NOMOS FPL 4 2011

somon

nomos

z端rich, switzerland in association with

Classical Numismatic Group, Inc.

Lancaster, Pennsylvania London, England

126 Distinctive Numismatic Items

Winter-Spring 2011

Welcome to our fourth price list, coming out just in time for New Year’s 2011. As usual, we have tried to have something for everyone here: there are pieces from the Greek and Roman world, from Byzantium, and from Britain and early Modern Europe; most are coins meant as money, but there some medals too, meant to be cherished and kept; and they are made of gold, silver, and bronze.

All the coins were meant to be used, often in daily life for ordinary purchases, but the artistry with which they were made often astounds: the money struck by Dionysios I of Syracuse, or Nikokles of Paphos astounds us by its beauty and we have wonderful examples here: 12 is gold 100 litrai piece (or dekadrachm), unsigned but by Euainetos, while 13 and 14 are silver dekadrachms, the first signed by Kimon and the second by Euainetos. As for Nikokles, 81 is one of the most important coins to appear on the market for years: one of two in private hands out of a total of four in existence. But this list does not only contain ‘high-powered’ pieces such as these, there are also small coins of artistic brilliance, like 21, the bronze of Istros with a facing head of a river god of superb quality.

There is a wide selection of small silver coins from all over the Greek world, a good number of gold and electrum coins, ranging from fractions through staters, and from silver hemidrachms on up to tetradrachms. Roman coins have not been forgotten and include an aureus with an extraordinary portrait of Tiberius as an elderly man (90), denarii from the Republic through the Tetrarchy, and an unusual late Roman solidus now securely ascribed to the Germanic general Ricimer, the power-behind-the-throne of a number of later 5th century emperors (106). The last ancient coins are a two splendid Byzantine silver coins, and, from the Dark Ages, a few Merovingian and Carolingian pieces of fine quality. Then follow a small series of Renaissance coins and medals, that of the mysterious Hans Pest of Klagenfurt (113) bearing a particularly striking portrait. Finally there is a series of British coins, ranging from the Celts through the 17th century, closing with three evocative siege pieces struck during the English Civil War (123-125).

We hope to see everyone at the New York International Numismatic Convention, open from the 7th to the 9th of January. We also would like to see as many of you as possible at our stand at TEFAF, The European Fine Arts Fair, in Maastricht from the 18th through the 27th of March. We are tremendously honored to have been selected as permanent exhibitors for this prestigious fair, and we will have a fine selection of numismatic items on display, including some real surprises.

Finally, our next auctions take place on May 10th in Zurich. Auction 3 contains Ancient and later coins and medals of superb quality, and Auction 4 is composed of the highlights of the BCD Collection of the Coinage of Thessaly, which are simply astounding.

We wish you our numismatic best for the coming year.

Dr. Alan Walker

Nomos AG

Dr. A. Peter Weiss

Victor England

Eric J. McFadden

NOMOS AG CNG, Inc. WWW.NOMOSAG.COM WWW.CNGCOINS.COM nomos@nomosag.com cng@cngcoins.com Copyright CNG and Nomos

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Greek Coinage

1.

APULIA, Arpi. Circa 325-275 BC. (Bronze, 3.28 g 10). Laureate head of Zeus to left; behind, thunderbolt. Rev. ΑΡΠΑ Forepart of boar to right; above, spear head. HN III 643. SNG Paris 1240. SNG ANS -.

Rare. Very attractive dark green patina, Extremely fine.

An unusually nice coin with a lively boar, an animal still found in the woods and mountains of present-day Apulia.

2.

CALABRIA, Tarentum. Circa 315-302 BC. Stater (Silver, 7.98 g 9). Nude rider on horse galloping to right, stabbing with spear held in his right hand and holding two other spears and shield with his left; below, ΣΑ.

Rev. ΤΑΡΑΣ Phalanthos riding dolphin to left, holding kantharos in his right hand and trident in his left; below, dolphin to left; to left, monogram of ΑΡ. Fischer-Bossert 849. HN III 937. Vlasto 602. Very well struck, a superb piece. Good extremely fine.

3.

CALABRIA, Tarentum. Circa 280-272 BC. Stater (Silver, 7.90 g 11), Eu..., Nikon and Ari.... ΕΥ / [ΝΙ]ΚΩΝ Nude ephebe, on horse galloping to left, resting his right hand on the horse’s head and holding a small round shield and spear with his left, dangling his left leg to his left and bending his right leg so that his knee rests on the horse’s back, preparing to leap off the horse and run beside him. Rev. ΤΑΡΑΣ / ΑΡΙ Phalanthos, nude, riding dolphin to left, holding wheat ear in his right hand and resting his left on the dolphin’s back; below right, spear head.

Burlington House pl. 101, 40 (this coin). Evans VIE.2, and pl. VII, 10 (this coin). HN III 969. Jameson 165 (this coin. Vlasto 701. A beautifully struck, beautifully toned example, exceptionally fine . Extremely fine.

From the collections of W. Niggeler, 1, Bank Leu/Münzen und Medaillen, 3 December 1965, 37, R. Jameson and Sir Arthur J. Evans.

This wonderful coin depicts a scene of aristocratic athletic prowess: an armed ephebe preparing to leap from his horse, run beside him, and then leap on his back again.

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4.

LUCANIA, Metapontion. Circa 290-280 BC. Third-stater (Gold, 2.84 g 6). ΛΕΥΚΙΠΠ[ΟΣ] Head of bearded Leukippos to right, wearing crested Corinthian helmet adorned with Skylla hurling a rock to right. Rev. Μ Ε /ΣΙ Two ears of barley. HN III 1630. Johnston G5.1 . Rare. An attractive and well-struck coin with a fine head of Leukippos. Reverse very slightly doube-struck, otherwise, Extremely fine.

This coin was long ascribed to the later 4th century, on analogy with silver issues that have Leukippos, but those coins are rather different. This type seems best placed in the years before the arrival of Pyrrhus from Epiros.

5.

BRUTTIUM, Rhegion. Circa 415/0-387 BC. Hemilitron (Silver, 0mm, 0.33 g 12). Lion-mask facing.

Rev. Η within linear circle within very shallow circular incuse. Herzfelder pl. XI, K. HN III 2500. Uncleaned patina as found, an unusually nice example. Nearly extremely fine.

6.

BRUTTIUM, Terina. Circa 400-356 BC. Stater (Silver, 7.69 g). ΤΕΡΙΝΑΙΩΝ Head of the nymph Terina to right, wearing pearl necklace and pendant earring, and with her hair rolled up and bound at the top of her head. Rev. Nike seated left on cippus, holding dove alighting on her right hand and resting her left on the seat.

HN III 2629. Holloway & Jenkins 84. Jameson 493. Regling 81. SNG ANS 852. A lovely coin of beautiful late Classical style, nicely centered and of excellent metal quality. Attractively toned. A few minor marks, otherwise, about extremely fine.

Terina’s stater coinage was struck over a period of around 100 years, ranging from the 460s to the 350s (or slightly later): all bear roughly the same type, a head of the nymph Terina on the obverse and a figure of Nike on the reverse. Many of these coins are impressive, but the present issue, known from a small number of dies, is by far the most beautiful and attractive. The die cutter who produced the coins was extremely talented: the Nike is very elegant and reminiscent of those from Olympia, while the head of Terina is clearly modeled on the Arethusa who appeared on Kimon’s dekadrachms at Syracuse.

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7.

SICILY, Akragas. Circa 460-455/0 BC. Litra (Silver, 0.58 g 6). ΑΚRΑ Eagle standing left with closed wings. Rev. ΛΙ (= Litron) Crab. De Luynes 850. SNG ANS 989. SNG Lloyd 812. SNG Lockett 710. A lovely coin, nicely struck on good metal. Extremely fine.

This coin is particularly interesting because it has the denomination clearly noted on the reverse. At the time it was struck Akragas was changing the denominations of its fractions from obols to litrai and the inscription made this apparent for the contemporary user.

8.

SICILY, Herbessos. 354/3-344 BC. Drachm (Bronze, 32.14 g 12). [ΕΡΒΕΣΣΙΝΩΝ] Head of Sikelia to right, wearing myrtle wreath. Rev. Beareded head and neck of a man-headed bull to right. Basel 297 (this coin).

Castrizio series II, 1. CNS 4. SNG ANS -. SNG Lloyd 1002. SNG Morcom 593. Rare. Greenish brown patina. Minor edge cracks. Very fine.

Ex Numismatica Ars Classica 13 (Moretti), 297.

9.

SICILY, Segesta. Circa 405-400 BC. Tetradrachm (Silver, 17.15 g 7). [Σ]ΕΓΕΣΤΑΙΩΝ The hunter Aigestes, nude but for cloak over his left arm, with his pileos hanging on a cord at the back of his neck and his sword hanging at his waist on a strap going over his right shoulder, standing right, his left foot on a rock, holding two spears over his shoulder with his left hand and resting his right on his waist; he gazes right at a herm (here barely visible at the edge of the flan) and has two hunting dogs prowling right at his feet. Rev. ΣΕΓΕΣΤΑΖΙΑ Head of the nymph Segesta to left, wearing a triple-pendant earring, a necklace with pendants and with her hair bound in an ampyx and a star-embroidered sakkos; below her neck and behind her head, barley stalk and ear. Kraay/Hirmer 203 (same dies).

Lederer 6. Mildenberg, Kimon pl. 11, 21 (same dies). Rizzo pl. LXII, 13. Very rare. A wonderful coin of the finest classical style. Nicely toned. Obverse lightly struck, otherwise, good very fine.

This is one of the astounding coins of late 5th century Sicily. Segesta had called for Athenian aid against Selinos, providing enough money to pay the expedition for a month and promising more. As is was, the whole invasion was a disaster and Segesta ended up calling in the Carthaginians as allies: they captured and devastated Selinos in 409. The present coin may well have been issued to celebrate the temporary treaty between Carthage and Syracuse in 405 (though Segesta was attacked, but not taken, by Syracuse in 397). The artistry of the engraver who produced the dies for this coin is outstanding: Segesta is clearly influenced by Syracusan prototypes, but she has a florid voluptuousness that is almost startling and makes her much more human than many of the serene and powerful goddesses who appear on late 5th century coins from elsewhere in Sicily.

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10.

SICILY, Syracuse. Deinomenid Tyranny. 485-466 BC. Tetradrachm (Silver, 17.34 g), circa 475-470.

Quadriga walking to right, driver holds the reins in his left hand and his goad in his right; above, Nike flying right to crown the driver. Rev. ΣVRΑΚΟΣΙΟΝ Head of Arethusa to right, wearing necklace and diadem of pearls, and with her hair drawn up at the back; around, four dolphins swimming clockwise to right. Boehringer 322 (this coin).

Atrractively toned, a very pretty example. Extremely fine.

Ex Naville IV, 17 June 1922, 308.

The tetradrachms of Syracuse from this period were struck very rapidly, and are often somewhat off-struck on narrow flans. This piece, however, is exceptionally nice, with both sides beautifully centered, and with an unusually small and pretty head of Arethusa.

11.

SICILY, Syracuse. Second Democracy. 410-405. Hemilitron (Bronze, 3.18 g 7). Head of Arethusa to left, wearing ampyx and sphendone adorned with a star; behind, dolphin to left. Rev. ΣΥΡΑ Wheel with four spokes; dolphin in each of the bottom two quarters. CNS 20. SNG ANS 411. Of beautiful late 5th century style, and with a fine greenish-brown patina. Extremely fine.

12.

SICILY, Syracuse. Dionysios I. 405-367 BC. 100 Litrai (Gold, 5.79 g), circa 405-400. ΣΥΡΑΚΟΣΙΩΝ Head of Arethusa to left, her hair bound up in a sphendone ornamented with two stars, wearing a single-pendant earring and a pearl necklace; globule in field before and behind her neck. Rev. Youthful Herakles kneeling to right on rocky ground line, grappling with the Nemean lion. Bérend 14/6 (this coin). Jameson 814 (this coin). SNG ANS 327-328 (same dies). A lovely coin of beautiful style, unsigned but by Euainetos, nicely centered and toned. Some minor marks, otherwise, extremely fine.

Ex Hess-Leu 28, 5 May 1965, 93, Hess-Leu (3), 27 March 1956, 205 (incorrect weight), Hess(-Leu 1), 14 April 1954, 68 (incorrect weight), and from the collections of R. Jameson, and of the Earl of Ashburnham, SWH, 6 May 1895, 49.

One of the amazing things about Greek coins, which are so beautiful to our eyes today, is that they were struck to pay for all sorts of everyday expenses. The extensive gold issues of Dionysios I are among the most beautiful gold coins ever struck, but they were, of course, made to pay his mercenary army! It is a question of philosophy: the Greeks believed in making even everyday objects such as coins beautiful as a way of bringing prestige and honor to the city and ruler who issued them. Certainly, the competition over engravers that took place in 5th century Sicily can be explained in no other way.

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13.

SICILY, Syracuse. Dionysios I. 405-367 BC. Dekadrachm (Silver, 43.17 g 6), Signed on the reverse by Kimon, circa 405-400 BC. Quadriga racing to left, driven by charioteer holding the reins in his left hand and goad with his right; above, Nike flying right to crown the driver; below ground line, panoply of arms arranged on two steps, the lower inscribed, ΑΘΛΑ. Rev. ΣΥΡΑΚΟΣΙΩΝ Head of Arethusa to left, wearing a single pendant earring and a pearl necklace, her hair bound in a net behind and with a hair band inscribed ΚΙ over her forehead; swimming around her head, four dolphins: two opposed before her face, one below her neck and one behind her head. Jongkees 7 (dies B/ζ). Nanteuil 357 (this coin). SNG Lloyd 1410 (same dies). A superb piece, in excellent silver and with a clear engraver’s signature. Good very fine/extremely fine.

From the collection of H. de Nanteuil and from the Noto (Falconera) Hoard of 1908 (IGCH 2103).

The dekadrachms of Kimon are among the most beautiful and powerful of all Greek coins. He first portrayed Arethusa as a young and rather innocent looking girl (as Kraay/Hirmer 117) but he almost immediately altered his vision of Arethusa for one, as here, who has a fully adult, imperious beauty of great power. This change must have been made on the orders of Dionysios I, and it must reflect his own personal taste.

