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Click here to subscribeAn elegant 19th c. Mahogany floor standing Corner Cabinet with moulded cornice and pair of opposing thirteen pane astral glazed doors revealing three shaped shelves, the base having pair of single shaped panel doors with ivory inverted tear drop escutcheon, standing on lower shaped apron and splayed bracket feet. 39 1/2'' wide x 80 1/2'' high x 23'' deep
BRUTTIUM, A SILVER NOMOS OF KROTON, ca. 400 BC, 7.626g, 9h. SNG ANS 343. Rare. Old cabinet tone. Perfectly centered and struck. Usual die-break on obverse, otherwise, choice extremely fine. Acquired privately from Tradart; Bank Leu 1987 (42) lot 64; former Raymundo Ottoni de Castro Maya (1894-1968) collection, Emile Bourgey November 1957 lot 16 As with many cities in Magna Graecia, Kroton was established by colonists from mainland Greece. Myskellos, obeying a directive of the oracle of Delphi, led a group of Achaean settlers to the site and founded the city around 710 BC. This divine sanction is represented by the tripod of the oracle, which became the civic badge of Kroton and is featured on its coinage.
THRACE, A SILVER STATER OF THASOS, ca. 480 BC, 9.570g. Hirmer 435. Old cabinet tone. Perfectly centered and unusually struck on a broad flan. Lovely archaic style. Choice extremely fine. Acquired privately from Tradart; The Numismatic Auction 1983 (2) lot 71 The overtly sexual displays seen on many early Greek coins can be disconcerting to the modern eye, viewing them through the lens of centuries of Christian fulminations against `paganism` and its erotic excesses. These scenes are at their most graphic in northern Greece, for example, on the archaic coins of `Lete` and the island of Thasos, showing the interplay of nymphs and satyrs. The towns and tribes of this region were only newly introduced to the `civilizing` influences of the south, and were still close to their roots in farming and herding cultures. Their gods were not the Olympian super beings, but the spirits of nature, and the emphasis was on celebrating the fecundity of fields and flocks.
THRACE, A SILVER HEMIDRACHM OF SAMOTHRACE, ca. 480 BC, 2.303g, 6h. SNG Berry 505. Rare. Old cabinet tone. Perfectly centered and struck. Attractive and interesting obverse type. Usual weakness on reverse, otherwise, extremely fine. Acquired privately from Tradart; former collection of a Scholar, Auctiones 1990 (20) lot 216; Kiourpet hoard 1930 (IGCH 696)
THRACE, A SILVER TETRADRACHM OF LYSIMACHOS, Lampsakos, ca. 297-282 BC, 17.036g, 12h. Müller 401. Old cabinet tone. Perfectly centered and struck in high relief. With a magnificent, elegant portrait of the finest style. Choice extremely fine. Acquired privately from Tradart; Bank Leu 1988 (45) lot 92 This is a masterpiece of early hellenistic coin engraving with a superb portrait of Alexander the Great. No life-time coin portraits of Alexander are known, and the first coins bearing his effigy were minted at Alexandria shortly after his death. They are surpassed, however, by the expression, the power and the brilliance of the Alexander heads on issues of Lysimachos struck in northern Greece and Asia Minor of which our tetradrachm is an irresistable example. The ram horn alludes to Alexander visit to the Ammon oracle in the oasis of Siwa in 331 BC. The god allegedly greeted him as his son and Alexander henceforward claimed Ammon as his true father rather than Philip II.
PONTUS, A SILVER TETRADRACHM OF MITHRADATES VI EUPATOR, Pergamon, ca. 74 BC, 16.790g, 11h. Callataÿ D60/R1c (this coin). Old cabinet tone. Broad flan. Extremely fine. Acquired privately from Tradart; Victor Gadoury October 1980 lot 267 The greatest king of his time, Mithradates spent the early part of his reign enlarging his kingdom. In his maturity he challenged Rome, taking possession of Cappadocia, Bithynia, Phrygia, Galatia and the province of Asia, massacring all the Italians he found in his domains - some 80.000 people. The Roman thirst for revenge was implacable, and it required three wars and the services of Sulla, Lucullus and Pompey to drive Mithradates from his kingdom to suicide.
