CNG CNR Summer 2021 by Classical Numismatic Group, LLC

Classical Numismatic

REVIEW

Volume XLVI, No. 2 • Summer 2021 • Lancaster Pennsylvania, London England

Classical Numismatic Group, LLC www.cngcoins.com

Contents Editorial................................................................................................................................ 1 Terms of Sale....................................................................................................................... 2 How to Order....................................................................................................................... 2 Calendar............................................................................................................................... 3 Coins for Sale....................................................................................................................... 4 Seige Coins of the World Information............................................................................. 77 The Handbook of Greek Coinage Series Information.................................................... 78

Production Staff

Managing Director: Consulting Directors: Director - Sales and Consignments: Chief Financial Officer: Managing Numismatists: Senior Numismatists Numismatists (U.S.): Numismatists (U.K.): Lancaster Office Manager: London Office Manager: Office Staff: Customer Relations Manager: Accounting: Manager - IT and Production: Photography: Printing Control: IT Consultant:

Mike Gasvoda Victor England, Jr. (U.S.) Eric J. McFadden (U.K.) Dave Michaels Steve Pruzinsky David Guest (U.K.) Paul Hill (U.K.) Kenneth McDevitt (U.S.) Bradley R. Nelson (U.S.) D. Scott VanHorn (U.S.) Kerry K. Wetterstrom (U.S.) Bill Dalzell Jeffrey B. Rill Lance Hickman Maxim Crispin Caroline Holmes Karen Zander Alexandra Spyra Julia Motter Dawn Ahlgren Kate Rill Sharon Pruzinsky (U.S.) Travis Markel Ally Martin Dylan Ossman Robert A. Trimble A.J. Gatlin

Classical Numismatic Review Volume XLVI, No. 2 Summer 2021

Welcome to the Summer 2021 Classical Numismatic Review. We are excited to present our latest fixed price offering at an in-person setting after more than eighteen months of isolation. We look forward to seeing you at the ANA World’s Fair of Money in Rosemont and hope you get a chance to view this impressive offering of coins in hand. We begin the list with a superb Tarentum gold stater, followed by a run of particularly rare and high quality Greek silver issues. Many of these coins feature superb provenances, including an Ephesos tetradrachm hailing from both the Niggler and Jameson collections. The coin is a delight to view in hand and it’s easy to see why such esteemed numismatists sought it for their collections. A run of large Ptolemaic bronzes are also available and will be sure to please their new owners. Finally, a superb pair of Oriental Greek dynastic tetradrachms of Agathokles Dikaios and Eukratides I Megas round out the section. An outstanding and rare tetradrachm of Antony and Cleopatra highlights the Roman provincial section. The portraits of the famous couple are, in our opinion, among the finest available to any collectors. An array of bronze issues of Roman Egypt round out the section, including many historically interesting and important types. The Roman Republican/Imperatorial section is replete with high grade examples spanning the entire period. Highlights include a denarius bearing what is possibly the earliest portrait of the infamous Brutus, as well as a particularly impressive group of Legionary denarii of Mark Antony. High grade and rare coins again dominate the Roman Imperial section. Attractive denarii of Caligula and Claudius are available, as well as a Trajan sestertius with an exquisite patina. Holding the coin in hand, I must say that it is one of the nicest Imperial bronze coins that I have ever seen. The Byzantine section features mostly high grade gold solid. Of particular note is the Justinian II solidus with a portrait of Christ and the CONOB mint mark, an extremely rare variety of which we could track only four other examples. As always, the list concludes with a fantastic offering of British coinage. NGC graded medieval gold takes the spotlight, including an MS 62 Henry VI noble, an AU 58 Henry VIII halfcrown, and an AU 58 Star sovereign of Elizabeth I. Several attractive Tudor silver issues are also on offer. We hope that, whatever your collecting interest may be, this price list offers something to catch your eye. We look forward to seeing you all at the ANA World’s Fair of Money! Happy collecting. Mike Gasvoda Managing Director

Terms of Sale 1. General Information. The point of sale for all items online is Lancaster, Pennsylvania. All orders are sent from Pennsylvania. 2. Guaranty and Return Privilege. All items are guaranteed genuine. Any coin order may be returned within fourteen days of receipt for any reason. Coins that have been encapsulated (“slabbed”) by a grading and/or authentication service may not be returned for any reason, including authenticity, if they have been removed from the encapsulation (“slab”). The customer shall bear the cost of returning all items and shall insure them for their full value. Books are not sent on approval and are not subject to return. 3. Sales Tax. Several states require us to collect and remit sales tax. Where applicable the appropriate tax will be charged to the customer invoice. 4. Postage. All orders are charged for postage, insurance, and handling. 5. Payment. Orders may be paid by US$ check, credit card or wire transfer. US$ checks must be written on a US bank and may be sent to either office. We accept VISA and MasterCard; payment by credit card must be made within 14 days of the invoice date. Payment by credit card will be charged a 2.5% handling fee. Credit card payment may be arranged by phone, fax or mail. United States address and phone number: CNG, LLC, P.O. Box 479, Lancaster, PA, 17608., phone: 717-390-9194, fax: 717390-9978. United Kingdom address and phone number: CNG, LLC, 20 Bloomsbury St, London WC1B 3QA, phone +44 (20) 7495-1888, fax: +44 (20) 7499-5916. Office hours are 10AM to 5 PM Monday through Friday. US$ bank account for wire transfers will be provided by phone, fax or mail. 6. Shipment. Please provide a specific shipping address and advise us of any special shipping instructions. Unless other specific shipping instructions are indicated, coins are sent by U.S. Insured or Registered

A Note on How to Order As with our normal monthly uploads, these coins are available for purchase on our website, www.cngcoins.com. If you are viewing the virtual catalog, you may click on an image, which will bring you to the online lot description, where you can add the coin to your cart as usual.

Digital Publications Archive

Digital versions of this and previous issues of the CNR are available to view or download in our Digital Publications Archive.

Major Show Schedule Additional Shows Listed on Our Online Calendar 50th New York International January 13-16, 2022 Grand Hyatt Hotel 109 East 42nd Street, New York January 13, Noon-7PM Preview January 14-16, 10AM-7PM (3PM on the 16th)

Feature Auction Schedule CNG 118 - 13-14 September 2021 A Public Auction to be held in Lancaster, Pennsylvania Triton XXV - 11-12 January 2022 A Public Auction to be held in New York City CNG 120 - May 2022 A Public Auction to be held in Lancaster, Pennsylvania Consignment Deadlines Feature Auction Consignment Deadlines Triton XXV - 15 September 2021 CNG 120 - 15 February 2022 Deadlines for Electronic Auction Consignments Ongoing - About 90 days before scheduled sale Contact us early, as sales do fill up in a hurry. We may be contacted by email, fax, phone, or mail.

Classical Numismatic Group, LLC Email: cng@cngcoins.com

Mailing addresses & Phone numbers: Attention: Mike Gasvoda P.O. Box 479 Lancaster PA 17608 Phone: 717-390-9194 Fax: 717-390-9978 or Attention: Paul Hill (Ancients) or David Guest (British and World) 20 Bloomsbury St. London WC1B 3QA Phone: +44-20-7495-1888 Fax: +44-20-7499-5916.

GREEK

Superb Tarentum Stater

529780. CALABRIA, Tarentum. Circa 281-276 BC. AV Stater (18.5mm, 8.55 g, 12h). Youthful head of Herakles right, wearing lion skin / Taras(?), holding reins in right hand, trident in left, driving fast biga right; star above; below horses, ˚¬˙ above dolphin downward. Fischer-Bossert G20 (V17/R20); Vlasto, Or Type O 1 [a]; Vlasto 18 (same dies); HN Italy 955; Hirsch 85 (same dies); McClean 600 (same dies). Lustrous. Superb EF. Well centered and struck. $87,500 There is a divergence of opinion concerning the dating of this attractive gold issue of Tarentum, which displays a youthful head of Herakles resembling the Macedonian issues of Alexander III the Great and a reverse depicting a nude male youth holding a trident, probably Taras / Phalanthos, driving a biga. The lack of a civic ethnic and the control letters KΛH on the reverse led N. K. Rutter, in Historia Nummorum Italy, and Oliver Hoover in Handbook of Greek Coins Vol. I, to place their minting during the expedition of the Spartan commander Kleonymos, who crossed to Italy at Tarentum’s invitation circa 302 BC, to pay his large mercenary army. Wolfgang Fischer-Bossert, citing the support of S. Garraffo and G.K. Jenkins, places the issue during the more famous Italian expedition of Pyrrhos of Epiros, circa 281-276 BC. The type’s great rarity means there is little in the way of hoard evidence to support either side. However, their similarity to Pyrrhic bronze issues in Sicily and Pyrrhos’s strong desire to emulate Alexander the Great argue for the latter dating, in which case the KΛH refers to a magistrate rather than to Kleonymos.

576458. LUCANIA, Metapontion. Circa 400-340 BC. AR Nomos (22mm, 7.53 g, 3h). Head of Demeter left; behind neck, Å-r5sto (the latter portion in tiny letters below crossbar of A) / Barley ear with leaf to right; grasshopper to left, ÂEtÅ to right. Noe 424 (same dies); HN Italy 1515; SNG ANS 327 (same dies); SNG Lockett 388 (same dies). Toned, some scratches on reverse. Near VF. Lovely style. Extremely Rare. Only one other example in CoinArchives. $5500 Ex Lampasas Collection; John Twente Collection (Wayne G. Sayles 1 [ND]), lot 81; Classical Numismatic Group 39 (18 September 1996), lot 120.

576408. LUCANIA, Velia. Circa 280 BC. AR Nomos (20.5mm, 7.52 g, 6h). Kerykeion-Thunderbolt Group. Helmeted head of Athena left, helmet decorated with griffin, f on neck guard; 6 behind neck / Lion stalking right; above, kerykeion right; UE¬˙tW@ in exergue. Williams 520 (O264/R365); HN Italy 1316; SNG ANS 1391; SNG Ashmolean 1378; SNG Dreer 310; SNG Lewis 224; Pozzi 264 (all from the same dies). Attractive collection tone. Near EF. $4750

Extremely Rare Kroton-Pandosia “Alliance” Issue

567721. BRUTTIUM, Kroton. Alliance issue with Pandosia. Circa 500-480 BC. AR Nomos (26.5mm, 7.94 g, 5h). Tripod, legs surmounted by wreaths and terminating in lion’s feet, set on basis of three lines, the central dotted; Jro to left / Bull standing right, head reverted, in linear rectangle within incuse rectangle; π~n-oÎ in margin above and below; radiate border. Montesanti Series VII-1, fig. 13 = Gorini 3 ill. = Basel 205 (same dies); HN Italy 2097; SNG Ashmolean 1534 (same rev. die); BM Museum No. 1950,1002.2 (same rev. die); Garrucci pl. CIX, 2 (“Collection Santangelo”); Gilet 289 (same dies); Hess-Leu 24, lot 37 = Hess-Leu [9], lot 39 (same rev. die); Traité I 2175, pl. LXX, 12 (same dies); Rev. A.W. Hands, Coins of Magna Graecia (London, 1909), p. 193 ill. (rev. only, same die). Lightly toned, usual light roughness. VF. Extremely rare Alliance issue, only eight published with bull right; the first offering of the type since the sale of the Basel piece in NAC 13 (1998). $19,500 Ex Kenneth Bressett Collection, purchased from the collection of Walter Sheridan, 2003. In 510 BC, Kroton destroyed its rival, Sybaris. Current scholarship indicates that the cities of Pandosia and Temesa were associated with Sybaris, and that, following the destruction of the latter, all of these cities came under the domination of Kroton. Although some references refer to the association of these cities as an alliance, it was more likely a dominion that was controlled by Kroton, with Pandosia, Sybaris, and Temesa acting as dependencies (see Rutter, Greek, p. 36, and IACP p. 267). This association was commemorated on a variety of coin issues, which were struck almost exclusively at Kroton; Temesa being the only other mint, striking a single issue that is quite rare today. Other than these coins, there is little evidence attesting to the activity of this dominion, and it appears to have dissolved at some point in the second half of the 5th century BC. All of the issues feature the canonical tripod and ethnic of Kroton on the obverse (except for that at Temesa, which lacks the ethnic), while the reverses feature the iconography and ethnic of one of the other cities. The first of these issues was struck near the end of Kroton’s incuse type coinage, c. 500-480 BC, and the present coin is from this early group. On these coins, the reverse features the ethnic of Pandosia and a bull standing with its head reverted. The bull is depicted as it is typically found on contemporary issues at Sybaris, and its appearance here suggests that Pandosia had previously been a dependency of Sybaris (see IACP p. 285). This coinage is arguably the rarest of all the “alliance” coin issues known today, with approximately only nine examples, struck from two obverse and two reverse dies.

581930. BRUTTIUM, Kroton. Circa 530-500 BC. AR Nomos (30mm, 8.73 g, 12h). Spread incuse type. Tripod, legs surmounted by wreaths and terminating in lion’s feet, two serpents rising from the bowl, set on basis of three lines, the center dotted; J®o to left / Incuse tripod as obverse, but wreathes and serpents in relief. Gorini 2 and p. 151; Attianese 5; HN Italy 2075; SNG ANS 228. Attractive light iridescent toning over subdued luster. EF. Well struck in excellent metal. $3750

576409. SICILY, Entella. Punic issues. Circa 300-289 BC. AR Tetradrachm (23mm, 16.53 g, 9h). Head of Herakles right, wearing lion skin; kerykeion below / Head of horse left; three pellets to lower left, palm tree to right, †nJM∆M` (Punic ‘MHMḤNT) below. Jenkins, Punic, Series 5a, 279 (O89/R230); CNP 271d; HGC 2, 293 corr. (varying legend); SNG Gustaf 46 (same dies). Wonderful collection tone, minor die break on obverse. Superb EF. $12,500 Ex Leu Numismatik 7 (24 October 2020), lot 1113.

Among the Finest Known

577807. SICILY, Messana (as Zankle). Circa 500-493 BC. AR Drachm (21.5mm, 5.55 g). Dolphin left; Îånk63 below; all within sickle-shaped harbor / Nine-part incuse square with scallop shell in center. Gielow Group 4; HGC 2, 766; SNG ANS 302; SNG Lloyd 1076; Andersen 35.1 and p. 194 (this coin); Basel 359; Boston MFA 285; Kraay & Hirmer 49; Rizzo pl. XXV, 4–5. Beautifully toned. Choice EF. Exceptional for issue; among the finest known examples. $47,500 Ex ‘Apollo to Apollo’ Collection.

Referenced in CNP

571635. SICILY, Panormos (as Ziz). Circa 336-330 BC. AR Tetradrachm (26.5mm, 17.11 g, 11h). Charioteer, holding kentron in extended right hand, reins in left, driving fast quadriga left; above, Nike, wearing long chiton, flying right, crowning charioteer with wreath she holds with both hands; v (Sign of Tanit) before charioteer; in exergue, swan flying left / Head of Arethousa right, wearing ampyx, single-pendant earring, and necklace; four dolphins swimming around. Jenkins, Punic 39 (O10’/R33); CNP 348a (this coin referenced); HGC 2, 1013 corr. (Jenkins ref., Sign of Tanit not noted for some); Jameson 730 (same dies); Weber 1476 (same dies). Toned, minor die wear on obverse. Good VF. $9750 Ex Goldberg 70 (2 September 2012), lot 3031; Gorny & Mosch 134 (11 October 2004), lot 1134. There is little doubt that the engravers of the fourth century Punic tetradrachms were imitating the famous Syracusan masters Euainetos and Kimon. The engraver of the dies used for the present coin was certainly a master himself; his work is nearly identical to the style found on the dekadrachms of Euainetos, particularly the issues that have the shell behind the neck of Arethousa. While many of the Punic issues are quite stylized, the naturalistic representation presented here is clearly the work of a superior artist.

Ex Hermitage or Moscow Museum Collection

572513. SICILY, Syracuse. Dionysios I. 405-367 BC. AR Tetradrachm (25mm, 16.97 g, 6h). Unsigned dies in the style of Eukleidas. Struck circa 405 BC. Charioteer, holding kentron in right hand, reins in both, driving fast quadriga left; above, Nike flying right, crowning charioteer with wreath held in both hands; in exergue, dolphin left / Head of Arethousa left, hair in broad band and welling upwards in wavy locks, wearing double hoop earring and linear necklace; [sUr-Å-˚o-s-5-W]-@ and four dolphins around. Fischer-Bossert, Coins 97 (V34/R66); Tudeer 97; HGC 2, 1345; SNG ANS 298 (same dies); SNG Copenhagen 682 (same dies); SNG Fitzwilliam 1254 (same dies); Bement 523 (same dies); McClean 521 (same dies). Old cabinet tone, small patch of find patina, a few light scratches under tone, flan flaw on reverse. Good VF. $12,750 Ex Foreign Museum [Hermitage or Moscow] Collection (Hess 208, 14 December 1931), lot 117.

Ritual Adbuction?

539233. ISLANDS off THRACE, Thasos. Circa 500-480 BC. AR Stater (21mm, 9.49 g). Ithyphallic satyr advancing right, carrying off protesting nymph / Quadripartite incuse square. Le Rider, Thasiennes 2; HPM pl. X, 3–5; HGC 6, 331; SNG Ashmolean 3643 = ACGC 519; Asyut 104; Boston MFA 851; Kraay & Hirmer 435. Slightly granular surfaces. Good VF. $1200 Ex Jonathan P. Rosen Collection. Ritual abduction as a form of exogamy (marrying outside of a community or clan) was, and is still, frequent in tribal society. The reference here is probably to the Dionysiac cult and is modeled on one of the stone reliefs for which Thasos is famous. The overtly sexual displays seen on many early Greek coins can be disconcerting to the modern eye, viewing them through the lens of centuries of Christian fulmination against pagan eroticism. These scenes are at their most graphic in northern Greece, for example, on the archaic coins of Thasos, showing the interplay of nymphs and satyrs. The towns and tribes of this region were only newly introduced to the ‘civilizing’ influences of the south, and were still close to their roots in farming and herding cultures. Their gods were not the Olympian super beings, but the spirits of nature, and the emphasis was on celebrating the fecundity of fields and flocks.

569770. KINGS of THRACE, Macedonian. Lysimachos. 305-281 BC. AR Tetradrachm (31mm, 17.30 g, 11h). Lysimacheia mint. Struck circa 297/6-282/1 BC. Diademed head of the deified Alexander right, with horn of Ammon / ∫Å%5¬EW% 2U%5;ÅcoU, Athena Nikephoros seated left, left arm resting on shield, transverse spear in background; to inner left, lion head left above q; ñ in exergue. Thompson –; Müller –; Armenak –; Meydancikkale –; SNG Berry 400-1 var. (same obv. die, different position of monograms); Triton XIII, lot 1055 (same dies). Toned, with light golden hues. Near EF. Fine style. $5750 8

576472. KINGS of THRACE, Macedonian. Lysimachos. 305-281 BC. AR Tetradrachm (32mm, 16.83 g, 12h). Lampsakos mint. Struck circa 297/6-282/1 BC. Diademed head of the deified Alexander right, with horn of Ammon / ∫Å%5¬EW% 2U%5;ÅcoU, Athena Nikephoros seated left, left arm resting on shield; transverse spear in background, C to inner left, crescent in exergue. Thompson 56; Müller 400; HGC 3, 1750b. Toned, light scratches and marks under tone, some porosity on obverse. EF. Fine style portrait. Well centered on a broad flan. $9750

580080. KINGS of THRACE, Macedonian. Lysimachos. 305-281 BC. AR Tetradrachm (28mm, 17.01 g, 7h). Alexandreia Troas mint. Diademed head of the deified Alexander right, with horn of Ammon / ∫Å%5¬EW% 2U%5;ÅcoU, Athena Nikephoros seated left, left arm resting on shield; transverse spear in background; to inner left, 1 above bee; Ô in exergue. Meadows 15 var. (obv. die O9; monogram in exergue); Thompson 160 var. (same); Müller 432 var. (same); HGC 3, 1750i; Triton XII, lot 147 (same dies). In NGC encapsulation 6155876-004, graded AU, Strike: 5/5, Surface: 4/5, Fine Style. $9500

Unpublished

572514. KINGS of THRACE, Macedonian. Lysimachos. 305-281 BC. AR Tetradrachm (29.5mm, 16.98 g, 3h). Uncertain mint in northwest Asia Minor. Diademed head of the deified Alexander right, with horn of Ammon / ∫Å%5¬EW% 2U%5;ÅcoU, Athena Nikephoros seated left, left arm resting on shield; transverse spear in background, kerykeion to inner left, Þ in exergue. Thompson –; Müller 110; cf. HGC 3, 1750 (for type); CNG 88, lot 66 var. (same obv. die; different monogram); Hesperia Art XXIV, no. 8 var. (same obv. die; same). Lightly toned, slight die wear on obverse, minor doubling on reverse. EF. Well centered on a broad flan. Extremely rare, no published examples with this monogram, but one in a private collection (known from Seyrig cast at ANS, possibly the source for Müller). $15,750 Ex Walter Weise Collection, purchased from Spink & Sons, London, May 1993. The kerykeion is a common symbol on Lysimachos’ issues at Amphipolis, but elements of this coin are not consistent with the products of that mint. For one, the portrait style, particularly the short hair on the neck, is not found on any of the published issues from Amphipolis, and is more consistent with the coins one of Lysimachos’ mints in western Asia Minor, such as Ephesos (cf. Meydancikkale 2659) or Alexandreia Troas (cf. Thompson pl. 20, 163). Also, on the issues at Amphipolis with kerykeion, the secondary controls are always placed in the outer right field, not the exergue, as on this coin.

567722. THRACO-MACEDONIAN TRIBES, Derrones. Circa 480/75-465 BC. AR Dodekadrachm(?) (32mm, 39.64 g). Uncertain standard. Driver, holding goad in right hand, driving ox cart left; above, crested Corinthian helmet left / Clockwise triskeles; palmette between legs; [all within incuse square]. Peykov A1480; HPM pl. II, 4 = AMNG III 7 = Traité I 1453 (same obv. die as illustrations); cf. HGC 3, 280 and 287; Triton X, lot 127 (same obv. die); CNG 81, lot 261 (same obv. die). Toned, a couple of pits on obverse, a few light scratches on reverse. Good VF. Well struck for this typically crude issue. $11,000 Ex Classical Numismatic Group 91 (19 September 2012), lot 102.

568483

581925

568483. KINGS of MACEDON. Alexander III ‘the Great’. 336-323 BC. AR Tetradrachm (27mm, 17.04 g, 7h). Myriandros or Issos mint. Struck under Menes or Philotas, circa 325-324/3 BC. Head of Herakles right, wearing lion skin / Å¬ExÅ@droU, Zeus Aëtophoros seated left; ü in left field, m throne. Price 3223 corr. (monogram); Newell, Myriandros 22, obv. die IX. Lightly toned, trace deposits, slight die shift. Near EF. $2250 581925. KINGS of MACEDON. Alexander III ‘the Great’. 336-323 BC. AR Drachm (16mm, 4.25 g, 1h). Miletos mint. Struck under Philoxenos, circa 325-323 BC. Head of Herakles right, wearing lion skin / Å¬E$Å@droU, Zeus Aëtophoros seated left; M in left field. Price 2090; ADM I Series I. Lightly toned, exceptional strike. Choice EF. Struck from high relief dies of fine style. $1450

572516. KINGS of MACEDON. Philip III Arrhidaios. 323-317 BC. AR Tetradrachm (26mm, 17.22 g, 1h). In the name and types of Alexander III. Amphipolis mint. Struck under Antipater, circa 322-320 BC. Head of Herakles right, wearing lion skin / ∫Ås5¬EWs Å¬E$Å@droU, Zeus Aëtophoros seated left; Macedonian helmet in left field. Price 113; Troxell, Studies, Issue H3. Old collection tone, with some blue iridescence. Near EF. $2750 Ex Walter Weise Collection, purchased from Blaser-Frey, 1983.

576473. KINGS of MACEDON. Antigonos I Monophthalmos. As Strategos of Asia, 320-306/5 BC. AV Stater (18.5mm, 8.48 g, 12h). In the name and types of Alexander III. Abydos mint. Struck circa 310-301 BC. Head of Athena right, wearing crested Attic helmet decorated with serpent, and necklace / Å¬E$Å@dr[oU], Nike standing left, holding wreath and stylis; / in left field, shell below left wing. Price 1559; ADM II Series XIX, 364 (same rev. die); Anadol 67. Lightly toned. EF. Well centered and struck. $14,500 Ex Guy Collection; Freeman & Sear FPL 13 (Winter 2008), no. 14.