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14.

SICILY, Syracuse. Dionysios I. 405-367 BC. Dekadrachm (Silver, 43.04 g 10), Signed by Euainetos on the reverse, circa 405-400 BC. Charioteer driving galloping quadriga to left, holding reins in his left hand and goad in his right; above, Nike flying right to crown the driver; below, on two steps, trophy of arms with inscription (here off the flan), ΑΘΛΑ. Rev. ΣΥΡΑΚΟΣΙΩΝ (some letters obscure) Head of Arethusa to left, wearing wreath of reeds, pendant earring and necklace; around her head, four dolphins; below her chin, Δ; beneath the dolphin below her neck, signature ΕΥ-ΑΙΝΕ. Dewing 902 (same dies). Gallatin O-XI/R D.1. A fine example of this famous coin, well-struck on a broad flan, nicely toned and with a clear signature. Some minor marks and a smidgen of die rust.

Good very fine - nearly extremely fine.

The dekadrachms of Syracuse are often found corroded, struck from worn or rusty dies, or actually marred by over-cleaning. This piece is quite a good example, free from flaws and with a clear signature. Comparing this piece with the previous example by Kimon shows how different their conceptions of Arethusa were.

15.

SICILY, Syracuse. Hieron II. 275-215 BC. 32 Litrai (Silver, 28.23 g 1), circa 250-216. Diademed head of Hieron II to left; behind head, poppy. Rev. ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ ΙΕΡΩΝΟΣ Nike driving galloping quadriga to right; below horses fore hooves, Ε. Basel 531 var. Gulbenkian 353 var. Very rare. With an elegant portrait of Hieron, idealized but still realistic. Toned. Some minor die faults, otherwise, nearly extremely fine.

Ex Hess-Leu 28, 5 May 1965, 107.

Hieron was born c. 308, and was the illegitimate son of a nobleman who claimed descent from the 5th century tyrant of Syracuse, Gelon (died in 478). He embarked on a career as a soldier, becoming commander of the Syracusan army in 275: in 270, after his defeat of the Mamertines, he was made king of Syracuse. He was soon at war with Rome, which had come to the aid of the Mamertines, but came to terms with them in 263 and remained a loyal ally of theirs until his death. This coin was struck at some point after c.250, both for prestige reasons and for actual use and must have been inspired by the large silver coins produced by the Ptolemies of Egypt. It is probable that the majority of these impressive coins were melted down later in the 3rd century in order to be turned into coins of more convenient size: in any event, once the Romans captured Syracuse in 212, all Syracuse’s earlier silver coinage would have been demonetized and taken to help finance Rome’s war efforts.

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16.

SICILY, Syracuse. Fifth Democracy. 214-212 BC. 16 Litrai (Silver, 13.55 g 6). Laureate head of Zeus to left; below neck, monogram of ΑΓ. Rev. ΣΥΡΑΚΟΣΙΩΝ Nike driving quadriga with horses walking to right; above, ΣΩ. Burnett, Enna 1 = 71 (same dies). Jameson 890 (same dies). Very rare. A wonderful coin with a superb head of Zeus of the very best late Hellenistic style and a fine patina as found. Extremely fine.

Ex Hess-Leu 31, 6 December 1966, 164.

The Zeus-head 16 Litrai coins of the Fifth Democracy at Syracuse are not only among the rarest of all Syracusan large module coins, but also bear one of the finest heads to appear on any of them. As we see him here Zeus is a god of great power and nobility, but the artist who cut these dies did not have the same vision of him as did the Syracusan engravers who produced dies for the bronze issues of the 4th century or those who made the heads on the coinage of Philip II, or even on those of the earlier 3rd century coinage of Olympia. This Syracusan head is a truly Hellenistic one with a quite different feeling: powerful but somehow more human.

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17.

ISLANDS off SICILY, Lipara. 412-408 BC. Hexas (Bronze, 1.34 g 2). Hephaistos seated right, holding kantharos with tall handles. Rev. ΛΙΠ with pellet above and below. CNS 22. SNG Copenhagen 1093. Very rare in such fine condition. Lovely dark green glossy patina. Nearly extremely fine.

On the obverse Hephaistos is shown as a craftsman, who has just made the vessel he holds.

18.

CARTHAGE, Lilybaion. Circa 350 BC. Tetradrachm (Silver, 16.97 g 9), Siculo-Punic issue. Head of Kore-Tanit to left, wearing crown of grain leaves, triple-pendant earring and pearl necklace. Rev. Horse jumping to right with palm tree behind. Gulbenkian 363. Jenkins 124. Toned, a remarkably attractive example of the very best style and in high relief. Nearly extremely fine.

The reverse of this coin is particularly interesting because the die cutter, surely a Greek artist of great talent, attempted to show the horse in perspective. He appears to be actually trying to jump out of the coin: his hind legs must behind the date palm in the field, while his body and forelegs are clearly passing diagonally before the tree. This has not been completely successful, but it is a marvelous coin nevertheless!

19.

CARTHAGE. Circa 350-320 BC. Stater (Gold, 9.39 g 3). Head of Tanit to left, wearing grain wreath, triple-pendant earring and a pearl necklace with eight pendants. Rev. Horse standing to right; before his hooves to right, three pellets. Jenkins & Lewis Group IIIg, 57 (same obverse die, and possibly the same reverse die as well).

Attractive and well struck on a broad flan. Good extremely fine.

Note that the similar piece in Nomos I, lot 30 is struck from the same obverse die, but was identified as being Group IIIh given the rather long tail and its close resemblence to IIIh 73. In fact, the obverse die of IIIh 73 is actually the same as IIIg 56-57(!) but is much more worn.

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20.

MOESIA, Dionysopolis. 3rd-1st centuries BC. AE (Bronze, 3.91 g 3). Head of youthful Dionysos to right, wearing ivy wreath. Rev. ΔΙΟΝΥ Bunch of grapes. Draganov, Bronze 1. Rare. A lovely piece with a fine, green patina, About extremely fine.

Dionysopolis, now the modern Balchik in Bulgaria, was founded by Milesian colonists in the 5th century B.C. It was first called Krounoi, the Greek word for springs (there were many in the area) but the name was soon changed to Dionysopolis, supposedly after the miraculous discovery of a statue of the god in the sea off the city. However, the fine climate also made it a suitable place for vineyards, which is, perhaps, a more likely reason for the name change!

21.

MOESIA, Istros. 3rd century BC. AE (Bronze, 2.71 g 6). Bearded head of a horned river god facing 3/4 to right. Rev. ΙΣΤΡΙ Sea eagle, with closed wings, standing left on dolphin. AMNG I, p. 167, 468. SNG BM Black Sea 260. Of splendid style with a wonderful head of a river god of Achelous-type. Rare, especially in this superb condition. Dark green, glossy patina, extremely fine.

This head of a bearded river god is very reminiscent of those on the man-headed bulls found on the coinages of Neapolis and Gela, but in some ways it surpasses them. The engraver who made the dies for this coin was exceptionally able and he produced one of the finest facing heads of the god to appear on all of Greek coinage. Quite an accomplishment for a Greek city up on the Black Sea coast at the mouth of the Danube!

22.

ISLANDS off THRACE, Thasos. Circa 411-340 BC. Hemiobol (Silver, 0.49 g 12). Head of bald and bearded satyr to right. Rev. ΘΑΣ Two dolphins, one above the other, swimming left and right; all within shallow incuse . SNG Copenhagen 1033. A remarkable piece, with a particularly fine and dramatic head of a satyr. Toned and attractive, but with some hornsilver on the reverse, otherwise, extremely fine.

The satyr -head hemiobols of Thasos accompany the kneeling satyr trihemiobols and are of equally fine style, beautifully engraved.

This example has a very powerful satyr head, itself quite a triumph of the engraver’s skills.

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23.

THRACO-MACEDONIAN TRIBES, Orreskioi. Circa 500-480 BC. Diobol (Silver, 1.06 g). Bull moving to right, partially kneeling; above, dolphin swimming right. Rev. Quadripartite incuse square. HPM pl.

5, 11. SNG ANS 984. Tzamalis, NKhron 17 (1998), 75 var. (bull left).. Bold and well-centered. Rare. Extremely fine.

Ex Lanz 141, 26 May 2008, 111.

A coin of vigorous archaic style and great beauty, this piece shows how remarkably good were the die cutters of Macedonia. This diobol was made for local use, rather than as a means of exporting silver as were the larger denominations: its fine preservation means that it must have been lost very soon after it was minted.

24.

MACEDON, Amphipolis. Late 5th-early 4th century BC. Obol (Silver, 0.51 g 9). Young male head to right, hair bound with taenia. Rev. Α-Μ-Φ-Ι Perch leaping diagonally; all within shallow incuse square. Lorber 68 c (this coin). SNG ANS 83. A superb piece, beautifully toned and most attractive. Minor striking flatness on the reverse, otherwise, good extremely fine.

Ex Stack’s, 14 January 2008, 2145, Hess-Divo 307, 7 June 2007, 1121, M&M FPL 505, 1987, 74 and SBV 17, 27 January 1987, 28.

This is a wonderful piece, toned and of exquisite style. No better example would be possible to find. The coinage of Amphipolis is famous for the great series of tetradrachms bearing facing heads of Apollo, of which some are among the finest facing heads in all of Greek numismatics. Accompanying these impressive coins were a very much smaller series of fractions: drachms, tetrobols, hemidrachms and obols. While the obols were struck from nine obverse dies, this one is the most beautiful of them all. Lorber only knew of four specimens struck from this die, of which three are in museums.

25.

MACEDON, Eion. Circa 480-470 BC. Diobol (Silver, 1.04 g g). Goose standing right, head turned back to left; above left, three pellets. Rev. Incuse square. SNG ANS 270. Bold, toned and attractive. Extremely fine.

Eion only struck coins during the 5th century BC and it was important as the port of Amphipolis; it was, in fact, a fortified naval base of the Athenians (previously it had served the Persians and was captured by the Athenians after a siege in 476/5). After the Peloponnesian War the city declined and it was utterly destroyed in c. 357. The city’s coins all have geese on them, particularly suitable for a city on the sea: they are among the most attractive birds to be found on the coinages of northern Greece.

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26.

MACEDON, Neapolis. Circa 500-480 BC. Stater (Silver, 9.34 g). Facing head of a Gorgon with sharp teeth and a protruding tongue Rev. Quadripartite incuse square. SNG ANS 401 ff. SNG Copenhagen 223. Rare.

Beautifully centered and of excellent metal. Nearly extremely fine.

Ex Lanz 125, 28 November 2005, 219.

This fearsome head of a Gorgon might seem an odd choice as a coin type, as it might terrify the user! In fact, she must be here in her aspect as a protector of the city, and of the coin itself.

27.

KINGS of MACEDON. Philip II. 359-336 BC. Stater (Gold, 8.60 g 10), Pella, 323-315. Laureate head of Apollo to right. Rev. ΦΙΛΙΠΠΟΥ Charioteer driving chariot drawn by two rearing horses to right, holding reins in his left hand and goad in his right; below horses, kantharos. Le Rider Pella III A, 453 (dies D 187/R 335). A wonderful piece, sharp and perfectly struck. Virtually as struck.

28.

KINGS of MACEDON. Alexander III ‘the Great’. 336-323 BC. Drachm (Silver, 4.24 g 12), Sardes, circa 334-323 BC. Head of Herakles to right, wearing lion’s skin headdress. Rev. ΑΛΕΞΑΝΔΡΟΥ Zeus seated on backless throne to left, holding eagle in his right hand and scepter in his left; to left, monogram of ΕΥ; below throne, rose. Price 2553. Bright and attractive. Good extremely fine.

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29.

KINGS of MACEDON. Alexander III ‘the Great’. 336-323 BC. Hemidrachm (Silver, 2.11 g 3), Arados, circa 328-320. Head of Herakles in lion’s skin headdress to right. Rev. ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ ΑΛΕΞΑΝΔΡΟΥ Zeus seated left on high-backed throne, holding eagle in his outstretched right hand and scepter in his left; below throne, Α above Ρ; to left, Ζ. Price 3330. Rare. A clear and attractive example, with a startlingly fine head of Herakles for such a small coin. Good very fine.

30.

KINGS of MACEDON. Alexander III ‘the Great’. 336-323 BC. AE (Bronze, 5.88 g 12), Uncertain mint in western Asia Minor, circa 323-310. Head of Herakles in lion skin headdress to right. Rev. ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ Race torch, club, and bow in bowcase. Price 2800. SNG Munich 919. Attractive olive-green patina, extremely fine.

31.

KINGS of MACEDON. Alexander III ‘the Great’. 336-323 BC. Stater (Gold, 8.55 g 11), Babylon, circa 317-311 BC. Head of Athena to right, wearing triple-crested Corinthian helmet adorned with serpent on the bowl, pendant earring and simple necklace. Rev. ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ ΑΛΕΞΑΝΔΡΟΥ Nike standing left with her wings spread, holding laurel wreath in her right hand and stylis in her left; to left, monogram of ΗΡ; to right, monogram within wreath. Price 3715 var. (the shape of the monogram within the wreath differs slightly). A lovely, clear example of very good style. Extremely fine.

The gold coinage of Alexander, both the lifetime issues and those struck after his death, was huge, and was used all over the ancient classical world. These coins were copied by the Celts and other local groups, especially in central and eastern Europe, and pieces are found as far east as India. Of course, much of the gold for these coins came from the huge treasure of precious metal Alexander took from the Persians: millions of their darics were melted down to make his staters. But, of course, the same fate was suffered by the vast majority of Alexander’s staters: they, in turn, were melted to produce later coins or objects, so that only a tiny fraction of the staters originally minted survive today.

16

32.