BITHYNIA, A QUARTER SIGLOS OF HERAKLEIA PONTIKA, ca. 394-352 BC, 1.251g, 3h. SNG Lockett 2678 (this coin). Old cabinet tone. Perfectly centered and struck. Possibly the finest known. Choice extremely fine. Tradart November 1993 lot 88; former Richard Cyril Lockett (1873-1950) collection; former Samuel Pozzi (1846-1918) collection, Naville 1921 (1) lot 2137
CILICIA, A SILVER STATER OF SOLOI, ca. 340 BC, 8.375g, 7h. SNG BN 182. Old cabinet tone. Perfectly centered and struck on a broad flan. Possibly the finest known. Extremely fine. Tradart November 1993 lot 129; former Virgil Michael Brand (1861-1926) collection, Sotheby`s 1983 lot 132; former Theodor Prowe collection, Brüder Egger 1914 (46) lot 2235
SYRIA, A SILVER TETRADRACHM OF ANTIOCHOS I, Magnesia ad Sipylum, ca. 280-261 BC. 16.936g, 1h. SC 318B. Old cabinet tone. Extremely fine. Acquired privately from Tradart The obverse features the diademed Antiochos in his old age. His portrait was introduced to the coinage around 278 BC, along with a reverse design which was to become the standard Seleucid type of of the middle Hellenistic period. The figure of Apollo seated on his omphalos - a sacred conical stone - reflects the role played by Antiochos in shaping the cult of Apollo in Syria.
EGYPT, A SILVER TETRADRACHM OF PTOLEMY I, signed by the Master Δ, Alexandreia, ca. 305-285 BC, 14.269g, 12h. Svoronos 255. Old cabinet tone. Perfectly centered and struck on a broad flan. Among the finest known. Superb extremely fine. Acquired privately from Tradart Ptolemy was very early in his use of his portrait as a coin type. This is not inconsistent with the Egyptian tradition of divine kingship, but coinage was a Greek institution used primarily by the Macedonian ruling caste: thus Ptolemy`s innovation remains both shrwed and daring. His portrait is one of the most distinctive on all of ancient coinage, not only for its blunt, ungainly features but for the frank and forceful charcater it reveals. The aegis is a divine attribute, and the reverse type reinforces the Jovian identification.
A SILVER DENARIUS OF P. SATRIENUS, Rome, ca. 77 BC, 3.778g, 6h. Crawford 388/1b. Old cabinet tone. Extremely fine. Acquired privately from Tradart The reverse type would appear to be a representation of the she-wolf of the Capitol, used here as an expression of Roman strenght and domination in the aftermath of the Social War.
A SILVER DENARIUS OF Q. CAEPIO BRUTUS, Rome, ca. 54 BC, 3.919g, 5h. Crawford 433/1. Old cabinet tone. Perfectly centered and struck on a broad flan. Choice extremely fine. Tradart December 1998 lot 139; Max von Bahrfeldt (1856-1936) collection, Albert Riechmann 1922 (20) lot 348 More commonly known as Marcus Junius Brutus, the most famous of Caesar assassins, the monneyer incorporated his adoptive father name into his own. In admiration of his ancestros, who had been tyrannicides and to express his distaste for dictators, both actual and would-be, he chose types which patently defined his feelings. Among his contemporaries he had a reputation as a man of moral principle and independent spirit.
A SILVER DENARIUS OF M. JUNIUS BRUTUS, Rome, ca. 54 BC, 3.455g, 7h. Crawford 433/2. Old cabinet tone. Perfectly centered. A pair of powerful portraits. Extremely fine. Tradart November 1993 lot 179; The Numismatic Auction 1983 (2) lot 251; former Fred Knobloch (1907-1994) collection, Stack`s May 1978 lot 512 A decade prior to his participation in the assassination of Julius Caesar, Brutus held the office of moneyer. He produced an interesting coinage clearly illustrating his admiration for those of his ancestors who had distinguished themselves in the defense of liberty against the forces of tyranny. The head of L. Junius Brutus recalls the expulsion of the Tarquins from Rome and the establishment of the Republic in 509 BC, whilst that of Servilius Ahala commemorates the deeds of another ancestor who, as master of horse in 439 BC, saved the state by his assassination (with a concealed dagger!) of the traitor Spurius Maelius.