572517. KINGS of MACEDON. Kassander. As regent, 317-305 BC, or King, 305-298 BC. AR Tetradrachm (26.5mm, 16.91 g, 10h). In the name and types of Alexander III. Ouranopolis(?) mint. Struck under Alexarchos, circa 310-297 BC. Head of Herakles right, wearing lion skin / ∫Ås5¬EWs Å¬E$Å@droU, Zeus Aëtophoros seated left; in left field, star on cone above c; Â below throne. Price 513; Ehrhardt 63. Deep iridescent tone, some deposits. EF. $6250 Ex Walter Weise Collection, purchased from Rudiger Kaiser, 1986.

531587. THESSALY, Larissa. Circa 356-342 BC. AR Stater (24mm, 12.21 g, 1h). Head of the nymph Larissa facing slightly left, hair in ampyx, wearing necklace / Bridled horse prancing right; ¬År5-sÅ5W@ around. L-S Type 2, Series B, dies O12/R2; BCD Thessaly 304 (same obv. die); HGC 4, 409; SNG Lockett 1571 = Pozzi 1219 (same dies); SNG Berry 540 (same dies). Lightly toned, some smoothing, minor die break and slightly off center on obverse, small area of roughness on reverse. Good VF. Struck in high relief from dies of beautiful style. $8275 Ex Dr. Patrick Tan Collection (Triton XX, 10 January 2017), lot 137; California Collection (Heritage 3037, 4 January 2015), lot 29989.

Exceptional Early Owl

576413. ATTICA, Athens. Circa 510-500/490 BC. AR Tetradrachm (24mm, 17.19 g, 11h). Head of Athena right, wearing earring and crested Attic helmet decorated with tiny spiral on the back of the bowl / Owl standing right, head facing; olive sprig to left, åQe to right; all within incuse square. Seltman Group L, unlisted dies; Svoronos, Monnaies, pl. 6, 8–9; Asyut Group IVa; HGC 4, 1589; Rhousopoulos 1945. Attractively toned, a few light marks under tone. Near EF. Exceptional for this early issue. $32,500

576460. ATTICA, Athens. Circa 454-404 BC. AR Tetradrachm (24.5mm, 17.12 g, 4h). Head of Athena right, with frontal eye, wearing earring, necklace, and crested Attic helmet decorated with three olive leaves over visor and a spiral palmette on the bowl / Owl standing right, head facing; olive sprig and crescent to left, AQE to right; all within incuse square. Kroll 8; HGC 4, 1597; SNG Copenhagen 31; SNG München 49; Dewing 1611–22; Gulbenkian 519–21. Lightly toned. EF. Well centered. $2750

509685. ATTICA, Athens. Circa 454-404 BC. AR Tetradrachm (25.5mm, 17.22 g, 6h). Head of Athena right, with frontal eye, wearing earring, necklace, and crested Attic helmet decorated with three olive leaves over visor and a spiral palmette on the bowl / Owl standing right, head facing; olive sprig and crescent to left, AQE to right; all within incuse square. Kroll 8; HGC 4, 1597; SNG Copenhagen 31; SNG München 49; Dewing 1611–22; Gulbenkian 519–21. Toned, underlying luster, a hint of die rust. EF. $1750 12

509691. ATTICA, Athens. Circa 454-404 BC. AR Tetradrachm (27mm, 17.20 g, 5h). Head of Athena right, with frontal eye, wearing earring, necklace, and crested Attic helmet decorated with three olive leaves over visor and a spiral palmette on the bowl / Owl standing right, head facing; olive sprig and crescent to left, AQE to right; all within incuse square. Kroll 8; HGC 4, 1597; SNG Copenhagen 31; SNG München 49; Dewing 1611–22; Gulbenkian 519–21. Toned, underlying luster, slight die wear. Choice EF. $1975

509659. ATTICA, Athens. Circa 454-404 BC. AR Tetradrachm (23.5mm, 15.56 g, 7h). Head of Athena right, with frontal eye, wearing earring, necklace, and crested Attic helmet decorated with three olive leaves over visor and a spiral palmette on the bowl / Owl standing right, head facing; olive sprig and crescent to left, AQE to right; all within incuse square. Kroll 8; HGC 4, 1597; SNG Copenhagen 31; SNG München 49; Dewing 1611–22; Gulbenkian 519–21. Toned, struck from worn reverse die, area of weak strike and minor double strike on reverse. Good VF. $975

572519. ATTICA, Athens. Circa 165-42 BC. AR Tetradrachm (30mm, 16.95 g, 12h). New Style coinage. Polycharm(os), Nikog(enes), and Dionysios, magistrates. Struck 133/2 BC. Head of Athena Parthenos right, wearing single-pendant earring, necklace, and triple-crested Attic helmet decorated with the foreparts of four horses above the visor, a Pegasos in flight rightward above the raised earpiece, and a curvilinear ornament on the bowl / Owl standing right, head facing, on amphora; Å-œE above ∏o¬U-cÅrÂ> @5˚o˝> d5o@U>%5oU (magistrates’ names) in four lines across field; winged kerykeion to left, E on amphora, ÂE below; all within wreath. Thompson 379a (same obv. die); HGC 4, 1635; SNG Lockett 1936 (same obv. die). Lightly toned, a little off center on obverse. Near EF. $3250 Ex Heinrich Rudolf Peter Collection; Künker 62 (13 March 2001), lot 86.

576414. ATTICA, Athens. Circa 165-42 BC. AR Tetradrachm (30mm, 16.72 g, 12h). New Style coinage. Herakleides, Eukles(i)–, and Diok–, magistrates. Struck 105/4 BC. Head of Athena Parthenos right, wearing single-pendant earring, necklace, and triple-crested Attic helmet decorated with the foreparts of four horses above the visor, a Pegasos in flight rightward above the raised earpiece, and a curvilinear ornament on the bowl / Owl standing right, head facing, on amphora; Å-OE above ˙rÅ-˚¬E>d˙%> E¨˚>¬˙%> d5o˚ (magistrates’ names) in five lines across field; in right field, winged Tyche standing left, holding in right hand an uncertain object over amphora, and cradling cornucopia in left arm; Å on amphora, ÂE below; all within wreath . Thompson 749a (same obv. die); HGC 4, 1602. Lightly toned, underlying luster. EF. $4750 Ex Classical Numismatic Group 49 (17 March 1999), lot 493.

Pedigreed to 1973

576412. CORINTHIA, Corinth. Circa 350/45-285 BC. AR Stater (21mm, 8.60 g, 5h). Pegasos flying left; J below / Head of Athena left, wearing Corinthian helmet with neck guard and laurel wreath on the bowl; Å-r flanking neck truncation, aegis to right. Ravel Period V, 1009; Pegasi 427; BCD Corinth –; HGC 4, 1848. Attractive old collection tone, a few light cleaning marks in fields, trace deposits. Near EF. $6500 Ex Münzen und Medaillen AG FPL 344 (April 1973), no. 21.

566374. CORINTHIA, Corinth. Circa 350/45-285 BC. AR Stater (21.5mm, 8.25 g, 1h). Pegasos flying left; J below / Head of Athena left, wearing Corinthian helmet with neck guard; 5 below chin; to right, Nike flying left, holding fillet in both hands. Ravel Period V, 1030; Pegasi 420; BCD Corinth –; HGC 4, 1848. Toned. Near EF. $3500 Ex Gorny & Mosch 244 (13 October 2014), lot 280; Lanz 162 (6 June 2016), lot 66.

572518. CORINTHIA, Corinth. Circa 350/45-285 BC. AR Stater (20.5mm, 8.60 g, 5h). Pegasos flying left; J below / Head of Athena left, wearing Corinthian helmet with neck guard; Å below chin, Thessalian helmet to right. Ravel Period V, 1040; Pegasi 402; BCD Corinth 115; HGC 4, 1848. Attractively toned. Good VF. Well centered. $3250 Ex Walter Weise Collection.

570427. CORINTHIA, Corinth. Circa 350/45-285 BC. AR Stater (22mm, 8.54 g, 7h). Pegasos flying left; J below / Head of Athena left, wearing Corinthian helmet with neck guard; d-5 flanking neck; to right, Artemis running right, holding torches. Ravel Period V, 1077; Pegasi 453; BCD Corinth 133; HGC 4, 1848. Attractive old cabinet tone, minor double strike on obverse. Near EF. $4250

576410. ELIS, Olympia. 134th-143rd Olympiad. Circa 244-208 BC. AR Drachm (18.5mm, 4.85 g, 6h). Eagle flying right, tearing at hare held in its talons / Winged thunderbolt; V-Å across field, 6 to left, amphora to right. Schwabacher, Hoard Group IV, 32; BCD Olympia 255; HGC 5, 510. Attractive light cabinet tone, slightly off center on obverse. EF. $3950 Ex G. Hirsch 198 (11 February 1998), lot 170.

Ex Pozzi Collection and 1901 Zagazig Hoard

567723. CYCLADES, Paros. Circa 485-480 BC. AR Drachm (15.5mm, 5.88 g). Goat kneeling right / Quadripartite incuse square. Sheedy Class F, 153a (O84/R110) = Pozzi 2807 = Zagazig 234 corr. (this coin; photo in Zagazig incorrectly labeled 235); HGC 6, 657; Rhousopoulos 3164 (same rev. punch). Old collection tone, minor die wear. Good VF. $8750 Ex Prof. S. Pozzi Collection (Naville I, 14 March 1921), lot 2807; J. Hirsch VII (2 June 1902), lot 172; Zagazig (anc. Bubastis), 1901 Hoard (IGCH 1645).

572520. PAPHLAGONIA, Sinope. Circa 350/30-300 BC. AR Drachm or Siglos (16.5mm, 4.93 g, 6h). Persic standard. Dionysi(os), magistrate. Head of nymph left, hair in sakkos / Sea-eagle standing left, wings spread, on dolphin left; d5o@Us[5] below eagle’s wings. SNG BN –; SNG BM Black Sea 1485; HGC 7, 399. Old collection tone, minor doubling on reverse. Superb EF. $2650 Ex Auctiones AG 15 (18 September 1985), lot 122.

539236. MYSIA, Kyzikos. Circa 550-450 BC. EL Stater (20mm, 16.14 g). Forepart of winged lion left; to right, tunny upward / Quadripartite incuse square. Von Fritze I 96; Greenwell 117; cf. Boston MFA 1438 (hekte); SNG BN 237; BMC –; Gillet –; Gulbenkian –; Jameson –; Myrmekion –; cf. Rosen 472 (hekte); Weber –; Triton XX, lot 209. VF. Well centered. $9750 Ex Siren Collection.

One of Five Known

540411. MYSIA, Kyzikos. Circa 550-450 BC. EL Stater (19.5mm, 16.16 g). Forepart of horse left; tunny to right / Quadripartite incuse square. Cf. Hurter & Liewald I 40 (hekte); Triton XVII, lot 256 = Morton & Eden 49 (9 June 2011), lot 241; CNG 111, lot 199; CNG E-459, lot 204 = CNG 106, lot 299 = Roma E-24, lot 154; Heritage 3071, lot 33148; otherwise, unpublished. Double struck. VF. Extremely rare, one of five known. $2500 Ex Siren Collection.

577798. MYSIA, Kyzikos. Circa 550-450 BC. EL Hekte – Sixth Stater (11mm, 2.66 g). Forepart of winged stag left; to right, tunny downward / Quadripartite incuse square. Von Fritze I 102; Greenwell 128; Boston MFA 1435–6 = Warren 1550–1; SNG BN 241; Gulbenkian –; Jameson 2182; Weber 5022. Near EF. Well centered and struck. $3750 Ex Jonathan P. Rosen Collection; Roma XIV (21 September 2017), lot 212.

577797. MYSIA, Kyzikos. Circa 550-450 BC. EL Hemihekte – Twelfth Stater (8mm, 1.35 g). Head of male left, wearing laurel wreath; to right, tunny downward / Quadripartite incuse square. Cf. Von Fritze I 62 (unlisted denomination); cf. Greenwell 79 (same); cf. Boston MFA 1431 = Warren 1498 (hekte); SNG von Aulock 7283; otherwise unpublished in the standard references. Slightly off center. EF. Extremely rare as a hekte, only the von Aulock piece published in the standard references; two additional in CoinArchives. $3850

577799. ISLANDS off TROAS, Tenedos. Circa 100-70 BC. AR Drachm (19.5mm, 3.84 g, 1h). Janiform head of a male left, laureate, and female right, wearing stephanos / Labrys; tE@Ed5W@ above, " and grape bunch to left of handle, tripod to right; all within wreath. Callataÿ, Tenedos 48 var. (unlisted dies); HGC 6, 391; SNG von Aulock –; SNG Copenhagen –; SNG München –; BM acc. 1979,1.1.302. Toned, minor roughness. Good VF. Extremely rare with tripod, only the BM example published, and this coin is one of two in CoinArchives (the other: NAC 100, lot 152 = Naumann 44, lot 253). $2850 Ex JTB Collection; Vineyard Collection (Nomos 17, 26 October 2018), lot 160 (hammer 1700 CHF); Classical Numismatic Group 63 (21 May 2003), lot 451.

Rarest Civic “Wreath-Bearer”

581929. AEOLIS, Aigai. Circa 151-143 BC. AR Tetradrachm (31.5mm, 16.16 g, 12h). Stephanophoric type. Wreathed head of Apollo Smintheos right, bow and quiver over shoulder / Å5˝Å5W@, Zeus standing left, holding eagle and scepter; U to left; all within oak wreath. SNG Ashmolean 1252; SNG von Aulock 1595; SNG Copenhagen 6. Attractive cabinet tone, a few minor obverse die flaws and reverse wear. Good VF. Rare. $3750 Aigai was one of the cities of the “Aeolian Dodecapolis” and a sanctuary of Apollo Smintheos (”Apollo the Mouse-God” or, alternatively, “Mice-Killer”). On this attractive type, Apollo appears with a bow and quiver of arrows at his shoulder, as often borne by his sister, Artemis. The “mouse god” / “mice-killer” epithet is rather puzzling and refers to Apollo’s connection with a myth of coastal Asia Minor that seems to have been garbled in the retelling. Of all the mints to strike tetradrachms of stephanophoric (”wreath-bearer”) type, Aigai had one of the smallest outputs, with just four obverse dies known today (cf. U. Westermark, “En tetradrachm från Aigai i Aiolis” in Festschrift Lagerqvist, pp. 471–5).

577800. LESBOS, Mytilene. Circa 412-378 BC. EL Hekte – Sixth Stater (10mm, 2.54 g, 6h). Head of Ariadne left, hair in sakkos decorated with three grape bunches / Lion, spearhead in jaws, right in linear square within incuse square. Bodenstedt Em. 78; HGC 6, 1004; SNG von Aulock 1722; BMC 67; Boston MFA 1713; Weber 5617. Hairline flan crack, light scratch on reverse. Near EF. Well centered. $3450 Ex Weise Collection; Classical Numismatic Group 85 (15 September 2010), lot 412.

From the Jameson and Niggeler Collections

567703. IONIA, Ephesos. Circa 390-325 BC. AR Tetradrachm (23mm, 14.97 g, 12h). Hippokritos (I), magistrate. Struck circa 360-350 BC. Bee with straight wings; E-f flanking / Forepart of stag right, head left; palm tree to left, 5∏∏o˚r5tos downward to right. Pixodarus Class F, obv. die O96; BMC 47; Jameson 2266 (this coin). Old cabinet tone, minor porosity, a few marks. Good VF. Well struck. $12,500 Ex Golden Horn Collection (Stack’s, 12 January 2009), lot 2181; Walter Niggeler Collection (Part I, Leu/Munzen und Medallien, 3 December 1965), lot 259; Robert Jameson Collection (publ. 1932).

577801. IONIA, Herakleia ad Latmon. Circa 140-135 BC. AR Tetradrachm (29.5mm, 16.80 g, 1h). Stephanophoric type. Head of Athena Parthenos right, wearing crested Attic helmet decorated with Pegasos above the foreparts of five galloping horses / Club; ˙rÅ˚¬EWtW@ above; below, Nike walking left, holding wreath in right hand, flanked by ñ and V; all within oak wreath. Lavva, Silberprägung, Group II.B, – (unlisted dies); SNG von Aulock –; SNG Copenhagen –; SNG Lockett 2823 = Pozzi 2452; Jameson 1503. Toned. EF. $4750 Ex San Vicente Collection; Goldberg 5 (6 April 2000), lot 3158.

577802. IONIA, Phokaia. Circa 625/0-522 BC. EL Hekte – Sixth Stater (10.5mm, 2.51 g). Forepart of bull right, head reverted; to left, small seal downward / Quadripartite incuse square. Bodenstedt Em. 28; SNG von Aulock 3122; BMC 73–4. Lightly toned, some faint scratches. Good VF. $3450 Ex Weise Collection; Gorny & Mosch 211 (4 March 2013), lot 364.

577803. IONIA, Phokaia. Circa 387-326 BC. EL Hekte – Sixth Stater (10mm, 2.54 g). Head of female left, hair rolled and tied at forehead; to lower right, small seal left / Quadripartite incuse square. Bodenstedt Em. 106; SNG von Aulock 7953; Boston MFA 1931. EF. $2750 Ex Weise Collection; Gemini IX (9 January 2012), lot 133.

528514. IONIA, Teos. Late 6th-early 5th century BC. AR Hemistater – Drachm (15mm, 5.88 g). Griffin seated right, raising forepaw / Incuse square. Matzke Series Bc2; Balcer 43; SNG Copenhagen 1433. Toned, a hint of granularity, compact flan. Good VF. Well centered. $1575 Ex Classical Numismatic Group Electronic Auction 456 (13 November 2019), lot 171.

567724. CARIA, Antioch ad Maeandrum. Early-Mid 1st century BC. AR Tetradrachm (29mm, 15.87 g, 12h). Meleager, magistrate. Bearded head of Zeus right, wearing laurel wreath / Eagle, with closed wings, standing left on thunderbolt; &@/ t5o/cE/W@ to left, ÂE/¬E&/˝ro% to right; all within circular maeander pattern. Thonemann Group B, 7b (O7’/R16); HN Online 2226 (same dies as illustration); Nomos 17, lot 184 (hammer 36,000 CHF) = Gorny & Mosch 207, lot 358 (hammer €24,000; same dies). Toned. Good VF. Extremely rare, only four tetradrachms of Meleager noted by Thonemann. $12,500

Unique

569825. SELEUKID EMPIRE. Timarchos. Usurper, 164-161 BC. AR Drachm (16mm, 4.03 g, 7h). Ekbatana mint(?). Diademed head right; no border / [∫Å%]5¬E[W%] t5ÂÅrcoU, Apollo, testing arrow and placing hand on grounded bow, seated left on omphalos; no control marks visible; pellet border. ECH 22 (this coin); otherwise, unpublished. Lightly toned, minor die break on obverse, a little off center on reverse. Good VF. Excellent metal. Unique. $6500 Ex Eastern Campaigns Hoard (publication forthcoming).

567725. SELEUKID EMPIRE. Antiochos VI Dionysos. 144-142 BC. AR Drachm (16mm, 4.16 g, 1h). Antioch on the Orontes mint. Undated issue, struck circa 143-142 BC. Radiate and diademed head right / [∫]Å%5¬EW% Å@t5ocoU E∏5fÅ@ oU% d5o@U%oU, spiked Macedonian helmet with cheek guards, adorned with wild goat’s horn above visor; trU above helmet, X to lower right. SC 2003a; SMA –; HGC 9, 1037; Sunrise 209 (this coin). Lightly toned. Near EF. Very rare. $2250 Ex TAB Collection; Sunrise Collection (Triton XVIII, 6 January 2015), lot 168.

576451. SELEUKID EMPIRE. Demetrios III Eukairos. 97/6-88/7 BC. AR Tetradrachm (29mm, 15.99 g, 12h). Damaskos mint. Struck SE 222 (91/0 BC). Diademed head right / ∫Å%5¬EW% d˙;˙tr5o¨ œEo¨ f5¬o∏Åtoro% %Wt˙ro%, cult statue of Atargatis standing facing, arms extended, holding flower in left hand, barley stalk rising from each shoulder; to outer left, @ above m; ∫˚4 (date) in exergue; all within wreath. SC 2451.7; HHV 83 var. (A15/P– [unlisted rev. die]); HGC 9, 1305; DCA 304. Light cleaning marks. Good VF. Well centered and struck. $1750

576452. SELEUKID EMPIRE. Philip I Philadelphos. Circa 95/4-76/5 BC. AR Tetradrachm (28mm, 15.65 g, 1h). Uncertain mint 127 in Cilicia, probably Tarsos. Struck 94/3-88/7 BC. Diademed head right / ∫`%5¬E[W%] f5¬5∏∏o[¨] E∏5f`@o¨[%] [f]5¬`dE¬f[o¨], Zeus Nikephoros seated left; 1 to outer left, 5 to inner left, @ below throne; all within laurel wreath. SC –; HGC 9, 1316; Leu Web Auction 16, lot 1432 (SC 2460c; same obv. die). Minor die wear on obverse. Superb EF. Extremely rare, unpublished issue. $1150

572515. PHOENICIA, Tyre. ‘Ozmilk (Azemilkos). Circa 349-311/0 BC. AR Shekel – Didrachm (20.5mm, 8.73 g, 12h). Attic standard. Dated RY 13 (337/6 BC). Deity, holding reins and arched bow, riding hippocamp right above two lines of waves; below, dolphin right / Owl standing right, head facing; crook and flail in background; 0o above ‹‹‹ (’ [for ‘Ozmilk] and 13 [date], in Phoenician) in right field. E&E-T Group II.2.1.24, 1270 var. (O71/R– [unlisted rev. die]); HGC 10, 349; DCA 918. Toned, trace deposits, scuff and faint cleaning marks on obverse. Good VF. $2750 20

576455. PHOENICIA, Tyre. ‘Ozmilk (Azemilkos). Circa 349-311/0 BC. AR Shekel (19mm, 8.83 g, 11h). Dated RY 15 (335/4 BC). Deity, holding reins and arched bow, riding hippocamp right above two lines of waves; below, dolphin right / Owl standing right, head facing; crook and flail in background; 0o above ‹‹‹‹‹ (’ [for ‘Ozmilk] and 15 [date], in Phoenician) in right field. E&E-T Group II.2.1.26, 1411 var. (O–/R145 [unlisted obv. die]); HGC 10, 349; DCA 918. Struck from clashed obverse die. Good VF. $1250 Ex Trausnitz Collection (Nomos 19, 17 November 2019), lot 218.

Pedigreed to 1970

576415. PHOENICIA, Tyre. 126/5 BC-AD 65/6. AR Shekel (29mm, 14.21 g, 1h). Dated CY 17 (110/09 BC). Head of Melkart right, wearing laurel wreath, [lion skin around neck] / Eagle standing left on prow; palm frond in background; to left, Z5 (date) above club; # to right, b (Phoenician B) between legs; tUroU 5Er&% ˚&5 &%U¬oU around. DCA-Tyre 46; HGC 10, 357; DCA 919. Wonderful old cabinet tone. EF. $5750 Ex Kölner Münzkabinett 95 (17 May 2011), lot 220; Glendining (25 June 1970), lot 214.