KINGS of MACEDON. Alexander III ‘the Great’. 336-323 BC. Stater (Gold, 8.53 g 3), Babylon, circa 311-305 BC. Head of Athena to right, wearing triple-crested Corinthian helmet adorned with serpent on the bowl, pendant earring and pearl necklace. Rev. ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ ΑΛΕΞΑΝΔΡΟΥ Nike standing left with her wings spread, holding laurel wreath in her right hand and stylis in her left; to left, monogram within wreath; to right, ΜΙ. Price 3745. A lovely coin, nicely centered on a broad flan, lightly toned and of fine style. Extremely fine.

The fact that really well preserved staters of Alexander are not very common can be explained because people used them constantly with the result that they became worn and were melted down in antiquity to make other coins or objects. When clients went to jewelers in ancient times they often brought the raw material that would be used for their adornments with them, in the form of coins.

33.

KINGS of MACEDON. Alexander III ‘the Great’. 336-323 BC. Drachm (Silver, 4.10 g 10), Uncertain mint in Asia Minor, circa 275. Head of Herakles wearing lionskin headdress to right. Rev. ΑΛΕΞΑΝΔΡΟΥ Zeus seated left, to left, triskeles. Price-. Apparently unpublished and unknown. Extremely rare. Very attractively toned and with an especially interesting symbol. Minor marks, otherwise, extremely fine.

Ex Triton VI, 14 January 2003, 169.

34.

KINGS of MACEDON. Alexander III ‘the Great’. 336-323 BC. Tetradrachm (Silver, 17.09 g 1), Temnos, circa 188-170. Head of Herakles in lion skin headdress to right. Rev. ΑΛΕΞΑΝΔΡΟΥ Zeus seated left on backless throne, hold eagle in his right hand and scepter in his left; to left, two monograms over vine-tendril with grapes above an oenochoe to right . Price 1687. An elegant and well-centered coin struck on a large flan . Lightly toned, good extremely fine.

17

35.

KINGS of MACEDON. Philip V. 221-179 BC. Tetradrachm (Silver, 16.80 g 12), Pella, 188/7-179 BC. Head of Philip V to left, wearing a winged Phrygian helmet with a griffin crest and with a harpa over his left shoulder; all within the tondo of Macedonian shield ornamented on the edge with seven stars, each within a double crescent. Rev. ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ / ΦΙΛΙΠΠΟΥ Club to right; above, monogram of ΖΩ; below, monograms of ΔΙ and ΜΗ; all within oak wreath with ties to left; outside wreath to left, tripod. Mamroth, Philip 16. An unusually clear and attractive coin with a wonderful head of Philip V in the guise of the hero Perseos. Extremely fine.

This coin bears the monogram of Zoilos, the powerful magistrate who also signed coins of Philip V’s son Perseos and the famous pseudo-Rhodian drachms that were found in the Larissa Hoard of 1968. The portrait, while ‘officially’ that of the hero Perseos (perhaps so as to not offend the Romans too much - though he is wearing the same helmet Roma wears on denarii), is clearly an idealized and rejuvenated head of the king himself.

36.

EPEIROS, Federal coinage (Epirote Republic). Circa 234/3-168 BC. Didrachm (Silver, 9.26 g 3).

Jugate busts to right of Zeus, wearing oak wreath, and Dione, draped and with stephane; behind and below Zeus’ neck, two monograms. Rev. ΑΠΕΙ /ΡΩΤΑΝ Bull butting to right; all within oak wreath. BMC 8-9. Franke 24.1 (V10/R17), pl. 19, 24 = de Nanteuil 863 = Weber 3024 (this coin). Rare. Toned and clear. Some minor doublestriking on the reverse, otherwise, nearly extremely fine.

From the collections of H. de Nanteuil, Hess-Leu 31, 5 December 1966, 291, Sir H. Weber, Naville IV, 17 June 1922, 531, and F. Bompois, Hoffmann 16 January 1882, 976.

The gods on the obverse of this coin are those of the great Epirote sanctuary of Dodona. In prehistoric times the sanctuary belonged to Dione, who was worshipped as a mother goddess, but as time passed Zeus took over. It was particularly famous for its sacred grove. The temple, rebuilt by Pyrrhus, was burnt by the Aetolians in 219 BC, rebuilt with the help of Philip V, and then destroyed by the Romans under Aemilius Paullus in 167.

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37.

AKARNANIA, Federal Coinage (Akarnanian Confederacy). Circa 250 BC. Quarter Stater (Gold, 2.15 g 9). Head of youthful man-headed bull to right (Acheloos); to left, retrograde N. Rev. ΑΚΑΡΝΑΝΩΝ Apollo seated left on throne, holding bow in his right hand; to left, plow. BCD Akarnania 14 var. Nomos 1, 56 (same dies).

Extremely rare. A splendid piece. Silightly double struck, otherwise, extremely fine.

The Akarnanian Confederacy produced a gold coinage in the mid-3rd century in order to pay for military needs, using metal derived from votives and other ritual items that were melted down. Only a very small number of these rare coins still survive, having, in their turn, been melted down by other authorities.

38.

AKARNANIA, Federal Coinage (Akarnanian Confederacy). Circa 250-200 BC. Stater (Silver, 9.92 g 11), Leukas. ΛΥΚΟΥΡΓΟΣ Head of the youthful river-god Acheloös to right. Rev. ΑΚΑΡΝΑΝΩΝ Apollo, nude, seated left on a volute ornamented marble throne, holding a bow in his right hand and resting his left arm on the chair; to left, monogram of ΑΡ. BCD Akarnania 22.1 (this coin). BMC 4. Imhoof-Blumer Akarnanien 21. An attractive toned example. Good very fine.

Ex Münzen und Medaillen GmbH, Sammlung BCD, 18 October 2007, 22.1 and from the collection of J.S. Wilkinson, Malter, 15 November 1992, 387.

When this youthful head of a horned river god is compared with the bearded head found on the coinage of Gela, one is irresistibly reminded of the bearded head of Zeus on the tetradrachms of Philip and the beardless Herakles on those of Alexander. Why certain cities portrayed their river gods as youths while others chose more mature versions is unknown, but was probably solely due to the personal preferences of the city’s elite.

39.

AKARNANIA, Federal Coinage (Akarnanian Confederacy). Circa 250-200 BC. Drachm (Silver, 5.04 g 11), Leukas. ΛΥΚΟΥΡΓΟΣ Head of the youthful river-god Acheloös to right. Rev. ΑΚΑΡΝΑΝΩΝ Apollo, nude, seated left on a volute ornamented marble throne, holding a bow in his right hand and resting his left arm on the chair; to left, monogram of ΑΡ. BCD Akarnania 30 (this coin). BMC 10 and pl. XXVII, 3 (same dies).

Imhoof-Blumer Akarnanien 21. Pozzi 1322 (this coin). SNG Lockett 1684 (this coin). Lightly toned and well struck with all parts of the design visible. About extremely fine.

Ex Münzen und Medaillen GmbH, Sammlung BCD, 18 October 2007, 30 and from the collections of R. C. Lockett, VI, Glendining & Co., 12 February1958, 1526 and S. Pozzi, Naville I, 4 April 1921, 1322.

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40.

AKARNANIA, Thyrrheion. Circa 168-160 BC. Chalkous (Bronze, 1.39 g 3). Head of Achelöos to right. Rev. Θ in wreath. BCD Akarnania -. Lanz 135, 21 May 2007, 93 (ascribed to an uncertain Sicilian mint).

Extremely rare, probably the second example known. Attractive dark green patina with earthen highlights, good very fine.

This is one of those enigmatic coins that appears in the world of numismatics: apparently hitherto unknown save for a piece that turned up in the Lanz sale of three years ago. The types and fabric clearly relate to the Greek mainland more than they do to Sicily (the Lanz attribution), and the theta on the reverse is a good indication that the coin was struck in Thyrreion, one of the cities of Akarnania. The one problem with this attribution is that the contemporary silver of Thyrreion bears a beardless head of Achelöos.

In any case, the head on this coin is a particularly elegant one.

41.

LOKRIS, Lokris Opuntii. C. 369-338. Obol (Silver, 0.79 g). ΟΠ-ΟΝ Amphora, with bunch of grapes hanging from each handle and with a vine tendril across the body. Rev. Star of sixteen rays around central omphalos.

BCD 26.1 (same dies). Jameson 1148. Traité II, 3, 436 bis and pl. XXVII, 9. A rare variety, usually the amphora has plain surfaces. About extremely fine.

This is actually a remarkably fine example, fully equal to the BCD piece.

42.

LOKRIS, Lokris Opuntii. Circa 350s BC. Stater (Silver, 12.15 g 3). Head of Demeter to left, wearing wreath of wheat leaves, pearl necklace and tripartite earring. Rev. ΟΠΟΝΤΙΩ-Ν Ajax striding right, nude but for helmet, holding short sword in his right hand and round shield with his left; within shield, griffin to right; below, broken spear and bunch of grapes. BCD 59 (this coin). Delbridge, Corpus, Group 15, 128 v. Attractively toned.

About extremely fine.

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43.

LOKRIS, Lokris Opuntii. Circa 340s BC. Stater (Silver, 12.11 g 12). Head of Demeter to right, wearing wreath of wheat leaves, hair band with pearls, pearl necklace and pendant earring. Rev. ΟΠΟΝΤΙΩΝ Ajax striding right, nude but for helmet, holding short sword in his right hand and round shield with his left; within shield, griffin to right; below, broken spear . BCD 72 (this coin). Delbridge, Corpus, Group 22, 160k. Of lovely style and beautifully toned. Nearly extremely fine.

44.

PHOKIS, Federal Coinage. Circa 478-460. Obol (Silver, 0.90 g 12). Bull’s head facing. Rev. Forepart of boar to right, within shallow incuse square. Williams - (O - / R. 58). A nicely struck, toned coin. A little flatness on the reverse, otherwise, nearly extremely fine.

Ex Spink 68, 22 March 1989, 63 (part).

45.

PHOKIS, Federal Coinage. Circa 460-458/7. Obol (Silver, 1.09 g 9). ΦΟ Bull’s head facing. Rev. Forepart of boar to right; all within incuse square. BCD -. Williams 175. Attractive and clear. Surfaces slightly rough. Nearly extremely fine.

46.

PHOKIS, Federal Coinage. Circa 354-346. Chalkous (Bronze, 2.17 g 11). Helmeted head of Athena facing, turned slightly to left. Rev. Φ within wreath. SNG Christomanos 724. Attractive greenish brown patina.

Good very fine.

This is quite a pleasant little coin with a very bold, albeit miniature, head of Athena.

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47.

BOEOTIA, Federal Coinage. Circa 395-387 BC. Stater (Silver, 12.11 g). Boeotian shield. Rev. ΒΟ - ΙΩ Fluted amphora with high handles; above, bow with string upwards. BCD Boiotia 8. BMC 48. A bright, very wellpreserved example. Extremely fine.

48.

BOEOTIA, Thebes. Circa 440-425 BC. Stater (Silver, 11.89 g). Boeotian shield. Rev. Θ - Ε Head of Herakles facing, bearded and wearing lion’s skin headdress; all within shallow incuse square. BCD Boiotia 423 (this coin). Gulbenkian 500. Traité III, 234, pl. CC, 3. A wonderful coin, with a remarkably refined and attractive head of Herakles. Toned. Some minor marks, otherwise, good very fine.

From the BCD Collection, Triton IX, 10 January 2006, 423 and ex Bank Leu 28, 5 May 1981, 103.

This facing head of Herakles is remarkably fine, and conveys a pathos that is seldom found in Greek coinage. Here we see Herakles as both a human and a divine figure, fully conscious of the dangers of his own powers; no other facing head on Greek coinage has such mannered emotion. As such this is a true masterpiece of Classical Greek art, and is one of the finest coins struck in 5th century Greece.

22

49.

BOEOTIA, Thebes. Circa 425-395 BC. Stater (Silver, 12.14 g). Boeotian shield. Rev. Θ Ε Bearded head of Dionysos to right, wearing ivy wreath. BCD Boiotia 437-438 var. SNG Copenhagen 284. An attractive, fresh coin, struck in good silver and nicely toned. About extremely fine.

The mannered head of Dionysos on this coin shows the god in a calm moment: he lacks any trace of drunkenness or lack of control.

50.

ATTICA, Athens. Circa 455-449 BC. Tetradrachm (Silver, 17.13 g 7). Head of Athena to right, wearing Attic helmet adorned with olive leaves and palmette. Rev. ΑΘΕ Owl standing to right, head facing; behind head, crescent moon and olive twig with two leaves and berry. Starr Group V, 163 (this coin). A bold, late archaic coin with a powerful head of Athena and a fine owl. Toned and attractive. A few minor marks, otherwise, extremely fine.

Ex Hess-Leu 3617 April 1968, 205.

This coin, which is really very well centered and in high relief, formed part of the last of the relatively small issues of the early 5th century, prior to the beginning of the massive issues in the 450s. Those issues were rapidly produced in enormous numbers and became an international coinage of the greatest importance.

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51.

ATTICA, Athens. Circa 165-42 BC. Tetradrachm (Silver, 16.91 g 12), Dorothe... and colleagues, 132/1 BC. Head of Athena Parthenos to right, wearing triple-crested Attic helmet. Rev. ΑΘΕ / ΔΩΡ / ΟΘΕ / ΔΙΟΦ / ΔΗΜΗ /ΟΥΛΙ Owl, with facing head, standing right on amphora; on amphora, Γ; below, ΜΕ; to right, forepart of lion to right; all within olive wreath. Thompson 385c. Lightly toned and attractive. Extremely fine.

52.

ISLANDS off ATTICA, Aegina. C. 350-338. Obol (Silver, 0.67 g 9). I Α Land tortoise with segmented shell. Rev. Δ-Ι-Κ-Α-ΙΟ Incuse square divided into five compartments. BMC 201. Millbank pl. III, 14. Traité II, 3, 140 var. = pl. CXCV, 19. A rare variety with the full magistrate’s name . Striking fault at the center of the reverse, otherwise, good very fine.

53.

SIKYONIA, Sikyon. Circa 500/490-450 BC. Hemiobol (Silver, 0.42 g 12). Dove standing right with closed wings. Rev. Large letter san displayed vertically within an incuse rectangle. BCD Peloponnesos 155. BMC 6-7. Warren 1-2. Toned and remarkably nice; an exceptional example. Nearly extremely fine.

