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Lot 47
A collection of pre 20/47 coins with jar of bronze pennies and halfpennies and a small amount of foreign coins, includes £16-50 pre 20, 63.4 ozt approx,£20-50, pre 47, 72.10 ozt approx crowns 1822, 1889 x 3, 1935 and 1953, double florins 1887 and 1899, also small quantity of silver threepence
Lot 134
Sicily Syracuse Æ21. Time of Hiketas, circa 287-278 BC. ?IO? E??ANIOY, laureate head of Apollo left, palladium behind / ?YPAKO?I?N, eagle standing to left on thunderbolt, star before. CNS II, 157; SNG ANS 810. 8.74g, 21mm, 10h. Good Extremely Fine. Very attractive patina, with original earthen encrustations around edge. A wonderful bronze. From the Eckenheimer collection.
Lot 180
Attica, Athens AR Tetradrachm. Circa 490-482 BC. Archaic head of Athena right wearing crested helmet decorated with chevron and dot pattern / Owl standing right, head facing, olive sprig behind, ??? before. Cf. Svoronos Pl. 4, 26. 17.44g, 23mm, 6h. Near Extremely Fine. In unusually good condition for the issue, with a full crest; struck and preserved on sound, lustrous metal. Very Rare. Athens was one of the few Greek cities with significant silver deposits in their immediate territory, a remarkable stroke of fortune upon which Xenophon reflected: 'The Divine Bounty has bestowed upon us inexhaustible mines of silver, and advantages which we enjoy above all our neighbouring cities, who never yet could discover one vein of silver ore in all their dominions.' The mines at Laurion had been worked since the bronze age, but it would be only later in 483 that a massive new vein of ore would be discovered that enabled Athens to finance grand new schemes such as the construction of a fleet of 200 triremes, a fleet that would later prove decisive in defending Greece at the Battle of Salamis. This coin was produced in the period before the discovery of the new deposits at Laurion, around the time of the Ionian Revolt and the subsequent first Persian invasion of Greece. Athens aided the Ionian Greeks in their rebellion against Persian tyranny with both coin and soldiers, participating in the 498 BC march on Sardes which resulted in the capture and sack of that city – the only significant offensive action taken by the Ionians, who were pushed back onto the defensive and eventually subjugated once more. Vowing to punish Athens for their support of the doomed rebellion, the Persian king Darius launched an invasion of Greece, landing at Marathon in 490 BC. Just twenty five miles from Athens, a vastly outnumbered Athenian hoplite army inflicted a crushing defeat on the Persians, who after suffering horrendous casualties turned to their ships and fled.
Lot 598
Nero AR Denarius. Rome, AD 64-65. NERO CAESAR, laureate head right / AVGVSTVS GERMANICVS, Nero, radiate and togate, standing facing holding branch and Victory on globe. RIC 47; WCN 22; BMC 60; RSC 45. 3.41g, 19mm, 6h. Extremely Fine. A choice example of this attractive type which is very difficult to obtain in high grade. Ex Triton V, 15 January 2002, lot 1885. This coin, in remarkable condition for its issue, depicts the famous bronze statue the Colossus of Nero. The emperor was portrayed in the guise of Sol, and it was originally placed by the entrance of his golden palace. Designed and constructed by Zenodorus the Greek from AD 64 to 68, the reverse therefore predates the much anticipated work. The 103 foot tall statue was moved by Hadrian to outside the Flavian Amphitheatre in 128 using 24 elephants, giving the building its current name: the Colosseum.
Lot 67
Sicily, Akragas AR Tetradrachm. Circa 460-446 BC. Sea eagle standing left on Ionic capital, AKRACANTO? around / Crab; spiralled tendril ornament with floral terminals below; all within shallow incuse circle. Lee Group II; SNG ANS 982 var. 17.36g, 25mm, 4h. Near Mint State. Akragas was founded by colonists from Gela in around 582-580 BC in a highly favourable location on a plateau overlooking the sea, and was supplied with water by two nearby rivers. The city's position benefited it greatly, and it quickly became one of the wealthiest Greek colonies in Sicily. Under the tyrant Phalaris, who seized power in the city after having been entrusted with the building of the temple of Zeus on the citadel, the city attained considerable prosperity. Phalaris also supplied the city with water, adorned it with grand public buildings, and strengthened it with defensive walls. Yet for all this, he was renowned for his cruelty and sadistic tendencies, which supposedly included cannibalism. His notorious reputation is etched in legend, as it was he who commissioned the Brazen Bull, a hollow bronze statue invented by the sculptor Perillos as a novel way to execute criminals, in which the victim would be placed, before a fire was set below the statue. A complex system of tubes converted the victim's screams into the sounds of a bellowing bull. Perillos, expecting a reward for his service, was instead thrown into the bull to test it. Phalaris himself was said to have been killed in his brazen bull after being overthrown by Telemachos, the ancestor of Theron.
Lot 69
Sicily, Akragas Æ Tetras. Circa 420-406 BC. AKPA, eagle, with head lowered, standing right on hare; crab behind / Crab, crayfish left below; three pellets below crab. SNG ANS 1037; Calciati I pg. 178, 50; SNG Copenhagen -; SNG Morcom -; Laffaille -; Virzi 603. 10.52g, 22mm, 5h. Extremely Fine. Very rare variety with crab in left obverse field. Exceptional for the type, and for Akragantine bronze in general. From the Eckenheimer collection.