566530. PHOENICIA, Tyre. 126/5 BC-AD 65/6. AR Shekel (28mm, 14.27 g, 12h). Dated CY 40 (87/6 BC). Head of Melkart right, wearing laurel wreath, [lion skin around neck] / Eagle standing left on prow; palm frond in background; to left, lÂ (date) above club; d to right, b (Phoenician B) between legs; tUroU 5Er&% ˚&5 &%U¬oU around. DCA-Tyre 144; HGC 10, 357; DCA 919. Lightly toned, chin off flan. Near EF. Minor doubling. $3750

Among the Finest Known

567704. PHOENICIA, Tyre. 126/5 BC-AD 65/6. AR Half Shekel (22mm, 6.98 g, 12h). Dated CY 51 (76/5 BC). Head of Melkart right, wearing laurel wreath, lion skin around neck / Eagle standing left on prow; palm frond in background; to left, &@ (date) above club; d to right, b (Phoenician B) between legs; tUroU 5Er&% ˚&5 &%U¬oU around. DCA-Tyre 791; HGC 10, 358; DCA 921. In NGC encapsulation 5873296-004, graded AU★, Strike: 5/5, Surface: 4/5. Well struck. $7500 Ex Goldberg 93 (6 September 2016), lot 1542, hammer $5500. This is amongst the finest known Half Shekels of Tyre

536895. JUDAEA, Jewish War. 66-70 CE. AR Shekel (22.5mm, 14.21 g, 1h). Jerusalem mint. Dated year 2 (67/8 CE). Omer cup; @c (“Y[ear] 2” in Hebrew = date) above, L!Rc¥ LQc (“Shekel of Israel” in Hebrew) around / Sprig of three pomegranates; YcurQY 2¥Lcur¥ (“Jerusalem the holy” in Hebrew) around. Deutsch 15 (O3/R13); Meshorer 193; Kadman 8; Hendin 1358; Bromberg II 376; Shoshana I 20202–3; Sofaer 7–8; Spaer 167–8. Minor metal flaw on reverse. EF. Well centered and struck. Excellent metal. $9250

581923. JUDAEA, Bar Kochba Revolt. 132-135 CE. AR Zuz – Denarius (18mm, 3.52 g, 1h). Undated issue (year 3, struck 134/5 CE). 3∑o2C (“Shim‘on” in Hebrew) within wreath / Flagon with handle; palm frond to right; 2LC∑R ¥¡∑RHL (“For the Freedom of Jerusalem” in Hebrew) around. Mildenberg 79 (O14/R51); Meshorer 283b (same dies as illustration [erroneously printed in retrograde]); Hendin 1427; Bromberg 475 (same dies); Shoshana I 20385 (same obv. die); Sofaer 115. Lustrous. EF. Overstruck on a denarius of Domitian, with part of emperor’s profile and legend faintly visible. $2750

560746. PERSIA, Achaemenid Empire. temp. Xerxes I to Darios II. Circa 485-420 BC. AV Daric (15.5mm, 8.27 g). LydoMilesian standard. Sardes mint. Persian king or hero, wearing kidaris and kandys, quiver over shoulder, in kneeling-running stance right, holding spear and bow / Incuse punch. Carradice Type IIIb, Group A/B (pl. XIII, 27); Meadows, Administration 321; BMC Arabia pl. XXIV, 26; Sunrise 24. Lustrous. Good VF. $2450

Exceptional Artistry, Preservation

525581. PTOLEMAIC KINGS of EGYPT. Ptolemy I Soter. As satrap, 323-305/4 BC. AR Tetradrachm (26mm, 17.18 g, 12h). In the name and types of Alexander III of Macedon. Memphis or Alexandreia mint. Struck circa 323-317 BC. Head of Herakles right, wearing lion skin / Å¬E$Å@droU, Zeus Nikephoros seated left; rose in left field, d5-o below throne. CPE 19; Svoronos –; Zervos Issue 2C, dies 206/f; Price 3971 var. (position of letters on rev.). Detailed strike; lightly toned, the fields with considerable luster. Choice EF. An exceptional example struck from dies of exquisite style. $6950 Ex Triton XXII (8 January 2019), lot 399. O. Zervos, in his original 1967 ANS Museum Notes article, thought these early Egyptian Alexanders were struck much earlier, but he later clarified his position in his 1974 Ph.D. dissertation, stating that he thought that they began in 324-322 BC, though most likely after Alexander III’s death. His analysis of the hoards somewhat supports his contention, but the evidence is not conclusive. M. Price, in his 1991 corpus on the Alexander coinage, thought that the minting of Alexanders began upon the conquest of Egypt in 332, but this early date is not supported by the evidence. G. Le Rider, in his 1997 review Alexander’s coinage and finances, agreed with a late date for the beginning of Alexanders in Egypt, though slightly earlier, circa 325/4 BC. C. Lorber, in an article in NC 2005, came to a similar conclusion regarding the late start of production, agreeing with Zervos that is was more likely after Alexander’s death, circa 323 BC. Zervos, Price, and Lorber all think that the coinage began at Memphis, which had produced imitation Athenian tetradrachms under the Persians, and was later transferred to Alexandreia, while Le Rider thought it was at Alexandreia from the onset. Undoubtedly, the construction of Alexandreia was completed during the reign of Kleomenes, Ptolemy’s predecessor as satrap, and Le Rider argued that Kleomenes would have established his headquarters there, as well as his mint. Although Lorber, in CPE, attributes the initial issues to Memphis, the question remains open. All examples of this early Ptolemaic issue were struck from dies of remarkable beauty, the present specimen exemplifying this artistry and boasting a splendid state of preservation.

577810. PTOLEMAIC KINGS of EGYPT. Ptolemy III Euergetes. 246-222 BC. Æ Drachm (42.5mm, 72.62 g, 12h). Alexandreia mint. Series 5B. Diademed head of Zeus-Ammon right / ∫Å%5¬EW% ∏to¬EµÅ5oU, eagle with closed wings standing left on thunderbolt; filleted cornucopia to left, ^ between legs. CPE B395; Svoronos 964; SNG Copenhagen 171–2. Attractive brown surfaces with patches of red. Near EF. Well centered and struck. $4750 23

567855. PTOLEMAIC KINGS of EGYPT. Ptolemy III Euergetes. 246-222 BC. Æ Triobol (34mm, 34.97 g, 12h). Alexandreia mint. Series 5B. Diademed head of Zeus-Ammon right / ∫Å%5¬EW% ∏to¬EµÅ5oU, eagle with closed wings standing left on thunderbolt; filleted cornucopia to left, ^ between legs. CPE B396; Svoronos 965; SNG Copenhagen 173–5. Attractive old brown surfaces, minor flan flaw in field on obverse. Near EF. Well centered and struck. Exceptional for issue. $3250

567756 580100 567756. PTOLEMAIC KINGS of EGYPT. Ptolemy III Euergetes. 246-222 BC. Æ Triobol (35mm, 34.47 g, 11h). Alexandreia mint. Series 5B. Diademed head of Zeus-Ammon right / ∫Å%5¬EW% ∏to¬EµÅ5oU, eagle with closed wings standing left on thunderbolt; filleted cornucopia to left, ^ between legs. CPE B396; Svoronos 965; SNG Copenhagen 173–5. Even tan-brown patina, edge splits. Good VF. $2750 580100. PTOLEMAIC KINGS of EGYPT. Ptolemy IV Philopator. 222-205/4 BC. Æ Drachm (33.5mm, 36.84 g, 12h). Alexandreia mint. Series 5C, circa 222–220/19 BC. Diademed head of Zeus-Ammon right / ∫Å%5¬EW% ∏to¬EµÅ5oU, eagle with closed wings standing left on thunderbolt; filleted cornucopia to left, ¬5 between legs. CPE B494; Svoronos 1128; SNG Copenhagen 203–4. Light brown surfaces. Good VF. $2250 Ex Rhakotis Collection, formed in the 1960s–70s (his ticket included).

580101. PTOLEMAIC KINGS of EGYPT. Ptolemy IV Philopator. 222-205/4 BC. Æ Drachm (41.5mm, 71.40 g, 12h). Alexandreia mint. Series 5D, circa 219-205/4. Diademed head of Zeus-Ammon right / ∫Å%5¬EW% ∏to¬EµÅ5oU, eagle with closed wings standing left on thunderbolt; filleted cornucopia to left, d5 between legs. CPE B495; Svoronos 1125; SNG Copenhagen 199. Lovely green-brown patina, with some tiny spots of aquamarine, even light roughness. Good VF. $3950 Ex Rhakotis Collection, formed in the 1960s–70s (his ticket included).

580103. PTOLEMAIC KINGS of EGYPT. Ptolemy IV Philopator. 222-205/4 BC. Æ Tetrobol (37.5mm, 45.87 g, 12h). Alexandreia mint. Series 5E, after 219 BC. Diademed head of Zeus-Ammon right / ∫Å%5¬EW% ∏to¬EµÅ5oU, eagle with closed wings standing left, head right, on thunderbolt; %E between legs. CPE B503a; Svoronos 1148; SNG Copenhagen 207–9. Glossy red-brown patina, with spots of green. Good VF. $1950 Ex Rhakotis Collection, formed in the 1960s–70s (his ticket included).

570515. PTOLEMAIC KINGS of EGYPT. Ptolemy V Epiphanes. 204-180 BC. AR Tetradrachm (26.5mm, 14.17 g, 12h). Alexandreia mint. Diademed head of Ptolemy I right, aegis around neck / ∫Å%5¬EW% ∏to¬EµÅ5oU, eagle standing left on thunderbolt; no control marks. Olivier Group 2, 3610-74 var. (unlisted obv. die); Svoronos 1231; SNG Copenhagen 244–5. Attractive old collection tone, flan crack, die break on obverse. EF. $3950 Ex Monnaies de Collection (13 October 1980), lot 500.

580106. PTOLEMAIC KINGS of EGYPT. Ptolemy V Epiphanes. 204-180 BC. Æ (33mm, 26.67 g, 11h). Alexandreia mint. Series 6C. Diademed head of Zeus-Ammon right / ∫Å%5¬EW% ∏to¬EµÅ5oU, two eagles with their wings closed standing left on thunderbolt; cornucopia to left. Svoronos 1424A (Joint reign of Ptolemy VI and VIII); Faucher & Lorber Series 6C; SNG Copenhagen 305–7 (Joint reign of Ptolemy VI and Ptolemy VIII). Attractive even brown surfaces. Good VF. $2500 Ex Rhakotis Collection, formed in the 1960s–70s (his ticket included).

553987. PTOLEMAIC KINGS of EGYPT. Ptolemy VI Philometor. Second sole reign, 163-145 BC. AR Tetradrachm (26.5mm, 14.17 g, 12h). Alexandreia mint. Diademed head of Ptolemy I right, aegis around neck / ∫Å%5¬EW% πto¬EµÅ5oU, eagle standing left on thunderbolt; no control marks. Olivier 4252–62 (obv. die D171); Svoronos 1489; SNG Copenhagen 262–8. Deeply struck and beautifully toned, hairline flan crack, edge lightly filed. Near EF. $1750 Ex Dr. Walter Stoecklin (†1975) Collection (Nomos 15, 22 October 2017), lot 202, purchased from Bank Leu prior to 1975.

559338. PTOLEMAIC KINGS of EGYPT. Kleopatra III & Ptolemy IX Soter II (Lathyros). 117/6-108/7 BC. AR Tetradrachm (25mm, 13.39 g, 12h). Alexandreia mint. Dated RY 8 (110/09 BC). Diademed head of Ptolemy I right, aegis around neck / ∫Å%5¬EW% ∏to¬EµÅ5oU, eagle standing left on thunderbolt; l˙ (date) to left, ∏Å to right. Olivier 5484–574 (unlisted obv. die); Svoronos 1669; SNG Copenhagen 352; DCA 60. Iridescent tone, minor deposits. Good VF. $475 Ex Stein A. Evensen Collection, purchased 29 August 2007.

570027. KINGS of MAURETANIA. Juba II. 25 BC-AD 24. AR Denarius (17mm, 3.03 g, 7h). Caesarea mint. ∞Ec 5¨∫Å, diademed head right / Cornucopia; transverse scepter in background, crescent to upper right. Mazard 241; MAA 95; SNG Copenhagen 579. Attractively toned. Near EF. $1500

ORIENTAL GREEK Two Dynastic Pedigree Issues

576416

576417 576416. BAKTRIA, Greco-Baktrian Kingdom. Agathokles Dikaios. Circa 185-175 BC. AR Tetradrachm (32.5mm, 16.44 g, 12h). Commemorative issue struck for Euthydemos I Theos. EUQUd˙;oU down right, QEoU down left, diademed head of Euthydemos right / ∫Å%5¬EUo@to% down right, Å˝ÅQo˚2EoU% down left, d5˚Å5oU in exergue, Herakles seated left on rocky outcropping, holding club set on knee; D to inner right. MPHB 180 (O31bis/R94 – this coin); Bopearachchi 16B; MIG Type 145a; HGC 12, 87; Bopearachchi & Rahman –; SNG ANS 261. A few hairline edge splits cracks, very light roughness. EF. Exceptional for issue. $13,500 Ex Triton III (30 November 1999), lot 694. Based on the similarity of coin types, Agathokles was possibly the brother of Pantaleon, or, more probably, Pantaleon’s co-ruler and immediate successor. Aside from his coinage, no other records or accounts of Agathokles’ reign survive. In addition to his portrait coins, he minted an extensive series of “pedigree” coins touting his connection to illustrious rulers of the past, including Alexander, Diodotos, Euthydemos, Demetrios and Pantaleon. His excellent portrait coinage depicts a rather sharp-featured man with a bit of a mad gleam in his eye.

576417. BAKTRIA, Greco-Baktrian Kingdom. Eukratides I Megas. Circa 170-145 BC. AR Tetradrachm (31.5mm, 16.96 g, 12h). Dynastic pedigree issue. ∫å%5GEU% ÂE˝Å% around, EUkrÅt5d˙% in exergue, bust of Eukratides right, wearing helmet adorned with bull’s horn and ear; all within bead-and-reel border / ˙G5okGEoU% above, kÅ5 GÅod5k˙% in exergue, conjoined draped busts of Heliokles and Laodike, wearing tainia, right; T to left; all within bead-and-reel border. Bopearachchi 13A; MIG Type 182b; HGC 12, 133; Bopearachchi & Rahman –; SNG ANS –. Lightly toned, underlying luster. Choice EF. Well centered and struck. Rare. $17,500 On this remarkable “pedigree” tetradrachm, Eukratides pairs a portrait of himself with dual portraits named as Heliokles and Laodike. Heliokles is shown bareheaded, while Laodike appears to wear a royal diadem. The usual interpretation is that these are the parents of Eukratides, although recently it has been suggested Heliokles is one of his sons and Laodike his royal bride. The issue is a puzzling one, and it is not even known for certain which side is the obverse and which the reverse. The bare head of Heliokles indicates he is not a king or co-ruler, while Laodike is clearly royal. Was he a mere satrap or general, and she the daughter of a previous Baktrian king, perhaps Euthydemos or Demetrios I? Or was she a princess of the Seleukid ruling dynasty (the name Laodike being quite common among the women of this house)? Pending the discovery of some parchment or inscription that clarifies his lineage, we can only guess.

ROMAN PROVINCIAL

563036. MYSIA, Pergamum. Geta. AD 209-211. Æ Medallion (43mm, 48.62 g, 12h). Menogenes the Younger, strategos for the second time. Struck AD 211. · AVTOKPA · KAI · ΠΟΠΛΙOC · CЄΠTI · ΓЄTAC ·, laureate and cuirassed bust right, wearing slight beard; gorgoneion on breastplate / ЄΠI CTP MHNO ΓЄNOVC B NЄOV · ΠЄPΓAMH/NΩN, B ЄOKOPΩ/N in two lines in exergue, Geta right on horseback, preparing to spear bound captive below horse running right with head left; oval shield to immediate left below horse. von Fritze, Pergamon –; cf. SNG BN 2217 corr. (attributed to Caracalla – for obv. [same die]); SNG Leypold –; SNG von Aulock –; CNG 88, lot 883 (same dies). Green patina, uniform surface roughness. VF. Very rare. $4500 The running figure on the reverse of this piece appears to wear Parthian attire, including a Phrygian cap and trousers. Whether this represents the use of a “generic” enemy of a type more familiar in Asia Minor than the Caledonian warriors Geta was actually engaged in fighting at the time, or looks forward to a possible future Severan campaign against the Parthians, is open to speculation.

571071. CILICIA, Aegeae. Hadrian, with Sabina. AD 117-138. AR Tridrachm (26mm, 9.82 g, 6h). Dated year 180 of the Caesarean Era (AD 133/4). ΑYTΟΚΡ ΚΑΙΣ TΡΑΙ ΑΝΟΙ ΑΔΡΙΑΝΟ ΣΕΒ Π Π, bareheaded and draped bust of Hadrian left / ΣABINA ΣEBA AIΓEAIΩN · ΠP · (date), draped bust of Sabina right, wearing stephane; below goat head right, kneeling left. F. Haymann, “Hadrianic Silver Coinage of Aegeae (Cilicia),” AJN 26 (2014), Type 20 (dies O10/R24); L&M 413 (this coin); Prieur 722; SNG Levante 1722; RPC III 3352. Light golden toning. VF. Very rare, only three known to Prieur at the time of his publication. $875 Hadrian’s three emissions of silver coins from the city of Aegeae in Cilicia occur at the beginning and toward the end of his reign. All are likely occasioned by imperial visits by Hadrian. The first, dated AD 117/8, occurred during his return to Rome from Syria, where he was serving as governor before being acclaimed as emperor upon Trajan’s death. Another occurs in AD 130/1, during his third great imperial tour, and includes coins depicting both Hadrian and Sabina. This issue is dated Year 180 of the Caesarean era, AD 133/4, and may be connected to a final imperial journey occasioned by the Bar Kokhba Revolt in Judaea (AD 133-135). Aegeae was an important port of entry in Cilicia and a likely embarkation point for the imperial retinue.

566261. SELEUCIS and PIERIA, Antioch. Mark Antony & Cleopatra VII of Egypt. 36 BC. AR Tetradrachm (27mm, 15.11 g, 12h). BACIΛICCA KΛЄOΠATPA ΘЄA NЄωTЄPA, diademed bust of Cleopatra right, wearing earring, necklace, and embroidered dress / ANTωNIOC AVTOKPATωP TRITON TPIωN ANΔ[PωN], bare head of Antony right. McAlee 174; Prieur 27; RPC I 4094; HGC 9, 1361. Light golden toning, areas of porosity. Choice EF. Exceptional portraits. $97,500 This remarkable silver tetradrachm was probably struck at Antioch during the Parthian / Armenian campaign of 36-34 BC to honor perhaps the most famous “power couple” of all time. The attribution to Antioch remains uncertain and other mint sites in the Levant have been proposed; it is also possible they were struck at a mint moving with the army. The talented die engraver has taken particular care to give Cleopatra a powerful, almost masculine profile to complement Antony’s pugnacious portrait. Ancient historians note that Cleopatra was not incomparably beautiful (although none suggest she was anything less than pleasing to gaze upon), but her remarkable mind, her musical voice, and the vast wealth of her kingdom made her irresistible to two of the most powerful men of the age: Julius Caesar and Mark Antony. The titles display Cleopatra’s dominance in the relationship, depicting her on the obverse and touting her as “Queen Cleopatra, new (or “young”) goddess,” while Antony remains only a mortal “victorious general and Triumvir.”

525493. SELEUCIS and PIERIA, Antioch. Philip I. AD 244-249. AR Tetradrachm (25mm, 11.86 g, 6h). Struck AD 247. AVTOK K M IOYΛI ΦIΛIΠΠOY CЄB, radiate, draped, and cuirassed bust left / ΔHMAPX ЄΞOYCIAC YΠATOΓ, eagle standing left, wings spread with right wing behind leg, head right and holding wreath in beak; ANTIOXIA/S C in two lines in exergue. Prieur 379; McAlee 915/3 (this coin illustrated). Lightly toned with underlying luster, a touch of porosity. Near EF. Extremely rare, two known to Prieur, and one, this coin, in CoinArchives. $625 Ex Michel Prieur Collection.

567850. EGYPT, Alexandria. Domitian. AD 81-96. Æ Hemidrachm (27.5mm, 16.54 g, 12h). Dated RY 12 (AD 92/93). AVT KA[IC ΘEO VI]OC ∆OMIT CEB ΓEPM, laureate head right, wearing aegis / Pharos surmounted by two Tritons, each blowing a trumpet; between them is a lantern surmounted by a statue, holding situla and scepter; [entryway below on left]; L IB (date) to either side. Köln –; Dattari (Savio) 550; K&G 24.190; RPC II 2676; Emmett 273.12 (R3). Dark green patina with some light earthen deposits. VF. Very rare, one of the finest surviving specimens. $3250

Rare Pylon Drachm From the Dattari Collection

572455. EGYPT, Alexandria. Trajan. AD 98-117. Æ Drachm (35mm, 30.23 g, 12h). Dated RY 12 (AD 108/109). [AVT] TPAIAN CЄB ΓEPM ∆AK[IK], laureate bust right, wearing aegis / Pylon (entryway) of an Egyptian temple with a wide door or gate; in the center of the pylon above the gate, a facing statue of Isis wearing headdress and holding long scepter or torch; L I-B (date, which is retrograde) to either side of pylon. Köln –; Dattari (Savio) 1163 (this coin); K&G 27.182; RPC III 4330.2/5 (this coin); Emmett 521.12. Dark brown patina with touches of green, light smoothing on the obverse. VF. Rare, one of the finest known for this popular architectural type. $5750 Ex Günther Schlüter Collection (Chairman of the German Numismatic Society from 1975-1977), Berlin; previously acquired in 1970 from Peus, Frankfurt am Main; Giovanni Dattari Collection, no. 1163. This type appears to be rarer than indicated in Emmett, where it is given an “R1” rating. The authors of RPC list only fifteen examples for both obverse types (4330.2 and 4330.3), many of which are in museum or institutional collections.

572448. EGYPT, Alexandria. Trajan. AD 98-117. Æ Drachm (34mm, 25.61 g, 12h). Dated RY 15 (AD 111/112). AVT TPAIAN C-ЄB Γ[EP]M ∆AKIK, laureate bust right, wearing aegis / Elpis standing right, holding a lotus blossom with her right hand and raising a fold of her skirt with her left, facing Harpocrates of Mendes seated left, wearing calathus, and holding scepter and club; L IE (date) across field. Köln –; Dattari (Savio) 7022 (this coin); K&G 27.393 var. (Elpis standing left); RPC III 4600/3 (this coin); Emmett 505.15 (R5). Dark brown patina with traces of green. Good VF. Extremely rare type. $6750 Ex Günther Schlüter Collection (Chairman of the German Numismatic Society from 1975-1977), Berlin; previously acquired in 1972 from the Tyll Kroha coin cabinet in Cologne; Giovanni Dattari Collection, no. 7022.

Impressive Hadrian Drachm

572473. EGYPT, Alexandria. Hadrian. AD 117-138. Æ Drachm (33mm, 22.38 g, 12h). Dated RY 19 (AD 134/135). AVT KAIC TPAIAN A∆PIANOC CЄB, laureate, draped, and cuirassed bust right / Galley left with oars; in center, Sarapis seated left, holding scepter, and Kerberos seated at his feet; to left, Isis Pharia, head right, holding billowing sail left; to right, Demeter standing left, holding long torch; above, L ЄNN[ЄAK∆] (date). Köln 1170; Dattari (Savio) 7786; K&G 32.675; RPC III 5995; Emmett 1047.19 (R5 = BMC 886). Dark brown patina with touches of red and green, some minor smoothing. Good VF. Extremely rare and popular type. $12,750 Ex Günther Schlüter Collection (Chairman of the German Numismatic Society from 1975-1977), Berlin; previously acquired in 1964.

Exquisite Early Portrait

567726. EGYPT, Alexandria. Antoninus Pius. AD 138-161. Æ Drachm (34.5mm, 26.91 g, 12h). Dated RY 2 (AD 138/139). AVT • K • T AIΛ A∆P • ANTωNINOC [ЄVC]ЄB, bareheaded and draped bust right / ЄVΘHNIA, Euthenia, wearing a crown of an uraeus between two grain ears, reclining left on androsphinx, holding two grain ears with her right hand, and an outstretched fold of her garment containing fruit and lotus; L B (date) in exergue. Köln 1302; Dattari (Savio) 8446-7; K&G 35.21; Emmett 1518.2; Staffieri, Alexandria In Nummis 109 (this coin) = RPC IV.4 Online 13423/32 (this coin cited and illustrated). Dark brown patina with touches of green and red. EF. An early portrait of exquisite execution. $2750 Ex Giovanni Maria Staffieri Collection (Triton XXI, 9 January 2018), lot 111, purchased by Staffieri from Numismatica Aretusa SA (Lugano– Franco Chiesa), February 1976.