This is a remarkably fine piece, better, in fact, than the BCD coin of the same type.

54.

SIKYONIA, Sikyon. Circa 431-400 BC. Stater (Silver, 12.11 g). ΣΕ Chimaera moving to left on ground line, right paw raised. Rev. Dove flying left with open wings; all within olive wreath tied on the right. BCD Peloponnesos 186. BMC 22. Rare. Nicely toned and well struck. Extremely fine.

The Chimaera was a composite monster, mostly a lioness but with a he-goat in the middle and a snake as a tail. The goat was also said to breath fire. This creature was killed by Bellerophon.

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55.

SIKYONIA, Sikyon. Circa 360s-340s/330s. Obol (Silver, 0.93 g 3). Dove alighting left; to left and right, Σ-Ε. Rev. Dove flying left; above tail, Σ. BCD 256.4. A rare variant. Nearly extremely fine.

56.

ELIS, Olympia. 78th-82nd Olympiad. 468-452 BC. Obol (Silver, 0.97 g 6). Eagle flying left with wings above and below his body, grasping snake in his beak and claws. Rev. FΑ Thunderbolt with wings above and volutes below. BCD Olympia 14. BCD Peloponnesos 620. SNG Copenhagen 354. Very rare. Well preserved and well struck for the type. Good very fine.

57.

ARGOLIS, Argos. Circa 370-350 BC. Tritetartemorion (Silver, 0.69 g 5). Head of Hera to right, her hair flowing down the back of her neck, wearing stephane and pearl necklace. Rev. Τ-Τ-Τ-Σ Temple key bound with fillet to right. BCD 1070 (obverse)/1071 (reverse). A very rare variant, not in BCD. Obverse struck from a worn die, otherwise, about extremely fine.

58.

ARGOLIS, Kleonai. Circa 470-420 BC. Obol (Silver, 1.01 g 9). Head of Herakles to left, wearing lionskin headdress. Rev. K with curved arms in the right half of an incuse square. BCD Peloponnesos 1316 (this coin). BMC 1-5. SNG Copenhagen 111. Very rare and nicely toned. Nearly extremely fine.

Ex BCD Peloponnesos, LHS 96, 8 May 2006, 1316 and Burgan 18, 22 December 1984, 254.

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59.

ARKADIA, Arkadian League. Kleitor. Circa 480-470 BC. Obol (Silver, 1.03 g 9). Zeus Lykaios seated left on throne. Rev. AR (retrograde) Head of Kallisto to left. BCD Peloponnesos (Kleitor) 1394 var. ( a hemidrachm of very similar style). Williams, Confederate 23-28 var. Very rare. Darkly toned and with a splendid head of Kallisto.

Nearly extremely fine.

60.

ARKADIA, Kleitor. Circa 370-350 BC. Obol (Silver, 0.88 g 5). Helmeted head of Athena to right, cheek piece raised; behind, Α. Rev. ΚΛΗ (retrograde) Bridled horse galloping to right with trailing rein. BCD 1421 (same dies). BMC 7 var. SNG Copenhagen 220 (same dies). Very rare. Obverse struck from a rusty die and reverse with some die faults, otherwise, about extremely fine.

61.

CRETE, Phaistos. Circa 300-270 BC. Stater (Silver, 11.31 g 12). ΤΑ-ΛΩ-Ν The winged nude giant Talos standing facing, hurling a stone from his upraised right hand and holding another in his left. Rev. Bull standing to left, his head turned to face the viewer. Le Rider, Monnaies Crétoises p. 24, 17 = pl. IV, 17 (this coin). Extremely rare, apparently the only example of this variety known. Nicely toned and attractive. Some unobtrusive traces of overstriking on the obverse, otherwise, extremely fine.

From the collection of W. Niggeler, 1, Bank Leu/Münzen und Medaillen, 3 December 1965, 335, ex Kricheldorf, 28 May 1956, 1056, and from the Phaistos Region Hoard of 1953 (IGCH 152).

The coins of Phaistos showing the great giant Talos are among the most mythologically interesting coins of Crete. Talos seems to be a pre-Hellenic solar deity whose powers were taken over by Zeus. he is also said to have been created by Hephaistos as a favor to Zeus in order to protect Europa, who had fled to Crete, from malefactors. He did this by hurling boulders at any passing ships that thought to land without permission. He was supposedly destroyed when Medea managed to remove the nail that stopped his vein and his molten blood ran out. The bull on the reverse must be a depiction of Zeus in the form he assumed when he kidnapped Europa.

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62.

CYCLADES, Paros. Late 3rd-mid 2nd century BC. Drachm (Silver, 3.05 g 12), Kleo.... Head of KorePersephone to right, wearing wreath of grain ears. Rev. Ε / ΠΑΡΙ / ΚΛΕΟ Inscription within ivy wreath. BMC-.

Leschhorn, Lexikon II, p. 613. SNG Copenhagen -. Very rare, especially with this magistrate. Nicely toned, good very fine.

63.

CYCLADES, Tenos ?. Circa 520-500 BC. Tetrobol (Silver, 2.75 g). Bunch of grapes. Rev. Rough incuse square. Artemis-Gyselen class 2. Cf. Classical Numismatic Group MBS 73, 281 (same obverse die). Traité 1925 var.

Rare and nicely toned. About extremely fine.

Ex Gorny & Mosch 125, 13 October 2003, 163.

Coins of this type have long been attributed to Tenos, especially by Imhoof-Blumer and L. Artemis-Gyselen, but Sheedy (pp.7274) points out that they have distinct Macedonian affinities too. Unfortunately, the only known find spot for these coins is the great 1911 Taranto Hoard (IGCH 1874), which does not really help to localize them.

64.

CIMMERIAN BOSPOROS, Pantikapaion. Circa 340-325 BC. Tridrachm (Silver, 11.63 g 12). Head of a youthful satyr to left, with a pug nose, a bony knob on his forehead, a pointed animal’s ear and an ivy wreath. Rev. Π-Α-Ν Head of an ox to left. MacDonald 56. SNG BM Black Sea 879. Rare. A lovely very well centered example with a dark patina as found. A few very minor scrapes in the patina, otherwise, bold, impressive and, extremely fine.

The coinage of Pantikapaion is famous for the representations of satyrs that appear on it, whether youthful as here, fully adult or old. These creatures symbolize the natural riches of the Crimea, especially the vines that produced the region’s famous wines. The ox on the reverse of this coin is another example of the area’s agricultural richness, though this powerful beast, with his staring eye, was doubtless meant to be a sacrifice to the gods.

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65.

PAPHLAGONIA, Amastris. Circa 285-250 BC. Stater (Silver, 9.57 g 12). Head of Mithras to right wearing Persian mitra adorned with laurel wreath and star. Rev. ΑΜΑΣΤΡΙΕΩΝ Aphrodite seated left on throne, holding Nike and lotos-tipped scepter; below throne, monogram; to left, rose. BMFA 1362. RG 11. Rare, of lovely style and very well centered. Attractively toned, nearly extremely fine.

This is actually a remarkably fine example of this elusive coinage: nicely toned, well struck and centered.

66.

PAPHLAGONIA, Sinope. Circa 330-300 BC. Tetradrachm (Silver, 17.10 g 12). Head of the city goddess of Sinope to right, wearing mural crown. Rev. ΣΙΝΩΠΕΩΝ - Α/Μ/ΑΡ Apollo seated right on omphalos, holding his lyre with his left hand and holding a plektron with his right. SNG von Aulock 6860 (this coin). Very rare.

Beautifully toned and attractive. Some minor striking faults on the reverse, otherwise, extremely fine.

From the collection of H.S. von Aulock.

Sinope was a Black Sea port that goes back to at least Hittite times. In the 7th century BC it was refounded as a Greek colony by Miletos, and became increasingly prosperous. In the early 4th century BC it was part of the Persian Empire; independent after Alexander, it was captured by Pharnakes I of Pontus in 183 and was made the kingdom’s capital (Mithradates VI was born there).

Taken by Lucullus in 77 BC, it was made a colony by Julius Caesar in 47: it remained a Roman and then Byzantine city until its capture by the Seljuks in 1214. This coin was once in the collection of Hans Silvius von Aulock (1906-1980), one of the finest and best published collections of the coins of Asia Minor ever formed. He was born in Ohlau (now Oława in Poland) and ultimately became a banker and in 1941 director of the Deutsche Orient Bank in Istanbul. He was anti-Nazi, refused to return to Germany during World War II, and was interned in Turkey in 1944-5. After the end of the war he supported himself by winning at cards until 1948 when banking business began again. He also began seriously to collect at this time. When he retired at 65 in 1971 he was able to devote himself to scholarship full time: by this point his famous sylloge, written with a number of colleagues, starting with G. Kleiner and Clemens Bosch, had been finished (1957- 1968) and he had begun to concentrate on mint studies. He and his wife were killed in an auto accident in November 1980.

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67.

MYSIA, Kyzikos. 5th-4th century BC. Stater (Electrum, 16.17 g). Perseos, nude but for his cloak tied around his neck, kneeling right, his head turned back to left, holding harpa in his right hand and the head of the Medusa in his left (here off the flan); below, tunny fish. Rev. Quadripartite incuse square. SNG France 310-311. SNG von Aulock 7308 (this coin). Von Fritze I 162. Rare. A bold piece bearing a fascinating mythological type. Slightly off center, otherwise, nearly extremely fine.

From the collection of H. S. von Aulock, and ex Hess-Leu 11, 24 March 1959, 246, and from the Jameson collection, but not in the catalogue).

68.

MYSIA, Pergamon. 334-332 BC. Stater (Gold, 8.60 g 1). Head of youthful Herakles to right, wearing lion skin headdress. Rev. Palladium (an archaic statue of Athena), wearing kalathos, standing facing in an archaistic manner, holding a shield ornamented with a star over her left arm and thrusting with a spear held in her upraised right hand; in field to left, Corinthian helmet with crest; hanging from the shield, fillet ending in tassels. Gulbenkian 699 = Jameson 2580. SNG France 1557. Extremely rare, one of a very few examples known. An exceptional piece of great beauty. A few very minor die flaws, otherwise, nearly as struck.

Dated to 334-332 in the most recent sources, this may, in fact, be too early and we may have to visualize this as having been struck slightly later, after the ever increasing numbers of Alexander’s standard silver issues, with their comparable heads of Herakles, had begun to flood the markets of the ancient world. In every way this coin, accompanied by a small number of other pieces with differing symbols, must have been special: it bears no name of the authority that issued it, and only the characteristic Pergamene figure of Athena points to that city as its origin. The presence of examples of this type in the famous Saïda hoard, dating to the late 320s, makes it clear that it had to have been struck at some point during the reign of Alexander himself. If so, we might view it as a special issue designed to pay the troops who guarded Pergamon, location of one of the greatest stores of wealth in all of Alexander’s empire.

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69.

AEOLIS, Kyme. Circa 165-140 BC. Tetradrachm (Silver, 16.74 g 12), Olympios. Head of the nymph Kyme to right, her hair bound up with a broad taenia marked with either Η or Ζ at the end just before the roll of hair at the back of her head. Rev. ΚΥΜΑΙΩΝ/ΟΛΥΜΠΙΟC Horse standing right, left foot raised; below, one-handled vase; all within olive wreath. BMC 80. Oakley 50/a. A fascinating and apparently unnoticed variant. Attractively toned, nearly extremely fine.

The importance of this coin comes from the curious letter that appears on the end of the nymph’s hair band: it could be either an eta or an upright zeta, which was often written like a tall I with very much extended serifs on the top and bottom. This letter almost certainly is the initial of the die cutter’s name and, as such, is one of the very few artists’ signatures found on Hellenistic coinage.

Its very discrete placement (no previous commentator seems to have noticed it) is quite reminiscent of the signature of the famous engraver who signed many issues of Ptolemy I with a tiny Δ hidden in the hair of the obverse portrait.

70.

LESBOS, Mytilene. Circa 521-478 BC. Hekte (Electrum, 2.25 g 6), circa 500 BC. Ram’s head to right; below, rooster feeding to left. Rev. Lion’s head with open jaws to left; behind, rectangle divided into two squares; all incuse. Bodenstedt 11. SNG von Aulock 7718. Rare. Nicely toned and with a wonderful pair of animal heads.

Rooster’s head off the flan as usual, otherwise, good extremely fine.

The use of incuse reverse types at Mytilene is a characteristic of the early electrum coinage of that city. Of interest is the fact that the engraver also included a representation of the original incuse squares as well, perhaps to remind users of the more simple issues of the past.

71.

IONIA, Erythrai. Circa 550-500 BC. Hekte (Electrum, 2.57 g). Head of Herakles to left, wearing lionskin headdress. Rev. Quadripartite incuse square. BMFA 1807 SNG von Aulock 1942. Extremely fine.

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72.

IONIA, Phokaia. Circa 387-326 BC. Hekte (Electrum, 2.57 g), circa 360-350. Diademed head of Artemis to left, wearing pendant earring and with her hair bound into a bun at the back; behind head, quiver; below neck, seal swimming to left. Rev. Quadripartite incuse square. Bodenstedt 99. SNG Lockett 2846. A very attractive coin with a well-centered head of Artemis. Nicely toned. Extremely fine.

73.

IONIA, Uncertain. Late 7th or early 6th century BC. Trite (Electrum 4.52 g), Milesian standard. Two lion heads, one above the other, facing in opposite directions with open jaws (but here struck from a very worn die).

Rev. Curved object (perhaps the central portion of a ketos?) within the slightly rounded square of a deep incuse; struck twice, both from the same punch die. Apparently completely unpublished, but related to a number of hektes (as Lanz 97, May 2000, 321) and hemihektes (as Gorny & Mosch 118, October 2002, 1427) that have appeared on the market over the past 10 years. A fascinating, even extraordinary, coin, made around the time when coinage was first invented . The obverse is basically unworn, but struck from a very worn die, thus effectively, good fine/about extremely fine.

