erupted in a senatorial plot against his life. This was orchestrated by the prominent senator C. Calpurnius Piso and involved numerous senatorial colleagues and members of the Praetorian Guard. However, on 19 April AD 65, the so-called Pisonian conspiracy was betrayed, and the conspirators were arrested before they could act. Nero thanked the gods for saving his life and advertised this on the present coin, appropriately depicting Jupiter Custos (“the Guardian”) on the reverse.
ROMAN EMPIRE. GALBA, AD 68–69. THE 7TH OF THE 12 CAESARS.
Silver Denarius, 3.54 g, 19 mm. Issue of Rome, July AD 68–January AD 69.
Obv. IMP SER GALBA CAESAR AVG P M, draped and laureate bust of Galba right. Rev. DIVA AVGVSTA, Livia, standing left, holding scepter and patera.
RIC I rev 189.
NGC graded CHOICE XF, Strike 4/5, Surface 5/5, with notation “rv Livia stg.”
In late spring of 68, Galba raised the legions of Germania Superior in revolt against the hated Nero. When it was falsely announced on 8 June that Nero had fled Rome for Egypt, the Senate immediately proclaimed Galba as the new emperor. The news of his replacement caused Nero to despair and commit suicide. On this coin Galba strives to establish legitimacy by referring to his Julio-Claudian predecessors, in particular Augustus’ deified wife, Livia, to whom Galba had claimed a distant family relationship, and who apparently sponsored his advancement in the army under Augustus and Tiberius. Despite his military connections, the Praetorian Guard became disillusioned with him, and eventually assassinated him.
ROMAN EMPIRE. OTHO, AD 69. THE 8TH OF THE 12 CAESARS.
Silver Denarius, 3.47 g, 17 mm. Issue of Rome, January to March, AD 69.
Obv. IMP M OTHO CAESAR AVG TR P, head of Otho right. Rev. SECVRITAS PR, Securitas standing left, holding wreath and scepter. RIC I rev 8.
NGC graded CHOICE XF, Strike 3/5, Surface 4/5, with notation “rv. Securitas stg.”
Like his predecessor, the murdered Galba, Otho also wished to be seen as the savior of Rome, and on this coin he celebrates his role in restoring securitas (safety or security) to the Roman state. Unfortunately, this was a total fiction from the moment he took up the imperial purple on 15 January 69 and three months later, after being defeated by the forces of Vitellius at Bedriacum, he fell on his own sword.
ROMAN EMPIRE. VITELLIUS, AD 69. THE 9TH OF THE 12 CAESARS.
Silver Denarius, 3.19 gm, 17 mm. Issue of Rome, ca. late April–December AD 69. Obv. A VITELLIVS GERMANICVS IMP, bare head right. Rev. [Anepigraphic], Victory enthroned left, holding wreath and palm branch.
RIC I rev 71.
NGC graded CHOICE XF, Strike 4/5, Surface 3/5, with notation “rv Victory std.”
The present denarius showing Victoria was almost certainly struck to advertise Vitellius’ victory over Otho, but there is no reverse legend to make this explicit. This was entirely by design. Although Roman culture recognized the victory over foreign enemies as a source of glory, there was no great honor to be obtained from victory in civil war and it was inappropriate to celebrate a triumph over one’s fellow citizens. Like Otho, Vitellius’ reign was short, and his execution by the forces of Vespasian brought his brief reign to an end in December of AD 69.
ROMAN EMPIRE. VESPASIAN, AD 69–79. THE 10TH OF THE 12 CAESARS.
Silver Denarius, 3.43 g, 19 mm. Issue of Rome, AD 74.
Obv. IMP CAESAR VESP AVG, laurate head of Vespasian right. Rev. PON MAX TR P COS V, winged caduceus. RIC II.1 684.
NGC graded AU, Strike 5/5, Surface 4/5, with notation “rv winged caduceus,” beautiful golden iridescence.
Vespasian managed to seize power and become emperor thanks to the capture of Rome and the death of Vitellius at the close of the Year of the Four Emperors (AD 69). While the obverse of this coin features the veristic, grizzled portrait of the general—turned—emperor, the reverse depicts a winged caduceus, the attribute of the goddess Pax (Peace). Peace was a subject extensively explored in the coinage of Vespasian as he brought not only Rome’s Civil War to an end, but also the Jewish War in AD 71.
ROMAN EMPIRE. TITUS, AD 79–81. THE 11TH OF THE 12 CAESARS.
Silver Denarius, 3.13 g, 19 mm. Issue struck in Rome after July AD 79, right before the eruption that buried Pompeii and Herculaneum. Obv. IMP TITVS CAES VESPASIAN AVG P M, laureate head of Titus right. Rev. TR POT VIIII IMP XIIII COS VII PP, Venus, seen from the back leaning on a column right, holding helmet and scepter.
RIC II.1 34.
NGC graded CHOICE XF, Strike 5/5, Surface 3/5. A scarce type for Titus, this coin was struck in AD 79, the year Vesuvius erupted (August of AD 79), burying the cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum in volcanic ash.
The coquettish Venus on the reverse of this denarius depicts a famous Greek statue of Aphrodite Callipygos (“Venus of the Beautiful Buttocks”). An almost identical depiction of this seminude version of Venus Victrix first appeared on denarii struck by Octavian (later Augustus), symbolizing his victory at the Battle of Actium to advertise his supposed descent from the goddess through Julius Caesar and the promise of victory. Titus no doubt resurrected the type for the double purpose of commemorating his victory in the Jewish War (AD 66-70) and of linking himself to the memory of Rome’s great emperor.
ROMAN EMPIRE. DOMITIAN, AD 81–96. THE 12TH OF THE 12 CAESARS. Silver Denarius, 3.53 g, 18 mm. Issue struck as Caesar in Rome, AD 80–81.
Obv. CAESAR DIVI F DOMITIANVS COS VII, laureate head of Domitian right. Rev. PRINCEPS IVVENTVTIS, lit altar with garlands.
RIC II.1 (Titus) 266.
NGC graded AU, Strike 5/5, Surface 4/5, with notation “rv altar w/garland+flame.”
The reverse names Domitian as princeps iuventutis (Prince of the Youth), a purely honorific title identifying him as the designated heir to Titus and Vespasian. Domitian became emperor in AD 81 after Titus’ death
ROMAN COINAGE
19654. ROMAN REPUBLIC. ANONYMOUS. Ca. 225–214/2 BC.
Silver Quadrigatus, 6.70 g, 23 mm. Issue of an uncertain mint, ca. 225–212 BC.
Obv. Laureate head of Janus with curved truncation. Rev. Jupiter, holding scepter and preparing to throw his thunderbolt from galloping quadriga driven by Victory, ROMA in incuse letters on raised tablet below.