ROMAN REPUBLICAN

578189. Anonymous. Circa 235 BC. Æ Aes Grave Uncia (26mm, 20.18 g). Rome mint. Knucklebone seen from outside; club below / Knucklebone seen from inside; club below. Crawford 27/10; ICC 63; HN Italy 323. Dark green patina with earthen deposits. VF. $1275

581932. Anonymous. Circa 225-217 BC. Æ Aes Grave As (61mm, 278.10 g, 12h). Rome mint. Head of bearded Janus; all on a raised disk / Prow of galley right; i (mark of value) above; all on a raised disk. Crawford 35/1; Sydenham 72; ICC 75; Thurlow-Vecchi 51a; HN Italy 337; RBW 84-5. Pleasing apple-green patina, some red earthen deposits on reverse. Good VF. An impressive and attractive example of this massive early form of Italic coinage. $6750

566194. Anonymous. 157-156 BC. AR Denarius (17.5mm, 3.67 g, 3h). Rome mint. Head of Roma right, wearing winged Italo-Attic helmet surmounted by griffin head; x (mark of value) to left / Victory, holding goad, driving biga right; rOÂA in partial tablet in exergue. Crawford 197/1a; Sydenham 376; RSC 6; RBW 846. Dark iridescent toning. Near EF. $1250

578191. M. Atilius Saranus. 148 BC. AR Denarius (18.5mm, 3.54 g). Rome mint. Helmeted head of Roma right; ÍArY downward to left, x (mark of value) below chin / The Dioscuri, each holding spear, on horseback right; Â • ATiLi below horses, rOÂA in exergue. Crawford 214/1b; Sydenham 398b; Atilia 9; RBW 905. Attractive iridescent tone with golden highlights. EF. Particularly well struck with excellent detail on reverse. $1750 32

578194. P. Maenius Antiaticus M.f. 132 BC. AR Denarius (19.5mm, 3.91 g). Rome mint. Helmeted head of Roma right; • (mark of value) to left / Victory driving quadriga right, holding goad, reins, and wreath; p • »M below horses. Crawford 249/1; Sydenham 492; Maenia 7; RBW 1023. Lustrous, with some light iridescence. EF. $1250

578196. M. Aburius M.f. Geminus. 132 BC. AR Denarius (19.5mm, 3.99 g). Rome mint. Helmeted head of Roma right; geÂ to left, • (mark of value) below chin / Sol driving galloping quadriga right, holding reins and whip; Â • äœi below, rOÂA in exergue. Crawford 250/1; Sydenham 487; Aburia 6; RBW 1027. Lustrous. Superb EF. $2495

567824. Lucius Appuleius Saturninus. 104 BC. AR Denarius (19mm, 3.96 g, 5h). Rome mint. Head of Roma left, wearing winged and horned Italo-Attic helmet / Saturn, holding harpa and reins, driving quadriga right; inverted S above, L • sATurN below. Crawford 317/3a; Sydenham 578; Appuleia 1 var.; RBW –. Lightly toned with some luster. EF. $725

578204. P. Cornelius Lentulus Marcellinus. 100 BC. AR Denarius (18.5mm, 3.92 g). Rome mint. Bareheaded bust of young Hercules right, seen from behind, wearing lion skin and holding club; to left, shield and •/BrOÂA below / Roma standing facing, holding spear, being crowned by Genius of the Roman People, holding wreath and cornucopia; behind, •/B between them; Leg • º • F, all within laurel wreath. Crawford 329/1a; Sydenham 604; Cornelia 25; RBW 1186. Lightly toned. Near EF. $1750

578207. C. Malleolus, A. Albinus Sp.f., and L. Caecilius Metellus. 96 BC. AR Denarius (18.5mm, 4.03 g). Rome mint. Laureate head of Apollo right; L • ÂeTeL A • ALB • Í • F around; • (mark of value) / Roma seated left on pile of shields, holding spear and parazonium, being crowned by Victory standing left behind her; C • ÂALL to left, rOÂA in exergue. Crawford 335/1b; Sydenham 611a; Caecilia 45; RBW 1201. Attractively toned. EF. Well struck for issue. $1750

567831. M. Caecilius Q.f. Q.n. Metellus. Restored issue, 82-80 BC. AR Denarius (17mm, 3.91 g, 9h). Rome mint. Head of Apollo right, wearing taenia; rOÂA downward to left, • (mark of value) below chin / Macedonian shield with elephant’s head in central boss; Â • ÂeTeLLuÍ • œ • F • around; all within laurel wreath. Crawford 369/1; Sydenham 719; Caecilia 30; RBW 1389. Attractive cabinet toning. Near EF. Lovely style. $895

567829. A. Postumius A.f. Sp.n. Albinus. 81 BC. AR Serrate Denarius (20mm, 3.93 g, 1h). Rome mint. Draped bust of Diana right, with bow and quiver over shoulder; bucranium above / Togate figure standing left on rock, holding aspergillum in right hand over head of ox, standing right, lighted altar between them; A • pOÍT • A • F Í • N • ALBiN around. Crawford 372/1; Sydenham 745; Postumia 7; RBW 1392. Lightly toned, some minor porosity, edge cut. Near EF. Well centered. $575

567837. C. Postumius. 73 BC. AR Denarius (19mm, 4.14 g, 6h). Rome mint. Draped bust of Diana right, with bow and quiver over shoulder / Hound running right; spear below; C • pOÍTuÂi/ ë in two lines in exergue. Crawford 394/1a; Sydenham 785; Postumia 9; RBW 1434. Toned, slightly off-center, some light roughness. EF. A particularly detailed reverse. $650

Popular ‘No Spear’ Variety

571377. C. Hosidius C.f. Geta. 64 BC. AR Denarius (17mm, 3.92 g, 7h). Rome mint. Diademed and draped bust of Diana right, wearing earring and double necklace of pendants; bow and quiver over shoulder; geTA before, iii • uir behind / Calydonian Boar standing right, harried by hound below; [C] hOÍiDi CF in exergue. Crawford 407/2 note; Sydenham 903a; Hosidia 1a; RBW 1457. Attractive light golden tone. EF. Popular variety lacking the spear that normally pierces the boar. $3250

Hercules Musagetes — The Conductor of the Muses

576418. Q. Pomponius Musa. 56 BC. AR Denarius (19mm, 4.05 g, 5h). Rome mint. Diademed head of Apollo right, wearing hair in ringlets; œ • pOÂpONi downward to left, ÂuÍA upward to right / Hercules Musagetes, Conductor of the Muses, standing right, wearing lion skin on shoulders, playing lyre; club to right; herCuLeÍ downward to right, ÂuÍAruÂ downward to left. Crawford 410/1; Sydenham 810; Pomponia 8; RBW –. Attractive old cabinet tone with some light iridescence. EF. Fine portrait style. $7750 Ex Edward J. Waddell Inventory 54208 (ND); Numismatica Ars Classica 106 (9 May 2018), lot 431. Although the moneyer Q. Pomponius Musa is unknown to history, his choice of Hercules Musarum and the nine Muses as coin types is remarkable and clearly connected to his cognomen. The reverses of this series – Hercules playing the lyre and the Muses, can be none other than the celebrated statue group by an unknown Greek artist, taken from Ambracia and placed in the Aedes Herculis Musarum, which was erected by M. Fulvius Nobilior in 187 BC after the capture of Ambracia in 189 BC (Plin. NH xxxv.66; Ov. Fast. vi.812). By the second century BC Rome had overrun most of Greece and was captivated by Hellenic art and culture, not the least of which was its sculpture. Fulvius is said to have taken the statues to Rome because he learned in Greece that Hercules was a musagetes (leader of the Muses). Remains of this temple have been found in the area of the Circus Flaminius close to the south-west part of the circus itself, and north-west of the porticus Octaviae. An inscription found nearby, ‘M. Fulvius M. f. Ser. n. Nobilior cos. Ambracia cepit;’ may have been on the pedestal of one of the statues. The official name of the temple was Herculis Musarum aedes, which Servius and Plutarch called Herculis et Musarum aedes.

The ‘Other’ Erato

581924. Q. Pomponius Musa. 56 BC. AR Denarius (18.5mm, 4.06 g, 6h). Rome mint. Laureate head of Apollo right; flower to left / Erato, the Muse of Erotic Poetry, wearing long flowing tunic and peplum, standing right, holding plectrum in right hand and flat-bottomed cithara in left; œ • pOÂpONi downward to left, ÂuÍA downward to right. Crawford 410/7d corr. (obv. symbol and rev. type); Sydenham 820a corr. (same); Pomponia 17a corr. (same); BMCRR Rome 3622 corr. (same); Kestner 3384 corr. (same); RBW –; CNR Pomponia 20 [see P. Davis, “Erato or Terpsichore: A Reassessment” in FIDES, for the identification of the muse as Erato]. Attractively toned. EF. Struck from dies of lovely style. $4250 This type is called “Terpsichore” by Crawford and most other authors, but Phil Davis has recently identified this coin type as Erato. A complete discussion of this subject can be found in the article Phil wrote for the Festschrift created for the late Rick Witschonke (FIDES, pp. 393-401). Phil’s logic is very sound and will make completing a set of Muses much easier as the previously rare, known from a single die, Erato is now shown to be just a die variety. (Davis identifies the obverse turtle symbol as being for Terpsichore.

The End of the Jugurthine War

525594. Faustus Cornelius Sulla. 56 BC. AR Denarius (18mm, 4.08 g, 3h). Rome mint. Diademed and draped bust of Diana right, wearing cruciform earring, necklace of pendants, and her hair collected into a knot at back of head, which is decorated with jewels; lituus to left, FAuÍTuÍ downward to right / Sulla, togate, seated left on raised seat; on left, Bocchus, king of Mauretania, kneeling right, offering an olive branch; to right, Jugurtha, king of Numidia, kneeling left, his hands tied behind him; FeLix downward to upper right. Crawford 426/1; Sydenham 879; Cornelia 59; RBW 1525. Lightly toned. Choice EF. $3750 Ex Nomisma 18 (11 April 2001), lot 65. Faustus was the son of Lucius Cornelius Sulla, the famous general and dictator of Rome (138-78 BC). The coin portrays Sulla’s first great victory, in which he ended the Jugurthine War. Jugurtha, grandson of Massinissa of Numidia, had claimed the entire kingdom of Numidia and divided it between several members of the royal family, in defiance of Roman decrees. Rome declared war on Jugurtha in 111 BC, but for five years the wily king frustrated all efforts to bring him to heel. Finally, in 106 the popular general Marius was assigned command, with Sulla as quaestor in charge of cavalry. Before Marius could take to the field against the enemy, however, Sulla arranged with his ally Bocchus of Mauretania to have Jugurtha ambushed and captured. Sulla was acclaimed for the bloodless end of the war, gaining his first victory and the eternal enmity of Marius.

578218. C. Memmius C.f. 56 BC. AR Denarius (19mm, 3.44 g, 5h). Rome mint. Laureate and bearded head of Quirinus right; œuiriNuÍ downward to left, C • ÂeÂÂi • C • F • downward to right / Ceres seated right, holding torch with left hand and three stalks of grain with right; erect serpent to right; ÂeÂÂiuÍ • AeD CeriALiA preiÂuÍ FeCiT around from left. Crawford 427/2; Sydenham 921; Memmia 9; BMCRR Rome 3940; RBW 1532. Deep cabinet toning. EF. $2450

578216. C. Servilius C.f. 53 BC. AR Denarius (19mm, 3.83 g). Rome mint. Head of Flora right, wearing wreath of flowers, triple-drop earring, and pendant necklace; lituus to left, FLOrA • priÂuÍ downward to right / Two helmeted warriors facing each other, each holding shield and upright sword; C • ÍerueiL in exergue, C • F upward to lower right. Crawford 423/1; Sydenham 890; Servilia 15; BMCRR Rome 3818-9; RBW 1521. Light scratches in reverse field, small edge bump. EF. Fine style. $2650

576419. Moneyer issues of Imperatorial Rome. L. Hostilius Saserna. 48 BC. AR Denarius (18mm, 4.03 g, 7h). Rome mint. Diademed female head (Pietas or Clementia?) right, wearing oak wreath, cruciform earring, necklace, jewel above her ear, hair collected into a knot behind, and falling down her neck / Victory advancing right, holding winged caduceus in right hand and trophy of Gallic arms and palm fronds in left hand over left shoulder; L • hOÍTiLiuÍ [ÍAÍerNA] around from upper right. Crawford 448/1a; CRI 17; Sydenham 951; Hostilia 5; BMCRR Rome 3989-92; RBW 1567. Lovely light iridescent toning, minor obverse metal flaws. Choice EF. Struck from dies of fine style. $3250 Ex Benito Collection; Numismatica Ars Classica AG, Auction 46 (2 April 2008), lot 916. Nothing certain is known about Lucius Hostilius Saserna, one of the triumviris monetale for 48 BC, except that he was evidently a supporter of Julius Caesar. His coin types all celebrate Caesar’s conquests in Gaul and the civil war with Pompey, as well as his clemency to former enemies. The female head on this type closely resembles two issues of Caesar himself and is thought to represent Clementia (Clemency). Two relations named Gaius and Publius Hostilius Saserna, possibly brothers or sons, served under Caesar in Africa in 46 BC, but history is silent about the later careers of all the Hostilia Sasernae.

578245. Moneyer issues of Imperatorial Rome. A. Licinius Nerva. 47 BC. AR Denarius (18mm, 4.02 g, 10h). Rome mint. Laureate head of Fides right; FiDeÍ NeruA to either side / Horseman galloping right, dragging Celtic warrior by the hair; iii uir flanking horse, [A • L]iCiNibelow. Crawford 454/1; CRI 30; Sydenham 954; Licinia 24; RBW –. Lightly toned. Near EF. $1975

564055. Moneyer issues of Imperatorial Rome. Mn. Cordius Rufus. 46 BC. AR Denarius (3.88 g). Rome mint. Head of Venus right, wearing stephane, two locks of hair down neck, ruFus • sC behind / Cupid riding dolphin right, M • COrDius below. Crawford 463/3; CRI 65; Sydenham 977; Cordia 3; RBW 1608. Toned, minor marks on reverse. Near EF. $875 Ex Naville 9 (14 September 2014), lot 189; Numismatica Ars Classica 52 (7 October 2009), lot 885.

First Portrait of Brutus?

578298. Moneyer issues of Imperatorial Rome. L. Servius Rufus. 43 BC. AR Denarius (19mm, 3.83 g). Rome mint. Bare head with slight beard (of Brutus?) right, L • ÍeruiuÍ ruFuÍ around / The Dioscuri standing facing, each holding spear and with sword hanging from waist. Crawford 515/2; CRI 324; Sydenham 1082; Sulpicia 10; RBW 1793. Attractively toned. A little softly struck on reverse, clashed reverse die. Good VF. With an outstanding portrait, likely representing history’s most famous assassin. $18,500 Ex Artemide 47 (3 June 2017), lot 247. The portrait on this type, issued during the confused period between the assassination of Julius Caesar in March of 44 BC and the formation of the Second Triumvirate in November 43 BC, is almost certainly that of Marcus Junius Brutus, Caesar’s lead assassin. Crawford assigned the date as 41 BC, which was followed by Sear; this was corrected to 43 by B. Woytek in Arma et Nummi (Vienna, 2003), pp. 433-445. In this context, the striking of a coin clearly favoring the anti-Caesarian faction seems to have been part of a Senatorial strategy aimed at hedging bets against all possible outcomes in the looming civil war. The moneyer, L. Servilius Rufus, is only known from his coins; as part of the Tresviri Monetales for the year, he clearly chose to favor the assassins, while the other two, M. Arrius Secundus and C. Numonius Vaala, struck coins with portraits resembling the young Octavian and the deceased Caesar (or possibly the current senior consul, Aulus Hirtius), respectively. Notably lacking is a portrait resembling Mark Antony, who was currently in rebellion against all the other factions. All of these coins are rare, indicating a rather limited issue, versus the extraconstitutional coinage being rapidly hammered out by the opposing sides in the buildup to war. The portrait on Rufus’s issue has also been assigned to an ancestor, Servius Sulpicius Rufus, but there is little or no basis for this attribution. Its close resemblance to surviving portrait busts and coins of Brutus, including the famous Eid Mar type, leaves little doubt of the subject’s true identity. As such it is the most affordable available coin type with a contemporary portrait of Brutus. Intriguingly, with Woytek’s dating, it seems clear this is also the first numismatic portrait of Brutus, anticipating the Eid Mar and other issues of Brutus by about a year.

The Venatio

578287. Moneyer issues of Imperatorial Rome. L. Livineius Regulus. 42 BC. AR Denarius (18mm, 3.89 g, 10h). Rome mint. Bare head right / Venatio scene: in foreground, lion charging right toward a bestiarius who spears it; in background on left, a wounded bear sits right; on right, another bestiarius, holding sword and shield, defends himself against a tiger charging left; L • reguLuÍ in exergue. Crawford 494/30; CRI 179; Sydenham 1112; Livineia 12; BMCRR Rome 4271-2; RBW 1735. Lightly toned, area of deposit in obverse field, reverse slightly off-center. Near EF. $2950 This popular type depicts a venatio, a contest between bestiarii and various animals. Such activities served as the morning entertainment during a day at the games, with the “main event” – the gladiatorial contests – taking place in the afternoon.

572503. Moneyer issues of Imperatorial Rome. Petillius Capitolinus. 41 BC. AR Denarius (3.78 g, 2h). Rome mint. Bare head of bearded Jupiter right; CApiTOLiNuÍ downward behind / Temple of Jupiter Capitolinus: richly decorated hexastyle façade with ornamented pediment and garlands hanging within three openings; peTiLLiuÍ in exergue. Crawford 487/1; CRI 173; Sydenham 1149; Petillia 1; BMCRR Rome 4217-9; RBW 1703. A few shallow scratches and marks on obverse. EF. Well centered and struck for issue. $4250 Ex Triton XII (5 January 2009), lot 515.

578234. The Pompeians. Q. Sicinius and C. Coponius. 49 BC. AR Denarius (17.5mm, 3.62 g, 1h). Military mint in the East, moving with Pompey; C. Coponius, praetor. Diademed head of Apollo right; star below, œ • ÍiCiNiuÍ iii • uir around / Club of Hercules surmounted by lion skin, scalp in profile to right; arrow to left, bow to right, C • COpONiuÍ • pr • Í • C around. Crawford 444/1a; CRI 3; Sydenham 939; Sicinia 1; BMCRR East 24-8; RBW 1558. Lightly toned, traces of double striking on obverse. EF. Struck from dies of pleasing style. $1650

Caesar Crosses the Rubicon

566380. The Caesarians. Julius Caesar. April-August 49 BC. AR Denarius (21mm, 3.70 g, 12h). Military mint traveling with Caesar. Elephant advancing right, trampling on horned serpent; CAeÍAr in exergue / Emblems of the pontificate: simpulum, aspergillum, securis, and apex. Crawford 443/1; CRI 9; Sydenham 1006; RSC 49; BMCRR Gaul 27-30; Kestner 3515-8; RBW 1557. Toned with some iridescence. EF. Struck on a broad flan, minor die break on elephant’s back. $3500 This is the first coinage to bear Julius Caesar’s name, and likely commenced after Caesar crossed the Rubicon in January 49 BC and seized control of the bullion stores in the public treasury left behind by the panic-stricken senate and their champion, Pompey the Great. Despite being the most widespread of all Caesar’s coins, the design is still somewhat mysterious. Authorities have even debated which side is which: Crawford describes the elephant as the obverse, but other experts dispute this. The symbolism is commonly held to show the triumph of good (elephant) over evil (serpent or dragon). Alternatively, the “horned serpent” may be intended to represent a carnyx, a serpent-shaped horn used by the Celtic tribes in Gaul, whom Caesar had recently overcome in his epic eight-year conquest, in which case the elephant would again represent Caesar himself, or the unstoppable juggernaut of Rome. Unlike Pompey, Caesar brazenly placed his own name on the coinage without having the constitutional authority to do so, as Sulla had done 33 years before. The reverse depicts the emblems of the Pontifex Maximus, an office Caesar had possessed since 63 BC.

Caesar’s Birthday Issue?

567727. The Caesarians. Julius Caesar. Late spring-early summer 48 BC. AR Denarius (18mm, 4.17 g, 12h). Military mint traveling with Caesar. Diademed female head (Clementia?) right, wearing oak wreath; [%ii (= 52, Caesar’s age) to left] / Gallic trophy, holding oval shield and carnyx surmonted by wolf’s head; securis to right; CAe ÍAr across lower field. Crawford 452/2; CRI 11; RSC 18; Sydenham 1009; BMCRR Rome 3955; RBW –. Deep cabinet toning with areas of find patina, traces of deposits, minor metal flaws. EF. $4500 Ex Lampasas Collection; Robert B. Beckett, Jr. Estate (Classical Numismatic Group 105, 10 May 2017), lot 727; Classical Numismatic Auctions XV (5 June 1991), lot 475; Glendining & Co. (with Empire Coins, 9 October 1989), lot 689. This is the second major coin type struck by Caesar, after the ubiquitous elephant issue. The Roman numeral LII (52) behind the female head, probably Clementia, has long been recognized as representing Caesar’s age. Caesar’s 52nd birthday was on 13 July 48 BC; the battle at Pharsalus, the final major conflict between the Caesarian and Pompeian forces occurred one month later. Whether or not this particular type was struck on or near his birthday is unknown, but it would seem odd to make special mention of Caesar’s age unless the issue were in some way connected to it. A gold aureus of the same type was also issued, but in small numbers, remaining exceptionally rare today. It is plausible that the aureus was struck on his birthday as a special handout to senior officers and supporters, and the denarius continued in production for some time afterward to pay the general soldiery. The identification of the female head as Clementia (Clemency) is consistent with Caesar’s policy of pardoning Roman grandees who had fought against him.

568488. The Caesarians. Julius Caesar. Late 48-47 BC. AR Denarius. Military mint traveling with Caesar in North Africa. Diademed head of Venus right / Aeneas advancing left, holding palladium and bearing Anchises on his shoulder; CAeÍAr to right. Crawford 458/1; CRI 55; Sydenham 1013; RSC 12; RBW 1600. Attractive iridescent toning, obverse struck a little off center. Good VF. $2750

564460. The Caesarians. Julius Caesar. Late 48-47 BC. AR Denarius (18mm, 3.93 g, 6h). Military mint traveling with Caesar in North Africa. Diademed head of Venus right / Aeneas advancing left, holding palladium and bearing Anchises on his shoulder; CAeÍAr downward to right. Crawford 458/1; CRI 55; Sydenham 1013; RSC 12; RBW 1600. Attractive cabinet toning. Good VF. $2950 Ex Archer M. Huntington Collection, ANS 1001.1.24815 (Classical Numismatic Group Electronic Auction 401, 12 July 2017), lot 419.

578281. The Caesarians. Julius Caesar. February-March 44 BC. AR Denarius (17mm, 3.85 g, 8h). Lifetime issue. Rome mint; P. Sepullius Macer, moneyer. Laureate and veiled head right; CAeÍAr downward to right, DiCT per[peTuO] upward to left / Venus Victrix standing left, holding Victory in extended right hand and vertical scepter in left; shield set on ground to right; p • ÍepuLLiuÍ downward to right, ÂACer downward to left. Crawford 480/13; Alföldi Type IX, 64 (A30/R29); CRI 107d; Sydenham 1074; RSC 39; RBW 1685. Light tone, minor weakness on reverse. Good VF. $8975 P. Sepullius Macer was the most prolific of the moneyers striking Julius Caesar’s portrait coinage in 44 BC, with a remarkable number of subtle variations. Virtually nothing is known about him aside from his evident support for the Caesarians, as he struck coins for Mark Antony as well. Many of his coins show signs of being struck in great haste, probably reflecting preparations for Caesar’s planned Parthian campaign. Veiled portraits, such as this example, allude to Caesar’s role as Pontifex Maximus and do not necessarily mean the portrait is posthumous, although some varieties clearly were struck after the Ides of March.

Alföldi Plate Coin

580666. The Caesarians. Julius Caesar. April 44 BC. AR Denarius (18mm, 3.82 g, 4h). Rome mint; C. Cossutius Maridianus, moneyer. Laureate and veiled head right; apex to left, lituus to right; pAreNÍ pATriAe upward to left; CAeÍAr upward to right / C • COÍÍuTiuÍ and ÂAriD iANuÍ arranged in form of cross; A A A F • F in angles. Crawford 480/19; Alföldi Type XVII, 80 (A12/R3; this coin); CRI 112; Sydenham 1069; RSC 8. In NGC encapsulation 6155876-006, graded XF, Strike: 4/5, Surface: 4/5, bankers marks. One of the rarer portrait types for Julius Caesar. $5750 Ex Heinrich Peter Rudolf Collection; Künker FPL 164 (August 2002), no. 27. Gaius Cossutius Maridianus was apparently the last man appointed to the recently expanded quatrovirate of moneyers in 44 BC. All of his Caesar heads are veiled, alluding to Caesar’s role as Pontifex Maximus. This issue is the last Caesar portrait type struck in 44 BC and is, according to David R. Sear, “clearly posthumous, presumably belonging to mid-April.”

578302. The Republicans. Cn. Domitius L.f. Ahenobarbus. 41-40 BC. AR Denarius (18mm, 3.94 g). Uncertain mint in the region of the Adriatic or Ionian Sea. Bare head of Ahenobarbus right, wearing short beard / Prow right surmounted by a military trophy. Crawford 519/2; CRI 339; Sydenham 1177; Domitia 21; RBW 1803. Attractive cabinet tone with some light iridescence. Near EF. A particularly appealing example . $9500 Gnaeus Domitius Ahenobarbus commanded a fleet against the Triumvirs, achieving a minor victory in September of 42 BC. But that very day, the Triumvirs won the battle of Philippi, and Ahenobarbus found himself fighting for a lost cause. He became a piratical rogue, terrorizing the ports of the Adriatic like his western counterpart, Sextus Pompey, until he signed the Pact of Brundisium in 40 BC, which reconciled him to Mark Antony. His great-grandson would become the Emperor Nero (AD 54-68). The rare coinage of Ahenobarbus belongs to his stint as a “pirate king” 42-40 BC. This silver denarius bears an appropriately nautical reverse celebrating his victories at sea. The balding, bearded portrait on the obverse remains enigmatic; it may represent Gnaeus himself, or one of his ancestors.

