A Unique Stater of Exceptional Style

185.

Kingdom of Macedon, Alexander III ‘the Great’ AV Stater. Kallatis, circa 250-225 BC. Head of Athena to right, wearing necklace and crested Corinthian helmet decorated with coiled serpent / Nike standing facing, head to left, holding wreath and stylis; ΑΛΕΞΑΝΔΡΟΥ to right, K in left field, monogram within wreath below left wing, monogram below right wing. Price -; cf. 906 (different monograms). 8.30g, 19mm, 12h.

Fleur De Coin; a portrait of exceptional style. Seemingly unique and unpublished.

Ex Spink & Son Ltd, Auction 1009, 25 March 2010, lot 405.

186.

7,500

Kingdom of Macedon, Alexander III ‘the Great’ AR Tetradrachm. Damaskos, circa 330-323 BC. Head of Herakles to right, wearing lion skin headdress / Zeus Aëtophoros seated to left, holding sceptre; ΑΛΕΞΑΝΔΡΟΥ to right, forepart of ram to right in left field, one pellet below throne; below strut, ΔA over Φ. Price 3203 var. (no Φ). 17.28g, 25mm, 11h.

Good Extremely Fine. An extremely rare variant.

Ex Dr. Busso Peus Nachfolger, Auction 425, 7 November 2019, lot 262.

1,650

Kingdom of Macedon, Philip III Arrhidaios AR Drachm. Struck under Menander or Kleitos, in the types of Alexander III. ‘Kolophon’, circa 323-319 BC. Head of Herakles to right, wearing lion skin headdress / Zeus Aëtophoros seated to left, holding sceptre; ΦIΛIΠΠOY to right, kithara in left field, A below throne. Price P44; Müller P51; HGC 3.1, 974d. 4.47g, 17mm, 12h.

Good Extremely Fine; bright, lustrous metal.

From the inventory of a North American dealer.

180

187.

Kingdom of Macedon, Philip III Arrhidaios AV Stater. In the name and types of Alexander III. ‘Teos’, struck under Menander or Kleitos, circa 323319 BC. Head of Athena to right, wearing crested Corinthian helmet decorated with coiled serpent / Nike standing to left, holding wreath and stylis; ΑΛΕΞΑΝΔΡ[OΥ] to right; to left, griffin seated to left, with raised forepaw. Price 2271. 8.55g, 18mm, 12h.

Near Extremely Fine. Very Rare.

From the Arethusa Collection; Ex Roma Numismatics Ltd., E-Sale 68, 27 February 2020, lot 338.

188.

189.

1,200

190.

Kingdom of Macedon, Philip III Arrhidaios AR Tetradrachm. Struck under Archon, Dokimos, or Seleukos I, in the name and types of Alexander III. ‘Babylon’, circa 323-317 BC. Head of Herakles to right, wearing lion skin headdress / Zeus Aëtophoros seated to left, holding sceptre; BAΣIΛEΩΣ below, AΛEΞANΔPOY to right, M in left field, ΛY below throne. Price 3692; Müller 1272; Hersh 244. 17.17g, 26mm, 12h.

Extremely Fine; wonderfully detailed.

Ex Roma Numismatics Ltd., E-Sale 91, 2 December 2021, lot 330.

450

Kingdom of Macedon, temp. Kassander - Antigonos II Gonatas AR Drachm. In the name and types of Alexander III. Uncertain mint in Greece or Macedon, circa 310-275 BC. Head of Herakles to right, wearing lion skin headdress / Zeus Aëtophoros seated to left, holding sceptre; AΛEΞANΔPOY to right, aphlaston in left field. Price 862; Müller 283. 4.42g, 18mm, 1h.

Good Extremely Fine; a stellar example.

Ex Roma Numismatics Ltd., E-Sale 91, 2 December 2021, lot 335.

Kingdom of Macedon, Antigonos I Monophthalmos AR Drachm. Struck as Strategos or king of Asia, in the name and types of Alexander III. ‘Kolophon’, circa 319-310 BC. Head of Herakles to right, wearing lion skin headdress / Zeus Aëtophoros seated to left, holding sceptre; AΛEΞANΔPO[Y] to right, monograms in left field and below throne. Price 1786; Müller 900; SNG Copenhagen 925. 4.27g, 17mm, 12h.

Near Mint State; attractive old cabinet tone. Scarce.