Crawford 28/3; Sydenham 64; HN Italy 334.
NGC graded CHOICE VF, Strike 5/5, Surface 2/5, “brushed,” areas of golden toning.
$ 1500
The quadrigatus, named for its depiction of Jupiter driving a four-horse chariot, was the first large–scale Roman coinage struck in silver. Its weight standard was essentially that of the Greek stater used in southern Italy and served as the standard Roman silver denomination from ca. 235 to 214 BC. Severe debasement during the crisis of the Second Punic War (218-201 BC) led to its abandonment and replacement by the denarius in 211 BC.
19521. ROMAN REPUBLIC. ANONYMOUS ISSUE, ca. 211–208 BC.
Silver Victoriatus, 3.26 g, 17 mm. Issue of an uncertain mint.
Obv. Laureate head of Jupiter right. Rev. ROMA, Victory standing right, crowning trophy, VB ligate monogram in center field.
Crawford 95/11; Sydenham 113.
NGC graded MINT STATE.
$ 975
Although the quadrigatus was abandoned, the popularity of its weight standard, especially in Gaul, led the Romans to introduce the victoriatus, around 211 BC. It gained its name from the depiction of Victory crowning a trophy of arms on the reverse. Interestingly, in Greek, the denomination was known as the tropaikon, after the trophy, rather than the figure of Victory. The victoriatus continued to circulate until it too ceased production in the mid-second century.
19463. ROMAN REPUBLIC. L. C. PISO FRUGI, c. 90 BC.
Silver Denarius, 4.01 g, 19 mm.
Obv. Laureate head of Apollo right, H control in right field. Rev. L PISO FRVGI, horseman galloping right, holding reins and palm branch, ROMA in exergue.
Crawford 340/1; Sydenham 663.
NGC graded AU, Strike 5/5, Surface 5/5, golden iridescence throughout.
$ 875
Although the full list of controls and sequence marks are not given for Frugi’s denarii by Crawford or Sydenham, the H obverse sequence mark of this denarius occurs on the parallel series of quinarii listed by Crawford in Table XXI, 37 (2e–g).
18285. ROMAN REPULIC. CN. LENTULUS, ca. 76–75 BC.
Silver Denarius, 3.78 g, 19 mm.
Obv. G P R, head of Genius Populi Romani right. Rev. CN LEN Q, scepter with wreath, globe and rudder, EX SC in field. Crawford 393/1a; Sydenham 752.
Ex Salton Collection, likely acquired in the 1950s–1960s when Mr. Salton owned a numismatic firm in New York.
NGC graded CHOICE XF, Strike 5/5, Surface 3/5, “light marks,” iridescent blue highlights.
M. JUNIUS BRUTUS, CHAMPION OF THE REPUBLIC
$ 675
The coins of M. Junius Brutus struck in 54 BC regularly refer to his famous ancestor, L. Junius Brutus, who became a celebrated figure in Rome for his expulsion of L. Tarquinius Superbus, the last Etruscan king of Rome in 509 BC. In the new era of freedom from kings that followed, Brutus established a republican form of government in which supreme authority was granted to two annually elected officials called consuls, of which Brutus was one. When M. Junius Brutus was not advertising his connection to this homonymous forebear, he was noting his descent on his mother’s side from C. Servilius Ahala, an early Republican magistrate responsible for killing another politician who aspired to kingship. The anti-monarchical and strongly republican flavor of M. Junius Brutus’s coinage reflects his deeply held personal convictions and seems to telegraph his later role in the murder of Julius Caesar, a would-be Roman king, on the Ides of March 44 BC.
18944. ROMAN IMPERATORIAL. M. JUNIUS BRUTUS, d. 42 BC.
Silver Denarius, 3.60 g, 19 mm. Issue of Rome, struck by Brutus while he served as moneyer, 54 BC. Obv. BRVTVS, head of L. Junius Brutus right. Rev. AHALA, head of C. Servilius Ahala right. Crawford, 433/2; Sydenham, 907.
NGC graded XF, Strike 4/5, Surface 4/5, superb portraits.
18943. ROMAN IMPERATORIAL. M. JUNIUS BRUTUS, d. 42 BC.
Silver Denarius, 3.99 g, 20 mm. Issue of Rome, struck by Brutus while he served as moneyer, 54 BC. Obv. LIBERTAS, head of Libertas right. Rev. BRVTVS, procession of L. Junius Brutus, consul of 509 BC, and lictors. Crawford 433/1; Sydenham 906.
NGC graded CHOICE XF, Strike 4/5, Surface 5/5, old dark gray cabinet toning.
$ 1800
$ 1850
19358. ROMAN IMPERATORIAL. JULIUS CAESAR, d. 44 BC.
Silver Denarius, 3.55 g, 18 mm. Posthumous issue of L. Mussidius Longus from Rome, 42 BC.
Obv. Laureate head of Caesar right. Rev. L MVSSIDIVS LONGVS, cornucopia on globe, rudder to left, winged caduceus and apex to right.
Crawford 494/39a; Sydenham 1096a.
Ex Hirsch 4/16/1958, lot 252 = Adolph Cahn 71, 10/14/1931, lot 1372.
NGC graded XF, Strike 4/5, Surface 4/5, the Cahn provenance noted on label, with an exceptionally elegant portrait of Caesar combining some of the hyper–realistic physiognomic features of the Republican veristic style with gentler and more classicizing facial features. $ 7500
19231. ROMAN IMPERATORIAL. JULIUS CAESAR, d. 44 BC.
Silver Denarius, 3.92 g, 19 mm. Posthumous issue struck by L. Livineius Regulus at Rome, 42 BC. Obv. Laureate head of Caesar right, laurel branch to left, winged caduceus at right. Rev. L LIVINEI[VS] R[EGVLVS], bull charging right.
Crawford 494/24; Sydenham 1106.
NGC graded CHOICE XF, Strike 3/5, Surface 3/5, the depiction of Julius Caesar showing accentuated aspects of “verism” (hyper realism), a feature characteristic of late Republican portraiture. $ 6800
18110. ROMAN IMPERATORIAL. JULIUS CAESAR, d. 44 BC.
Silver Denarius, 3.78 g, 18 mm. Issue of a military mint traveling with Caesar, 49–48 BC.
Obv. CAESAR, elephant to right, trampling a serpent. Rev. Official instruments of the Pontifex Maximus–simpulum, aspergillum, securis and apex.
Crawford, 443/1; Sydenham, 1006.
NGC graded CHOICE AU, Strike 4/5, Surface 5/5, with a highly detailed elephant.