A SILVER DENARIUS OF JULIUS CAESAR, military mint traveling with Caesar, ca. 49 BC, 3.964g, 3h. Crawford 443/1. Old cabinet tone. Virtually as struck and almost Fdc. Acquired privately from Tradart This coin was issued in the aftermath of his fateful crossing of the Rubicon in defiance of the Senate order to relinquish his military command in Gaul. Payment for his troops during these extensive military activities necessitated a large output of coinage, hence the famous `elephant` denarius of Caesar. The choice of the obverse type has given rise to much speculation, but probably is symbolic of the triumph of good over evil.
A SILVER DENARIUS OF P. ACCOLEIUS LARISCOLUS, ca. 43 BC, 3.766g, 6h. Crawford 486/1. Old cabinet tone. Boldly struck. Choice extremely fine. Acquired privately from Numismatica Varesi According to Herbert Grueber, the obverse bust is Accia Larentia, the nurse of Romulus and Remus, and the reverse figures are the Querquetulanae virae, nymphs of the oak grove at a stage of producing green growth. Their sacred grove was within the Porta Querquetulana, a gate in the Servian Wall.
A SILVER DENARIUS OF MARK ANTONY & LUCIUS ANTONIUS, military mint travelling with Mark Antony, ca. 41 BC, 3.755g, 12h. Crawford 517/5a. Old cabinet tone. Perfectly centered and struck. Possibly the finest known. Superb extremely fine. Acquired privately from Tradart; Bank Leu 1990 (50) lot 266; former Clarence Bement (1843-1923) collection, Naville 1925 (8) lot 438 The portrait of Mark Antony is here perfectly reflective of his character. Plutarch described his `Herculean` qualities: "his swaggering air, his ribald talk, his fondness for carousing in public, sitting down by his men as they ate, or taking his food standing at the common mess table... which made his own troops delight in his company and almost worship him". This extroversion is easy to read in the triumvir portrait. Lucius Antonius, his younger brother, displays a family resemblance not only of physiognomy, but expression, so that Mark Antony charismatic personality seems attributable to him as well.
A SILVER DENARIUS OF MARK ANTONY, military mint travelling with Mark Antony, ca. 32-31 BC, 3.850g, 6h. Old cabinet tone. Perfectly centered and struck. Superb extremely fine. Acquired privately from Tradart; Frank Sternberg 1977 (7) lot 499 The well-known series of aurei and denarii honoring the legions of the Roman army was produced by Antony in the period immediately preceding the fateful battle of Actium (2 September 31 BC). The enormous military force gathered to do battle with Octavian for mastery of the Roman world. To pay his troops, Antony struck a special issue, each legion receiving coins bearing their own legionary name or number: silver for an ordinary soldier, gold probably for officers.
A SILVER CISTOPHORUS OF AUGUSTUS, Pergamon, ca. 27-26 BC, 11.971g, 1h. RPC 2212. Old cabinet tone. A portrait of enchanting beauty perfectly centered and struck in high relief. Possibly the finest known. Superb extremely fine. Acquired privately from Tradart; Numismatik Lanz 1992 (62) lot 503; former Howard Coppuck Levis (1859-1935) collection, Naville 1925 (11) lot 203 The cistophorus coinage was inherited by the Romans from the Hellenistic coinage system of the Attalid kingdom, and they maintained it as the principal silver coin circulating in the Roman province of Asia after its annexion in 133 BC. This example shows the emperor himself and his new name, Imperator Caesar Augustus... a remarkable demonstration of the speed with which Augustan iconography came to dominate on the coinage, as in other areas. The wheat ears on the reverse symbolize the peace and prosperity Augustus brought to the Empire.