Ex Roma Numismatics Ltd., E-Sale 93, 6 January 2022, lot 338.

150

150

191.

Kingdom of Macedon, Antigonos I Monophthalmos AR Drachm. Struck as Strategos or king of Asia, in the name and types of Alexander III. ‘Kolophon’, circa 319-310 BC. Head of Herakles to right, wearing lion skin headdress / Zeus Aëtophoros seated to left, holding sceptre; [A]

ΛEΞANΔPOY to right, monogram in left field, EK monogram beneath throne. Price 1794; Müller 1605; SNG Copenhagen 917. 4.13g, 19mm, 11h.

Good Extremely Fine; lustrous metal, lightly toned.

From the inventory of a North American dealer.

192.

Kingdom of Macedon, Antigonos I Monophthalmos AR Drachm. Struck as Strategos of Asia or king, in the name and types of Alexander III. Abydos(?), circa 310-301 BC. Head of Herakles to right, wearing lion skin headdress / Zeus Aëtophoros seated to left, holding sceptre; AΛEΞANΔP[OY] to right, monogram in left field, monogram below throne. Price 1531; Müller 1621; SNG Copenhagen 996. 4.21g, 18mm, 2h. Mint State. Rare.

Ex Roma Numismatics Ltd., E-Sale 91, 2 December 2021, lot 344.

193.

180

194.

Kingdom of Macedon, Demetrios I Poliorketes AR Tetradrachm. Amphipolis, circa 291-290 BC. Diademed and horned head to right / Poseidon Pelagaios seated to left on rock, holding aphlaston in extended right hand and trident in left; BAΣIΛEΩΣ to right, ΔHMHTPIOY to left, monograms in inner left and right fields. Newell 112 (dies XCIX/[unlisted rev. die]); McClean 3578. 17.25g, 30mm, 8h. Extremely Fine; light cabinet tone with golden iridescent highlights. Privately purchased from Numismatica Ars Classica AG.

Marvellous Naturalistic Style

1,500

Kingdom of Macedon, Antigonos II Gonatas AR Tetradrachm. In the name and types of Alexander III of Macedon. Pella, circa 280-275 BC. Head of Herakles to right, wearing lion skin headdress / Zeus Aëtophoros seated to left, holding sceptre; AΛEΞANΔPOY to right, bunch of grapes in left field. Price 589; Müller 1540; SNG Copenhagen 662. 17.15g, 29mm, 12h.

Good Extremely Fine; a wonderful high-relief strike by dies of marvellous naturalistic style. Ex Nomos AG, Auction 21, 21 November 2020, lot 130.

1,800

Macedon under Roman Rule AR Tetradrachm. Circa 95-70 BC. Aesillas, quaestor. Head of the deified Alexander III ‘the Great’ to right; Θ behind neck, MAK[EΔONΩN] around / AESILLAS Q, money chest, club, and chair; all within wreath. AMNG 223; SNG Copenhagen 1330; HGC 3.1, 1110. 16.88g, 32mm, 12h.

Extremely Fine; rev. struck slightly off-centre, wonderful old cabinet tone. Ex Jesus Vico S.A., Auction 37, 26 March 1998, lot 87.

900

The tetradrachms struck bearing the name of the quaestor Aesillas are suggested to have been issued as a monetary bribe paid to the Thracian tribes to buy their neutrality in the First Mithradatic War, thus securing by some measure the Roman supply line along the Via Egnatia (see Ursula Kampmann, Money Museum Zurich, “Becoming Masters of Asia Minor: When the Roman Quaestor Aesillas minted un-Roman Tetradrachms to buy Thracian Loyalty”).

Thrace

Wonderful Archaic Style

Thraco-Macedonian Region, Berge AR Stater. Circa 525-480 BC. Ithyphallic satyr standing to right, grasping right wrist of nymph fleeing to right with right hand and touching her chin with left; pellets [above], to left, and [to right] / Quadripartite incuse square divided diagonally. Smith Group 5; Peykov A0020; AMNG III, 14 (‘Lete’); SNG ANS 956 (‘Lete’); Svoronos 16; Traité I, 1569 (‘Lete’); Psoma p. 61 (Berge); HGC 3, 531 (“Lete”). 9.67g, 21mm.

Near Extremely Fine; die flaw to top edge, wonderful late Archaic style.