19306. ROMAN EMPIRE. AUGUSTUS, 27 BC–AD 14. PROVINCIAL ISSUE OF ANTIOCH.
Silver Tetradrachm, 14.89 g, 27 mm. Issue of year 36 (Actian era) and year 54 of the Caesarean Era (AD 6).
$ 3200
Obv. KAIΣAPOΣ ΣEBAΣTOY, laureate head of Augustus right. Rev. ANTIOXEΩN MHTPOΠΟΛΕΩΣ, Tyche seated right on rocky outcropping, holding palm, river god Orontes swimming to right, dates in field, above civic monogram ANTX (ANTIOXIEΩN?). Prieur 57; RPC 4158.
NGC graded CHOICE VF, Strike 4/5, Surface 2/5, a coin struck during Christ’s lifetime, some 10 years after his birth which is placed sometime between 6 and 4 BC. $ 950
16935. ROMAN EMPIRE. TIBERIUS, AD 14–37.
Silver Denarius, 3.77 g, 21 mm. Issue of Lugdunum (Lyon, France).
Obv. TI CAESAR DIVI AVG F AVGVSTVS, laureate head of Tiberius right. Rev. PONTIF MAXIM, female figure (Livia as Pax) seated right on throne, holding scepter and olive branch.
RIC I rev 30.
NGC grated CHOICE XF, Strike 4/5, Surface 3/5, struck on a broad planchet and with an outstanding portrait of Tiberius. $ 1800
The Tiberius denarius type is frequently described by numismatists as the “Tribute Penny” type because in the influential King James Version of the story in Matthew (paralleled also in Mark 12:13–17 and Luke 20:20–26) the Greek word denarion (= Latin denarius) is rendered as “penny” in English. This translation was designed to make the ancient denarius comprehensible to English people of the seventeenth century. It was not entirely inappropriate considering that the early modern English penny evolved from the medieval denier, which had in turn developed from the Roman denarius.
Nero succeeded his stepfather Claudius in AD 54, probably with a little help from his mother Agrippina and a bowl of poisoned mushrooms. The early years of his reign are generally thought to have gone well thanks to the domineering influence of Agrippina, but after Nero finally succeeded in having her murdered, he indulged his artistic passions and love of chariot racing, both of which earned him the contempt of the Senate. He notoriously gave lyrical recitals at which it was dangerous for audience members to fall asleep and when Rome suffered the devastating fire of AD 64 he is said to have taken the opportunity to perform the Ilioupersis (“Sack of Troy”). Nero also made himself onerous by claiming much of the land in Rome cleared by the fire for the building of an opulent new palace, the Domus Aurea. At last, his reign began to fall apart as the Jewish War (AD 66-70) erupted in Judaea and C. Julius Vindex, the governor of Gallia Lugdunensis raised his legions in revolt against the emperor in AD 68. At last, Nero gave up hope and committed suicide, remarking, “What an artist dies in me!” His demise ushered in the bloody Year of the Four Emperors (AD 69).
18988. ROMAN EMPIRE. NERO, AD 54–68. Silver Denarius, 3.57 g, 18 mm. Issue of Lugdunum (Lyon, France), AD 58–59. Obv. NERO CAESAR AVG IMP, youthful head of Nero right. Rev. PONTIF MAX TR P V P P, EX S C within oak wreath (corona civica).
RIC I rev 17 (R2).
NGC graded CHOICE XF STAR, Strike 4/5, Surface 4/5, lustrous, with a great portrait of the young emperor.
$ 6500
On this coin the young Nero casts himself as a new Augustus, by adopting a famous Augustan coin type showing the corona civica, an oak wreath awarded by the Senate in 27 BC. Under the Roman Republic, this oak wreath was awarded for saving the life of a citizen in war, but it was presented to Augustus for saving all Roman citizens from civil war by defeating Mark Antony and assuming sole power.
FROM THE UBS SALE OF JANUARY 2003 AND PUBLISHED IN CALICÓ
19628. ROMAN EMPIRE. NERO, AD 54–68. Gold Aureus, 7.28 g, 19 mm. Issue of Rome, AD 64–68. Obv. NERO CAESAR AVGVSTVS, laureate head of Nero right. Rev. ROMA, goddess Roma seated left on a cuirass, resting her foot on a helmet, holding Victory and parazonium.
RIC I rev 54; Calicó 439a (this coin listed and illustrated).
Ex UBS 56, 1/28/2003, lot 230.
NGC graded XF, Strike 4/5, Surface 3/5, Calicó provenance listed on label.
$ 7000
19696. ROMAN EMPIRE. GALBA, AD 68–69.
Silver Denarius, 3.43 g, 18 mm. Issue of Rome, July AD 68–January AD 69.
Obv. IMP SER GALBA CAESAR AVG, draped and laureate bust of Galba right. Rev. DIVA AVGVSTA, Livia, standing left, holding scepter and patera.
RIC I rev, 189.
NGC graded VF, Strike 4/5, Surface 4/5.
18073. ROMAN EMPIRE. TRAJAN, AD 98–117.
$ 875
Silver Denarius, 3.19 g, 19 mm. Issue of Rome, ca. AD 100.
Obv. IMP CAES NERVA TRAIAN AVG GERM, laureate head of Trajan right. Rev. P M TR P COS III PP, Victoria seated left, holding patera and palm branch.
Woytek 85a; RIC II 41.
NGC graded CHOICE XF, Strike 5/5, Surface 5/5, a coin with stunning multicolored iridescence and a wonderfully realized portrait of the emperor. $ 850
14605. ROMAN EMPIRE. HADRIAN, AD 117–138.
Silver Cistophorus, 10.80 g, 31 mm. Issue of Ephesus, after AD 128.
Obv. HADRIANVS AVGVSTVS P P, bare head of Hadrian right. Rev. COS III, Artemis Ephesia standing, flanked by stags. RPC III 1347 (RPC Online lists 8 specimens).
NGC graded CHOICE F, Strike 4/5, Surface 4/5, “overstruck,” “undertype Antony+Octavia,” the undertype being an Ephesian cistophorus of Marc Antony and Octavia, RPC I, 2202. Substantial traces of the undertype appear around the top of the reverse (...IG ITER ET TERT), while faint traces of Dionysus on the reverse allow for a complete identification of the original coin. $ 975
14978. ROMAN EMPIRE. HADRIAN, AD 117–138.
Silver Cistophorus, 10.91 g, 27 mm. Issue of Pergamon.
Obv. HADRIANVS AVGVSTVS P P, draped bust of Hadrian right. Rev. COS III, Asclepius standing, head turned left, holding snake entwined staff.
RPC III, 1324 (RPC Online lists 9 specimens).