With this coin we are close to the birth of coinage. The essential crudeness of the workmanship and the shape is close to that of the typeless pieces that are well-known from Ephesos and elsewhere. What is particularly intriguing is the great wear shown by the obverse die: this argues that a considerable number of other coins must have been struck before this one. But what happened to them? It is likely that as the 6th century progressed, all the very crude earlier coins were gathered up, melted down and turned into more ‘civilized’ looking pieces, better suited for a more sophisticated and art conscious audience. That this piece managed to escape the melting pot, especially after the arrival of the Persians, who must have swept up all the available bullion, is a miracle.

74.

IONIA, Uncertain. Circa 600-550 BC. Hekte (Electrum, 2.62 g), Phokaic standard. Facing head of an animal, almost certainly a bull, with staring eyes, tufts of hair at the top and horns curving out at the side. Rev. Rough incuse square. Cf. Weidauer 162-165 (hemihektes of Milesian weight), but of quite different style. Of very great rarity, very probably unpublished. About extremely fine.

This is quite an extraordinary coin, to say the least. When first acquired it had been identified as having the head of a lion of panther on the obverse, which is what it initially seems to have. However, closer examination makes it clear that what appears on the obverse is the head of a bull: the tuft of hair on the top of the head is quite characteristic and is similar to that found on some of the early silver triobols of both Metapontum and of the Phokians (though those are all at least a century later than this piece), and the two curved lines beginning from the central line running from the tip of the nose and up between the eyes can be nothing other than horns.

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75.

KINGS of LYDIA. Time of Cyrus to Darios I. Circa 545-520 BC. 1/48 Stater (Silver, 0.20 g), Sardes.

Head of lion with open mouth to right. Rev. Incuse square. Possibly unpublished. Rare. Lightly corroded but attractive. About extremely fine.

This is clearly a fraction of the well-known lion and bull coinage of Lydia. Despite its tiny size the lion’s head on the obverse is masterfully made.

76.

DYNASTS of LYCIA. Aruvatijesi and Zagaba. Circa 380-375 BC. Tetrobol (Silver, 3.03 g 5). Lion’s scalp facing. Rev. ARUWATIJ ZAG Triskeles to left; all within shallow incuse square. SNG Copenhagen Supp. 470 = SNG von Aulock 4204 var. Very rare. Toned. Good very fine.

77.

PAMPHYLIA, Side. Circa 205-100 BC. Tetradrachm (Silver, 16.77 g 12), Deino.... Head of Athena to right, wearing Corinthian helmet. Rev. ΔΕΙ - ΝΟ Nike alighting to left, holding wreath in her outstretched right hand and fold of her drapery with her left; to left, pomegranate. SNG France 680. A remarkably elegant example of the late coinage of Side, perfectly centered and nicely toned. Extremely fine.

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78.

CILICIA, Uncertain mint. Uncertain satrap. Circa 375-333. Obol (Silver, 0.50 g 11). Head of Persian satrap wearing bonnet Rev. Persian king running to right, holding spear and bow. Apparently unpublished. Extremely rare and most interesting. Lightly toned, Nearly extremely fine.

This looks very much like the kind of Satrapal issues that were produced in Asia Minor during the mid 4th Century. The running Persian king on the reverse is similar to issues from Ionia, Cilicia and Cyprus, while the portrait on the obverse has parallels from Cilicia as well.

79.

ASIA MINOR, Uncertain mint. Circa 550s BC. 1/24 Stater (Electrum, 0.59 g). Stylized bull’s head facing, with round, staring eyes, a triangular nose, and curved horns with a large pellet between them. Rev. “Sun” or “Star” within irregular incuse square. As yet unfound and possibly unknown. A fascinating and tiny coin with a highly stylized representation of a bucranium. Very fine.

One wonders whether the large, round object between the bull’s horns is a solar disc.

Enlargement of Lot 80

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80.

CYPRUS, Paphos. Nikokles. Circa 325-309 BC. Distater (Silver, 21.27 g 6), Persic standard, Circa late 320s BC of later, perhaps circa 310. Head of Aphrodite to left, wearing an elaborate tiara composed of a mural crown with four towers enclosing a polos ornamented with palmettes and annulets, a disc earring with a triple pendant and a pearl necklace; behind her neck, Π-ΒΑ. Rev. ΝΙΚΟΚΛΕΟΥΣ / ΠΑΦΙΟΝ Apollo, wearing a laurel wreath and nude but for a cloak over his shoulders, seated left on omphalos, holding an arrow in his right hand and a bow, the bottom of which rests on the ground, in his left; to left, laurel branch; to right, behind Apollo’s hand, Ο . SNG Copenhagen. Of the greatest rarity, only four genuine examples are known of this exceptional coin.

Attractively toned and with particularly fine representations of both Aphrodite and Apollo. Some very minor metal faults, otherwise, nearly extremely fine.

From a collection in New England, previously in a California collection.

This is a spectacular coin of great beauty and historical significance. Nikokles was one of the most powerful of the late kings in Cyprus, but he, like all the others, was overthrown by Ptolemy I (Nikokles and his family all committed suicide). This coin falls into a series of Paphiote coins that began with the issues of Nikokles’ father Timocharis, who produced a very rare Persic stater (half the weight of this coin) with a very similar head of Aphrodite, coupled with her familiar, a dove. She was the most prominent deity at Paphos (her sanctuary was famous), and her importance is emphasized by the letters on the obverse: Π[αφου] ΒΑ[σιλισσα] = Queen of Paphos. This is emphasized by the mural crown she wears as well, since it symbolizes the powerful walls of Old Paphos (the city of New Paphos was almost certainly founded by Ptolemy I), of which she was the protectress. On the reverse we find Apollo, the syncretized version of Hylates, a similar god originally worshiped on Cyprus (nearby Kourion, a town not far away from Paphos on the west coast of the island, was famous for its sanctuary to Apollo-Hylates). It has been suggested that the figure on the reverse of this coin represents a statue that was erected in Paphos, perhaps by Nikokles, and that it was later carried off to Antioch where it was used as a prototype for the seated figure of Apollo that appeared on Seleukid coinage. The denomination of this coin, a Persic double stater, is a rare one, but it must have been produced as a prestige object in answer to the lighter Attic weight tetradrachms that had become prevalent in the east - it certainly fits in perfectly with the local system. Only four genuine examples of this coin are known: 1) The Uffizi piece (same dies as 2, same reverse die as 3); 2) Private Collection R (same dies as 1, same reverse die as 3); 3) Turin (same obverse die as 4, same reverse die as 1 and 2); and 4) This coin (same obverse die as 3).The Turin coin had been thought to be false thanks to a mistaken weight of 17.21 g recorded for it in 1883: Masson has disproved this, as do the die links we see here. The fact that only two obverse and two reverse dies are known for this coinage makes it very clear that it was meant to be a special issue (or, perhaps, that an originally large issue was unexpectedly cut short). It must have been struck after the less ostentatious issue of Alexander-type tetradrachms that bore the name of Nikokles in tiny letters along the border of the lion skin on the obverse (Price p. 388 and coins 3118-3123). Those pieces had to have been minted in the late 320s (they appear in a hoard buried c. 317) and it is possible that the more explicitly named distaters were produced shortly thereafter. However, a date in the years shortly before Nikokles’ suicide might fit the evidence even better. He was clearly chafing under Ptolemaic suzerainty at that time (he was negotiating with Antigonos Monophthalmos), and producing such a flamboyant coinage might be seen as a way of emphasizing his own importance. If this were the case it resulted in his downfall, and the clear probability that the Ptolemaic authorities in Cyprus made a conscious effort to demonetize and melt down all the coins of this type they could find; thus helping to explain its enormous rarity today.

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81.

CYPRUS, Uncertain mint. Circa 525-500. Stater (Silver, 10.90 g 8). Head of a helmeted, apparently bearded, man to left, done in a schematic, outline style. Rev. Winged god running to left, his right hand held up before his face; all within shallow incuse square. Kagan, Archaic, pl. 7, G (same dies). Very rare. Minor edge defect and crudely struck, otherwise, good very fine.

Who the figure on the obverse of this coin is uncertain, he could be Ares or Herakles. The winged god on the reverse is reminiscent of the later issues of Kaunos in Caria.

82.

SELEUKID KINGS of SYRIA. Demetrios I Soter. 162-150 BC. Tetradrachm (Silver, 16.67 g 12), Antioch, 162-155/4. Diademed head of Demetrios I to right, within laurel wreath. Rev. ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ ΔΗΜΗΤΡΙΟΥ Tyche, fully draped, holding baton in her right hand and cornucopia in her left, seated left on throne, supported by winged Tritoness. SC 1638.f. SMA 87. SNG Lockett 3134 (this coin). A lovely toned example with a very fine, emotional portrait of Demetrios I. Good extremely fine.

Ex Hess-Leu 31. 6 December 1966, 518 and from the collections of R. C. Lockett, XII (Greek IV), 21 February 1961, 2593, and S. Pozzi, Naville I, 4 April 1921, 2972.

Demetrios I was a son of Seleukos IV who had been sent to Rome as a hostage to ensure his father’s good behaviour. When Seleukos IV was murdered the throne went to his brother, Antiochos IV; after his death it passed to his young son Antiochos V, who Demetrios overthrew and killed in 161, following his escape from Roman captivity. He was a strong king, which worried the Romans so they decided to support the claim of the pretender Alexander Balas against him. Demetrios was killed by Balas in 150 and this was the beginning of the final decline of the Seleukids.

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83.

PERSIA, Achaemenid Empire. Time of Darios I to Xerxes II. Circa 485-420 BC. Daric (Gold, 8.26 g).

Great King of Persia running to right, wearing kidaris, holding bow in his left hand and spear in his right. Rev. Rectangular incuse. Carradice Type IIIb A/B (pl. XIII, 27). A superb example, nicely struck in high relief. Extremely fine.

Late in the sixth century BC the Persian kings decided to inaugurate a gold coinage bearing their own types, rather than continuing to use those of Kroisos of Lydia, which had appeared on the coins minted in the great city of Sardes since its fall to Cyrus in 546 BC. These new coins, which bore a generalized portrait of the Persian king, must have been produced in enormous numbers, and were surely the best known gold coin of the 5th and 4th centuries BC. With the fall of Persia to Alexander, the vast majority of the then existing darics were surely all melted down to supply the bullion for Alexander’s own gold staters.

84.

PTOLEMAIC KINGS of EGYPT. Ptolemy VI Philometor. First reign, 180-164 BC. Tetradrachm (Silver, 14.18 g 11), Alexandria, circa 180-170 BC. Diademed head of Ptolemy I to right, wearing aegis. Rev. ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ ΠΤΟΛΕΜΑΙΟΥ Eagle standing left on thunderbolt. SNG Copenhagen 262 ff. Svoronos 1489.

Nicely toned and attractive, rare so nice. Extremely fine.

The fame of Ptolemy I as founder of the dynasty was so great that virtually all the silver coinage of the succeeding Ptolemaic rulers bore his portrait. These heads became younger and younger looking as time went on - the issues of the first century BC have even been thought to be portraits of some of the ephemeral young Ptolemies who ruled then (surely wrong) - but they were still all meant to be representations of the tough old general who had been one of Alexander’s companions. This piece is clearly recognizable as Ptolemy I, but as a young man in his 20s back in the 4th century (he was born c. 367 and died in 283), when Alexander was still a child (he was born in 356)!

85.

KYRENAICA, Kyrene. Circa 480-435 BC. Tetradrachm (Silver, 16.35 g 3). Silphium plant. Rev. KVPA Head of Zeus-Ammon to right, bearded, with ram’s horn over his ear and with his hair bound in simple plaits; dotted border. BMC pl. V,15 = BMFA 1309 (same dies). Attractively toned and of fine late-Archaic-early Classical style. A few minor marks otherwise, good very fine.

Ex Kovacs MB 13, 1998, 130 and Sotheby’s, London, 6 November 1997, 158.

This is one of the first of the broad-flan, late Archaic-early Classical tetradrachms of Kyrene bearing the head of Zeus-Ammon.

There are earlier heads of Zeus on the reverses of the Archaic issues of Kyrene, but they are very small and tight (and were only one of a number of different reverse types used in that period). Here, Zeus’ head has a quiet elegance that is very impressive in its serene power. He seems to be calmly looking upward, without any trace of worry or care. The cult of Ammon began in Egypt; the god seems to have been first assimilated with Zeus by the Greek colonists in Kyrene, and from there spread to Greece proper (he was particularly popular in Sparta). Alexander the Great claimed Zeus Ammon was his father and this story was particularly emphasized by his portrait with the horn of Ammon on the coinage of Lysimachos.

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86.

KYRENAICA, Kyrene. Magas. Circa 308-277 BC. Obol (Gold, 0.72 g 6). Bearded head of ZeusAmmon to left, ram’s horn over his ear. Rev. Thunderbolt between monogram of Sosios and star of eight rays. BMC 224. Naville 229. A superb piece, beautifully centered and struck. Extremely fine.

The small gold coins of Kyrene have always been popular: the fact that so many show signs of wear, often considerable, indicates that they were in normal circulation during ancient times. This piece is one of those exceptions that shows how the coin looked soon after it left the mint.

Roman Republican Coinage

87.

L. Roscius Fabatus. 59 BC. Denarius (Silver, 3.87 g 6). L ROSCI Head of Juno Sospita to right; behind, fish head (a tuna?). Rev. FABATI Girl standing right, facing snake coiled to left, to left, fish tail. Babelon (Roscia) 3.

Crawford 412/1, symbol 178. Sydenham 915. Good extremely fine.

The symbols on the coinage of L. Roscius are particularly fascinating: this pair is surely related to the fish trade and shows the forepart of a fish on the obverse and the tail and hind parts on the reverse.

88.

Man. Acilius Glabrio. 49 BC. Denarius (Silver, 4.02 g 5). SALVTIS Laureate head of Salus to right, wearing pearl necklace. Rev. MN ACILIVS III VIR VALETV Valetudo standing left, resting her left arm on a column behind her and holding a snake with her right hand. Crawford 442/1a. CRI 16. Sydenham 922 . Toned, of unusually fine style and very nicely centered. Good extremely fine.

Manlius Acilius Glabrio was a partisan of Caesar’s who took over as moneyer after the flight of the pro-Pompeian Quintus Sicinius.

