We found 172622 price guide item(s) matching your search
There are 172622 lots that match your search criteria. Subscribe now to get instant access to the full price guide service.
Click here to subscribe- List
- Grid
-
172622 item(s)/page
Lot 88
Attica, Athens AR Tetradrachm. Circa 350-294 BC. Overstruck on an earlier Athens type. Helmeted head of Athena right / Owl standing right, head facing; olive sprig and crescent behind. Kroll 15; SNG Copenhagen 64. 15.10g, 24mm, 9h. Very Fine. Overstruck. Clear evidence of the overstruck nature of this coin can be seen in the rounded and pointed olive leaves visible above the helmet visor, and the shadow of nose and chin in the obverse right field.
Lot 14
A Scandinavian covered tankard, possibly Norwegian, of cylindrical form with repoussé decoration around the lower body and symmetrical decoration around the rim, the flat topped hinged cover similarly decorated, the centre set with a token to represent a Norwegian1/2 speciedaler coin dated 1776, with rampant lion holding a shield as the thumbpiece, and raised on three seated beast and ball feet, unidentified marks to the base, 25.2ozt 20 x 12 x 12cm (8 x 5 x 5in)
Lot 176
Munsey & Co of Cambridge - A 9ct gold half hunter pocket watch and chain, the front lid with blue enamel Roman numerals, signed to the 4cm white dial with black Roman numerals and subsidiary seconds register, crown wind with hand setting button at 4 o'clock, the jewelled and signed movement numbered 400169, the case by Rotherham & Sons, hallmarked Birmingham 1922 monogrammed to the reverse, and engraved to the dust cover, with an early 20th century Chester marked 9ct gold graduating curb link watch chain, with T bar and base metal swivel catch and coin, total length 37cm, gross weight of chain 33.2g
Lot 35
A pair of George IV silver basting spoons and a punch ladle, the 'Fiddle' pattern spoons by William Chawner, London 1835, 30cm (12in) long, the ends initialled, 7.4ozt gross, and an unmarked punch ladle with oval shaped bowl inset with a George II coin dated 1757, flared spout, with turned whalebone handle, lacking finial (3) Basting spoons are specially designed with a long handle to enable the chef to reach in the oven to baste or stir without being burned. toddy ladle dented and bruised and missing the silver finial on the handle.
Lot 110
A Quantity of Proof Sets. This lot includes set of Jersey 1980 Proof Coin Set, Guernsey 1979 Brilliant Uncirculated Proof Coin Set, Bailiwick of Guernsey £5.00 Coin Set, States of Jersey Brilliant Uncirculated Coin Set and 1999 £5.00 coin together with Guernsey 8 Doubles, 1885, 4 Doubles 1889, 2 Doubles 1885, 1 Double 1889, Guernsey 3p 1956 (cow), p 1971 (windmill of Sark), Emergency WWI Coinage 10c 1917, 5c 1917 x 2, 5c 1917 'Bayonne', 10c 1918 together with the Jersey Shipbuilders of the 19th Century coin set £1.00 Silver Proof Coins. This lot includes 'The Tickler 1858', The Hebe 1861', 'The Percy Douglas 1861', 'The Gemini 1864', 'The Century 1866', 'The Resolute 1877' and a 1992 Jersey Bailiwick Seal. (7)
Lot 4
Rare and Very Fine Vintage Cartier 1906 US $20 Liberty Head Gold Coin Watch with Manual Movement. Signed to watch face, appears to be numbered to case back. Measures 1-1/4" diameter. Approx. weight: 33.4 grams. Shipping $30.00 (estimate $8000-$10000) Condition: Very good condition. Running. Please note the gallery does not warranty the running condition of watches. Domestic Shipping: $30.00 Min Est. $8000.00 Max Est. $10000.00
Lot 301
Calabria, Taras, didrachm, c. 390-380 BC, ephebos naked on horseback riding right, holding reigns in both hands; beneath horse, Λ, rev., ΤΑΡΑΣ, Phalanthos, founder of Taras, seated on dolphin left, holding acrostolion before him; below dolphin, Λ, 7.88g, die axis 10.00 (Fischer-Bossert 406b, this coin; Vlasto 367, this coin; SNG Lockett 155, same dies; HN Italy 870), good extremely fine, toned, very rare and of perfect metal quality, one of the finest known staters of Tarentum of the early 4th century, formerly in the Kunstfreund (Charles Gillet) collection. Provenance: Santangelo collection, Naples (“from a small part of the collection given away, before the sale of the collection to the Museum of Naples”, Vlasto p. 46, footnote); M.P. Vlasto collection, Marseille; Kunstfreund (Gillet) collection, Bank Leu and Mϋnzen und Medaillen, 28 May 1974, lot 173; Hermann Robinow collection, Morton & Eden 51, 24 October 2011, lot 5.