NGC graded XF, Strike 4/5, Surface 3/5, “graffiti,” “overstruck on Augustus,” the undertype being an Ephesus cistophorus depicting a garlanded altar, RPC I, 2215. $ 1200
19553. ROMAN EMPIRE. MARCUS AURELIUS, AD 161–180. Gold Aureus, (7.16 g), 21 mm. Issue of Rome, Dec AD 166–Dec AD 167. Obv. M ANTONINVS AVG ARM PARTH MAX, laureate, draped and cuirassed bust right. Rev. TR POT XXI IMP IIII COS III, Victory walking left, holding wreath and palm. RIC III 174; Calicó 2008.
Ex Aaron Morse Collection, Anchorage, Alaska. NGC graded VF, Strike 4/5, Surface 2/5, “bent,” “edge filing,” crossed over from an old ICG holder 4687970103. $ 4500
GANYMEDE, CUP–BEARER OF THE GODS
19488. ROMAN EMPIRE. Ca. 2nd century AD. Uniface lead decorative plaque, 119.95 g, 57 x 45 mm. Zeus, in form of an eagle, standing beneath a tree on decorated base left, drinking from cup offered to him by Ganymede, nude, wearing Phrygian cap, reclining on rock to right. From the estate of Robert Haber, acquired mostly in the 1980s–early 2000s; ex Nomos AG, inv. 10879, exhibited at a Maastricht show, uncertain year, where it was purchased by Mr. Haber, with the original Nomos tag from the show. $ 2750
The same subject appears in a very similar way on Antonine issues of Ilium, including an issue of Marcus Aurelius, RPC Online IV.2, 86 (temporary) and Commodus, RPC Online IV.2, 11283 (temporary) and IV.2, 122 (temporary), the latter being especially close. This is most appropriate as Ganymede was a prince of ancient Troy, abducted by Zeus. Homer wrote in his Iliad: “[Ganymede] was the loveliest born of the race of mortals, and therefore the gods caught him away to themselves, to be Zeus’ wine–pourer, for the sake of his beauty, so he might be among the immortals.” Iliad, Book XX, lines 233–235 (in Lattimore’s translation). Zeus is said to have compensated Ganymede’s father Tros for the loss of his son with a gift of fine horses delivered by Hermes.
19617. ROMAN EMPIRE. SEVERUS ALEXANDER, AD 222–235.
Gold Aureus, 6.05 g, 20 mm
Obv. IMP SEV ALEXAND AVG, laureate head right. Rev. P M TR P VIIII COS III P P, Severus Alexander in the guise of Romulus walking right, wearing radiate crown and holding spear and trophy.
RIC IV 103; Calicó 3121 (same dies).
NGC graded CHOICE MINT STATE, Strike 5/5, Surface 5/5, FINE STYLE, lustrous, perfectly struck and exceptional in every way. $ 24500
The reverse of this spectacular gold aureus is generally though to depict Severus Alexander in the guise of Romulus, as it closely copies similar types representing the founder of Rome used for coins of Hadrian and Antoninus Pius. Here however, the Romulus figure wears a clear laurel crown signaling that it is intended to be understood as a depiction of the emperor as a new Romulus. Such an image was very appropriate for the reign of Severus Alexander, which was heavily focused on restoring Roman traditions and dignity after the disastrous reign of his cousin Elagabalus (AD 218-222). The hated Elagabalus had trampled on much Roman custom in his desire to make the Syrian god Elagabal the supreme deity and to impose foreign ways in Rome. In stark contrast, Severus Alexander was presented as the emperor who would undo what Elagabalus had done and set things right again in the city on the Tiber.
19009. ROMAN EMPIRE. PROVINCIAL ISSUE OF NICOPOLIS AD ISTRUM, MOESIA, UNDER GORDIAN III, AD 238–244. Bronze AE28, 12.97 g, 29 mm.
Obv. Laureate, draped and cuirassed bust of Gordian right. Rev. River god Istros reclining left, leaning on vase from which the waters flow, reed in background.
RPC VII.2 1297; Varbanov 4220.
NGC graded AU, Strike 5/5, Surface 3/5, FINE STYLE, “lt smoothing,” a spectacular specimen struck with great detail. $ 875
Already in the 8th or 7th century BC, the Istros (modern Danube) was considered by the Greek poet Hesiod in the Theogony as one of the river gods born from the union of the Titans Oceanus and Tethys and described as possessing beautiful waters. As the largest river of Europe, Istros was sometimes characterized as the king of rivers receiving tribute from many smaller rivers. While on earlier Greek coinages river gods were often represented with the bodies or horns of bulls to represent their rushing waters, by the Roman period they had become fully anthropomorphous and commonly shown, as here, with water flowing from an overturned vase to represent their source.
19617
19009
THE COLOR OF MONEY – A TRIAD OF SUPERB IRIDESCENT
By the late third century AD, the silver antoninianus (overvalued since its introduction in AD 215) had been debased to the point that it had essentially become a bronze coin. In an attempt to turn around the faltering Roman economy and restore confidence in the coinage in AD 295, Diocletian introduced a new silver denomination known to numismatists as the argentius (literally “[coin] of silver”) and struck to a similar weight and fineness as the denarius under Nero. Unfortunately, by AD 310 it was necessary to abandon the denomination as its high quality made it disappear into hoards or out of the empire through international trade.
19574. ROMAN EMPIRE. GALERIUS, AD 305–311.
Silver Argenteus, 3.26 g, 19 mm. Issue of Siscia, ca. AD 294–295, struck as Caesar.
Obv. MAXIMIANVS CAESAR, laureate head right. Rev. VIRTVS MILITVM, four tetrarchs sacrificing in front of fortified city walls.
Published: Gautier, Le monnayage en argent de la réforme de Dioclétien, 20h (this specimen listed). RIC VI 44b.
Ex Hirsch 336, 2/72018, lot 2648 = Münzen und Medaillen 90, 6/14/2000, lot 302.
NGC graded as CHOICE AU STAR, Strike 5/5, Surface 5/5, an iridescent marvel, replete with multicolor toning throughout, with NGC’s coveted star designation and double 5/5 ratings for strike and surface. $ 4500
19698. ROMAN EMPIRE. GALERIUS, AD 305–311.
Silver Argenteus, 3.61 g, 19 mm. Issue of Siscia, ca. AD 294, struck as Caesar.
Obv. MAXIMIANVS CAESAR, laureate head right. Rev. VICTORIA SARMAT, four tetrarchs sacrificing in front of fortified city walls. RIC VI 42b.
NGC graded as CHOICE AU STAR, Strike 5/5, Surface 4/5, with blue–green iridescent toning.