A SILVER DENARIUS OF AUGUSTUS, Colonia Patricia, ca. 19-18 BC, 3.831g, 6h. RIC 82b. Rare. Old cabinet tone. Perfectly centered and struck. Of lovely style with a delicate and attractive portrait. Possibly the finest known. Superb extremely fine. Acquired privately from Tradart; Bank Leu 1989 (48) lot 312; former Fred Baldwin (1889-1970) collection, Glendining`s 1969 lot 23 20 BC… the return of the Roman army standards which had been lost so disgracefully in the preceding thirty-three years, especially by Crassus at Carrhae. The standard was extremely important to the Roman military, beyond merely being a symbol of a legion. A lost standard was considered an extremely grave occurrence, and the Roman military often went to great lengths to both protect a standard and to recover it if lost. By 22 BC, the Parthian king, Phraates, provided an opportunity for Augustus to negotiate a return of the standards in exchange for Turidates, a pretender to the Parthian throne who had fled to Rome. The momentous act was completed two years after and hailed throughout the Empire, commemorated with ceremonies for the deposit of the standards in a special shrine to Mars, and noted on coinage as well as in Augustus personal record of his Res Gestae.
A SILVER DENARIUS OF NERO, Rome, 64-65 AD, 3.156g, 5h. RIC 53. Old cabinet tone. Unusually well struck. Extremely fine. Acquired privately from Tradart; Frank Sternberg 1982 (12) lot 545 The chief of the gods is here invoked as guardian of the emperor, a singularly appropriate sentiment in the aftermath of the discovery of the Pisonian conspiracy (April 65 AD). Tacitus records that Nero dedicated a dagger intended for use against him to Jupiter Vindex. The elderly Seneca, formerly tutor to the emperor, who had been living in peaceful retirement since 62 AD, was obliged to commit suicide at this time for his alleged participation in the unsuccessful conspiracy.
A SILVER DENARIUS OF AELIUS, Rome, ca. 137 AD, 3.352g, 6h. RIC 436. Old cabinet tone. Bold portrait, perfectly struck and centred in high relief. Virtually as struck and almost Fdc. Acquired privately from Tradart; former Earl Alessandro Magnaguti (1887-1966) collection, Santamaria 1950 lot 1109; Robert Ball 1932 (6) lot 1424 The trend for wearing Greek-style beards established by Hadrian had clearly caught on during his reign. Aelius followed suit, as did most subsequent Roman emperors until Constantine the Great, 150 years later. Beards symbolized philosophy and the Hellenic culture which became `de rigueur` among the Roman aristocracy in the second century AD, the period known as the `Second Sophistic`.
A SILVER DENARIUS OF PLAUTILLA, Rome, ca. 204 AD, 4.318g, 5h. RIC 369. Old cabinet tone. Perfectly centered and struck on a broad flan. Virtually as struck and almost Fdc. Acquired privately from Tradart The coinage of Plautilla provides strong evidence that a child was born to the imperial couple prior to Plautianus downfall in 205 AD. History has provided no record of this child, but in 218 AD the claim was made that the fourteen-year-old Elagabalus was the legitimate son of Caracalla and Plautilla. This claim was almost certainly untrue, but is further evidence of popular knowledge that the marriage had not been childless. In this context the type of Venus queen of love and beauty would have been quite appropriate.
GAUL, A SILVER DRACHM OF THE TOLOSATES, area of Toulouse, ca. 2nd-1st centuries BC, 2.497g. Savès 75. Old cabinet tone. Perfectly centered and struck. Choice extremely fine "We are whiter and brighter in our souls than the whitest of you" (Pseudo-Callisthenes, Historia Alexandri Magni, 3.18.6). The Ethiopians were regarded in Antiquity as the best people in the world. In the first century BC, Diodorus of Sicily asserted that the gods Hercules and Bacchus were both "awaded by the piety" of the Ethiopians, whose sacrifices, he claims, were the most pleasant to the gods.
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