Legio VI: Dueling Histories

576420. The Triumvirs. Mark Antony. Autumn 32-spring 31 BC. AR Denarius (17mm, 3.65 g, 6h). Legionary type. Patrae(?) mint. Praetorian galley right; ANT Aug above, iii uir • r • p • C below / Aquila between two signa; LeG ui across field. Crawford 544/19; CRI 356; Sydenham 1223; RSC 33; BMCRR East 197; Kestner 3848; RBW 1841. Deep old cabinet tone. EF. Well centered, with a detailed strike. $3500 Ex James Fox Collection (Classical Numismatic Group 40, with Numismatica Ars Classica, 4 December 1996), lot 1324. The standard history of Mark Antony’s Legio VI records it as initially being raised in 52 BC by Julius Caesar in Cisalpine Gaul and serving with him during the Gallic Wars, in Spain, and at Pharsalus. An alternative history by author Stephen Dando-Collins, and popularized in his book “Cleopatra’s Kidnappers,” proposes that the Sixth was first raised by Pompey the Great and fought on his side at Pharsalus, before being taken over by Caesar. In all versions, Legio VI accompanied Caesar to Egypt in 48 BC and, after enduring a grueling siege and suffering heavy casualties, helped him conquer Alexandria and install Cleopatra VII as sole ruler. Departing Egypt, the Sixth was Caesar’s main legion in his famous victory at Zela (the “veni, vidi, vici” battle). Mustered out in 47 BC, it was partially reconstituted and recalled to action by Caesar’s enemy, Metellus Scipio, but quickly deserted en masse to Caesar and fought on his side at Munda in 45 BC. After Caesar’s assassination, it initially formed part of Lepidus’s force before being transferred to Mark Antony in 44 BC, where it fought at Philippi and participated in the triumvir’s Parthian campaign. Octavian also used veterans from Caesar’s Sixth to found his own Legio VI, later named Victrix, and the two Sixes were on opposite sides in the Actium campaign. The victorious Octavian retained both Sixes in service; Antony’s won the nickname Ferrata (”ironclad”) and went on to a long and distinguished imperial career in the Roman east, notably serving as the garrison army of Judaea for more than two centuries. VI Victrix served in Spain and Germany before being transferred to Britannia circa AD 120, where it remained for the next three centuries.

Ex Alba Longa Collection

576421. The Triumvirs. Mark Antony. Autumn 32-spring 31 BC. AR Denarius (17mm, 3.46 g, 6h). Legionary type. Patrae(?) mint. Praetorian galley right; ANT • Aug above, iii • uir • r • p • C below / Aquila between two signa; LeG uii across field. Crawford 544/20; CRI 357; Sydenham 1224; RSC 34; FFC 38 (this coin); RBW 1842. Lightly toned, a couple of tiny die flaws. Choice EF. A splendid example. $5750 Ex Alba Longa Collection (Aureo & Calico 339, 14 November 2019), lot 1109; published in “A Guide to the Denarii of the Roman Republic to Augustus” by Fernández, Fernández & Calicó (DDC), 2002, p. 194, 38. Antony’s Legio VII was founded by Julius Caesar at the outset of his Gallic campaign, circa 58 BC, and remained loyal to him throughout the heavy fighting and civil conflict that followed. Its first cognomen, Paterna, derives from Caesar’s title of Pater Patriae (”father of the fatherland”). Caesar disbanded his seventh circa 45 BC and settled them near Capua, but after the Ides of March 44 BC, it was evidently reconstituted in “split” form, as were several other Caesarian legions, with one Legio VII joining Mark Antony’s force in the east and the other supporting his triumviral partner and later rival, Octavian, in Italy. Thus the civil war of 32-31 BC saw two Legio VIIs serving on opposite sides, but the failure of Antony’s fleet at Actium meant they never faced each other in the field. After Actium, Antony’s Legio VII was evidently disbanded entirely while Octavian’s went on to become the long-serving Legio VII Claudia Pia Fidelis.

577811. The Triumvirs. Mark Antony. Autumn 32-spring 31 BC. AR Denarius (18mm, 3.73 g, 6h). Legionary type. Patrae(?) mint. Praetorian galley right; ANT • Aug above, iii • uir • r • p • C below / Aquila between two signa; LeG xi across field. Crawford 544/25; CRI 362; Sydenham 1229; RSC 39. Toned, with some black deposits around devices, reverse a tad off-center. Good VF. $1250 Legio XI, later gaining the epithet Claudia Pia Fidelis, was another legion of Caesarian foundation, serving with him in Gaul from 58 BC and through the subsequent civil war, until its first disbandment in 45 BC. Like several other of Caesar’s legions, it was reconstituted by by the Triumvirs circa 43 BC; there were apparently two Legio XIs, one each serving Octavian and Antony, in the Actium campaign of 32-30 BC, after which they are either amalgamated or one was disbanded. Legio XI remained in the Balkans until the Varian disaster of AD 9, when it was shifted from to Dalmatia to shore up the endangered frontier. Along with its sister Legio VII, it became embroiled in a plot against Claudius in AD 42, but ultimately remained loyal to him and thus won the epithet Claudia Pia Fidelis. In AD 69 it staged a lightning invasion of Italy in support of Vespasian and won the Second Battle of Bedriacum over the legions of Vitellius. For some decades thereafter it was based at Vindonissa (modern Windisch) in upper Germany before settling into a new camp at Durostorum (modern Silistra, Bulgaria) circa AD 106. It remained steadfastly loyal to Gallienus in the chaotic mid third century AD. It was still at Durostorum circa AD 400, as recorded in the Notatia Dignitatum. Unusually for a Caesarian legion, its symbol was not a bull, but the sea god Neptune.

Well Centered XVII Classicae

578304. The Triumvirs. Mark Antony. Autumn 32-spring 31 BC. AR Denarius (18mm, 3.63 g, 6h). Legionary type. Patrae(?) mint. Praetorian galley right; ANT • Aug above, iii • uir • r • p • C below / Aquila between two signa; LeG xuii • CLAÍÍiCAe above. Crawford 544/10; CRI 362; Sydenham 1229; RSC 39. Lightly toned. VF. Well centered on a round flan, with complete legends, and decidedly rare thus. $3450 An interesting variation from other legionary denarii issued under Mark Antony, the seventeenth also bore the cognomen Classicae, indicating that they held special naval duties within the military (a Roman naval fleet was called a classis). This legion was disbanded after the battle of Actium by the victor, Octavian, who had another Legio XVII under his command that continued into imperial service. Decades later, this would be one of three legions utterly destroyed by a German tribal alliance in the Battle of the Teutoburg Forest. The number was never reused.

570444. The Triumvirs. Octavian. Spring-early summer 36 BC. AR Denarius (17mm, 3.93 g, 5h). Southern or central Italian mint. Bare head right, wearing slight beard; [iÂp • CAe]ÍAr Diui • F • iii • uir • iTer • r • p • C around / Temple of Divus Julius: statue of Julius Caesar, holding lituus, within tetrastyle temple set on podium; DiuO iuL on architrave, star within pediment, figures along roof line; lighted altar to left; COÍ • iTer • eT • Ter • DeÍig around. Crawford 540/2; CRI 315; Sydenham 1338; RSC 90 (Augustus); RBW 1829. Lightly toned, a few light marks, obverse slightly off center. VF. $1750 Ex Lampasas Collection; John L. Cowan Collection (Classical Numismatic Group Electronic Auction 469, 3 June 2020), lot 357; Pegasi Auction XXV (8 November 2011), lot 435. This is the last issue of Octavian to feature him wearing a slight beard. This was somewhat against Roman fashion conventions of the time, which favored clean-shaven men. All three Triumvirs appeared on their first coins sporting stubbly chins, almost certainly representing a “beard of mourning” for the slain dictator Julius Caesar. But by 36 BC the Ides of March was eight years in the past, so Octavian’s chin growth on this coin might represent the“campaign beard” of a general setting off for war. Hostilities were soon to commence against the last Pompeian, Sextus Pompey, so this explanation is plausible. However, it is also likely Octavian kept his whiskers to make him look more mature, and to partly conceal the reality that he was much the junior partner in the Triumvirate in terms of age, if not actual power.

ROMAN IMPERIAL

576422. Augustus. 27 BC-AD 14. AR Denarius (19mm, 3.89 g, 6h). Uncertain Spanish mint (Colonia Patricia?). Struck circa 18 BC. CAESA[RI A]VGVSTO, laureate head right / S•P Q•R across field, temple of Mars Ultor: round-domed, tetrastyle temple set on podium of three steps; within is a chariot right, carrying an aquila and a miniature quadriga. RIC I 119; RSC 279; BMCRE 385; FFC 196 (this coin). Attractive deep cabinet tone. EF. $7750 Ex Alba Longa Collection (Aureo & Calico 339, 14 November 2019), lot 1292.

571372. Augustus. 27 BC-AD 14. AR Denarius (19mm, 3.86 g, 6h). Uncertain Spanish mint (Tarraco?). Struck circa 19 BC. CAESAR AVGVSTVS, bare head right / SIGNIS to left, RECEPTIS to right, Mars, helmeted, naked except for chlamys behind, standing left, head right, holding aquila in right hand and signa cradled in left. RIC I 82a; RSC 259; BMCRE 414 = BMCRR Rome 4405; BN 1118-9. Lightly toned, obverse slightly off center. EF. Outstanding portrait. $5750 Ex August Voirol Collection (Münzen und Medaillen AG 38, 7 December 1968), lot 333; Prince Waldeck Collection (Münzhandlung Basel 3, 4 March 1935), lot 1538.

578305. Augustus. 27 BC-AD 14. AR Denarius (19mm, 3.84 g). Lugdunum (Lyon) mint. Struck 15 BC. ΛVGVSTVS DIVI F, bare head right / IMP X across field, ΛCT in exergue, Apollo Citharoedus of Actium, wearing long drapery, standing facing, head left, holding plectrum in right hand and lyre in left. RIC I 171a; Lyon 28; RSC 144. Iridescent tone, light scratches and minor flan flaw on obverse. Near EF. $2850 Ex Gorny & Mosch 151 (9 October 2006), lot 390.

571375. Tiberius. AD 14-37. Æ As (26.5mm, 10.68 g, 7h). Rome mint. Struck AD 35-36. TI CAESAR DIVI AVG F AVGVST IMP VIII, laureate head left / PONTIF MAX TR POT XXXVII, rudder placed vertically across banded globe; small globe at base of rudder; S C flanking. RIC I 58; BMCRE 117. Dark green patina, lightly smoothed in obverse fields. Near EF. $2250 Ex Numismatica Ars Classica 54 (24 March 2010), lot 318.

Exceptional Julio-Claudian Portraiture

572504

571702

567719

572504. Gaius (Caligula), with Divus Augustus. AD 37-41. AR Denarius (3.44 g). Lugdunum (Lyon) mint. Struck AD 37. C CΛESΛR ΛVG GERM P M TR POT COS, bare head of Gaius (Caligula) right / Radiate head of Divus Augustus right, between two six-pointed stars. RIC I 2; Lyon 157; RSC 11. Attractively toned, a few old marks. Good VF. Fantastic portraits. $12,500 Ex Peus 340 (30 April 1994), lot 798.

571702. Claudius. AD 41-54. AR Denarius (19mm, 3.78 g, 7h). Rome mint. Struck AD 49-50. TI CLAVD CAESAR • AVG P • M •TR • P • VIIII • IMP • XVI, laureate head right / PACI AVGVSTAE, Pax-Nemesis advancing right, holding out fold of drapery below chin, and holding winged caduceus, pointing down at erect snake, gliding right. RIC I 47; von Kaenel Type 28; RSC 61; BMCRE 52-3; BN –. Deeply toned. EF. Attractive portrait. Well struck from dies of exemplary style. $22,500 Ex Morris Collection (Heritage 3071, 6 January 2019), lot 32038; Classical Numismatic Group 28 (8 December 1993), lot 255; Numismatic Fine Arts XXV (29 November 1990), lot 343; Art Monaco (22 April 1977), lot 55. Nemesis is the goddess who enacts divine retribution on those who display hubris, or arrogance before the gods. By Roman times she is usually depicted as a winged woman holding out a fold of her garment before her, expressing aversion by spitting upon her bosom (supposedly humans could avoid her anger by making the same gesture). From early in his reign, Claudius employed on his coins a version of Nemesis sharing some features with Pax (Peace) along with the legend PACI AVGVSTAE (”the Emperor’s peace”). Claudius’s Nemisis coinage starts in AD 43 and probably refers to his invasion and subsequent conquest of Britain, with Rome meting out “divine retribution” on the arrogant British tribes. “The Emperor’s peace” presumably refers to Britannia being brought within the Pax Romana, albeit by force of arms. Nine decades later Hadrian would employ a similar reverse as a reference to the Bar Kochba conflict.

567719. Claudius. AD 41-54. AR Denarius (17.5mm, 3.67 g, 11h). Lugdunum (Lyon) mint. Struck AD 50-51. TI CLAVD CAESAR AVG P M TR P X P P IMP XVIII, S P Q R/ P P/ OB C S in three lines within oak wreath. RIC I 60; von Kaenel Type 38 (unlisted dies); RSC 94; BMCRE p. 173, note 60; BN –. Attractively toned, some verdigris, minor flan flaw and a few light scratches on obverse, light test cut on edge. Good VF. Very rare, with a pleasing portrait. $7500 Ex Peter J. Merani Collection; Coin Galleries (17 July 1991), lot 384.

573538. Claudius. AD 41-54. Æ As (30mm, 9.15 g, 7h). Rome mint. Struck AD 42-43. TI CLAVDIVS CAESAR AVG P M TR P IMP P P, bare head left / LIBERTAS AVGVSTA, Libertas, draped, standing right, holding pileus in left hand and extending right; S C across field. RIC I 113; von Kaenel Type 77; BMCRE 204. Attractive green patina, lightly smoothed. Near EF. $1475 Ex Leu Web Auction 12 (30 May 2020), lot 1066.

572467. Nero. AD 54-68. Æ Sestertius (35mm, 25.14 g, 6h). Rome mint. Struck AD 64-66. NERO CLAVDIVS CAESAR AVG GERM P M TR P IMP P P, laureate bust right, wearing aegis / Nero, bareheaded, wearing cuirass and short tunic, on horse prancing right, carrying spear in rest in right hand; to left, a soldier also on horseback, carrying vexillum in right hand sloped over shoulder; DECURSIO in exergue, S C across upper field. RIC I 170; WCN 108. Dark patina, some smoothing. Near EF. $7750 Ex Heinrich Peter Rudolf Collection; Hirsch 272 (4 May 2011), lot 512.

572460. Nero. AD 54-68. Æ Sestertius (34.5mm, 26.04 g, 6h). Rome mint. Struck circa AD 64. NERO CLAVDIVS CAESAR AVG GER P M TR P IMP P P, laureate head left / DECVRSIO, Nero, in military dress, on horseback riding right, holding couched spear, soldier on foot behind; before him, a second soldier advancing right and looking back, holding signum, S - C to either side. RIC I 175; WCN 133. Dark green patina, some pitting and smoothing. VF. Rare variety with Nero riding among infantry soldiers . $4250 Ex Günther Schlüter Collection (chairman of the German Numismatic Society 1975-1977), purchased from Spink, March 1962.

Mars the Avenger

567720. Civil War. AD 68-69. AR Denarius (17.5mm, 3.05 g, 6h). Uncertain mint in Gaul. MARS VLTOR, Mars, naked but for helmet, advancing right, brandishing javelin in right hand and holding round shield in left; parazonium at left side / S P • Q R within oak wreath. RIC I 54 var. (obv. legend placement); AM 71; RSC 414; BMCRE 23-4; BN 22-3. Toned, a few surface marks and light scratches. VF. Very rare. $6750 Ex Peter J. Merani Collection; Viggo Collection (Triton XXII, 8 January 2019), lot 1031; Aureo & Calicó 241 (8 February 2012), lot 33. The civil wars at the end of Nero’s reign began with the revolt of the governor of Gallia Lugdunensis, Gaius Julius Vindex, probably around the beginning of March of AD 68. Although he had no Roman legionaries under his command, Vindex had a sizable force of native auxiliary troops, leading Nero to accuse him of plotting to break Gaul free from Rome. Vindex rejected this claim, and instead offered to support Servius Sulpicius Galba, a Roman aristocrat and governor of Spain, as the next emperor. But Lucius Verginius Rufus, governor of Upper Germany, remained loyal to Nero and marched into Gaul at the head of a veteran force of legionaries. The two armies clashed at Vesontio in May of AD 68, and Vindex’s auxiliary army was crushed. Vindex either died in battle or took his own life at its conclusion. In the meantime, however, Nero’s mental state had deteriorated to the point where, on 9 June, he committed suicide, thus making the battle for Gaul a tragically unnecessary episode. Coinage, of course, was needed during these precarious months of revolt and without an emperor to strike in the name of (save for that in honor Divus Augustus) the coinage was struck with messages suiting the political climate. The coinage under Vindex, including this piece, possesses a martial air that underscores the militant nature of his revolt. Here, “Mars the Avenger” strides forth to battle Nero’s regime, while the reverse claims to be acting in the name of Senatus Populesque Romanus, the Senate and People of Rome.

572469. Galba. AD 68-69. AR Denarius (20mm, 3.55 g, 5h). Rome mint. Struck circa July AD 68-January 69. IMP SER [GALB]A AVG, bare head right / S P Q R/ OB/ C S in three lines within oak wreath. RIC I 167; RSC 287; BMCRE 34 corr. (not laureate); BN 76-7. Lightly toned with traces of luster. Good VF. $4750 Ex Heinrich Peter Rudolf Collection; Künker FPL 172 (August 2004), no. 75.

539247. Galba. AD 68-69. AR Denarius (18mm, 3.51 g, 6h). Rome mint. Struck circa July AD 68-January AD 69. IMP SER GALBA CAESAR AVG P M, laureate head right / SALVS GEN HVMANI, Salus standing left, right foot on globe, holding rudder and sacrificing from patera over lighted and garlanded altar to left . RIC I 232; RSC 240. Iridescent tone, some faint hairlines, and a trace of die rust on obverse. Good VF. Wonderful portrait. $6500 Ex CNG Inventory 700995 (June 1997).

572459. Galba. AD 68-69. Æ Sestertius (37mm, 27.20 g, 7h). Rome mint. Struck circa October AD 68. SER GALBA • IMP • CAESAR • AVG • TR • P, laureate and draped bust right / LIBERTAS PVBLICA, Libertas standing left, holding pileus and vindicta; S C across field. RIC I 388; ACG 183-4. Dark green patina, some light roughness and smoothing. Good VF. Excellent high-relief portrait. $6250

572468. Galba. AD 68-69. Æ Sestertius (35.5mm, 24.83 g, 6h). Rome mint. Struck circa October AD 68. SER GALBA • IMP • CAESAR AVG TR P •, laureate and draped bust right / S P Q R/O B/CIV SER in three lines within oak-wreath. RIC I 405; ACG 186 (A94/P138). Dark brown patina, a hint of smoothing. Good VF. Portrait of fine style. $6250 Ex Heinrich Peter Rudolf Collection; Hirsch Auktion 269 (23 September 2010), lot 2722.

From the Este Collection – Provenanced to 1538

577338. Vitellius. AD 69. AV Aureus (18mm, 7.39 g, 6h). Tarraco mint. Struck circa January-June. Λ VITELLIVS IMP GERMΛN, laureate bust of Vitellius left, globe at point of neck, a palm frond in front / VICTORIΛ ΛVGVSTI, Victory, draped, flying left and holding shield inscribed SP/QR in two lines. RIC I 35; Calicó 576 (this coin illustrated); Biaggi 284 (this coin); BMCRE 91 var. (lacking palm frond); BN 12 var. (same); Hunter 51; Mazzini –. Warm red tone, with a deeply toned silver Este countermark behind bust, edges lightly rounded from historical mounting (as was fashionable in the 16th century for display purposes, and is often evident on coins with this pedigree). VF. Extremely rare and with a remarkable pedigree. $97,500 From the Kagan Collection of Roman Coins. Exhibited at the Grolier Club, New York, 2001 (Cunnally, John., Kagan, Jonathan & Scher, Stephen. Numismatics in the Age of Grolier: An Exhibition at the Grolier Club. New York, 2001. Pp. 26-27). Ex Numismatic Fine Arts XXXIII (3 May 1994), lot 448; Numismatic Fine Arts XXX (8 December 1992), lot 226; Nelson Bunker Hunt Collection (Part II, Sotheby’s, 21 June 1990), lot 695; Leo Biaggi de Blasys Collection (Purchased en bloc by Bank Leu, Zurich, 1978), no. 284; Henry Platt-Hall Collection (Part II, Glendining & Co., 16 November 1950), lot 1142; Geheimrat von Kaufmann Collection (Hamburger 89, 27 May 1929), lot 839; Este Collection, (Calcagnini, Celio. Aureorum numismatum Illustrissimi Herculis Secundi, Ducis Ferrariae Quarti, elenchus. Ferrara, 1538). For many centuries, numismatists and scholars have debated the attribution of the distinctive eagle collector’s mark, found on the obverse of a small number of predominantly Greek and Roman coins. Attribution has been generally divided between two Italian noble families - the Gonzaga family, rulers of Mantua, a city which proclaims itself as the birthplace of Virgil, and the Este family, a ruling family from the city of Ferrara in northern Italy who could trace their ancestry back to the 10th century. It was under Alfonso d’Este, Duke of Ferrara (1476–1534) that the original Este collection was formed in the early 16th century. Over the next hundred years, the collection was added to as well as divided and partially dispersed in order to raise funds when the family found themselves in financial difficulties or required funding for military or political campaigns. At various points, parts of the original collection found their way, via various intermediaries, into the hands of other noble families, including, perhaps unknowingly, the Gonzaga family. However, with scant records of the exact transactions which took place, tracing a continual and exact line of ownership for individual items is tremendously difficult. As such, one question which has remained a source of debate is at which point these coins acquired the now famous countermark, or aquilleta, and to which family it corresponds. What we do know is that of the 12,000–15,000 coins which at one time constituted the collection in its entirety, only around 1,500 were chosen to bear the eagle countermark. Ezechiel Spanheim in his 1717 work Dissertationes de praestantia et usu numismatum antiquorum, first asserted that the mark belonged to the Gonzaga family. However, less than fifteen years later in his 1731 Verona Illustrata, the renowned polymath Scippione Maffei attributed it to the Este family, as did Eckhel in a brief allusion to the countermark in his 1779 work, Catalogus musei Caesarei Vindobonensis. The debate has rumbled on since but today, the general consensus is that both Maffei and Eckhel were correct and that this small enigmatic eagle does in fact represent the mark of the Este family. With that in mind it is all the more remarkable that the earliest record of the Este collection is the manuscript catalogue compiled between 1538–41 by the Italian humanist and diplomat Celio Calcagnini (1479–1541), who, previously under the employ of Cardinal Ippolito d’Este, brother of Alfonso, had dedicated himself to classical studies upon the Cardinal’s death in 1520. His catalogue, Aureorum numismatum Illustrissimi Herculis Secundi, Ducis Ferrariae Quarti, elenchus, provides a list of just over 760 gold coins held in the Este collection at the time. Included therein is one single gold coin of Vitellius, with Victory on the reverse; “Victoris stans alata, vestibus ad genua undantibus, orbem dextra tenet. In ambitu VICTORIA AVGSTI.” With no other coins issued by Vitellius present in the collection at this time, and no aurei with this reverse type, it is clear that this coin is the same Vitellius aureus catalogued by Calcagnini in his manuscript catalogue, and at some point, accorded the distinction of the Este family countermark. Sadly, exactly when and under what circumstances the coin was separated from the Este collection is unknown, as is its location for almost the next four hundred years. We do know, that the next time it appeared in the public domain was in the sale of notable German art collector and Privy Councillor, Richard von Kaufmann (1849–1908), whose collection was sold posthumously in Hamburger Auction 89, in May 1929. Subsequent to that, the coin found its way into the collection of English collector Henry Platt-Hall, whose sale of Roman coins in 1950 was, according to the British Museum, “one of the last great collections of Roman coins in this country”. From there it was acquired by Swiss sugar magnate and businessman Leo Biaggi de Blasys, whose remarkable and unrivalled collection of Roman gold coins needs no further commentary. Since that time, the coin has resided in the United States, first in the collection of Nelson Bunker Hunt, whose coins were sold through the now famous series of Sotheby’s catalogues in the 1990’s, before going through two further Numismatic Fine Arts sales in 1992 and 1994, and finally, featuring in the ‘Numismatics in the Age of Grolier’ exhibition at the Grolier Club in 2001. Today, there are only 159 aurei bearing the silver eagle of the Este family known, and of those, only four in private hands – three Republican issues, and this Vitellius aureus, the sole aureus of Vitellius in the original Este collection, and now the only Roman Imperial aureus available in private hands to bear the noble countermark of one of the first, great ancestral collections of ancient coins, and to have a provenance which can be traced directly back to the Este family’s original collection of 1538. The earliest indisputable provenance in existence for any ancient coin, providing a direct link to one of the most powerful families in Italy, at the very height of the Italian high renaissance.