His coinage was enormous and celebrated the hospitality one of his ancestor’s showed to a Greek physician in 219 BC, supposedly the first in Rome. While the coins of this issue are often found, few are as nice as this.

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Roman Imperial Coinage

89.

Augustus. 27 BC - AD 14. Tetradrachm (Silver, 15.15 g 12), Antioch, Year 28 of the Actian Era = 4/3 BC. ΚΑΙΣΑΡΟΣ ΣΕΒΑΣΤΟV Laureate head of Augustus to right. Rev. ΕΤΟVΣ ΗΚ ΝΙΚΗΣ The Tyche of Antioch seated on rock to right, with the river-god Orontes swimming right below; in field to right, monogram of ΥΠΑΤΟΥ and ΙΒ (= Cos. 12 above monogram of the city name. McAlee 182. RPC 4153. A superb piece, toned and struck in high relief. Good extremely fine.

The Augustan silver coinage of Antioch was designed to replace all the Seleukid and Seleukid-type coins that were still circulating in Syria. This recoinage proved effective, especially since it was supplemented by huge issues under Nero (in part because of the Jewish War). Augustan issues are often found in quite poor condition: this piece is astonishingly nice.

90.

Tiberius. AD 14-37. Aureus (Gold, 7.81 g 4), Lugdunum, Circa 34-37 AD. T CAESAR DIVI AVG F AVGVSTVS Laureate head of Tiberius to right, with prominent wreath ties. Rev. PONTIF MAXIM The empress Livia seated right on throne with ornamented legs, holding long scepter in her left hand and olive branch in her right, and with her feet resting on a low footrest before her. . BMC 46. Calicó 305c. RIC 29. A remarkably fine example, with a striking portrait of the elderly emperor. Good extremely fine.

Aside from a small number of denarii minted in Caesarea for military needs in the mid 30s, all of Tiberius’ precious metal coinage was struck in Lugdunum, modern Lyons. Rare dated issues, primarily gold quinarii, are known for virtually all the years of his reign, but the vast majority of his coins are undated and are of a single basic type, bearing the seated figure of the emperor’s mother Livia in the guise of Pax on the reverse. Nevertheless, there are variations that allow us to date these coins more narrowly: the throne can have plain or ornamented legs, Livia can hold either an inverted spear or a scepter, or there may be a double, triple or single line below. The portrait of Tiberius also varies, ultimately changing from that of an idealized youth to that of an old man.

Toward the end of his reign the ties of his laurel wreath change their form: previously there was only a simple curved knot at the back of his head, but then, as here, this knot is augmented by two distinct ties in addition to the usual long ribbon ends falling down the back of his neck. These ties continue on the coinage of Caligula, and are intermittently found from then on. Thus, the minting of this undated coin can be reliably placed in the few years prior to the emperor’s death: Livia holds a late scepter; her throne has ornamented legs; her throne is on a single ground line; the portrait of Tiberius is that of an elderly man rather than an idealized youth; and his wreath is tied in the same way as that of Caligula’s.

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91.

Nero. AD 54-68. Aureus (Gold, 7.36 g 6), 64-65. NERO CAESAR AVGVSTVS Laureate head of Nero to right, with slight beard. Rev. IVPPITER CVSTOS Jupiter seated left on throne, holding thunderbolt in his right hand and scepter in his left. BMC 67. Calicó 412b. Cohen 118. RIC 52. Nicely toned and attractive. Nearly extremely fine.

From the Boscoreale Hoard of 1895..

Coins from the famous Boscoreale Hoard can be recognized by their characteristic toning, formed by the gases and ash that came from the eruption of Vesuvius, which concealed the coins until their discovery over 1800 years later.

92.

Galba. AD 68-69. Denarius (Silver, 3.65 g 12), Uncertain mint in North Africa, perhaps Carthage, October 68-January 69. SER SVLPICIVS GALBA IMP AVG Bare head of Galba to right; below neck, S C. Rev. VIRTVS Virtus standing left, wearing a short tunic that billows around her legs, holding Victory left in her outstretched right hand, and scepter in her left. Unpublished, but see The New York Sale XVII, 2008, 178 for another example of this issue, but of quite different style. Of great rarity, one of two examples of this issue known. Toned and well struck, but with a few minor scratches on the reverse, otherwise, very fine.

This is a remarkable coin, and illustrates the kind of numismatic chaos that went on during the unsettled time after the fall of Nero. The production of denarii in Africa began with Clodius Macer’s abortive revolt, which was suppressed by Galba’s partisans; during his five months of rule he produced rather crude denarii, which virtually all bore, beneath their obverse type, the letters S C. Galba seems to have taken over Macer’s mint (presumably Carthage), which then struck a very small number of now very rare denarii (RIC 515-521), also almost all with S C in their legends and all bearing portraits that seem to be based on those of Macer’s.

93.

Otho. 15 January - 17 April AD 69. Denarius (Silver, 3.19 g 6). IMP OTHO CAESAR AVG TR P Bare head of Otho to right. Rev. SECVRITAS P R Securitas standing left, holding wreath in her right hand and scepter in her left. BMC 19. Cohen 15. RIC 10. Rare. Attractively toned, well struck on a broad flan and with a fine portrait.

Extremely fine.

Otho’s Imperial coinage consists solely of gold and silver: this was needed to pay the army, and had to be struck immediately after his accession. He undoubtedly intended to produce brass and copper coins as well, but he was defeated and then committed suicide before that could be done.

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94.

Divus Vespasian. Died AD 79. Denarius (Silver, 3.35 g 6), Struck under Titus, 80-81. DIVVS AVGVSTVS VESPASIANVS Laureate head of Divus Vespasian to right. Rev. Victory walking to left, placing round shield on trophy below which sits a Judaean captive to left; across field, EX SC. BMC 112 (Titus). Cohen 144. Hendin -. RIC 364 (Titus). A remarkably fine piece, toned and clear. Good extremely fine.

This coin refers to Vespasian’s campaign in Judaea and not only commemorates the deified emperor, but also the fall of Jerusalem, which occurred ten years earlier.

95.

Titus. AD 79-81. Denarius (Silver, 3.47 g 7), 1 January-30 June, 80. IMP TITVS CAES VESPASIAN AVG P M Laureate head of Titus to right. Rev. TR P IX IMP XV COS VIII P P Elephant walking to left, wearing body armor. BMC 43. Cohen 301. RIC 115. A lovely, toned and well-struck example. Extremely fine.

Ex Triton VI, 14 January 2003, 843.

The elephant on the reverse of this coin is wearing a kind of armor similar to that worn by the horses that carry picadores in modern Spanish bull fights: this must mean that it was meant to perform in one of the spectacles held to inaugurate the newly finished Colosseum in Rome.

96.

Domitian. AD 81-96. Aureus (Gold, 7.57 g 6), 92-94. DOMITIANVS AVGVSTVS Laureate head of Domitian to right. Rev. GERMANICVS COS XVI Germania, in attitude of mourning with her torso bare, seated on shield to right; below, broken spear. BMC 211. BN 187. Calicó 854. Cohen 158. RIC 747 . Lustrous and attractive.

Extremely fine.

Domitian was, in many ways, quite a good emperor, though his relationship with the aristocracy was rather poor; since Roman historians usually came from that class, our view of him is a negative one. He had been deliberately kept in the background during the reigns of his father and brother, but he was prepared for rule when Titus unexpectedly died of a fever in 81. While Domitian was quite popular with the army - he spent a good deal of time with the soldiers on various campaigns that were designed to stabilize the frontiers - true military triumphs were rare. His self-described major victory was that over the Chatti in 83, which he commemorated on coins like this. Such coins were struck beginning in 84 and continued to be issued throughout his reign.

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97.

Anonymous issues. Time of Domitian to Antoninus Pius, AD 81-161. Tessera (Bronze, 3.24 g 7), Rome. A.P.P.F. within oak wreath. Rev. Tall scepter surmounted by a bare-headed male bust to left. Cohen vol. VIII, p. 272, 53. Göbl, Antike Numismatik 104 = Vierordt II, 27 (Schulman, 17 June 1924). Rare and of unusually fine quality. Attractive olive-green patina, extremely fine.

Ex Numismatica Ars Classica 33, 5 April 2006, 466.

The anonymous tessera of the Roman period, most being of the 1st and 2nd centuries AD, are an extremely interesting series, albeit not completely understood. While normally dated to the period from Domitian to Antoninus Pius, the bare bust surmounting the scepter on the reverse looks surprisingly Julio-Claudian in style and a change in chronology is probably called for.

98.

Nerva. AD 96-98. Denarius (Silver, 3.34 g 6), 96. IMP NERVA CAES AVG P M TR P COS II P P Laureate head of Nerva to right. Rev. CONCORDIA EXERCITVVM Two clasped hands holding legionary eagle resting on prow. BMC 6. Cohen 16. RIC 3. A lovely toned coin with a superb portrait of Nerva. Nearly extremely fine.

Ex Classical Numismatic Group 63, 21 May 2003, 1295.

This formed part of Nerva’s first issue and was undoubtedly produced as a donative to the army. Domitian had been very popular with the troops and his murder caused a good deal of disquiet (ultimately leading to Trajan’s selection as Nerva’s successor).

The reverse of this coin looks forward to Nerva’s hoped for peaceful reign. The portrait is also quite a spectacularly good one: undoubtedly taken from life it surely served as a prototype for the many more superficial portraits found on Nerva’s coinage.

99.

Trajan. AD 98-117. Aureus (Gold, 7.37 g 6), 20 February 116 - 7 August 117. IMP CAES NER TRAIAN OPTIM AVG GER DAC PARTHICO Laureate bust of Trajan to right, heroically nude but for aegis over his left shoulder. Rev. P M TR P COS VI.P P S.P.Q.R Radiate and draped bust of Sol to right. BMC -, but see p. 117, note to 592. BN 865. Calicó 1064 (this coin). Cohen 265. RIC 341 . A very rare variety. Toned and with a noble portrait of the emperor. Extremely fine.

Ex Hess-Divo 307, 7 June 2007, 1603 and Monnaies et Médailles 64, 30 January 1984, 251.

The appearance of Sol on this coin, as well as the title Parthico on the obverse, refer to Trajan’s successful campaigns against Parthia. Trajan wrote the Senate a letter in 116 announcing his victories and expressing his regret that he was too old to continue in the footsteps of Alexander. The bust of Sol on this coin looks to the East, the scene of Trajan’s and Alexander’s triumphs.

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100.

Commodus. AD 177-192. Aureus (Gold, 7.19 g 6), 178. L AVREL COMMODVS AVG Laureate, draped and cuirassed bust of the youthful Commodus to right. Rev. TR P III IMP II COS P P Castor standing left, nude but for cap and cloak over his shoulders, holding, with his right hand, the bridle of a horse standing behind him to left, and a spear in his left. BMC 774. Calicò 2337b. RIC 648. A lovely piece with a fine portrait of the young prince.

Good extremely fine.

This coin, struck in 178 while his father Marcus Aurelius was still alive, shows us what seems to be a perfect young prince. There is no sign of the megalomania that would slowly take over his personality and drive him to such acts of irrational madness that the only remedy would be his assassination on the last day of the year 192.

101.

Pertinax. AD 193. Aureus (Gold, 7.25 g 12), Later January-march 193. IMP CAES P HELV PERTIN AVG Laureate and bearded head of Pertinax to right Rev. PROVID DEOR COS II Providentia standing left, raising both hands toward a star above left. Biaggi 1043. BMC 10. Cohen 39. Calicό 2387a. RIC 10A. Very rare. With a splendid and noble portrait of the aged emperor. Extremely fine.

Pertinax was the son of a freedman from northern Italy and was born in 126. He first worked as a teacher but, with the help of patrons, managed to be appointed as an officer in a cohort when he was in his 30s. After this his rise was swift: he had his first consulship in 175, was governor of Britain c. 185-187, pro-consul of Africa in 118-189 and was consul for a second time with Commodus as his colleague in 192. Alarmed by Commodus’ increasingly insane behaviour, Pertinax joined in the conspiracy against him and was then made emperor. His attempts at economy and reform enraged the Praetorians who ultimately rose up and murdered him, ushering in several years of civil war. Pertinax’s greatest problem was that he had basically been made emperor by the Praetorian Guard, and had no body of soldiers who were loyal to him personally. Thus, when the Guard revolted he had no force of his own to resist them. He was only avenged when the more than 20 years younger Septimius Severus became emperor, executed the murderers and dismissed the rest of the Praetorian Guard.

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102.

Macrinus. 217-218. Three Assaria (Bronze, 13.54 g 6), Nicopolis, Statius Longinus. ΑΥΤ Κ Μ ΟΠΕΛΛ CЄ ΥΗ ΜΑΚΡΙΝΟC Α Laureate and cuirassed bust of Macrinus to right. Rev. ΥΠ CΤΑ ΛΟΝΓΙΝΟΥ ΝΙΚΟΠΟΛΙΤΩΝ ΠΡΟC ΙCΤ Herakles fighting the Hydra to left, holding the creature with his left hand and striking it with his club held in his right. AMNG I, 1760. Varbanov, GIC I 3480. Voegtli, Heldenepen 2m. Rare.

Attractive green patina. Good very fine.

Killing the Hydra was the second Labor of Herakles. This evil creature infested the swamps near Lerna, a site near Argos in the Peloponnesos. Herakles had a great deal of trouble killing it, since each time he clubbed one of its 8 mortal heads, two more would grow to replace it! To avoid that, his friend Iolaos seared the smashed necks, thus allowing Herakles to destroy them. This left only a ninth, immortal head, which Herakles then cut off and buried. Herakles then dipped his arrows into the Hydra’s poisonous blood fo future use. Even in ancient times many people thought the idea of a nine-headed monster to be a bit much: Pausanius thought it was only a very large water snake!

103.

Julia Mamaea. Augusta, AD 222-235. Sestertius (Orichalcum, 30mm, 26.44 g 12), Rome, 226. IVLIA MAMAEA AVGVSTA Draped bust of Julia Mamaea to right, wearing stephane. Rev. VESTA S C Vesta standing facing, her head to left, holding Palladium in her right hand and loing scepter in her left. BMC 389. Cohen 83. RIC 708. A finely detailed, perfectly centered piece with a good green patina. Extremely fine.