19699. ROMAN EMPIRE. CONSTANTIUS I, AD 305–306.
$ 3800
Silver Argenteus, 2.85 g, 18 mm. Issue of Ticinum, ca. AD 294, struck as Caesar. Obv. MAXIMIANVS CAESAR, laureate head right. Rev. VIRTVS MILITVM, four tetrarchs sacrificing in front of fortified city walls. RIC VI 19a var (with different legend break).
Ex Künker 257, 10/10/2014, lot 9095.
NGC graded as CHOICE AU STAR, Strike 5/5, Surface 5/5, multicolored iridescence throughout.
$ 5000
19618. ROMAN EMPIRE. MAXIMIAN, AD 286–310.
Gold Aureus, 5.32 g, 19 mm. Issue of Antioch, ca. AD 290–293. Obv. MAXIMIANVS AVGVSTVS, laureate head of Maximian left. Rev. CONSVL III P P PROCOS, Maximian seated on curule chair left, holding Victory on globe who offers a wreath to him.
RIC V.II 610; Calicó 4614 (same obverse die).
Ex Archer M. Huntington gift to the Hispanic Society of America, residing for many years at the American Numismatic Society, inv. 22157 = ex Numismatica Ars Classica 67, 10/17/2012 (the Huntington Collection of Roman Gold Coins, part I), lot 217. NGC graded as CHOICE MINT STATE, Strike 5/5, Surface 4/5.
$ 35000
In AD 285, Diocletian appointed his loyal military companion, M. Aurelius Valerius Maximianus (Maximian), to serve as his Caesar. However, when major revolts erupted in Gaul, the Alemanni, Burgundians, Chaibones, and Heruli invaded the empire across the Rhine frontier, and Carausius proclaimed himself emperor in Britannia, Diocletian gave Maximian full authority as a second Augustus in AD 286 and established the western Roman Empire as his area of authority. Unfortunately, while Maximian managed to stem the barbarian tide, his attempts to bring Carausius to heel failed in AD 290.
In AD 293, Maximian’s ongoing challenges in the West prompted the reorganization of the Diarchy (“Rule of Two”) of Diocletian and Maximian as a Tetrarchy (“Rule of Four”) in which each Augustus was assisted by his own Caesar. By AD 298, Maximian and his Caesar, Constantius I Chlorus, had restored Britannia to the Roman Empire, held the Rhine frontier against the Franks, and stopped Moorish raiding in North Africa. Maximian then returned to Italy to enjoy a life of luxury until AD 303, when he was reunited with Diocletian in Rome to celebrate the vicennalia (twenty-year anniversary) of Diocletian’s reign, the decennalia (ten-year anniversary) of the Tetrarchy, and a triumph for Persian and Moorish victories.
In AD 305, the increasingly ill Diocletian decided it was time to lay down his powers and let his Caesar Galerius assume power as Augustus in the East and convinced Maximian to retire at the same time and allow Constantius Chlorus to take over in the West. Maximian followed Diocletian into retirement with great reluctance and when his son Maxentius was illegally proclaimed Augustus in Italy in AD 306, he found it difficult to resist the invitation to provide his support. Several armies dispatched by Galerius were unable to dislodge the father-and-son rebels, but in AD 307 Maximian was forced to flee to the court of his son-in-law Constantine I after he attempted, but failed, to depose Maxentius.
In AD 308, Diocletian came out of retirement to restore order, forcing Maximian to give up his imperial pretensions and retire to the court of Constantine. However, in AD 310, while Constantine was off campaigning against the Franks, Maximian reported that he had been killed in battle and assumed the title of Augustus in his place. When it was revealed that Constantine was still alive, what little support Maximian had evaporated and he fled to Massalia (Marseille), where he was finally arrested and forced to renounce his imperial powers for a third time. With all hope of returning to power now lost, Maximian hanged himself in AD 310.
This wonderful aureus comes from the collection of Archer M. Huntington, an American philanthropist best known for his foundation of the Hispanic Society of America and his great benefactions to the American Numismatic Society, both of which were originally situated in the Audubon Terrace complex financed by Huntington in New York City. Because they were sister institutions sharing the same location, until 2008 it was customary for Huntington coins belonging to the Hispanic Society to reside in the trays of the ANS.
19669. ROMAN EMPIRE. CONSTANTINE I, AD 307–337.
Gold Solidus, 4.45 g, 20 mm. Issue of Trier (Treveri, Germany), ca. AD 326.
Obv. CONSTANTINVS P F AVG, laureate head of Constantine right. Rev. SECVRITAS REIPVBLICAE, Securitas standing left, leaning on a column, TR (for Treveri) in exergue.
RIC VII, 502; Alföldi 457; Depeyrot 32/6.
Ex Jonathan K. Kern Collection = ex Howard Hazelcorn Collection, acquired from Vilmar Numismatics in May 2017 (inv. 12270) = Roma Numismatics XIII, 3/23/2017, lot 924 = Leu 91, 5/10/2004, lot 690.
NGC graded CHOICE AU, Strike 5/5, Surface 4/5.
$ 17500
The reverse type and legend of this solidus celebrate the establishment of the “Security of the State,” which around AD 326 is likely to have referred to the elimination of Licinius, Constantine’s longtime rival. Licinius was defeated in battle at Chrysopolis in AD 324, but was permitted to retire as a private citizen. He was executed in the following year after he was discovered plotting to sweep back into power with Gothic support. On a somewhat more sinister level, the Roman Empire seemed to be rendered more secure in AD 326 through Constantine’s execution of Crispus, his son by his first wife Minervina. The death of Crispus paved the way for the undisputed succession of the emperor’s sons by his second wife Fausta.
A SPECTACULAR “EYES TO GOD” SILIQUA OF CONSTANTIUS II
19700. ROMAN EMPIRE. CONSTANTIUS II, AD 337–361.
Silver Siliqua, 3.32 g, 21 mm. Issue of Antioch, struck while serving as Augustus, ca. AD 337–347. Obv. Diademed head right, with upward looking gaze. Rev. VOTIS / XV / MVLTIS / XX, legend in four lines within wreath; ANT in exergue.
RIC VIII, 35.
NGC graded MINT STATE STAR, Strike 5/5, Surface 5/5, exceptional eye–appeal of this popular variety with the so–called “eyes to God” portrait, symbolizing the new Christian faith adopted by Constantine and his family. $ 4500
This siliqua features the desirable “eyes to God” portrait type in which Constantius II is depicted not in the standard profile looking straight to right or left, but with his gaze elevated slightly upwards as if towards the heavens. It is widely thought to indicate the Christian piety of the emperor and his contemplation of holy things. The “eyes to God” iconography was not original to Constantius II as Augustus. It was originally developed for coins of his father, Constantine the Great, but was also used for coins of his sons in the roles of Caesars as a means of presenting a pious Christian dynasty. This coin therefore not only illustrates the concern of Constantius II for the divine, but also his continuity with the reign of his father.