578306. Titus. AD 79-81. AR Denarius (19mm, 3.48 g, 5h). Rome mint. Struck January-June AD 80. IMP TITVS CAES VESPASIAN AVG P M, laureate head right / TR P IX IMP XV COS VIII P P, Pulvinar (throne) of Jupiter and Juno: square seat, draped, with tassels; triangular frame on which are six vertical bars and one palmette. RIC II.1 124; RSC 313a. Patches of iridescent tone with golden highlights. EF. $1850

577805. Titus. AD 79-81. Æ As (29mm, 10.45 g, 6h). Rome mint. Struck AD 80-81. IMP • T CAES VESP AVG P • M • TR • P COS VIII, laureate head left / VICTOR IΛ AVGVST, Victory, draped, advancing right on prow, holding palm frond in left hand over left shoulder and holding up wreath in right hand; S C across field. RIC II.1 249; BMCRE 217 var. (head right); BN 223. Red-brown patina, small areas of light roughness on reverse. EF. Handsome portrait. $3750 Ex Jack A. Frazer Collection; Sternberg XXVIII (30 October 1995), lot 59; August Voirol Collection (Münzen und Medaillen AG 38, 7 December 1968), lot 393; Prince Waldeck Collection (Münzhandlung Basel 3, 4 March 1935), lot 271.

576474. Trajan. AD 98-117. Æ Sestertius (34.5mm, 23.91 g, 6h). Rome mint. Struck AD 101-102. IMP CAES NERVA TRAIAN AVG GERM P M, laureate bust right, slight drapery / TR POT COS IIII P P, Pax seated left, holding olive branch and scepter; S C in exergue. RIC II 432 var. (bust type); Woytek 107b; Banti 337. Glossy green patina, very minor smoothing. EF. Boldly struck, with a magnificent portrait. $45,000 When Trajan entered his fourth consulship in AD 101, the Roman Empire seemed securely at peace, as celebrated by the figure of Pax on the reverse of his attractive sestertius. These allusions were possibly a ruse, however, as Trajan was already planning a massive campaign against the Dacian King Decebalus, who had humiliated Roman armies on two occasions during Domitian’s reign.

Hadrian Restores His Homeland

571376. Hadrian. AD 117-138. AR Denarius (18mm, 3.38 g, 6h). “Travel series” issue (“Provinces cycle”) – Restitutor type. Rome mint. Struck circa AD 130-133. HADRIANVS AVG COS III P P, laureate head right / RESTITVTORI HISPANIAE, Hadrian standing left, holding volumen, about to raise Hispania who is kneeling right, holding a branch; rabbit between them. RIC II.3 1580; RSC 1260. Lightly toned, a few minor marks. Near EF. Struck from dies of fine style. $2475 Ex Kűnker 295 (15 September 2017), lot 828. Hadrian is often called a Spaniard, although some historians maintain he was born at Rome. His family, the Aelii, had risen to prominence in Italica, a city in Roman Spain near modern Seville, centuries before. Hadrian spent much of his youth on family estates in Baetica and apparently enjoyed the aristocratic lifestyle there. But upon entering public life, his Spanish origins became something of an embarrassment to him. His peers laughed at his Latin, inflected as it was with a provincial Spanish accent. He responded by working hard on his oratory and pronunciation to erase any hint of provincial origins. Upon becoming Emperor, Hadrian never felt comfortable in Rome and spent most of his 21-year reign traveling, eventually visiting every province of the Roman Empire. This denarius of circa AD 134-138 recalls his visit to his homeland in AD 122-123, where he financed the restoration of Tarraco’s great temple of Divus Augustus. The benefaction is metaphorically depicted by showing him raising a kneeling female figure representing Hispania to her feet, along with the legend “Restorer of Spain.”

572472. Hadrian. AD 117-138. Æ Sestertius (33mm, 26.69 g, 12h). “Travel series” issue (“Provinces cycle”) – The province alone. Rome mint. Struck circa AD 134-138. HADRIANVS AVG COS III P P, laureate and draped bust right / HISPANIA, Hispania reclining left, holding branch and resting elbow on rock; to left, rabbit right, S C below. RIC II.3, 1664; RIC II 851; Banti 448. Brown patina. VF. Lovely reverse. $2975 Ex Schweizerische Kreditanstalt 8 (27 October 1987), lot 1160.

577812. Marcus Aurelius. AD 161-180. AR Denarius (18mm, 3.19 g, 12h). Rome mint. Struck AD 162. IMP M ΛVR ΛNTONINVS ΛVG, bare head right / CONCORD ΛVG TR P XVI, COS III in exergue, Concordia, draped, seated left on low seat, holding patera in extended right hand and resting left arm on statuette of Spes; cornucopia below seat. RIC III 35; MIR 18, 32-4/10; RSC 35. Lustrous with light toning at periphery. Superb EF. $1450

570446. Marcus Aurelius. AD 161-180. AR Denarius (16.5mm, 3.55 g, 12h). Rome mint. Struck AD 163. IMP M ANTONINVS AVG, bare head right / CONCORD AVG TR P XVII, COS III in exergue, Concordia seated left, holding patera, resting elbow on statuette of Spes; cornucopia under seat. RIC III 59; MIR 18, 49-4/10; RSC 37. Cabinet toning. Near EF. Bold portrait. $875 Ex Lampasas Collection (Classical Numismatic Group Electronic Auction 409, 8 November 2017), lot 617.

576461. Lucius Verus. AD 161-169. AR Denarius (18mm, 3.59 g, 6h). Rome mint. Struck AD 163. IMP L VERVS AVG, bare head right / PROV DEOR TR P III COS II, Providentia standing left, holding globe and cornucopia. RIC III 491 (Aurelius); MIR 18, 56-14/10; RSC 156. Lustrous with a hint of toning. EF. $1250

Exceptional ‘Divi’ Portrait

578307. Divus Commodus. Died AD 192. AR Antoninianus (21mm, 3.27 g, 1h). Commemorative issue. Rome mint, 5th officina. 8th emission of Trajan Decius, mid AD 251. DIVO COMMODO, radiate head right / CONSECRATIO, lighted altar. RIC IV 94 (Decius); RSC 1010. Light tone, a little softly struck on reverse. EF. Excellent portrait. $875 Ex Lanz 97 (22 May 2000), lot 674. Struck at the midway point of the third century AD, the “Imperial Divi” series of silver antoniniani portrayed a selection of deified emperors from Rome’s past who were still being venerated as heroes and gods. Exactly who struck this series, however, remains mysterious, as the coins do not name the issuing emperor in the manner of earlier “restitution” issues. In RIC IV Part II (1949), Harold Mattingly attributed the ‘Divus’ types to Trajan Decius (AD 249-251), specifically to the mint at Milan. Via a study of die-linkage, K.J.J. Elks has since refuted Mattingly’s mint attribution, placing the ‘Divi’ series in the last issue of Decius struck at Rome (see NumChron 1972, pp. 111-115 and pls. 14-15). The attribution to Decius has also been challenged by new theories placing the series with Philip I (AD 244-249) or Trebonianus Gallus (AD 251-253). On stylistic, metallurgical and hoard find grounds, however, Decius is still the most likely issuer. Intriguingly, not all deified Caesars are honored: The series lacks Julius Caesar, Claudius, Lucius Verus, Pertinax and Caracalla, all of whom had been raised to Olympus by a vote of the Senate. To further confuse matters, the series does include one emperor who never seems to have been “officially” deified, Severus Alexander, although it is likely our surviving records are incomplete in this instance. The most curious inclusion is Commodus, a widely reviled ruler whose deification by Septimius Severus was widely regarded as a sham, if senatorial historians are to be believed. The Imperial Divi series does show the engravers of the Rome mint were capable of artistic and versatile die work in recreating the portraits of past emperors. The portrait of Commodus on this example is particularly fine, easily the equal of any portrait produced during that extravagant and vain ruler’s lifetime.

570447. Septimius Severus. AD 193-211. AR Denarius (18.5mm, 3.37 g, 12h). ‘New style’. Laodicea ad Mare mint. Struck AD 198-202. L SEPT SEV AVG IMP XI PART MAX, laureate head right / ANNONA E AVGG, Annona standing left, holding grain ears and cornucopia, resting foot on prow. RIC IV 501; BMCRE 652; RSC 39. Lustrous with a hint of toning. EF. $695 Ex Richard McAlee Collection.

570448. Julia Domna. Augusta, AD 193-217. AR Denarius (20mm, 3.97 g, 2h). Laodicea ad Mare mint. Struck under Septimius Severus, AD 200. IVLIA AVGVSTA, draped bust right / SAECVLI FELICITAS, Isis standing right, left foot on prow, holding the infant Horus; to left, altar, against which rests a rudder. RIC IV 645 (Septimius); RSC 174. Attractive toning with hints of iridescence, traces of deposits on reverse. EF. $675 Ex Classical Numismatic Group Electronic Auction 447 (3 July 2019), lot 482.

578309. Caracalla. AD 198-217. AR Denarius (18.5mm, 3.13 g). Rome mint. Struck AD 214. ANTONINVS PIVS AVG GERM, laureate and bearded head right / LIBERAL AVG VIIII, Liberalitas standing left, holding abacus and cornucopia. RIC IV 302; RSC 139. Sharply struck with considerable luster around devices. EF. Attractive portrait style. $975

572474. Geta. AD 209-211. Æ Sestertius (31mm, 22.46 g, 12h). Rome mint. Struck AD 210-211. P SEPTIMIVS GETA PIVS AVG BRIT, laureate head right / LIBERALITAS AVGG [VI ET V], S C in exergue, Geta and Caracalla seated left on platform, Liberalitas standing before holding abacus and cornucopia, citizen below, on steps of platform. RIC IV 185a; Banti 25. Brown patina, roughness and porosity, a few scratches. Good VF. Rare. $3950 Ex Günther Schlüter (Chairman of the German Numismatic Society from 1975-77), acquired from “Schlagowsky,” March 1965.

567718. Diadumenian. As Caesar, AD 217-218. AR Denarius (20mm, 3.32 g, 12h). Rome mint. 3rd emission of Macrinus, AD 218. M OPEL ANT DIADVMENIAN CAES, bareheaded, draped, and cuirassed bust right / SPES PV BLICA, Spes advancing left, holding flower and raising hem of skirt. RIC IV 117; Clay Issue 3; RSC 21b. Iridescent toning. Near EF. Bold portrait. $1150

578310. Julia Paula. Augusta, AD 219-220. AR Denarius (18mm, 2.63 g, 5h). Rome mint. Struck under Elagabalus. IVLIA PAVLA AVG, draped bust right / CONCORDIA AVGG, Concordia seated left on curule chair, holding patera and double cornucopia. RIC IV 216 var. (Concordia seated on throne); Thirion 451; RSC 16a. Attractive cabinet tone. Choice EF. $775

578311. Severus Alexander. AD 222-235. Æ Sestertius (31mm, 17.05 g). Rome mint. 15th emission, AD 232. IMP SEV ALE XANDER AVG, laureate bust right, slight drapery on left shoulder / PM TR P V IIII COS III P P, S C across field, Sol standing left, raising hand and holding whip. RIC IV 525; cf. BMCRE 873 (As); Banti 113. Lovely pale apple-green patina. Good VF. $775

Deified, But When?

578313. Divus Severus Alexander. Died AD 235. AR Antoninianus (21.5mm, 3.31 g, 7h). Rome mint, 6th officina. 8th emission of Trajan Decius, mid AD 251. DIVO ALEXANDRO, radiate bust right, with slight drapery / CONSECRATIO, eagle standing left, with wings spread. RIC IV 97 (Trajan Decius); RSC 599. Lustrous, a little weakly struck on reverse. EF. $875 No official records survive stating that Severus Alexander was ever deified by the Roman Senate, making his inclusion in the ‘Divi’ series of coins struck by Trajan Decius circa AD 251 rather problematic. Still, the coin type’s existence points to a deification that somehow went unrecorded. The Scriptores Historia Augusta is contradictory on the issue; the title of his biography (supposedly by Aelius Lampridius) does not call him deified, as it does with other rulers so honored, but one passage does assert that “the Senate raised him to the ranks of the gods ” (book 63, verse 3). It provides no clue, however, when this occurred. Alexander was overthrown in a military coup by Maximinus I Thrax, who would certainly not have sought deification for his predecessor - indeed some sources claim Maximinus ordered a damnatio memoriae against him. This was likely revoked as part of the Senate’s revolt against Maximinus during the Year of the Six Emperors in AD 238 (Alexander had been notably deferential to the Senate). The deification of Alexander could plausibly be assigned to the Senatorial rulers Balbinus and Pupienus, or the mild Gordian III (AD 238-244). By AD 251 it would have been widely known, and the favorable view of his reign carried over into subsequent centuries.

578314. Maximinus I. AD 235-238. AR Denarius (20mm, 3.19 g, 2). Rome mint. 2nd emission, AD 236. IMP MAXIMINVS PIVS AVG, laureate, draped, and cuirassed bust right / PAX AVGVSTI, Pax standing left, holding olive branch and scepter. RIC IV 12; BMCRE 70-1; RSC 31a. Lightly toned with significant underlying luster. Superb EF. Bold portrait. $675

566455. Pupienus. AD 238. AR Denarius (20mm, 3.31 g, 1h). Rome mint. 1st emission. IMP C M CLOD PVPIENVS AVG, laureate, draped, and cuirassed bust right / CONCORDIA AVGG, Concordia seated left, holding patera and double cornucopia. RIC IV 1; RSC 6; BMCRE 42. Lightly toned, struck slightly off center. EF. $1250 Marcus Clodius Pupienus Maximus, who ruled jointly with Balbinus during the “Year of the Six Emperors” in AD 238, was probably born in the AD 160s. His beginnings were humble, but by AD 217 he had risen to the consulship and he served a second time in AD 234. He became Urban Prefect of Rome in the late 230s and cracked down harshly on criminals and vagrants. Along with the rest of the Senate, he fully supported the rebellion of Gordian I and II against the brutal regime of Maximinus I in March of AD 238. When the Gordians came to grief scarcely 21 days after their acclamation, the Senate appointed Pupienus and another senator, Balbinus, as joint emperors. The two men were a study in contrasts, with Pupienus a lean, stern disciplinarian and Balbinus a well-fed, easygoing aristocrat. They also detested one another. Due to his severity as Urban Prefect, Pupienus’s elevation was unpopular among the masses of Rome, who forced the Senate to name the 13-year-old nephew of Gordian II, Gordian III, as Caesar. Pupienus proceeded to northern Italy to raise troops against Maximinus, but he soon learned that the dreaded Maximinus was dead: His own troops had mutinied and murdered him. Thanking the gods for their miraculous intervention, Pupienus proceeded back to Rome amid general rejoicing. Balbinus, however, greatly resented his partner’s enhanced prestige and feared Pupienus’s loyal German bodyguards. The two emperors were still bickering when, in early July, a detachment of Praetorians, who had disliked the Senatorial emperors from the outset, stormed the palace and murdered them. So ended the Senate’s last real chance to name its own rulers. Despite reigning about 99 days, the Senatorial emperors produced coins of outstanding workmanship. This remarkable silver denarius bears a lifelike portrait of Pupienus wearing a rather scruffy beard. The reverse legend evokes the “harmony of the emperors,” a concept which proved elusive and, in the end, ironic.

566381. Otacilia Severa. Augusta, AD 244-249. Æ Sestertius (28mm, 18.15 g, 2h). Rome mint, 4th officina. 5th emission of Philip I, AD 246. MARCIA OTACIL SEVERA AVG, draped bust right, wearing stephane / CONCORDIA AVGG, S C in exergue, Concordia seated left, holding patera and double cornucopia. RIC IV 203a (Philip I); Banti 4. Brown patina, traces of double striking. Good VF. Attractive portrait. $2250 Marcia Otacilia Severa was born into a senatorial family early in the third century AD. In about AD 234 she married Marcus Julius Philippus, a Praetorian officer of Arabic descent. Philip rose through the ranks and by AD 244 had become Praetorian Prefect, whereupon, during an arduous campaign against the Persians, he orchestrated a coup against the weak boy Emperor Gordian III and seized the throne for himself. Upon returning to Rome, Philip raised Otacilia to the title of Augusta and appointed their eldest son, Philip II, as Caesar. Tradition holds that Otacilia favored the Christians, or was a Christian herself, based on the relative toleration enjoyed by the new faith during their five-year reign, but her coinage honors the traditional Roman deities.

576423. Diocletian. AD 284-305. AR Argenteus (18mm, 3.34 g, 6h). Siscia mint. Struck circa AD 294. DIOCLETI ANVS AVG, laureate head right / VIRTVS MILITVM, four tetrarchs sacrificing over tripod before city enclosure with eight turrets. RIC VI 32a, 43a, 46a; Jeločnik 3a; RSC 516†m. Beautiful iridescent toning. EF. $2750 Ex Provence Collection (Triton XXIII, 14 January 2020), lot 847.

‘Eyes To God’ Siliqua

567728. Constantine II. AD 337-340. AR Siliqua (20mm, 2.67 g, 12h). Constantinople mint, 5th officina. Rosette-diademed head right, eyes upraised / CONSTAN TI NVS AVGVSTVS, Victory, winged and draped, advancing left, holding wreath in outstretched right hand and palm frond in left; C•Є. RIC VIII 15; RSC 70a. A hint of porosity, some light scratches, tiny field mark on reverse. Good VF. $4500 Ex Weise Collection; CNG inventory 182286 (January 2003). This silver siliqua of Constantine II is closely patterned upon the so-called “eyes to God” coinage of his father, Constantine I “the Great,” who had introduced the new style in AD 324. This new depiction showed the emperor wearing a Hellenistic diadem in place of the old Roman laurel wreath, and with his headed tilted back and eyes uplifted toward the heavens. The imagery seems to have been intentionally ambiguous, and could be viewed by various groups within the empire in the context of their own hopes and aspirations. Christians interpreted it as the culmination of God’s plan to defeat the pagans and create a new Christian Roman Empire. Eusebius, in his Vita Constantini (IV.15), specifically mentions these coins as an indication of Constantine’s piety: “... he had his own portrait so depicted on the gold coinage that he appeared to look upwards in the manner of one reaching out to God in prayer.” Non-Christians could also look to the similarities to the coins of the Hellenistic kings, whose diademed heads were often shown with similar upraised gaze.

BYZANTINE

573544. Anastasius I. 491-518. AV Solidus (19mm, 4.49 g, 6h). Constantinople mint, 7th officina. Struck 492-507. D N ANASTA SIVS P P AVC, helmeted and cuirassed bust facing slightly right, holding spear over shoulder and shield / VICTORI A AVCCC, Victory standing left, holding long, jeweled cross; star to right; Z//CONOB. DOC 3a-i var. (officina); MIBE 4a; SB 3. Lustrous. Near EF. $1450

580663. Justinian I. 527-565. AV Solidus (21mm, 4.47 g, 7h). Constantinople mint, 12th officina. Struck 542-565. D N IVSTINI ANVS P P AVC, helmeted and cuirassed bust facing, holding globus cruciger and shield / VICTORI A AVCCC, Angel standing facing, holding globus cruciger and staff surmounted by staurogram; star to right; IB//CONOB. DOC 278 (Carthage); MIBE 7; Morrisson p. 46; SB 140. In NGC encapsulation graded MS, Strike: 3/5, Surface: 4/5, die shift (there as Carthage mint). $1650

580664. Justinian I. 527-565. AV Solidus (21mm, 4.44 g, 6h). Carthage mint. Dated IY 11 (AD 547/8). D N IVSTINI ANVS P P AVC, helmeted and cuirassed bust facing, holding globus cruciger in right hand and shield with “loop” at top / VICTORI A AVCCC, Angel standing facing, holding long cross and globus cruciger; star to right; IA//CONOB. DOC 277a; MIBE 25; Morrisson 74-87; SB 250. In NGC encapsulation graded Ch AU, Strike: 4/5, Surface: 3/5, light marks. $1450

580081. Justin II. 565-578. AV Solidus (20mm, 3.79 g, 6h). Light weight issue of 20 siliquae. Constantinople mint, 10th officina. Struck 567-578. D N I VSTI NVS P P AVC, helmeted and cuirassed bust facing, holding globe surmounted by Victory and shield / VICTORI A AVCCC, Constantinopolis seated facing on throne, head right, holding scepter and globus cruciger; I://OBXX. Cf. DOC 9-11 (for type); MIBE 9c; SB 351. In NGC encapsulation 5749262-022 graded AU, graffiti. Rare light weight issue. $975 57

561100. Justin II. 565-578. AV Solidus (20mm, 4.51 g, 6h). Constantinople mint, 1st officina. Struck 567-578. D N I VSTI NVS P P AVC, helmeted and cuirassed bust facing, holding globe surmounted by Victory and shield / VICTORI A AVCCC, Constantinopolis seated facing on throne, head right, holding scepter and globus cruciger; A//CONOB. DOC 4a; MIBE 5; SB 345. Broad flan, scattered light marks. Good VF. $950

570815. Maurice Tiberius. 582-602. AV Solidus (21mm, 4.47 g, 7h). Constantinople mint, 3rd officina. Struck 583/4602. dN mAVRC TIb PP AVC, helmeted, draped, and cuirassed bust facing, holding globus cruciger / VICTORI A AVCC, Angel standing facing, holding staff surmounted by staurogram and globus cruciger; Γ//CONOB. DOC 5c; MIBE 6; SB 478. Lustrous, small lamination on reverse. Choice EF. $1450

580658 580662 580658. Maurice Tiberius. 582-602. AV Solidus (22mm, 4.31 g, 7h). Light weight issue of 23 siliquae. Constantinople mint, 7th officina. Struck 583/4-602. dN mAVRC TIb PP AVC, helmeted, draped, and cuirassed bust facing, holding globus cruciger; star to right / VICTORI A AVCC, Angel standing facing, holding staff surmounted by staurogram and globus cruciger; Z// CONOB. DOC 7f; MIBE 11; SB 481. In NGC encapsulation 6056106-117 graded MS, Strike: 5/5, Surface: 4/5. $1450 580662. Maurice Tiberius. 582-602. AV Solidus (21mm, 4.29 g, 6h). Light weight issue of 23 siliquae. Constantinople mint, 8th officina. Struck 583/4-602. dN mAVRC TIb PP AVC, helmeted, draped, and cuirassed bust facing, holding globus cruciger; star to right / VICTORI A AVCC, Angel standing facing, holding staff surmounted by staurogram and globus cruciger; H// CONOB. DOC 7g; MIBE 11; SB 481. In NGC encapsulation 6056106-154 graded MS, Strike: 5/5, Surface: 4/5. $1450

580661. Maurice Tiberius. 582-602. AV Solidus (23mm, 4.32 g, 7h). Light weight issue of 23 siliquae. Constantinople mint, 9th officina. Struck 583/4-602. dN mAVRC TIb PP AVC, helmeted, draped, and cuirassed bust facing, holding globus cruciger; star to right / VICTORI A AVCC, Angel standing facing, holding staff surmounted by staurogram and globus cruciger; Θ// CONOB. DOC 7h; MIBE 11; SB 481. In NGC encapsulation 6056106-148 graded MS, Strike: 4/5, Surface: 4/5. $1450 58

Referenced in MIBE

580659. Maurice Tiberius. 582-602. AV Solidus (19mm, 4.06 g, 7h). Light weight issue of 22 siliquae. Constantinople mint, 4th officina. Struck 583/4-602. dN mAVRC TIb PP AV, helmeted, draped, and cuirassed bust facing, holding globus cruciger / VICTORI A AVCC, Angel standing facing, holding staff surmounted by staurogram and globus cruciger; Δ//OB+* (engraved over Θ//CONOB). DOC 8 var. (officina); Athena Fund II 1857 (this coin); MIBE 13b (this coin referenced); SB 482. In NGC encapsulation 3807395-019 graded MS, Strike: 4/5, Surface: 4/5. Rare. $1450 Ex Andre Constantine Dimitriadis Collection (Heritage 3034, 3 September 2014), lot 29354; Athena Fund (Part II, Sotheby’s, 27 October 1993), lot 1957; Numismatic Fine Arts XVIII (31 March 1987), lot 715; Numismatic Fine Arts II (25 March 1976), lot 501. Interestingly, the reverse die used for this coin appears to be re-engraved over a die for a full-weight solidus.