104.

Constantius I. AD 305-306. Argenteus (Silver, 3.52 g 12), Serdica, 305-306. CONSTANTIVS AVG Laureate head of Constantius I to right. Rev. VIRTVS MILITVVM /.SM.SDΔ. Camp gate with three turrets. RIC 11a var. (this officina unpublished). Extremely rare. A superb, lustrous coin. FDC. The silver argentei from Serdica (present day Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria) are actually very rare in general - in this condition they are virtually unheard of. The number of pure silver coins issued by the Tetrarchy must have been enormous, especially since no silver of equal fineness had been struck since the 1st century AD. However, the vast majority of the pieces minted must have soon been recalled and melted down to make the siliquae that had been initiated by Constantine I. This would go far to explain the basic rarity of argentei today (despite a small number of hoards).

45

105.

Licinius I. AD 308-324. Aureus (Gold, 5.45 g 12), Siscia, 312-313. LICINIVS AVGVSTVS Laureate head of Licinius I to right. Rev. IOVI CONSERVATORI AVG / SIS Jupiter standing left, nude but for cloak over his left arm, holding thunderbolt in his right hand and scepter in his left; at his feet to left, eagle standing left, looking back at Jupiter and holding wreath in his beak; to right in field, X. Biaggi 1937 (this coin). Calicó 5119 (this coin).

RIC VII, 20 (this coin cited). Rare. With a powerful portrait in the military style of the Tetrarchy. A few minor marks, otherwise, extremely fine.

From the Biaggi Collection and from that of Enrico Caruso, Canessa 28 June 1923, 554.

The fact that Enrico Caruso, one of the greatest operatic tenors in history, was also a collector of coins should be a matter of pride for all numismatists! He was a clever businessman and amassed a large fortune from his singing ability (he was paid the enormous sum of $10,000 a night to sing in Havana in 1920), and he used some of that money to form a major collection of gold coins (also stamps, watches and snuff boxes). This coin was not only in Caruso’s collection, but it was also selected to be in the enormous Biaggi Collection, the most important collection of Roman gold coins ever formed: the pedigree of this coin is of the greatest distinction.

106.

Ricimer. Patrician and Master of Soldiers, AD 457-472. Solidus (Gold, 4.38 g 5), Struck in the name of Leo I , Rome, 465-467. DN LEO PERPE-TVVS AVC Diademed, draped and cuirassed bust of Leo I to right. Rev. VICTORI-A AVCCC / R - M/ CONOB Emperor standing facing, armored and crowned, holding long cross in his right hand and Victory on globe in his left, and treading on the head of a human-headed serpent with his right foot.

Depeyrot 52/2 (Libius Severus). Lacam 5. RIC X 2518 (Leo I) . Extremely rare. Some areas weakly struck and a few minor marks, otherwise, an impressive and fascinating piece. Extremely fine.

Ex Triton XI, 8 January 2008, 1049.

After the successive murders of Aëtius and Valentinian III, the third quarter of the 5th century became a period of chaos and confusion in Italy, exacerbated by the interventions of the senior emperor in Constantinople and by the incessant rivalries of the various rulers and militarymen in the West. The dominant behind the scenes figure for much of that time was Ricimer, a half Suevi, half Visigothic prince, who, 455, was named commander of the army by Avitus in 455. After defeating the Vandals in 456 he deposed Avitus with the consent of Leo I, replacing him with Majorian in 457. After Majorian proved dangerously competent he was, in turn deposed and assassinated in 461, being replaced by Libius Severus, an individual Ricimer found easier to control. Severus died in 465 and for the next 18 months there was no resident emperor in the West. With the probable secret support of Ricimer, the Vandal Gaiseric tried to place his candidate Olybrius on the throne (he was later emperor for a short time in 472), but this failed due to Leo I’s implacable opposition. As a result Ricimer was the effective ruler and all the coinage issued during this period was produced by him, albeit in Leo’s name (no doubt Ricimer had shrewdly engineered the conflict between Gaiseric and Leo to leave the field for his own exercise of power). However, this long interregnum was ended when, with the approval of Ricimer, Leo arranged for Anthemius, a close colleague from a very distinguished family, to become emperor in 467.

Once Anthemius arrivied Ricimer’s responsibility for the coinage ceased: their relations were initially good (Ricimer married Anthemius’ daughter Alypia: their descendants lived on in Gaul until at least the 7th century), but they soon cooled leading to civil war and the murder of Anthemius in 472: Ricimer died a few months later. From an historical point of view this coin is of the greatest importance: its date is secure because of its very close stylistic resemblance to the coinage of Libius Severus, while the issues of Anthemius are completely unlike them.

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107.

Anthemius. AD 467-472. Solidus (Gold, 4.34 g 6), Rome, 468. D N ANTHE-MIVS PF AVG Bust of Anthemius facing, wearing pearl diadem, helmet with crest and cuirass, holding spear with his right hand and with a shield over his left shoulder. Rev. SALVS R-EIP-VBLICAE /CORMOB Two emperors, crowned and in military dress, standing facing, holding a globus cruciger between them and each with a spear held in his outside hand; in the field between them, monogram of ΙΧ. Lacam 71. RIC 2823. Very rare. A remarkably well-preserved example.

Extremely fine.

From the collection of O. Ulrich-Bansa, acquired from Hess in 1936.

This coin type is particularly eastern in style and indicates that Anthemius, who came from an old and distinguished family from Constantinople (he was vaguely related to the 4th century usurper Procopius and, thus, even more vaguely related to Constantine I), must have had a say in its design.

Byzantine Coinage

108.

Basil I the Macedonian, with Constantine. 867-886. Miliaresion (Silver, 24mm, 2.80 g 12), 868-879. +bASI / LIOSCЄ / CONStAn / tIns PIStV / bASILIS / ROmЄOs within triple circle of pellets. Rev. IhSuS XRI-StuS nICA Cross potent on base an three steps, with globe below; all within triple circle of pellets. DOC 7. A beautiful, sharp and toned example. Extremely fine.

109.

Basil II Bulgaroktonos, with Constantine VIII. 976-1025. Miliaresion (Silver, 2.85 g 1), 989-1025.

Patriarchal cross crosslet, with pellet in globe at the middle, on globe at the base with four steps; to left, crowned facing bust of Basil II, bearded and wearing loros; to right, crowned facing bust of Constantine, beardless and wearing chlamys; triple linear border. Rev. Inscription in five lines with pellet in circle above and below; all within triple linear border. DOC 20c. A remarkably fine, unclipped and toned example, rare thus. Extremely fine.

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Coinage of the Dark Ages

110.

MEROVINGIANS, Poitiers (ecclesiastic). Later 7th century. AR Denier (Silver, 1.28 g 3). Crowned bust right, set on base of pellets, holding cross; M or W to left, pellet between face and hand; all within border of pellets. Rev. Interlaced design with pellets; cross above, traces of three pellets below; all within border of pellets.

Belfort -. MEC 1 -. NM 12 = Bais 205 (this coin; illustrated in Bais, pl. XIII, 205). Roberts 362. Toned. Superb extremely fine.

From the collection of Dr. Jacob Y. Terner. Ex Bais Hoard Sale (Leo Hamburger, 19 October 1928), lot 205; Bais Hoard of 1904 .

111.

MEROVINGIANS, Rodez. Circa 620-640. AV Tremissis (Gold, 16mm, 1.27 g 3), Rosolus, moneyer.

Diademed head right, crescent below; four pellets and palm frond or branch to right. Rev. + RO(horizontal S) OXV(horizontal S) – M large Rutenus monogram. Belfort 3921/3919. MEC 1, 446 var. (rev. legend). NM 11.

Prou 1888/1889 (obv./rev.). Stahl, Merovingians - . Obverse slightly double-struck, and with traces of deposits, otherwise, extremely fine.

112.

CAROLINGIANS. Louis ‘le Pieux’ (the Pious). As Emperor Louis I, 814-840. AR Denier (Silver, 20mm, 1.71 g 2), Class II, Melle mint, Struck circa 819-822. + HLVDOVVICVS IMP Small cross pattée. Rev. META/LLVM in two lines. Coupland, Money, pl. I, 3. Depeyrot 609. M&G 398. MEC 1, 774-6. Attactively toned.

Extremely fine.

Melle, in western France, was apparently founded by Charlemagne to take advantage of its silver deposits, which were utilized on the spot in the mint that was there as well (where this coin was struck). The mines were worked out long ago and now serve as a tourist attraction.

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Medieval & Renaissance Coinage

113.

HOLY ROMAN EMPIRE, Austria. Klagenfurt. 1557. Medal (Silver, 34mm, 18.90 g 6), in honor of Hans Pest (1513-1573), Wardein in Klagenfurt, for his 44th birthday, by Balthasar Alzer (fl. c. mid 16th century).

HANS PEST RO K M WARDAIN IN CAR AN 44 Bare-headed bust of Hans Pest to right, with long, pointed beard and high collar. Rev. S HANS PEST WARDEIN V TELGET 1557 Shield bearing the arms of Hans Pest surmounted by a helmet with an elaborate crest. G. Probszt, Die geprägten österreichischen Schaumünzen. I: Die geprägten Schaumünzen Innerösterreichs (Steiermark, Kärnten, Krain). (Zürich/Leipzig/Wien, 1928), 37 = Lanz 33, 1985, 80.

Idem, Die Kärntner Medaillen, Abzeichen und Ehrenzeichen (Klagenfurt, 1964), 156. Extremely rare and nicely toned; an original struck example with an exceptionally realistic portrait. Extremely fine.

From the collections of Hermann Vogel, Sotheby’s 8 July 1997, 136 and of Wilhelm Itzinger of Berlin, Hess, 16 December 1889, 268 .

This is yet another medal about which we know very little: the strikingly individual portrait is, however, a startlingly realistic one.

The inscription tells us that Hans Pest was the inspector of the mint at Klagenfurt (Wardein or, more commonly, Münzwardein) whose duty was to supervise the staff, ensure that the metal alloy was correct and be responsible for the accuracy of the weights and measures used.

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114.

HOLY ROMAN EMPIRE, Austria - Styria (Steiermark). Graz. Medal (Silver, 40.5mm, 16.63 g), in honor of Stephan Speidel zu Vattersdorf (c. 1550-1597), secretary of the province of Styria, attributed to Hans Zwigott (fl. c. 1577-1597). STEPHAN.SPEIDEL.ILLVSTRIVM.STYRIAE.PROCERVM.SECRETARIVS. Threequarter facing bust of Speidel turned slightly to right, rearing ruff, robes and chain of office. Rev. Shield bearing the Speidel arms surmounted by a helmet with a richly ornamented crest. Numismatische Zeitschrift 52 (1919), p.

168, 4. G. Probszt, Die geprägten österreichischen Schaumünzen. I: Die geprägten Schaumünzen Innerösterreichs (Steiermark, Kärnten, Krain). (Zürich/Leipzig/Wien, 1928), 73. Very rare and attractive, an excellent contemporary cast. Nicely toned, extremely fine.

Ex O. Helbing, 28 June 1920, 2051.

This is a medal about which little is known. Speidel was born somewhat after 1550 in Weil and was studying in Tübingen in 1571.

He then rose to be secretary of the province of Styria in Graz by 1583, married in 1587, was a delegate to the Reichstag of 1594 in Regensburg; he died in Rosegg, Carinthia, in 1597. As for the putative engraver, Hans Zwigott, we know he was a goldsmith, mintmaster and die engraver in Graz; and from this medal we know he was a highly talented one.

115.

HOLY ROMAN EMPIRE, Germany. Charles V. 1519-1556. Uniface Medal (Bronze, 41.6mm, 20.11 g), on the 30th birthday of Charles V, by Matthes Gebel (c. 1500-1574), undated but 1530. IMP CAES CAROLVS V P F AVGVST AN AET XXX Draped bust of Charles V to right, wearing flat hat and the Order of the Golden Fleece.

Rev. Blank. Bernhart 65. Pollard 723 = Kress 599 var. A very attractive, thin and contemporary cast of high quality, with a fine brown patina. Traces of a casting sprue on the reverse, extremely fine.

Matthes Gebel was, along with Hagenauer, Hans Schwartz and Christoph Weiditz, one of the great medalists of the German Renaissance. This medal, apparently produced to celebrate the emperor Charles V’s 30th birthday and the Imperial Diet at Augsburg, is unusually fine and provides us with a thoughtful and sensitive portrait that is particularly well made.

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116.

GERMANY / POLAND, Breslau (Wrocław). 1535. Medal in the weight of 1 1/4 ducats (Gold, 21 mm, 4.29 g), on Nicolas Jenkwitz, councilor of Breslau, by Ludwig Neufahrer (c. 1505-1563). NICLAS:IE. NCKWICZ:1535 Draped and bare-headed bust of Jenkwitz to right. Rev. Arms of Jenkwitz with helmet and crest; to left and right, N I. Habich 1414. Lanna 1187. Extremely rare, an original striking with a fine portrait. A lovely piece, beautifully centered and well struck, good extremely fine.

Ex Numismatica Genevensis 4, 11 December 2006, 310.

Little seems to be known about Jenkwitz save that he was an official in Breslau (while founded by Bohemians and ruled by Poles, by the time this medal was struck the city was nearly all German in population). Neufahrer was one of the most accomplished medalists of his time: he first came to notice when he began making medals during the Diet of Augsburg in 1530, and continued producing medals and working as a goldsmith until his death in 1561 in Prague.

117.

ITALY, Ferrara. Ercole I d’Este. 1471-1505. AR Grossone (Silver, 27mm, 3.81 g 7). + (HE ligate) ERCVLES • DVX • FERRARIE Bareheaded and armored bust of Ercole I to left, wearing ruff-like collar. Rev. + (rosette) DEVS • FORTITUDO • (ME ligate)A (rosette) Armored figure of Saint George on horseback to right, spearing Dragon below. Bellesia 7/B. Biaggi 771. CNI X 33/35 (obv./rev.). MIR 257. Morosini 10. Toned. Good very fine.

118.