Lot 728
Marcus Aurelius AV Aureus. Rome, AD 173-174. M ANTONINVS AVG TR P XXVIII, laureate, draped and cuirassed bust right, seen from behind / IMP VI COS III, Marcus Aurelius on horseback right, raising right hand, parazonium at his side. Calicó 1869; RIC 294; C. 303. 7.09g, 19mm, 6h. Fleur De Coin. Extremely Rare, no examples have been offered at auction for more than 15 years. Perhaps struck to coincide with a triumph relating to his campaigns against the Marcomanni, Quadi and Iazyges which was delayed until after a revolt in the east led by Avidius Cassius could be put down, the reverse of this coin depicts the famous equestrian statue of Marcus Aurelius. Cast in bronze and clad in gold, it is today the only fully surviving bronze statue of a pre-Christian emperor. Although there had been many imperial equestrian statues, most were melted down for their metal to be used either for coin or new sculptures. Many were also destroyed for no better reason than because medieval Christians thought that they were pagan idols. It is only because this statue was erroneously believed to be of Constantine, the first Christian emperor, that it was not also destroyed. The original position of the statue is debated, though the Forum Romanum and the Piazza Colonna (where Aurelian’s column stands) are likely suggestions. In the 8th century it stood in the Lateran Palace in Rome, from where it was relocated in 1538 to the Piazza del Campidoglio (Capitoline Hill) during Michelangelo’s redesign of the Hill. Though he disagreed with its central positioning, he designed a special pedestal for it. The original statue is now on display in the Capitoline Museum in Rome, and a replica now overlooks Rome in its stead. Standing at over 4 metres tall, the statue shows Marcus Aurelius holding his right hand out and slightly open in the traditional gesture of peace and clemency; some historians assert that a fallen enemy may have been sculpted begging for mercy under the horse’s raised hoof (based on accounts from medieval times which suggest that a small figure of a bound barbarian chieftain once crouched underneath the horse’s front right leg). It is a fitting representation of an emperor who has been universally admired as a philosopher-emperor, and who saw himself not as a conqueror but as a bringer of peace - an attitude evidenced by the emperor being garbed in a toga rather than military dress.
Lot 826
Constantine I AV Solidus. Trier, AD 312-313. CONSTANTINVS PF AVG, laurel and jewel diademed head right / VIRTVS EXERCITVS GALL, Mars walking to right, carrying spear and trophy, chlamys over left shoulder; TR in exergue. RIC -; Depeyrot 26/1. 4.39g, 20mm, 6h. Good Extremely Fine. Extremely Rare, Depeyrot notes only one example. The reverse of this coin honours the army of Gaul which was responsible for supporting Constantine's (illegal) elevation to the purple upon the death of his father at Eboracum (York) in AD 306, fought under him against the Frankish and Germanic tribes in several campaigns between 306 and 310, and which ultimately delivered him Rome and sole rule of the West in 312. The army of Gaul was a battle-hardened and effective force, regularly tested against the barbarian tribes which at this time made frequent incursions into Roman lands. They had also demonstrated a strong sense of loyalty to Constantine in 308 when the former emperor Maximian, then an exile in his realm, attempted to subvert a contingent of the army by declaring that Constantine was dead, taking the purple and pledging a large donative to any who would support him. Maximian failed to win them over and was forced to flee, and then commit suicide. It was on account of this devoted and veteran army that Constantine was able to win a crushing victory over the numerically superior force of Maxentius at the Battle of the Milvian Bridge. The army of Gaul was drawn up in two lines, according to their customary tactics, but Constantine, perceiving that the opposing force outnumbered him and could envelop his line, suddenly reduced the second line and extended the front of his first to match that of Maxentius. Such manoeuvres in the moment of danger can only be executed without confusion by experienced troops, and commonly prove decisive. Yet because the battle was begun towards the end of the day and was contested with great obstinacy throughout the night there was, in the words of E. Gibbon, 'less room for the conduct of the generals than for the courage of the soldiers' (Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, Vol. 1, Ch. XIV, 150). Maxentius' units were forced back until he had no choice but to attempt a desperate retreat over the wooden pontoon bridge he had hastily built across the Tiber, the stone one having been destroyed in the course of siege preparations. This bridge collapsed, trapping Maxentius' soldiers who either surrendered or, like his Praetorian cohorts, were killed to a man. Maxentius himself drowned while trying to swim across the river in desperation for escape. Thus from the very moment he had defeated Maxentius, gold, silver and bronze coins were struck at Constantine's former capital and stronghold of Augusta Treverorum (Trier) celebrating the glory and heroism of the Gallic Army ('GLORIA EXERCITVS GALL' and 'VIRTVS EXERCITVS GALL').
Lot 926
Byzantine 5th-6th Century AD Weight of 3 Unciae. Uniface, square weight with slightly curved edges leading to a slightly bevelled top edge ornamented with engraved designs. At the centre, on a double line base enriched with garlands below, are the facing busts of two nimbate, crowned and draped imperial figures, their faces inlaid with silver and their robes with copper; around the busts is an inlaid copper laurel wreath and there are inlaid silver ornaments at 12, 3, 6 and 9 o’clock; in each of the two upper corners of the weight is an engraved flower with an inlaid silver centre; in each of the bottom two corners is the inlaid silver letter ? (= 3) The reverse is plain with some file marks as made. C.f. Bendall 61 ff. L. Holland, 'An Unusual Bronze Coin-Weight from Caesarea-Maritima,' IAPN p. 94 and pl. 30, 2 (this piece). 80.40g, 34 x 35 x 9mm. Extremely Fine, displaying original patina as found but with the top surface cleaned to reveal the design and the original golden-brown colour of the bronze, the red of the copper and the grey silver. Very Rare. A remarkable example of late Roman - early Byzantine metal work. Ex LHS 102, 29 April 2008, lot 473.
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