564488. Heraclius. 610-641. AV Solidus (20mm, 4.47 g, 7h). Constantinople mint, 5th officina. Struck 610-613. ∂ NN hЄRAC LI PЄR AV, diademed and cuirassed bust facing, wearing plumed helmet, holding cross / VICTORIA AVςЧ, cross potent set on two steps; Є//CONOB. DOC 1a; MIB 1a; SB 729. A couple light marks, obverse die rust. Near EF. $875

578315. Heraclius. 610-641. AV Tremissis (15mm, 1.42 g, 5h). Ravenna mint. Struck 610-613. ∂ N hERACL IVS P P AVC, diademed, draped, and cuirassed bust right / VICTORIA AVGVSTORV, cross potent; CONOB. DOC 276; MIB 125b; Ranieri 575; SB 902. Faint scratch before face. Near EF. $2450

576475. Constans II. 641-668. AV Solidus (20.5mm, 4.47 g, 6h). Constantinople mint, 7th officina. Struck 641-646/7. ∂ N CONτANτINЧS P P AC, crowned and draped facing bust, holding globus cruciger / VICTORIA AVςЧ, cross potent set on three steps; Z//CONOB. DOC 1g.1; MIB 3b; SB 938. Lustrous. Choice EF. Well centered and struck. $1575 Ex Classical Numismatic Group 114 (13 May 2020), lot 1042 (hammer $3500).

570818. Constans II, with Constantine IV. 641-668. AV Solidus (20mm, 4.30 g, 6h). Constantinople mint, 2nd officina. Struck 654-659. ∂ N CONSτANτINЧS C CONSτAN, crowned and draped facing busts of Constans and Constantine; cross above / VICTORIA AVςЧ, cross potent set on three steps; B//CONOB. DOC 25b; MIB 26; SB 959. Slightly clipped, otherwise well struck and lustrous. EF. $1350

570816. Constans II. 641-668. AV Solidus (19mm, 4.41 g, 6h). Constantinople mint, 9th officina. Struck 641-646/7. ∂ N CONSτAN τINЧS P P AV, crowned and draped facing bust, holding globus cruciger / VICTORIA AVςЧ, cross potent set on three steps; Θ//CONOB. DOC 1i; MIB 3b; SB 938. Fully lustrous. Choice EF. $1575

580084. Justinian II. First reign, 685-695. AV Solidus (18mm, 4.27 g, 7h). Constantinople mint, 3rd officina. Struck 686687. IЧSτINIA NЧS [PЄ AV], crowned and draped facing bust, without beard, holding globus cruciger / VICTORIA AVςЧ, cross potent set on three steps; Γ//CONOB. DOC 2a; MIB 2; SB 1243. In NGC encapsulation 4938331-020, graded MS, Strike: 4/5, Surface: 4/5, clipped. Rare early issue. $1250

580083. Justinian II. First reign, 685-695. AV Solidus (21mm, 4.45 g, 7h). Constantinople mint, 4th officina. Struck 687692. ∂ IЧSτINIA NЧS PЄ AV, crowned and draped facing bust, holding globus cruciger / VICTORIA AVςЧ, cross potent set on three steps; Γ//CONOB. DOC 5c; MIB 6; SB 1246. In NGC encapsulation 4938331-017, graded MS, Strike: 4/5, Surface: 4/5. $1575

Extremely Rare Variety

581959. Justinian II. First reign, 685-695. AV Solidus (21mm, 4.43 g, 7h). Constantinople mint, 1st officina. Struck 692695. IҺS CRISτOS RЄX RЄςNANτ[IЧM], bust of Christ Pantokrator facing; cross behind / D IЧSτINI AN ЧS SЄRs CҺRISτI, Justinian standing facing, wearing crown and loros, and holding akakia and cross potent set on two steps; A// CONOB. DOC 7a var. (mintmark); MIB 8a var. (same); SB 1248 var. (same). In NGC encapsulation 4938331-162, graded MS, Strike: 4/5, Surface: 5/5. Extremely rare variety. $15,750 Of the examples of SB 1248 on CoinArchives, only four exhibit the CONOB mintmark. Below we record all examples we could trace with this mark. As the mintmark is frequently off-flan on this issue other examples may exist. A//CONOB a) This coin Γ//CONOB b) Stack’s Bowers & Ponterio 169 (8 August 2012), lot 20527 ς//CONOB c) Stack’s (12 January 2009), lot 3163 Θ//CONOB d) Classical Numismatic Group Electronic Auction 131 (18 January 2006), lot 192 e) Numismatica Ars Classica 124 (23 June 2021), lot 818

566324. Tiberius III (Apsimar). 698-705. AV Solidus (19mm, 4.40 g, 6h). Constantinople mint, 7th officina. D τIbЄRI ЧS PЄ AV, Crowned and cuirassed bust facing, holding spear and shield / VICTORIA AVςЧ, cross potent set on three steps; Z// CONOB. DOC 1f; MIB 1; SB 1360. Lustrous, a few light marks. EF. $1575 Ex Gasvoda Collection Duplicates.

571703. Constantine V Copronymus, with Leo IV and Leo III. 741-775. AV Solidus (22mm, 3.86 g, 6h). Syracuse mint. Struck 751-775. [...] LЄ •, crowned facing busts of Constantine V and Leo IV, each wearing chlamys; cross above / C N O L ЄOn PAM, crowned facing bust of Leo III, wearing loros and holding cross potent. DOC 15b; Anastasi 425a; SB 1565. Toned with underlying luster, slightly double struck. EF. $3250 Ex Sincona 37 (16 May 2017), lot 321 (hammer 2400 CHF); Gorny & Mosch 215 (13 October 2013), lot 1156.

571704. Theophilus. 829-842. AV Solidus (21mm, 4.45 g, 6h). Constantinople mint. Struck 829-830. * ӨЄOFI–LOS ЬASILЄ’, crowned facing bust, wearing slight beard and loros, holding globus cruciger and cruciform scepter / CVRIЄ ЬOHӨH τO SO ∂OVLO * Є, patriarchal cross set upon three steps. DOC 1b; Füeg 1.A.1; SB 1655. Toned, a few marks and scratches. Near EF. $6750 Ex D. Massey Collection (Classical Numismatic Group 108, 16 May 2018), lot 767; Peus 386 (26 April 2006), lot 908.

578316. Basil II Bulgaroktonos, with Constantine VIII. 976-1025. AV Histamenon Nomisma (24mm, 4.39 g, 6h). Constantinople mint. Struck circa 977-989. + IhS XIS RЄX RЄςNΛNTIhm, facing bust of Christ Pantokrator / + bASIL’ C’ COhSτAhτIbR, crowned half-length busts of Basil, wearing loros, and Constantine, wearing chlamys, holding patriarchal cross between them. DOC 2c; Füeg II 2.B; SB 1797. Scuff in field. Near EF. $3750

570821. Romanus IV Diogenes, with Eudocia, Michael VII, Constantius, and Andronicus. 1068-1071. AV Histamenon Nomisma (27mm, 4.40 g, 6h). Constantinople mint. KωN MX ANΔ, Michael standing facing, holding labarum and akakia, between Constantius and Andronicus, each holding globus cruciger and akakia; dotted exergual band below / + IωMA ЄVΔKAVI, Christ standing facing on footstool, crowning Romanus and Eudocia, each holding globus cruciger. DOC 2; SB 1861. Die break on obverse. EF. $1250

WORLD

577806. FRANCE, Provincial. Provence (county). Robert I de Naples. 1309-1343. AR Gros dit Gillet (23mm, 2.42 g, 12h). ๘ / rɦ / Ʊƌr / SƱýƱL rĿҡ, crowned and mantled bust left; mantle decorated with lis / ๘ ý⌴⍵ĿS Ḧ ʁrɦ⍋ƱɃýƱĿ Ḧ, cross feuillue; quadrilobe in center. Rolland 46; Duplessey, Féodales 1639 var. (obv. legend); Poey d’Avant 3994 var. (same); Künker 217, lot 2460 (same dies, but earlier die state). Toned, hint of die rust. VF. Extremely rare, the Künker coin the only specimen in CoinArchives. $1850 Ex Richard A. Jourdan Collection of Medieval European Coins (Triton 23, 14 January 2020), lot 1075, purchased from Charles H. Wolfe, III, 1997; Crédit de la Bourse (26 April 1993), lot 1455.

567757. GERMANY, Ravensburg (Royal mint city). Anonymous. Circa 1250. AR Bracteate (20mm, 0.47 g). City gate with three towers, star in gateway / Incuse of obverse. Kestner 2551-2553; Bonhoff 1846. Toned. EF. $350

BRITISH

571170. ANGLO-SAXON, Kings of Northumbria. Aldfrith. 685-705. AR Sceatt (10mm, 1.11 g, 12h). York mint. ม aዢčŊlዢčк˝, pellet-in-annulet / Quadruped with forked tail standing left. SCBI 69 (Abramson), 827 (this coin); Booth, Sceattas 3 (dies A/c); Chapman 1-8; Pirie, Guide 1.2; North 176; SCBC 846. Attractive find patina. Near EF. Rare in this grade. $3250 Ex Tony Abramson Collection. Found near Lincoln, Lincolnshire, 2012.

Offa Portrait Penny with a Fine Pedigree

567852. ANGLO-SAXON, Kings of Mercia. Offa. 757-796. AR Penny (17mm, 1.25 g, 9h). Light coinage, portrait type. London mint; Duda, moneyer. Struck circa 785-792/3. Ḩ ม ∂ዟዟ¥ / ʼ/ዞҞ / ม, bust right; ornamental spray to lower right / Cross botonée with four petals saltire; all within circle with four enclosed and jewelled lobes; ḦมḦ č л č between lobes. Blunt 31 = Chick 19a (this coin); SCBI 67 (BM), 58; North 31; SCBC 905. Slight porosity under a rich cabinet toning. Good VF. Rare. A handsome portrait coin with a most impressive provenance. $8950 Ex W. Oldknow Collection; R.C. Lockett (English Part I, 6 June 1955), lot 350; Spink Numismatic Circular XXVIII.5-6 (May-June 1920), no. 81289 (’a superb coin’); C. Crompton-Roberts Collection, no. 222; H. Montagu (Sotheby, Wilkinson & Hodge, 18 November 1895), lot 177; W. Brice Collection (acquired en block by Montagu in 1887); Capt. R. M. Murchison (Sotheby, Wilkinson & Hodge, 28 May 1866), lot 72; Dr. J.G. Harrison (Sotheby, Wilkinson, & Hodge, 20 July 1865), lot 2.

567508. ANGLO-SAXON, Kings of Wessex. Æthelwulf. 839-858. AR Penny (21mm, 1.40 g, 9h). Inscribed Cross type. Canterbury mint; Æthelnoth, moneyer. Struck circa 854-858. ม _ዞTዞ⌦⎍⎍⌦Ŗ ʼዞҟ, draped bust right / ม ዞTዞ⌦nɭT ዦɭ n ዞ Ϳ© arranged on limbs of, and around, beaded cross. Naismith 139g (this coin); SCBI 2 (Glasgow), 550 (same obv. die); North 618; SCBC 1051. Toned, obverse die flaw, tiny edge nick. Good VF. Rare. $5950 Ex G.J. Bascom (Sotheby, Wilkinson, & Hodge, 15 June 1914), lot 55. As the lot in the Bascom sale was purchased by Spink, this coin is probably also ex Spink Numismatic Circular XXIV.3-4 (March-April 1916), no. 39354.

From the Lockett and Evans Collections

567509. ANGLO-SAXON, Kings of Wessex. Æthelred I. 865/6-871. AR Penny (20mm, 1.36 g, 9h). Lunettes type. Canterbury mint; Wine, moneyer. Struck circa 867-871. ม ¨ዞTዞ⌦ʼዞዝ ʼዞҟ, diademed and draped bust right / ม ⎍⎍ዢnዞ across central field; ዦɭn ዞͿ¨ in lunettes above and below. Lyons & MacKay Ae2.117 (dies A/a; this coin); SCBI 68 (Lyon), 603; North 622; SCBC 1055. Toned. Near EF. Very rare moneyer. $7950 Ex W. Oldknow Collection; R.C. Lockett (English Part I, 6 June 1955), lot 484; Sir John Evans Collection (purchased en bloc by Spink, 1915); 1862 Croydon Hoard.

570904. ANGLO-SAXON, Kings of All England. Edward the Confessor. 1042-1066. AR Penny (20mm, 1.22 g, 3h). Pointed Helmet type (BMC vii, Hild. Fb). Bury St. Edmunds mint; Morkar, moneyer. Struck circa 1053-1056. ม ዞዝʊዞʽ ዝ ʽዞ, crowned and draped bust right, holding lis-tipped scepter / ม ዦɭʽùዞʽዞ ɭn ዞዝዦ, voided short cross with pellet-in-annulet center and triple crescent ends. Eaglen, Abbey 3.6 (dies A/a; this coin); Freeman 6; SCBI 26 (East Anglia), 1303 (same dies); North 825; SCBC 1179. Toned, traces of deposits, some light marks. VF. Very rare. $2600 Ex Dr. E.J. Harris Collection; Glendining (25 November 1970), lot 897.

Superb Henry I Round Halfpenny

576503. NORMAN. Henry I. 1100-1135. Round AR Halfpenny (14mm, 0.70 g, 5h). Lincoln mint; Aslakr, moneyer. ม ዡዞnʽዢù ʽዞҟ, facing bust / ม ƌ¥S⌦¥ù ɭn ⌦ዢn, small cross potent, with quatrefoil in each quarter. EMC 2021.0111 (this coin); SCBI –; Mossop –; North 872; SCBC 1277. Find patina, official edge snick. Good VF. Well struck on an unusually large flan. Very rare. $10,250 Found near Lincoln, 2018.

567480. LANCASTER. Henry VI. First reign, 1422-1461. AV Noble (33mm, 6.89 g, 10h). Annulet issue. York mint; im: –/ lis. Struck 1422-1423. ƌ ĚNˊƩý=$ Ⴀ ĕƩ= ŷˊ¨=$ ˊĚҢ $ ¨ŷǭ=$ Ԥ $ Ŗˊ¨Ný=$ ĕN˫=$ ƌӎB=, Henry standing facing in ship, holding sword and shield; lis over stern; ornaments: 1-1-1; quatrefoils: 3/3; F type 1 and n type 4 / Ⴀ Ʃƌý ᛌ ¨ѝ˶=ი ˶ˊ¨N˫ƩĚN˫ ი PĚˊ ი ⍴ĚĕƩѝ⍴ ი Ʃǭǭɨˊѝ=ი ƩB¨˶, voided short cross potent over cross fleurée; in each angle, crown over lion passant over trefoil; at center, ƌ within angled quadrilobe; all within polylobe, with annulet and trefoils in spandrels; n type 4 and P type 2. Whitton, Heavy 7c; Schneider –; North 1416; SCBC 1804. In NGC encapsulation 5958146-001, graded MS 62. Rare. With an old Baldwin’s envelope from the 1940s(?), priced at 5/5/-. $9950 The only son and heir of Henry V and Catherine de Valois, and the grandson and heir of Charles VI of France, Henry VI was a person in whom many great expectations were invested, but who, because of his age and mental ill-health, not only precipitated the onset of the so-called “Wars of the Roses”, but also reinvigorated French confidence in the Hundred Years War through English mismanagement and the appearance of Jeanne d’Arc. Henry VI became king in 1422 with the sudden death of his father, a baby of only nine months. During the king’s minority, a tripartite regency was established, made up of the king’s uncles. By 1424, however, factionalism between the regents began to arise, so that by 1429 when Henry VI achieved his majority, many of the successes of Henry V in France were lost.

573300. TUDOR. Henry VIII, with Jane Seymour. 1509-1547. AV Halfcrown (18mm, 1.78 g, 12h). Second coinage. Tower (London) mint; im: arrow. Struck 1536-1537. ሌ ˊѝ˶Ʃǭ¨N˫ Ḻ ˊɨ˫¨ Ḻ ˫ƩNĚ Ḻ ˫PƩN¨, crowned rose; ƌ Ʃ flanking / ሌ ƌĚNˊƩý⎡ = d=Ḻ Żˊ¨⎡ ˊĚҢ Ḻ ¨Żǭ⎡ Z ᚤ Ŗˊ=, crowned coat-of-arms; ƌ Ʃ flanking. Scheider 606 var. (rev. legend); Whitton iv, 2; North 1795; SCBC 2287. In NGC encapsulation 5953814-001, graded AU 58. A rare little coin. With a Baldwin’s ticket in the hand of Michael Sharp. $6500 Ex C. Adams (Spink 177, 1 December 2005), lot 5. There are few opportunities for collectors of Tudor coins to incorporate the wives of Henry VIII into their collections. Though no portrait issues were ever struck or them, the women were commemorated on Henry’s crown gold coinage and the silver harp types for Ireland. On this example, the crowned letter I to the right of the devices represents Henry’s third wife, Jane Seymour. She would die only a few weeks after the birth of her first child, the future king Edward VI.

577103. TUDOR. Henry VIII. 1509-1547. AR Testoon (31mm, 7.83 g, 10h). Third coinage. Tower (London) mint; im: pellet-in-annulet. Struck 1544-1547. ∂ ƌeNˊƩý! ℝ ! ĕ ! Ŷ ! aŶ⌦= ! ōˊa= ! Z ! HƩB= ! ˊeҢ, crowned facing bust / ∂ Pɨ˫⎍ዢ $$ de⎍⍴ $$ adƩ⎍˸ɨˊe⍴ $$ ⍴e⎍⍴ $, crowned rose; crowned ƌ ˊ. Jacob dies O12/R16; Whitton B.5; North 1841; SCBC 2365. Toned, edge ragged at 12h. VF. A characterful portrait coin with a noble pedigree. $3750 Ex Classical Numismatic Review XVII.2 (Second Quarter 1992), no. 615; Bridgewater House (Sotheby’s, 15 June 1972), lot 201.

577165. TUDOR. Henry VIII. 1509-1547. AR Groat (25mm, 2.47 g, 2h). Third coinage. Tower (London) mint; im: lis. Struck 1526-1544. Ⴀ ƌĚNˊƩý⎡ = d⎡ Ż⎡ ¨Żǭ⎡ Ŗˊ¨⎡ Z ᚤ ƌƩB⎡ ˊĚҢ, crowned facing bust (Laker A) / Ⴀ Pɨ˫ѝƩ dĚѝ=Ḻ ¨ dƩѝ˶ɨˊĚ=Ḻ ⍴Ěѝ, coat-of-arms over saltire with annulets in forks. Whitton iv; North 1844; SCBC 2369. Toned. VF. $795 Ex Classical Numismatic Review XVIII.4 (Fourth quarter 1992), no. 365.

577202. TUDOR. Edward VI. 1547-1553. AR Groat (24mm, 2.63 g, 1h). In the name of Henry VIII. Southwark mint; im: –/E. Struck 1547-1551. HENRIC’· 8’· D’· G’· AGL’· FRA’· Z HIB’· REX, crowned facing bust (Laker G) / E CIVI TAS LON DON, coat-of-arms over saltire. Whitton 2; North 1872; SCBC 2404. Some luster, much as struck. Good VF. Detailed portrait. $895 Ex Classical Numismatic Group 26 (11 June 1993), lot 775.

Ex Horace Hird

567483. TUDOR. Edward VI. 1547-1553. AV Sovereign (36mm, 11.31 g, 4h). Third period, crown gold issue. Tower (London) mint; im: tun/(tun over У). Struck 1551-1553. (tun) Ḧ EdѾaˊd=/ ѝƩ Ḧ d=Ḧ ŷ=/ aŷǭ=Ḧ ōˊa=/ Z Ḧ ƌƩÏEˊ=Ḧ ˊEҢ Ḧ, armored half-length bust right, holding sword over right shoulder and globus cruciger in left hand / (tun over У) Ḧ Ʃƌ˫=/ aѝ˶E=/ ˶ˊaNýƩ=/ ʖEˊ Ḧ ⍴EdƩѝ=/ Ʃǭǭɱˊѝ=/ ƩÏa˶, crowned coat-of-arms with lion and dragon supporters; below, scroll reading ER. Schneider 691 (same dies); North 1927; SCBC 2450. Toned, a few light marks in obverse field. Good VF. Rare. $35,000 Ex Christie’s (7 February 1981), lot 149; Glendining (24 October 1973), lot 12; Alderman H. Hird (Glendining 30 May 1961), lot 25.

577300. TUDOR. Edward VI. 1547-1553. AR Crown (41mm, 30.32 g, 3h). Third period; Fine Silver issue. Tower (London) mint; im: tun . Dated 1553/2. (tun) Ḧ ĚĕѾ¨ˊĕ=/ ѝƩ Ḧ ĕ=Ḧ ŷ=Ḧ ¨ŷǰ Ḧ ōˊ¨=Ḧ Z Ḧ ƌƩBĚˊ=Ḧ ˊĚҢ Ḧ, Edward, armored and holding sword, on caparisoned horse right; ἳἭἭἫ below (Ἣ over Ἢ) / (tun) ʖɨ˫ѝƩ ĕĚѝ=/ Ḧ ¨ ĕƩѝͿɨˊ Ě=Ḧ ⍴Ěѝ=/ , coat-ofarms over long cross fourchée. Woodbridge dies A/18; North 1833; SCBC 2478. Richly toned. VF. A bold strike. Rare. $5950 Ex J.M. Ashby (Spink 145, 12 July 2000), lot 2003, purchased from Spink, 1956; H. Platt Hall (Part III, Glendining, 26 July 1950), lot 75.

577302. TUDOR. Edward VI. 1547-1553. AR Crown (40mm, 30.11 g, 7h). Third period; Fine Silver issue. Tower (London) mint; im: tun . Dated 1553. (tun) ĚĕѾ¨ˊĕ=/ ѝƩ Ḧ ĕ=/ ŷ=/ ¨ŷǰ Ḧ ōˊ¨=Ḧ Z Ḧ ƌƩB=Ḧ ˊĚҢ Ḧ, Edward, armored and holding sword, on caparisoned horse right; ἳἭἭἫ below / / ʖɨ˫ѝƩ ĕĚѝ=/ ¨ ĕƩѝͿɨˊ Ě=Ḧ ⍴Ěѝ=/, coat-of-arms over long cross fourchée. Woodbridge dies B/15; North 1833; SCBC 2478. Rich cabinet toning with splashes of iridescence. Good Fine. Very rare. $2750 Ex Mason (Baldwin’s 37, 5 May 2004), lot 856.

Large Walking Horse 1553 Halfcrown Plated in the BNJ of 1916

577290. TUDOR. Edward VI. 1547-1553. AR Halfcrown (35mm, 15.11 g, 1h). Third period; Fine Silver issue. Tower (London) mint; im: tun . Dated 1553. (tun) Ḧ ĚĕѾ¨ˊĕ=/ ѝƩ Ḧ ĕ=/ ŷ=/ ¨ŷǰ=/ ōˊ¨N=/ Z Ḧ ƌƩB=/ ˊĚҢ Ḧ, Edward, armored and holding sword, on caparisoned horse right; ἳἭἭἫ below / / ʖɨ˫ѝƩ ĕĚѝ=/ ¨ ĕƩѝͿɨˊ Ě=/ ⍴Ěѝ=/, coat-of-arms over long cross fourchée. Morreison, “The Silver Coins of Edward VI,” in BNJ 12 (1916), p. 167 and pl. VI, 5 (this coin illustrated); North 1836; SCBC 2481. Richly toned, a few scratches. VF. Very rare and among the finest of the eight specimens stated to be in private hands. $12,500 Ex Patrick Finn FPL 14 (1998), no. 270; H.W. Morreison (Sotheby & Co., 20 November 1933), lot 287; G. Deakin (Christie’s, 13 February 1889), lot 6; R. W. Marsham (Sotheby, Wilkinson & Hodge, 19 November 1888), lot 414.

572188. TUDOR. Philip & Mary. 1554-1558. AR Shilling (32mm, 6.04 g, 5h). Tower (London) mint. · PHILIP · ET · MARIA · D · G · R · ANG · FR · NEAP · PR · HISP, confronted busts of Philip, armored, and Mary, veiled and mantled; crown above / POSVIMVS · DEVM · ADIVTOREM · NOTRVM, crowned and garnished oval coat-of-arms; X II (mark of value) above. North 1967; SCBC 2498. Toned, obverse field lightly tooled, weak on edges. Near EF. Two exceptional and well balanced portraits. $3750 Ex Glendining’s (12 March 1970), lot 190.

Elizabeth I Enthroned

569277. TUDOR. Elizabeth I. 1558-1603. AV Sovereign (43mm, 15.40 g, 5h). Sixth issue. Tower (London) mint; im: escallop. Struck 1584-1586. ELIZABETH · D’· G’· ANG’· FRA’· ET · HI’· REGINA · ჲ ·, Elizabeth, holding lis-tipped scepter in right hand, left hand set on globus cruciger propped on her knee, seated facing on ornate throne with pellets on back and pillars with single pellets; all within tressure of arches; portcullis (with chains) below / ჲ A · DNO’· FACTV’· EST · ISTVD · ET · EST · MIRAB’ · IN · OCVLIS · NRS’·, coat-of-arms at center of Tudor rose. Brown & Comber A12; Schneider 781; North 2529; SCBC 2529. In NGC encapsulation 5956760-001, graded AU 58 ★. Richly toned with flashes of luster. A most attractive coin with a charming portrait. $79,500 Ex G. Hamilton-Smith (Glendining’s, 23 May 1927), lot 16; W. Talbot Ready (Sotheby, Wilkinson & Hodge, 15 November 1920), lot 589.