LOW COUNTRIES, Vlaanderen (Flanders). Lodewijk II van Male. 1346-1384. AV Chaise d’or (Gold, 29mm, 4.45 g 6), Gand (Ghent) mint, Struck 1370/2-1384. + LVDOVICVS DЄI GRΛ COm’ Z DnS FLΛnD’ (saltire and double saltire stops) Lodewijk seated facing on Gothic throne, holding sword and resting hand on coatof-arms; all within tressure of eight arcs, trefoils in spandrels. Rev. + XPC VIИCIT XPC RЄGИAT XPC IИPЄRΛT (double saltire stops) ornate cross, with trefoils at ends, in quadrilobe; rosettes in quarters. Delmonte, Or 466. De Mey, Flanders 205. Elsen 38. Friedberg 163. Lustrous and well struck. Good extremely fine.

The gold coinage struck in Flanders in the 14th century included some of the artistically finest of all of the coins struck in the late Middle Ages.

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British Coinage

119.

CELTIC, North-Eastern series (‘Corieltauvi’). Volisios Dumnocoveros. Circa AD 30-60. AV Stater (Gold, 20mm, 5.37 g 5). VOLI/SIO[S] in two lines across field, separated vertically by wreath, horizontally by linear bands; ornaments in corners. Rev. Disjointed horse prancing left; trefoil of pellets below head, DVMNOCOVEROS around. CCI 95.3904 (this coin). Hobbs 3332. SCBC 416. Van Arsdell 978-1. Wonderful toning, Very possibly the finest known example. Extremely fine.

Ex Michael O’Bee Collection, Part III, Dix, Noonan, Webb, 5 October 2009, 5107; Rudd FPL 20, November 1999, 16; found at Scotch Corner, North Yorkshire, August 1995..

The way the Celts could take a Greek figural design and then, over time, ‘deconstruct’ it is perfectly shown on this lovely coin. The obverse is taken from a gold stater of Philip II, issued over 350 years earlier, which bore a head of Apollo - by now, all we have is a schematic design showing his wreath! The reverse is from the same coin, which showed Nike in a chariot, now all that is left is a horse, but not a naturalistic one, rather like a work of Picasso!

120.

ANGLO-SAXON, Danelaw (Hiberno-Norse Vikings). Anlaf Guthfrithsson. 939-941. Penny (Silver, 20mm, 1.17 g 7), Raven type, York mint; Æthelferth, moneyer. + ANLAF CVNVNCIN Raven flying upwards, with spread wings and head to left; small V and • flanking beak. Rev. + AÐELFERÐ MINETR Γ Small cross pattée.

CTCE Group IV. SCBI 34 (BM), 1241 var. North 537. SCBC 1019. Very rare. An attractive, fully struck coin, lightly toned. About extremely fine.

The Danes and other Vikings invaded Britain beginning in the 8th century and soon established settlements over a wide stretch of northern and eastern England. By the early 10th century Danish influence had waned and the struggle was primarily between Hiberno-Norse Vikings (primarily from Dublin but with support from their relatives in Norway) and the English. York was captured by the Hiberno-Norse in 919 and remained in their hands until it was incorporated into the Kingdom of England in 954. This coin was issued during a period in which the Viking rulers of York changed rapidly: Anlaf (modern English Olaf) Guthfrithsson was king of Dublin from 934 and captured York in 939 from the English Edmund I. He ruled the city until his death in 941 and produced four coin types, this, with the raven, being the first and most distinctive. While the bird of prey on the obverse is generally thought to be a raven, a bird sacred to Odin, it could also be viewed as the eagle of St. John. The fact that the obverse legend means “King Anlaf (Olaf)” in old Norse, and is not in Latin as with many other Hiberno-Norse coins from York, may be a sign of religious preference.

53

121.

ANGLO-SAXON, Kings of All England. Edward the Confessor. 1042-1066. AR Penny (Silver, 20mm, 1.33 g 3), Pointed Helmet type (BMC vii, Hild. F), Lewes mint; Edwine, moneyer, Struck 1053-1056. + EDPERD REX Bearded bust right, wearing pointed helmet, holding scepter. Rev. + EDPINE ON LÆPE Voided short cross with pellet-in-annulet center and triple crescent ends. BMC 587. D. Fearon, “The Rediscovery of a group of fifteen pence from the Milton Street Hoard,” NumCirc 79.2 (February 1971), 11 (this coin). Freeman 46 (this coin cited).

Hild. -. King 238. North 825. SCBC 1179. Wonderful cabinet tone. Good extremely fine.

Ex Triton VI, 5 December 2000, 946, Sotheby London, 24 June 1970, 73, from the collection of Charles Ade, and from the 1843 Milton Street Hoard (IBCH 270).

122.

TUDOR. Elizabeth I. 1558-1603. AR Sixpence (Silver, 26mm, 3.06 g 3), Third issue, Tower mint; initial mark: pheon, dated 1564. ELIZABETH : D’ · G’ · ANG’ · FRA’ · ET · HI’ · REGINA crowned bust left (B&C 3E); rose to right. Rev. POSVI DEV’ · AD IVTORE M · MEV’ · royal coat-of-arms in ornate frame over long cross fourchée; 15 64 above. BCW BA-9G/BA-o. North 1997. SCBC 2561B. Toned and well struck on a beautiful flan.

An exceptional example. Extremely fine.

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123.

STUART, Siege money. Newark. 1645-1646. AR Shilling (Silver, 32mm, 5.82 g 12), Second issue, dated 1645. Crown between C R; XII below; band consisting of three large square jewels flanked by arrangements composed of five pearls each; eleven pearls in left arch, ten pearls in right. Rev. OBS/NEWARKE/1645 in three lines; NEWARKE in thin letters. Brooker 1224 (same reverse die). Hird 254 (same dies). Nelson, p. 313. North 2640. SCBC 3142. Toned, Good very fine.

Ex Bobly Collection (purchased in 1962).

Among the most accessible of all the legacies of the English Civil War are the extraordinary number of coins struck to finance it. The Parliamentary side continued to use the types of Charles I, primarily from London, until his execution; but since he was deprived of his main mint Charles I’s forces were constrained to produce coins at a number of mints across the kingdom. Many struck coins of the standard types, but some, specifically those royalist strongholds under siege, made emergency coins that were of good metal, but of unusual shapes (often because they were cut from household silver and then stamped with official marks).

Newark on Trent, in central England, was one such mint. It was a major fortress and withstood an attack in 1643. The following year, even more strongly fortified, it faced yet another attack which was defeated by a Royalist force under Prince Rupert. After his defeats in the summer and fall of 1645, Charles withdrew to Oxford, leaving Newark to be besieged starting in late November. The siege lasted until May 1646 when the city surrendered. During the siege of 1645-1646 emergency money in the form of stamped silver lozenges, cut from plate, was produced in four denominations: halfcrowns, shillings (as here), ninepence, and sixpence (see the following piece). These coins have been collected since the time of the siege, many having been kept as keepsakes by the participants themselves.

124.

STUART, Siege money. Newark. 1645-1646. AR Sixpence (Silver, 28mm, 3.02 g 12), Fourth issue, dated 1646. Crown between C R; VI below; band consisting of three large square jewels flanked by arrangements composed of five pearls each; eleven pearls in left arch, ten pearls in right. Rev. OBS :/NEWARK/1646 in three lines.

Brooker 1228 (same dies). Hird 268 (same dies). Nelson, p. 315. North 2642. SCBC 3146. Exceptional example for issue. Toned, slightly double-struck, otherwise, nearly extremely fine.

From the Bobly Collection, 1965 and from the collections of K.V. Graham, Glendining & Co., 12 June 1963, 320; and Charles William Dyson Perrins.

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125.

STUART, Siege money. Pontefract. 1648-1649. AR Shilling (Silver, 32mm, 4.35 g 12), Type 2, Struck in the name of Charles II. Dated 1648. CAROLs : II : D : G : MAG : B : F : ET : H : REX HANC : DE/VS : DEDIT (this hath God granted)/1648 in three lines; crown above. Rev. POST : MORTEM : PATRIS : PRO : FILIO (after the death of the father on behalf of the son) crenelated city gate with central arched entry and flanked on either side by crenelated tower; above, crenelated tower with banner, P C flanking banner, OBS to left; end of cannon barrel to right. Brooker 1235. Hird 282-284. Nelson, p. 327. North 2649. SCBC 3151. Exceptional example for issue. Toned, slightly double-struck, good very fine.

From the Bobly Collection, purchased from B. Hearn in 1965.

The city and castle of Pontrefact was a major strongpoint in northern England and had a long history of warfare and blood. It was held for the Royalists and besieged in late 1644; relieved in 1645 it was again beseiged and surrendered in July 1645. However, when war continued in 1648 it was captured by the Royalists in June and made into a center for raids all over the surrounding areas. This was too much for the Parliamentarians and, in the late summer, they began a siege under Cromwell himself, which was to last until 24 March 1649, two months after Charles I’s execution. During this siege various shaped emergency shillings (as well as some extremely rare two shilling pieces) were produced: lozenges, octagons, and round. Most were in the name of Charles I, but after his execution on 30 January they were struck in honor of Charles II. The date used on this coin is Old Style: that means that it conformed to the Julian calendar, which did not begin on 1 January. In fact, until 1752 the new year began in England on the 25th of March, Lady Day. Thus, this coin was struck at some time between 1 February and 24 March of what was 1648 to contemporary users, but 1649 to us.

126.

IRELAND. Henry VIII. 1509-1547. AR Sixpenny Groat (Silver, 24mm, 2.22 g 12), Countermarked 1st Harp issue, struck for Anne Boleyn (1534/5), London mint; mm: coronet. hЄnRI C9 VIII D’ G’ R’ ΛGLIЄ’ Z Crowned ornate royal coat-of-arms over cross fourchée; double saltire stops. Rev. FRΛnCЄ DOmInVS hIBЄRnIЄ’ Crowned harp; crowned h to left, crowned Λ (for Anne Boleyn); double saltire stops; cm: four pellets in cruciform in incuse. For the host coin: Carlyon-Britton, Henry VIII, HG 1 corr. (single saltire after ΛGLIЄ’). D&F 201. SCBI 22 (Copenhagen) 405.For the countermark: Carlyon-Britton, Henry VIII, p. 139 and pl. X, 15. Millenial Collection of Irish Coinage (Whyte’s, 29 April 2000), lot 156. SCBC 6484B. Extremely rare with the countermark on this early issue. Toned, Very fine.

Purchased from A. H. Baldwin on 10 March 1966 for £ 2/10/-.

Known examples with this countermark are usually on Henry’s 6th Harp issue groats, struck during the final year of his reign.

Colgan, For Want of Good Money, p. 85, suggests that the countermark may signify a later reduction of the host coin’s value from the sixpenny groat to fourpence during the reign of Edward VI. By the time of Henry’s death, the silver coinage in Ireland (as well as in England) had become so debased that the country was in a state of financial ruin. Officials and soldiers found that their pay, made in these base issues, was insufficient to keep up with inflation. The intrinsic value of earlier issues became increasingly more important than its notional value. Payment was now expected in salfás or croise caoile – the sterling profile groats of Henry VII and Henry VIII, or the Anglo-Irish coinage of the 1480s and 1490s – or the “dominick grotes” – those early Harp issues which, like this coin, bore the title DOmInVS in the reverse legend. It is possible, then, that this countermark was applied as a mark denoting such good metal issues.

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An Elegant Coin Case for the Connoisseur

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Price List

(all amounts in USD) 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32

550 1750 12,500 16,750 675 14,000 1250 2750 95,000 6250 725 47,500 POR 37,500 47,500 47,500 775 13,500 12,500 475 850 850 3500 3500 175 6500 9750 550 1250 425 3500 5250

33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64

1100 2250 7500 19,500 37,500 3250 4750 725 550 8500 9500 695 525 395 2500 82,500 2700 19,500 1800 850 675 4000 450 850 950 1050 1250 850 39,500 1900 4250 32,500

65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96

11,500 47,500 14,500 105,000 3250 7000 1650 2750 6750 4750 425 1250 3500 950 600 115,000 8750 8750 3200 3250 16,000 3750 725 795 7750 27,500 9750 9750 9750 1450 2250 39,500

Production Credits Cataloging / Editing Victor England Eric J. McFadden Dr. Alan Walker Dr. A. Peter Weiss Bradley R. Nelson D. Scott VanHorn

Photography and Layout Travis A. Markel 58

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2250 1650 14,500 29,500 42,500 2750 2650 2750 18,500 18,950 12,500 675 1050 8750 4750 1250 16,750 6750 8750 24,000 1250 3950 12,500 36,500 2250 3250 4500 4750 12,500 3750

Specialists in high quality ancient, medieval, and early modern coins and medals.

Auctions in Switzerland, yearly price list, appraisals, purchases and sales by private treaty.

zürich, switzerland

Auction III

Ancient Greek, Roman, Byzantine & Early European coins and medals of the highest quality.

May 10th 2011 in the morning in Zürich

Auction IV

The BCD Collection of Thessaly.

May 10th 2011 in the afternoon in Zürich

nomos ag, numismatists zähringerstrasse 27, postfach 2664, ch-8022 zürich, switzerland telephone +41 44 250 51 80, mobile + 41 79 701 90 96 info@nomosag.com, www.nomosag.com

Pl ea se vis St it an us d at 26 T 0 EF AF

z체rich, switzerland

The Finest in Ancient Greek & Roman coins and Renaissance medals

nomos ag, numismatists z채hringerstrasse 27, postfach 2664, ch-8022 z체rich, switzerland telephone +41 44 250 51 80, mobile + 41 79 701 90 96 info@nomosag.com, www.nomosag.com

tefaf

M A A ST R I C H T

The World’s Leading Art and Antiques Fair Maastricht, The Netherlands 18-27 March 2011 Daily 11am – 7pm Sunday 22 March 11am – 6pm Please visit Nomos AG at Stand 260 To arrange invitations, please contact us.

somon

nomos

z端rich, switzerland in association with

Classical Numismatic Group, Inc.

Lancaster, Pennsylvania London, England

126 Distinctive Numismatic Items

Winter-Spring 2011