A JULIAN FROM ENGLAND – DETECTORIST FIND FROM BOTLEY, HAMPSHIRE
19559. ROMAN EMPIRE. JULIAN II, AD 360–363.
Gold Solidus, 4.49 g, 22 mm. Issue of Constantinople. Obv. FL CL IVLIANVS P F AVG, diademed, draped and cuirassed bust right. Rev. VIRTVS EXERCITVS ROMANORVM, Roman soldier striding right, carrying trophy and dragging bound captive. CONSP in exergue. RIC VIII 158; Depeyrot 7/1.
Ex Detectorist find in 1998 at the site of Botley, Hampshire where the famous hoard of the same name surfaced. The coin was a stray find at the same site and was submitted to the Finds Liaison Officer and received a valuation from Gerald T. Dunger, a dealer, on 20 March 1998 (document copy with coin).
NGC graded CHOICE AU, Strike 5/5, Surface 3/5, “brushed, “Found in England, 1998,” in high grade and with a marvelous portrait of the bearded Julian. $ 9500
Although Constantine I is famous as the emperor who legalized Christianity and set it on the path to becoming the official religion of the Roman Empire, Julian II, the last scion of his dynasty is remembered for his attempts to suppress Christianity (for which he is vilified as “the Apostate” in Christian tradition) and to restore the supremacy of the old gods with an underpinning of Neoplatonist theurgic philosophy. However, before his major changes to the late Constantinian religious landscape could really take hold, Julian undertook an ill-fated campaign against the Sasanian Persian Empire in AD 363. During the pursuit of the retreating Persians at Samarra, the incompletely armored emperor was pierced in the gut by an enemy spear. Christian sources report his final words as, “Thou hast conquered, Galilean (i.e., Jesus).”
19507. EASTERN ROMAN EMPIRE. ARCADIUS, AD 383–408.
Gold Tremissis, 1.21 g, 12 mm. Issue of Mediolanum (Milan, Italy), AD 395–402. Obv. D N ARCADIVS P F AVG, diademed, cuirassed and draped bust right. Rev. VICTORIA AVGVSTORVM M–D, Victoria striding right, holding wreath and globus cruciger, COM in exergue.
RIC X 1214; Depeyrot 18/1.
NGC grade CHOICE XF, Strike 5/5, Surface 3/5, “clipped.”
$ 975
19569. ROMAN EMPIRE. VALENTINIAN III, AD 425–455.
Gold Solidus, 4.46 g, 22 mm. Issue of Ravenna, ca. AD 430–435.
Obv. D N PLA VALENTINIANVS P F AVG, diademed, draped and cuirassed bust right. Rev. VICTORIA AVGGG, emperor standing facing, holding cross and Victory on globe, stepping on human–headed serpent, R–V in field, CONOB in exergue. RIC X 2018; Depeyrot 17/1.
NGC graded MINT STATE, Strike 4/5, Surface 4/5. $ 2450
THE LAST EMPERORS OF ROME
19568. WESTERN ROMAN EMPIRE. JOHANNES, AD 423–425.
Gold Solidus, 4.40 g, 21 mm. Issue of Ravenna.
Obv. D N IOHANNES P F AVG, diademed, draped and cuirassed bust of Johannes right. Rev. VICTORIA AVGGG, emperor standing right, holding standard and Victory on globe, stepping on fallen barbarian, R–V in field, CONOB in exergue. RIC X 1901.
NGC graded AU, Strike 5/5, Surface 5/3, “marks.” Exceptionally rare in this grade, NGC has graded only 2 solidi of Johannes. $ 18500
When the Western Emperor Honorius died in AD 423, he left no obvious successor. In an attempt to fill the power vacuum and create a new emperor that he could control, the influential patrician Castinus proclaimed the primicerius notariorum (chief administrator) Johannes as the new Western Emperor. The hapless Johannes was not only unacceptable to the Eastern Emperor Theodosius II, who appointed Valentinian III to take over in the West, but also to the soldiery in Gaul, who killed his Praetorian Prefect, and to the governor of Africa, who stopped Egyptian grain shipments to Rome. Johannes moved his court to Ravenna to prepare for war with Valentinian III and sent his general Aetius to seek help from the Huns. Unfortunately, these reinforcements arrived three days after Ravenna was taken and Johannes captured. Valentinian III ordered the hand of Johannes to be cut off and paraded him on a donkey through the hippodrome of Aquileia before he was finally beheaded.
19569
19568
19630. WESTERN ROMAN EMPIRE. PETRONIUS MAXIMUS, AD 455 (March 16–May 31).
Gold Solidus, 4.40 g, 22 mm. Issue of Rome.
Obv. D N PETRONIVS MAXIMVS P F AVG, diademed, draped and cuirassed bust of Petronius Maximus right. Rev. VICTORIA AVGGG, emperor standing facing, holding cross and Victory on globe, stepping on human–headed serpent, R–M in field, COMOB in exergue.
RIC X 2202; LRC 874; Lacam, pl. IV, 3 (same dies); Depeyrot 48/3 (incorrectly combining the two different reverse types listed in RIC). Ex Southern Collector, acquired from Vilmar Numismatics 5/2019, previously ex Heritage 3076, Long Beach, 9/5/2019, lot 30326 = Poulos Family Collection, ex Kuenker 226, 3/11/2013, lot 1044 (where is realized over 50K) = NAC 64, 5/17/2012, lot 1360.
NGC graded CHOICE VF, Strike 5/5, Surface 2/5, “marks.” An emperor who ruled for 76 days, Petronius Maximus was the last man to hold the title prior to the destruction of the city by the Vandals a few days after his death. $ 42000
Petronius Maximus was a wealthy senator who convinced the Western Emperor Valentinian III that Aetius, his magister militum, was plotting against him and arranged his execution. With Aetius out of the way, Maximus then asked to take Aetius’ place as head of the imperial armies but was refused. Enraged at this rebuff, Maximus conspired with soldiers loyal to the memory of Aetius and murdered Valentinian III, after which he proclaimed himself the Western Emperor on March 17, AD 455. In a disastrous miscalculation, Maximus tried to secure his position by marrying Licinia Eudoxia, the widow of Valentinian III, and arranging a marriage between his son and the daughter of Eudoxia. Unfortunately, the latter was already betrothed to Huneric, the son of the Vandal king Geiseric. This insult to the Vandal king’s honor inspired him to mount an invasion of Italy in revenge. Amid the panic that this inspired in Rome, many citizens, including Maximus attempted to flee the city, but before he could escape, the emperor was set upon by an angry mob and stoned to death. Three days later, Geiseric captured Rome and sacked it over the course of two weeks.