572189. TUDOR. Elizabeth I. 1558-1603. AR Halfcrown (33mm, 14.93 g, 12h). Seventh issue. Tower (London) mint; im: 1. Struck 1601-1602. 1 : ELIZABETH : D’· G’· ANG’· FRA’· ET : HIBER’· REGINA :, crowned bust left, wearing ruff and holding lis-tipped scepter / : 1 : POSVI : DEVM : AD IVTORE M : MEVM :, coat-of-arms over long cross fourchée. BCW 1-1/1-a1; North 2013; SCBC 2583. Rich cabinet toning. Good VF. A most attractive specimen. $8950

572190. STUART. James I. 1603-1625. AR Shilling (21mm, 5.79 g, 11h). Third coinage. Tower (London) mint; im: lis. Struck 1623-1624. Ⴀ IACOBVS D : G : MAG BRI : FRA : ET HI : REX, crowned 6th bust right; XII to left / Ⴀ QVÆ DEVS CONIVNXIT NEMO SEPARET, coat-of-arms; plumes above. North 2125; SCBC 2669. Rich old cabinet toning with a few small marks underneath. Good VF. Rare and with an excellent pedigree. $3450 Ex Spink Numismatic Circular LXXX.7-8 (July–August 1972), no. 7451; L.E. Bruun (Sotheby, Wilkinson, & Hodge, 18 May 1922), lot 708 (illustrated pl. XVIII).

Mint State Oxford Unite

571771. STUART. Charles I. 1625-1649. AV Unite (34mm, 8.93 g, 5h). Declaration type. Oxford mint; im: plume (with bands). Dated 1643. (plume) CAROLVS : D : G MAG : BR : FR : ET : HIBER : REX, crowned and mantled bust left, holding sword in left hand and laurel branch in right; XX (mark of value) to right / EXVRGAT · DEVS · DISSIPENTVR · INIMICI : (continuing into inner field) RELIG : PROT/: LEG : ANG/ LIBER PAR; three plumes above, 1643 below. Beresford-Jones dies VIII/12; Brooker 851 (same dies); Schneider 317 (same dies); North 2389; SCBC 2734. In NGC encapsulation 5958146002, graded MS 61. Rare. The highest graded Unite of all ten types struck at Oxford during the Civil War. $35,000 Ex Goldberg 48 (14 September 2008), lot 2079; Glendining’s (23 June 1982), lot 15.

571784. STUART. Charles I. 1625-1649. AR Shilling (32mm, 6.02 g, 11h). Oxford mint; im: plume/–. Dated 1643. (plume) CAROLVS : D : G : MAG : BR : FR : ET : HI : REX, crowned bust left; XII (mark of value) to right / : EXVRGAT : D[EVS : DISSI’PENTVR : INIMICI, RELIG : PROT/ LEG : ANG/ LIBER : PAR in three lines across field and within three parallel lines; three plumes above, 1643 below. Morreison, Oxford D/3; Brooker 933 (same dies); North 2444; SCBC 2792. Attractively toned with blue luster around devices, very slightly double struck with weakness in legends. Near EF. $3250 Purchasd from Spink, 2007. Reportedly from an old Civil War hoard.

571780. STUART. Charles I. 1625-1649. Reproduction AR Crown (43mm, 44.13 g, 12h). City view type. Oxford mint. After dies by T. Rawlins. Dated 1644. (four-petalled flower) CAROLVS · D · G · MAG : BRIT : FRAN : ET · HIBER · REX (lozenge and double lozenge stops), Charles on horseback left, holding sword and reigns; below, OXON and view of Oxford / (floral spray) DEVS (floral spray) DISSIPENTVR (floral spray) INIMICI (floral spray) EXVHGAT (sic!), RELIG • PROT • LEG/ ANG • LIBER • PARL between floral scrolls; three crowns and V above, 1644 and OXON below. For original: cf. Morrieson, Oxford A/1; cf. Brooker 876; cf. North 2407; cf. SCBC 2948. For another reproduction from the same obv. die, see: Spink 113, lot 23. Toned, chased as made. EF. $2250 Ex Dix, Noonan, & Webb (17 December 2007), lot 277. This 18th or 19th century reproduction appears to have been struck in two parts, chased, and then joined together. Other examples are known that are clearly cast, but this cataloger was unable to find any with the EXVHGAT spelling error.

578618. STUART, Siege money. Newark. 1645-1646. AR Sixpence (22x23mm, 2.50 g, 12h). In the name of Charles I. Dated 1646. Large crown; C R flanking, VI (mark of value) below / OBS :/ NEWARK/ 1646. Brooker 1228 (same dies); North 2642; SCBC 3146. Toned, with considerable luster on obverse. Good VF/VF. Struck on a flan cut form engraved plate, with some engraving still visible. Very rare. $5450 Ex Samuel Birchall of Leeds Collection (1761-1814).

573395. COMMONWEALTH. 1649-1660. AR Shilling (31mm, 6.07 g, 9h). Tower (London) mint; im: sun. Dated 1649. ṓ · THE · COMMONWEALTH · OF · ENGLAND ·, coat-of-arms within wreath / ṓ · GOD · WITH · VS · 1649, two coatof-arms; XII (mark of value) above. ESC 982; North 2724; SCBC 3217. In NGC encapsulation 5953815-001, graded MS 63. An exceptionally high grade specimen with pristine surfaces and a most attractive colorful tone. $4750 Ex Samuel Birchall of Leeds Collection (1761-1814).

570180. STUART. Charles II. 1660-1685. AR Shilling (31mm, 6.10 g, 4h). Hammered coinage, third issue. Tower (London) mint; im: crown. Struck 1660-1662. ՟ · CAROLVS · II · D : G : MAG : BRI : FRA : ET · HIB : REX ·, crowned bust left; XII (mark of value) to right / ՟ · CHRISTO · AVSPICE · REGNO ·, coat-of-arms over short cross fourchée. North 2764; ESC 1019; SCBC 3322. Toned, minor area of weakness on reverse. Near EF.An unusually high-relief and fine example of this last shilling in the English hammered series. $2750

568379. HANOVER. Victoria. 1837-1901. Proof Pattern AR Shilling – Half Florin (23mm, 6.78 g, 12h). Dies by Charles H. Weiner and William Taylor. Dated 1863. VICTORIA REGINA, crowned head left / · HALF · · FLO · · RIN · · 1863 ·, crowned coat-of-arms within quadrilobe with trefoils at cusps; all on long cross fleurée. ESC 1377; Bull 3091. In NGC encapsulation 2825501-004, graded PF 64. Beautifully toned and very rare. $9250 Ex Christopher Tasker (Spink 254, 3 July 2008), lot 1074, purchased June 2008.

567562. SCOTLAND. James VI. 1567-1625. AR Thirty Shillings (37mm, 22.53 g, 3h). Fourth coinage. Edinburgh mint. Dated 1582. IACOBVS · 6 · DEI · GRATIA · REX · SCOTORVM ·, crowned and armored half-length bust left, wearing ruff and holding sword in right hand / HONOR · REGIS · IVDICIVM · DILIGIT · 1582 ·, crowned coat-of-arms; I R and XXX S (mark of value) flanking. Burns 1 (fig. 932); SCBI 58 (Edinburgh), 1458; SCBC 5488. Lightly toned, a few scattered marks, ghosted on armor. Good VF. Struck on a neat round flan. A pleasing portrait piece. Very rare variety with value on one line. $3950

566300. SCOTLAND. Charles II. 1649-1685. AR Quarter Dollar (27mm, 6.77 g, 6h). Second coinage. Edinburgh mint. Dated 1676. · CAROLVS · II · DEI · GRA ·, laureate and draped bust left / · SCO ANG · FR ET · HIB REX · 16 76, crowned cruciform coats-of-arms around interlock Cs; thistles in quarters. Murray, Scottish 43; Burns 2; SCBI 35 (Ashmolean & Hunterian), 1625-6; SCBC 5620. Richly toned wuth underlying luster. EF. Undoubtedly the finest known. Very rare thus. $6500 Ex MacDonald (Baldwin’s of St. James 29, 19 March 2019), lot 1411, purchased from Studio Coins (illustrated on the front cover).

568375. ANGLO-GALLIC. Edward the Black Prince. As Prince of Aquitaine, 1362-1372. AV Noble guyennois à la rose – Pavillion d’or (32mm, 5.34 g, 2h). La Rochelle mint. ģĕ % ʖɭ % ŷN˝ % ʼģŷ % ⌃NŷȄ % ʖN˝ % ⌃ʠ⎍˶, Edward wearing rose wreath, standing facing, holding sword up in right hand and raising left hand; at feet, two leopards couchant; to left and right, two ostrich feathers with tips curved inward; all within ornate Gothic portico / ๘ ĕN˝ % ⌃Ʊ⎍˶ɭ % Ԥ % ʖ˶ýý˶ɭ % ⍴ģ % Ԥ % ƱƱʖɭ % ˝ʖ⌃Ʊ˶ % ýɭʼ % ⍴ģ⎍⍴ ʼ, ornate cross quernée with rose in center, lion passant and lis in opposite quarters; all within arched quatrefoil set on quadrate frame with roses in angles; pelleted trilobes in external voids. AGC 157A, 8/k; Elias 151c; Duplessey, Féodales 1120; cf. Poey d’Avant 3034-5 (for type); cf. Schneider 48 (for type); SCBC 8123. Richly toned. EF. Well struck. Rare. $24,500 Ex Arthur M. Fitts Collection (Dix, Noonan, & Webb 102, 18 September 2012), lot 2375; Münzen und Medaillen Deutschland 9 (4 October 2001), lot 1206.

BRITISH MEDALS

572931. STUART. Charles I. 1625-1649. Cast AR Medal (41mm, 14.32 g, 11h). Return to London from Edinburgh. By N. Briot(?). Dated 1633. CAROLVS AVGVSTISS’ · ET INVICTISS’ · MAG’ · BRIT’ · FRAN’ · ET HIB’ · MONARCHA, Charles on horseback rearing left, holding baton and reins; rayed Eye of Providence above, plumed helmet below; ·:1633:· in exergue / SOL ORBEM REDIENS SIC REX ILLVMIN AT VRBEM (as the sun [illuminates] the world, returning thus the King illuminates the city), personification of the sun shining over the London cityscape. MI 266/62; Eimer 124b. Dark toning, lightly chased in fields as usual, scrapes/digs, edge bumps. EF. A sharp and attractive early cast. $3950

ELECTROTYPES British Museum Electrotype

552223. PTOLEMAIC KINGS of EGYPT. Ptolemy I Soter. 305/4-282 BC. Electrotype “Tetradrachm” (28mm, 14.68 g, 12h). British Museum electrotype by Robert Ready (marked RR on edge). Diademed head right, wearing aegis around neck, tiny Δ behind ear / Eagle standing left on thunderbolt; Σ to left. Head, Guide, Period IV.A., 22; cf. GPCG pl. 28, 20 = BM no. 1863,0728.1 (for prototype). Toned. As made. $395 Duplicate from the England - McFadden Electrotype Collection. In 1859, the British Museum engaged the seal-maker Robert Cooper Ready to produce replicas of notable Greek coins held in the national collection. Though he initially attempted to produce casts, Ready soon took to the newly-developed method of electrotyping, which uses electrolytic deposition of copper on a mold to reproduce a form. The high-quality replicas produced by Ready were first used in a display in the King’s Library, with the coins divided into seven eras based on the contemporary interpretation of artistic growth and decline, described by Barclay Head in A Guide to the Select Greek and Roman Coins Exhibited in Electrotype published in London in 1880. Individual electrotypes from this set were later sold at the price of 2s 6d, with complete encased sets available for schools and museums. Some examples produced by Robert Ready are marked RR on the edge. Others marked R on the edge or unsigned were produced by Robert Ready or his sons. Some electrotypes are marked MB on obverse or reverse, MM on edge, or B on reverse. Later, other museums also produced similar electrotypes.

GENERAL BIBLIOGRAPHY

Please refer to our online bibliography at www.cngcoins.com for a complete listing of specialized and general references used, and abbreviations.

ANCIENT Banti BMC BMCRE BN Bodenstedt Boehringer Bopearachchi Depeyrot Calicó CNS Crawford CRI Fischer-Bossert Flament Hendin HN Italy Meshorer MK MIR Price Prieur RIC RPC RSC SC Sellwood SNG ANS SNG BM Black Sea SNG Copenhagen SNG France SNG Kayhan SNG Levante SNG Lloyd SNG Lockett SNG München SNG von Aulock Starr Svoronos Traité Weidauer

A. Banti. I grandi bronzi imperiali. 9 Vols. Florence. 1983-1986. Various authors. Catalogue of Greek Coins in the British Museum. 29 Vols. London. 1873-1927. H. Mattingly et al. Coins of the Roman Empire in the British Museum. 6 Vols. London. 1932-1962. J. Giard. Bibliothèque Nationale, catalogue des monnaies de l’empire romain. 3 Vols. Paris. 1976-present. F. Bodenstedt. Die Elektronmünzen von Phokaia und Mytilene. Tübingen. 1981. E. Boehringer. Die Münzen von Syrakus. Berlin and Leipzig. 1929. O. Bopearachchi. Monnaies Gréco-Bactriennes et Indo-Grecques. Paris. 1991. G. Depeyrot. Les monnaies d’or (Diocletian à Constantin I, Constantin II à Zenon). Wetteren. 1995-1996. X. Calicó. The Roman avrei catalogue. 2 Vols. Barcelona. 2002. R. Calciati. Corpus Nummorum Siculorum: la monetazione di bronzo. 3 Vols. Italy. 1983-87. M. Crawford. Roman Republican Coinage. 2 Vols. Cambridge. 1974. D. Sear. The History and Coinage of the Roman Imperators 49-27 BC. London. 1998. W. Fischer-Bossert. Chronologie der Didrachmenprägung von Tarent 510-280 v.Chr. Berlin 1999. C. Flament. Le monnayage en argent d’Athènes. De l’époque archaïque à l’époque hellénistique (c. 550-c. 40 av. J.-C.). Lovainla-Neuve. 2007. D. Hendin. Guide to Biblical Coins. 5th Edition. New York. 2010. N.K. Rutter, ed. Historia Numorum. Italy. London. 2001. Y. Meshorer. A Treasury of Jewish Coins from the Persian Period to Bar Kokhba. Jerusalem. 2001. R. Göbl. Münzprägung des Kušanreiches. Vienna. 1984. R. Göbl, et al. Moneta Imperii Romani. 5 Vols. Vienna. 1984-present. M.J. Price. The Coinage in the Name of Alexander the Great and Philip Arrhidaeus. London. 1991. M. Prieur. A type corpus of the Syro-Phoenician tetradrachms and their fractions from 57 BC to AD 253. Lancaster. 2000. H. Mattingly, et al. The Roman Imperial Coinage. 10 Vols. London. 1923-1994. A. Burnett, et al. Roman Provincial Coinage. 3 Vols and 2 Suppls. London and Paris. 1992-present. D. Sear, et al. Roman Silver Coins. 5 Vols. London. 1978-1987. A. Houghton & C. Lorber. Seleucid Coins: A Comprehensive Catalog. 2 Parts. Lancaster. 2002 and 2008. D. Sellwood. An Introduction to the Coinage of Parthia. 2nd edition. London. 1980. Sylloge Nummorum Graecorum, American Numismatic Society. New York. 1969-present. Sylloge Nummorum Graecorum, British Museum, 1: The Black Sea. London. 1993. Sylloge Nummorum Graecorum, Danish National Museum. Copenhagen. 1942-1979. Sylloge Nummorum Graecorum, Cabinet des Médailles, Bibliothèque Nationale. Paris. 1993-2001. Sylloge Nummorum Graecorum, Turkey 1: The Muharrem Kayhan Collection. Istanbul. 2002. Sylloge Nummorum Graecorum, Switzerland; E Levante - Cilicia. Bern. 1986. Sylloge Nummorum Graecorum, Lloyd Collection. London. 1933-1937. Sylloge Nummorum Greacorum, Lockett Collection. London. 1938-1949. Sylloge Nummorum Graecorum, München Staatlische Münzsammlung. Berlin. 1968-present. Sylloge Nummorum Graecorum, Sammlung Hans Von Aulock. Berlin. 1957-1968. C. Starr. Athenian coinage 480-449 BC. London. 1970. J. Svoronos. Τὰ νομίσματα τοῦ κράτους τῶν Πτολεμαίων. Athens. 1904-08. E. Babelon. Traité des monnaies grecques et romaines. 9 Vols. Paris. 1901-1932. L. Weidauer. Probleme der frühen Elektronprägung. Fribourg. 1975.

BYZANTINE, MEDIEVAL, WORLD, and BRITISH Album S. Album. A Checklist of Popular Islamic Coins. 3rd ed. Santa Rosa. 2011. Biaggi E. Biaggi. Monete e zecche medievali italiane dal seculo VIII al seculo XV. Torino. 1992. Bitkin V. Bitkin. Composite Catalogue of Russian Coins. 2 vols. Kiev. 2003. BMC Vandals W. Wroth. Catalogue of the Coins of the Vandals, Ostrogoths and Lombards and of the Empires of Thessalonica, Nicaea and Trebizond in the British Museum. London. 1911. (Reprinted as Western and Provincial Byzantine Coins in the British Museum.) CIS S. Goron and J.P. Goenka. The Coins of the Indian Sultanates. New Delhi. 2001. CNI Corpus Nummorum Italicorum. 20 Vols. Rome. 1910-1943. Davenport J.S. Davenport. Various works on European crowns. ESC H.A. Seaby & P.A. Rayner. The English Silver Coinage from 1649. London. 1992. Friedberg R. Friedberg. Gold Coins of the World. 8th ed. Clifton. 2009. KM C.L. Krause & C. Mishler. Standard Catalogue of World Coins. Krause Publications. Iola. Levinson R.A. Levinson. The Early Dated Coins of Europe. Clifton, NJ. 2007. Lunardi G. Lunardi. Le monete delle repubblica di genova. Genoa. 1975. MEC P. Grierson & M. Blackburn. Medieval European Coinage. Cambridge. 1986. MIB W. Hahn. Moneta Imperii Byzantini. 3 Vols. Vienna. 1973-81. MIBE W. Hahn and M.A. Metlich. Money of the Incipient Byzantine Empire. Vienna. 2000. MIR Various. Monete Italiane Regionali. 5 Vols. Pavia. ND. NM G. Depeyrot. Le numéraire mérovingien. 5 vols. Wetteren. 1998-2001. North J.J. North. English Hammered Coinage. 2 Vols. London. 1963, 1975. SB D. Sear, et al. Byzantine Coins and Their Values. 2nd edition. London. 1987. SCBC Standard Catalogue of British Coins. London. Annually. SCBI Various authors. Sylloge of the Coins of the British Isles.

New Publication Seige Coins of the World

Korchnak, Lawrence C., Ph.D. Siege Coins of the World. 2021. xii and 318 numbered pp. Hardbound. (X287)

$95

Website shipping rates do not apply. Author’s Foreword: Obsidional or siege money is one of the purest forms of fiat currency. By definition, it is legal tender backed by an issuing authority that possesses the absolute power to set its value. A noted economist captured it in more vivid terms: fiat currency has a stated value because men with guns say so. I began collecting siege money many years ago after acquiring a 1621 Julich four stuiver from a local coin dealer. The irregularly shaped coin sparked my interest and I wanted to learn more. However, when I began my search for information, I discovered that there were no catalogues and very few articles in English on the subject. Since this was pre-internet, my only avenue of research was to seek the available numismatic reference works in Latin and multiple European languages. Many of these references were difficult to find. However, once I found them, I added them to my library and discovered that each was incomplete on its own due to the complexity of the subject matter and the information available at the time of their publication. So, I began a numismatic journey that led me to this project. Siege Coins of the World. Siege Coins of the World is the result of translating the major works, merging their content, and updating the most recent information available into a single volume. It is an attempt to expand the knowledge of this fascinating area of numismatics and create a comprehensive English language reference for the collector. Siege Coins of the World intentionally excludes fantasies and issues that are more appropriately categorized as necessity coins, such as Cartagena, Montalcino, La Rochelle, and Spanish local issues. Conversely, those generally accepted by the numismatic community as siege coins are included, such as Groningen, Thorn, and the Irish cities of refuge. Most, but not all, known varieties of each type are listed. The reader can find these varieties in specialized catalogues that are noted in the Selected Bibliography. In Siege Coins of the World, sieges are arranged in alphabetical order for easy reference. There is a brief description of each siege to provide the reader with historical context followed by a list of coins known to be issued as a result of the siege. Siege Coins of the World has assigned a uniform numbering system and cross references to other cited sources. Coins that were missing from earlier works and major varieties that have since been since confirmed have been added. Illustrations accompany the descriptions and line drawings are provided where no photograph was available. The reader should note that while the author has made every effort to provide precise specifications for each coin, slight variances in size and weight are not uncommon. 76

The Handbook of Greek Coinage Series by Oliver D. Hoover

More than three decades have passed since David Sear published Greek Coins & Their Values, his revision of Gilbert Askew’s A Catalogue of Greek Coins published by B. A. Seaby in 1951. Since then, the field of ancient numismatics and the hobby of collecting ancient coins have changed so much that now Greek Coins & Their Values would require a complete revision to include all of the most current numismatic information available, list the many new types and varieties unknown to Sear, and determine an approximate sense of rarity for all of these issues. In order to encompass this new material and create a viable reference for the beginning and specialized collector, such a handbook would have to be more than the two volumes which Sear found necessary. As a result, Classical Numismatic Group is publishing The Handbook of Greek Coinage Series, written by Oliver D. Hoover, in a series of 13 volumes, each covering a specified area of Greek coinage with the first being The Handbook of Syrian Coins: Royal and Civic Issues, Fourth to First Centuries BC (Volume 9 in the series). This series is designed to aid the user in the quick, accurate, and relatively painless identification of Greek coins, while providing a cross-reference for each entry to a major work, which will allow the inquirer to pursue more in-depth research on the subject. The subject-matter of each volume is arranged chronologically for royal issues, and regionally for the civic issues; within each region, cities are listed directionally, depending on the region. For those rulers or cities that issued coins concurrently in all three metals, these issues will be arranged in the catalog with gold first, followed by silver, and then bronze; each metal is arranged by denomination, largest to smallest. Known mints for the royal coinage are listed below the appropriate type, making an easy search for a specific mint. Each entry will include a rarity rating based on the frequency with which they appear in publications, public and private collections, the market, and/or are estimated to exist in public or private hands. No valuations are listed, since such values are generally out of date by the time of publication. An online valuation guide at will allow interested individuals the opportunity to gauge the market, and reduce the need for repeated updates of this series. Whether one purchases the entire set for their reference library, or the individual volume pertaining to one’s area of specialization, The Handbook of Greek Coinage Series should provide a useful staging-point from which collectors and interested scholars can pursue their research and interests.

Hoover, Oliver D. Handbook of Coins of Macedon and Its Neighbors. Part I: Macedon, Illyria, and Epeiros, Sixth to First Centuries BC [The Handbook of Greek Coinage Series, Volume 3]. 2016. lxxviii and 431 numbered pp. Hardbound. (GR332) $65

Hoover, Oliver D. Handbook of of Coins of Northern and Central Greece: Achaia Phthiotis, Ainis, Magnesia, Malis, Oita, Perrhaibia, Thessaly, Akarnania, Aitolia, Lokris, Phokis, Boiotia, Euboia, Attica, Megaris, and Corinthia. [The Handbook of Greek Coinage Series, Volume 4]. 2014. lxxvii + 563 numbered pages (GR333) $65

Hoover, Oliver D. Handbook of Coins of Baktria and Ancient India Including Sogdiana, Margiana, Areia, and the Indo-Greek, Indo-Skythian, and Native Indian States South of the Hindu Kush. Fifth Century BC to First Century AD. [The Handbook of Greek Coinage Series, Volume 12]. 2013. lxxxiv + 389 numbered pages. (GR341) $65

Please see our website for additional volumes.

CNG Classical Numismatic Group, LLC

US OFFICE

UK OFFICE

EMAIL & WEBSITE

PO Box 479, Lancaster, PA 17608-0479 Phone (717) 390.9194 Fax (717) 390.9978

20 Bloomsbury Street, London WC1B 3QA, UK Phone +44.20.7495.1888 Fax +44.20.7499.5916

Email cng@cngcoins.com Website www.cngcoins.com