It has been persuasively argued by S. Psoma that the coinage previously attributed to Lete and/or Siris is probably from Berge (cf. S. Psoma, ‘The “Lete” Coinage Reconsidered’ in Agoranomia. Studies in Money and Exchange Presented to John H. Kroll, (2006) pp. 61-85).

1,200

Good Extremely Fine; struck on a broad flan, attractive dark cabinet tone.

Acquired from Dix Noonan Webb Ltd.

A Magnificent Ainos Tetradrachm

Thrace, Ainos AR Tetradrachm. Circa 455-452 BC. Head of Hermes to right, wearing petasos / Goat standing to right; AINI above, kerykeion in right field; all within incuse square. May, Ainos 259 (A159/P170); SNG Copenhagen 395 (same dies); Boston MFA 779 (same dies); HGC 3.2, 1266. 16.50g, 26mm, 1h.

Extremely Fine; boasting a bold portrait of Hermes and a wonderful iridescent tone.

Ex Numismatica Ars Classica AG, Auction 126, 17 November 2021, lot 89; Ex Nomos AG, Auction 3, 10 May 2011, lot 38; Ex Nomos AG, Auction 1, 6 May 2009, lot 33 (hammer: CHF 22,000).

The city of Ainos began striking its first tetradrachms only after the expulsion of the Persians from northern Greece following Xerxes’ defeat at Salamis. Its early issue of coinage came to an end with the Athenian coinage decree of 449 BC, but the mint began to strike again around 435 BC, finally ending when Philip II of Macedon conquered the city in 342 BC. The coinage of Ainos consistently displayed Hermes on one side and a goat on the other - the former being the patron god and the latter representing the source of the city’s prosperity.

Ex Ponterio 104, 1999

Thrace, Mesembria AR Tetradrachm. In the name and types of Alexander III of Macedon. Circa 150-125 BC. Head of Herakles to right, wearing lion skin headdress / Zeus Aëtophoros seated to left, holding sceptre; ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩ[Σ] to right, ΑΛΕΞΑΝΔ[ΡΟΥ] to outer left, helmet above MA in inner left field, monogram below throne. Karayotov I 143 (O49/R138); Callataÿ Group 2, (D2/R5); Price 1082; HGC 3, 1568.

NGC graded MS 5/5 - 3/5 (#6323056-015).

Ex Ulysses Collection, purchased from Harlan J. Berk, Ltd. (inv. no. cc92630); Ex Ponterio, Auction 104, 4 November 1999, lot 399.

Islands off Thrace, Thasos AR Stater. Circa 412-404 BC. Nude satyr in kneeling-running stance to right, carrying off protesting nymph; Γ in upper right field / Quadripartite incuse square. Le Rider, Thasiennes 6 var. (letter on obverse); HPM pl. X, 27-8 var. (same); HGC 6, 334 var. (same). 9.08g, 21mm. Near Mint State; excellent high classical style. Apparently unique and unpublished with gamma control mark.

Thasos, a large island off the western coastal region of Thrace, gained its enormous wealth by virtue of its local silver mines as well as mines it controlled on the Thracian mainland opposite the island city-state. According to Herodotos (VI, 46), the city derived 200-300 talents annually from her exploitation of this mineral wealth. Additionally, Thasos gained much material wealth as a producer and exporter of high quality wines, which was tightly regulated by the government, and it was perhaps due to this trade in wine that her coinage spread throughout the Aegean making it a widely recognized and accepted currency in distant lands.

The artistry of this coin is exceptional, and belongs to the very end of the 5th century BC before the end of the Peloponnesian War. Earlier didrachm staters struck to a local Thracian standard (originally of 9.8g and subsequently 8.7g) are quite crude in style, portraying a vigorous and beastly satyr forcibly abducting an unwilling nymph. By contrast the satyr on this coin is imbued with almost wholly human qualities. The engraving is by a superior artist and is in a very lovely style, the head of the satyr reminding us of the miniature masterpieces from Katane in Sicily depicting a satyr ’s head facing, while the head of the nymph here is strongly reminiscent of the head of the nymph found on the coins of nearby Neapolis in Macedon.

There is no explanation in the relevant literature of the letters which sometimes appear in the obverse field of these later staters (they never appear on the earlier staters). Those recorded so far are A, I, Σ, Φ and now Γ with this current specimen. They cannot be the signatures of the artists as the staters with the same letter often show a markedly different hand at work, so they most probably simply identify the magistrate responsible for the issue, a commonplace feature on other coinages from a number of mints during this and subsequent times.