19570. WESTERN ROMAN EMPIRE. LIBIUS SEVERUS, AD 461–465.
Gold Solidus, 4.34 g, 21 mm. Issue of Ravenna.
Obv. D N LIBIVS SEVERVS P F AVG, diademed, draped and cuirassed bust of Libius Severus right. Rev. VICTORIA AVGGG, emperor standing facing, holding cross and Victory on globe, stepping on human–headed serpent, R–V in field, COMOB in exergue. RIC X 2718.
NGC graded XF, Strike 5/5, Surface 1/5, “bent,” with a variety of other notations regarding the various surface problems incurred by the coin during circulation in antiquity – marks, edge marks, scuffs, scratches, brushed. Despite its numerous problems, it is a very rare variety of Severus’ coinage with only 4 other specimens on CoinArchives. $ 6500
In AD 461, Ricimer, the powerful Germanic magister militum of the Western Empire elevated an undistinguished senator named Flavius Libius Severus Serpentius as a puppet emperor. The Eastern Emperor Leo I did not recognize the legitimacy of Libius Severus, but he at least agreed to dissuade Marcellinus, the semiautonomous governor of Dalmatia, from attacking Italy. Few details are known about the reign of Libius Severus beyond that he made concessions to the Visigoths in Gaul in an effort to contain the ambitions of Aegidius, the magister militum per Gallia. The Western Emperor is variously reported to have died peacefully of natural causes or from poison administered by Ricimer.
A CONTORNIATE OF NERO ILLUSTRATED IN BOTH
EDITIONS OF
ALFÖLDI
AND WITH A PROVENANCE TO CONSUL EDUARD FRIEDRICH WEBER IN 1909
19633. ROMAN EMPIRE. CONTORNIATE IN THE NAME OF NERO, late 4th century–early 5th century AD.
Bronze Contorniate Medallion with silver inlay, 19.20 g, 37 mm.
Obv. IMP NERO CAESAR AVG P MAX, laureate head of Nero right, PE monogram in right field with traces of silver inlay. Rev. DIVA FAVSTINA AVG, Diva Faustina Senior standing looking left, sacrificing with patera over lit altar.
Published: Alföldi & Alföldi, Die Kontorniat–Medallions (1976), 225.3 and plate 92,8 (this coin, listed with earlier provenance and illustrated) = Alföldi, Die Kontorniaten (1942), p. 149, no. 185, plate XLVI.2 (this coin listed and illustrated).
Ex Leu Numismatik AG 7, 10/24/2020, lot 1835 = Numismatica Ars Classica 72, 16 May 2013, 1735 (lacking pedigree); formerly in the collections of Virgil M. Brand, Part I, Sotheby’s, 1 July 1982, 125 = ex Theodor Prowe, Hess 141, 28 November 1912, 575 = ex Consul Eduard Friedrich Weber, Hirsch XXIV, 5/10/1909, lot 2917.
VF, with dark green patination, a rare type twice published in Alföldi and with an exceptional pedigree dating back to 1909. $ 8500
Contorniate medallions are believed to have been struck for gift exchange by members of the pagan elite in Rome on the occasion of the Roman new year, at a time when Christianity was becoming an increasingly powerful force, and the old Roman ways were under attack. The medallions commonly feature important pagan emperors of the past as well as scenes related to traditional mythology and religion to reinforce the pagan identity of the users. In keeping with these themes, Nero, the first great persecutor of Christians, appears on the obverse and the deified Faustina on the reverse of this piece.
BYZANTINE COINAGE
19675. BYZANTINE EMPIRE. JUSTIN I, AD 518–527.
Gold Solidus, 4.38 g, 21 mm. Issue of Constantinople, officina Θ, AD 522–527.
Obv. D N IVSTINVS P P AVC, helmeted and cuirassed bust of Justin slightly right, holding spear and shield with horseman device. Rev. VICTORIA AVCCC Θ, Angel standing, facing, holding long cross and globus cruciger, star at right, CONOB in exergue.
Sear 56.
NGC graded MINT STATE, Strike 5/5, Surface 2/5, “edge bent,” “clipped,” the first appearance of an angel on a coin, the new Christian messenger replacing Victoria, its pagan predecessor. $ 1250
19656. BYZANTINE EMPIRE. ANASTASIUS I, AD 491–518.
Gold Solidus, 4.47 g, 21 mm. Issue of Constantinople, officina Θ.
Obv. D N ANASTASIVS P P AVC, three quarters facing bust of Anastasius, wearing cuirass and holding spear and shield with horseman device. Rev. VICTORIA AVCCC Θ, Victory standing left, holding staff surmounted with a Christogram, star in left field, CONOB in exergue.
Sear 4.
NGC graded MINT STATE, Strike 5/5, Surface 4/5, a very scarce variety, this specimen exceptionally lustrous and well struck, with a full-head Victory. $ 2500
19587. BYZANTINE EMPIRE. PHOCAS, AD 602–610.
Gold “Consular” Solidus, 4.45 g, 22 mm. Issue of Constantinople, officina Θ.
Obv. d N FOCAS–PЄRP AVC, crowned bust of Phocas in consular robes, facing, holding mappa and cross. Rev: VICTORIA–AVϚЧ Θ, angel standing, facing, holding staff with cross and globe cruciger, officina Θ. Sear 623.
Ex Vilmar Numismatics 2016 (inv. 9721) = Gorny & Mosch 228, 3/9/2015, lot 746 = Gorny & Mosch 211, 3/4/2013, lot 761
NGC graded CHOICE MINT STATE, Strike 4/5, Surface 5/5. $ 2200
Consular solidi were struck to celebrate the assumption of the consulship by the Byzantine Emperor, following an old Roman tradition extending back to the Republic. As their Roman Imperial predecessors, the Byzantine Emperors wore the heavily decorated toga picta for this occasion and dropped a piece of cloth, known as the mappa, to signal the start of celebratory races in the hippodrome.
19657. BYZANTINE EMPIRE. PHOCAS, AD 602–610.
Gold Solidus, 4.47 g, 22 mm. Issue of Constantinople, officina Z.
Obv. d N FOCAS PERP AVϚЧ, crowned, draped, and cuirassed bust of Phocas, facing, holding globus cruciger. Rev. VICTORIA AVϚЧ Z, angel standing, facing, holding staff with staurogram and globus cruciger, N in right field, CONOB in exergue. Sear 621.
NGC graded MINT STATE, Strike 4/5, Surface 5/5.
$ 1200
19593. BYZANTINE EMPIRE. HERACLIUS WITH HERACLIUS CONSTANTINE, AD 613–641.
Gold Solidus, 4.39 g, 13 mm. Issue Carthage, 3rd Indictional Year, 1st cycle (AD 614/5).
Obv. D N ЄRACLO ЄT ЄRA CONST P P, facing draped busts of Heraclius (left) and Heraclius Constantine (right), cross above. Rev. VICTORIA AVCC Γ, cross potent on stepped base, CONOB in exergue. Sear 867.
NGC graded AU, Strike 4/5 Surface 4/5.
$ 995
19572. BYZANTINE EMPIRE. CONSTANS II with CONSTANTINE IV, AD 641–668.
Gold Solidus, 4.40 g, 19 mm. Issue of Constantinople, officina I, struck AD 654–668.
Obv. d N CONST, crowned and draped facing busts of Constans and Constantine; cross above. Rev. VICTORIA AVϚЧ I, Heraclius and Tiberius standing, facing, on either side of cross potent on stepped base. Sear 964.
NGC graded AU, Strike 5/5, Surface 4/5, “clipped.”
$ 1000
19526. BYZANTINE EMPIRE. ROMANUS III, AD 1028–1034.
Gold Histamenon Nomisma, 4.39 g, 25 mm. Issue of Constantinople.
Obv. +IhS XIS RЄX RЄGNANTIЧM, Christ enthroned, facing, holding Gospels and raising his right hand in benediction. Rev. ΘCE ΒΟΗΘ ΡωΜΑΝω, Virgin standing on right, facing, crowning Romanus on left, Μ–Θ above. Sear 1819.
NGC graded AU, Strike 5/5, Surface 4/5. $ 1750
19670. BYZANTINE EMPIRE. CONSTANTINE IX, AD 1042-1055.
Gold Histamenon Nomisma (scyphate), 4.38 g, 29 mm. Issue of Constantinople.
Obv. +IhS XIS RЄX RЄGNANTIhM, Christ enthroned, facing, holding Gospels and raising his right hand in benediction. Rev. +CωNStANtIN bASILЄЧS, bearded bust of the emperor, holding labarum and globus cruciger. Sear 1829.
NGC graded CHOICE AU, Strike 5/5, Surface 4/5, wondefully struck on a broad planchet with an impressive image of Christ. $ 1850
Gold Histamenon Nomisma, 4.37 g, 27 mm. Issue of Constantinople.
Obv. +IhS XIS RЄX RЄGNANTIЧM, bust of bearded Christ Pantocrator, facing, holding Gospels and raising his hand in benediction. Rev. +CωhSτAhτIh bASILЄЧS ROm, bearded bust of the Constantine IX, facing, wearing loros and holding long cross and globus cruciger with cross made out of pellets. Sear 1830.
19659. BYZANTINE EMPIRE. CONSTANTINE X, AD 1059–1067.
Gold Histamenon Nomisma (scyphate), 4.42 g, 27 mm. Issue of Constantinople. Obv. +IhS XIS RЄX RЄGNANTIЧM, Christ enthroned, facing, holding the Gospels. Rev. +KωN RACΛ O ΔO ΔOVKAC, Virgin, standing at right, facing, crowning emperor on left, who holds a globus cruciger, M–Θ (mother of God) in upper field. Sear 1848.
NGC graded CHOICE AU, Strike 4/5, Surface 4/5. $ 1150
19604. BYZANTINE EMPIRE. CONSTANTINE X, AD 1059–1067.
Gold Tetarteron Nomisma, 4.08 g, 18 mm. Issue of Constantinople. Obv. Half bust of the Virgin orans, facing, MHP–ΘV (mother of God) and pellets above, all in fields. Rev. +KωN RACΔ O ΔVK, half bust of Constantine X, facing, holding globus cruciger and akakia. Sear 1849.
NGC graded AU, Strike 5/5, Surface 4/5, a notation–free specimen of this scarce issue with a particularly refined rendering of the Virgin. $ 2400
19702. BYZANTINE EMPIRE. ROMANUS IV, AD 1068–1071.
Gold Histamenon Nomisma, 4.41, 27 mm. Issue of Constantinople. Obv. KωN–MX–ANΔ, Michael VII (in center), Constantius (on left) and Andronicus (on right) all standing, facing, on footstools. Rev. +PωMAN ЄVΔOKIA, Christ standing, facing, on footstool, crowning Romanus IV (on left) and Eudocia (on right), both standing facing, IC–XC flanking Christ’s head. Sear 1859.
NGC graded MINT STATE STAR, Strike 5/5, Surface 5/5, a luminous coin, among the 10 best graded currently in the NGC census and one that has the coveted star and double 5/5 designation. $ 3750
19673. BYZANTINE EMPIRE. ROMANUS IV WITH EUDOCIA, AD 1068–1071. Gold Tetarteron Nomisma, 4.05 g, 19 mm. Issues of Constantinople. Obv. + ΘKЄ–ROHΘ, half bust of the Virgin Mary orans, facing, wearing tunic and maphorion, holding medallion with the bust of Christ, MP–ΘV flanking her. Rev. + ΡωΜΑΝωS ЄVΔKΛI, busts of Romanus and Eudocia, both facing, holding long cross on a globus. Sear 1862.
Ex Leu 77, 5/11/2000, lot 897 = Peus 268, 4/24/1968, lot 419.
NGC graded CHOICE XF, Strike 4/5, Surface 3/5, “edge marks,” Peus provenance noted on label, a coin with a beautiful reddish toning throughout.
18808. BYZANTINE EMPIRE. ISAAC II, AD 1185–1195.
Electrum Aspron Trachy, 3.73 g, 29 mm. Issue of Constantinople.
$ 4700
Obv. Virgin Mary enthroned, facing, holding bust of infant Christ, MP–ΘV (mother of God) in fields. Rev. ICAAKIOC Δ, Archangel Michael, standing, crowning figure of the emperor, T between their heads, X / M in lower right field. Sear 2002.
NGC graded MINT STATE, Strike 4/5, Surface 5/5, with an exceptionally well-struck obverse.
19706. BYZANTINE EMPIRE OF NICAEA. JOHN III, AD 1221/2–1254. Gold Hyperpyron, 3.50 g, 25 mm. Issue of Magnesia, ca. AD 1232–1254.
$ 950
Obv. IC–XC, Christ enthroned, facing, holding the Gospels and raising his right hand in benediction. Rev. /Iω/ ΔЄC/ΠO/Tω/Π–ΦV/PO/ ΓЄ/NH, John III standing at left, facing, holding labarum and akakia, crown by the Virgin at right, MHP above. Sear 2073.