![Lucania, Velia, stater, c. 435-400 BC, head of Athena right wearing crested Attic helmet adorned with griffin, rev., [ΥΕΛΗΤ]Ω](https://cdn.globalauctionplatform.com/0af4c024-d6a7-4eb4-8dcd-a962010bb399/2c2d0578-ca3f-4c5e-c5c7-a7d438b929f8/468x382.jpg)
Lot 304
Lucania, Velia, stater, c. 435-400 BC, head of Athena right wearing crested Attic helmet adorned with griffin, rev., [ΥΕΛΗΤ]ΩΝ, lion to right pulling down stag; dotted exergual line below, 7.72g, die axis 6.00 (Williams 154o, this coin; SNG Lloyd 518, this coin; BMC 44, same dies), about extremely fine, toned, very rare, formerly in the collection of Sir Arthur Evans and a British Museum duplicate. Provenance: Sir Arthur Evans collection (photo file in Ashmolean Museum, pl. 18, 420); Lloyd collection and British Museum duplicate; Münzen und Medaillen VIII, 8 December 1949, lot 725; Niggeler collection, Münzen und Medaillen and Bank Leu, 3 December 1965, lot 45; Münzen und Medaillen 53, 1977, lot 12; Numismatica Ars Classica 92, 23 May 2016, lot 97.
Lot 305
Bruttium, Caulonia, stater, c. 525-500 BC, ΚΑΥΛ, Apollo, naked, standing right with branch in right hand raised behind head and with small running figure of a daimon holding a branch on his left arm extended in front of him; all within dotted and cabled border, rev., the same type incuse but without the ethnic and the daimon without branch, 8.40g; die axis 12.00 (Noe 2d, this coin; SNG Lloyd 571, same dies; SNG ANS 141, same dies; HN Italy 2035), well-toned, good extremely fine and virtually as struck. Provenance: Naville-Ars Classica XII, 18 October 1926, lot 547; Hess Leu sale 36, 17-18 April 1968, lot 39; Hermann Robinow collection, Morton & Eden 51, 24 October 2011, lot 18.
Lot 306
Akragas, didrachm, c. 495-485 BC, eagle standing left with closed wings; around, ΑΚΡΑ-CΑΣ, rev., crab within incuse circle; ΕΧΑ (retrograde) below, 8.79g, die axis 1.00 (Westermark 94.5, this coin; Traité 2328 = de Luynes 848, same dies), about extremely fine, very rare. Provenance: A.D. Moretti collection; Numismatica Ars Classica, 12 May 2005, lot 1135; Triton XIII, 5 January 2010, lot 28; Roma VII, 22 March 2014, lot 79.
Lot 308
Akragas, gold tetradrachm, c. 410-406 BC, ΑΚΡΑ, eagle with closed wings standing left on rock, about to tear at serpent; on the rock, two globules (marks of value), rev., ΣΙΛΑ-ΝΟΣ, crab, 1.35g, die axis 11.00 (Westermark 1013.5, this coin; Ward 138, this coin; SNG ANS 998, same dies; SNG Lloyd 719, same dies; Gulbenkian 171, same dies), extremely fine and very rare, with provenances including Bunbury, Ward, J. Pierpoint Morgan and the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. Provenance: Bunbury collection, Sotheby’s, 15 June 1896, lot 259; John Ward collection; J. Pierpoint Morgan (before 1905); Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Sotheby’s, Zurich, 5 April 1973, lot 113; Numismatica Ars Classica 8, 2 April 1995, lot 117; Numismatica Ars Classica 27, 12 May 2004, lot 68; Numismatica Genevensis 4, 11 December 2006, lot 30; Numismatica Genevensis 8, 24 November 2014, lot 15.
Lot 309
Kamarina, tetradrachm by Exakestidas, c. 410 BC, fast quadriga driven right by Athena, helmeted and holding goad and reins; Nike flying above to crown her; signed on the exergual line ΕΞΑΚΕΣΤΙΔΑΣ; in ex., linked amphorae, rev., ΚΑΜΑΡΙΝΑΙΟΝ, young head of Herakles left wearing lion-skin headdress, 16.82g, die axis 10.00 (Westermark- Jenkins 149; Kraay-Hirmer 152, same dies; SNG Lloyd 871, same dies; Rizzo pl. V, 11, same dies), toned, very fine and rare, formerly in the Gillet collection. Provenance: Charles Gillet collection (Gillet inventory 366 bis, this coin); Spink/Galerie des Monnaies, 10 October 1977, lot 72; Hermann Robinow collection, Morton & Eden 51, 24 October 2011, lot 28; Numismatica Ars Classica 88, 8 October 2015, lot 361.
Lot 311
Messana, tetradrachm by Simin.., c. 412-408 BC, slow biga of mules driven left by female charioteer holding goad and reins; above, Nike flying right to crown her; on exergual line in tiny letters, traces of ΣΙΜΙΝ; in ex., dolphin left, rev., ΜΕΣΣ-ΑΝΙ-ΩΝ, hare springing left; below, eagle perched on serpent, 17.11g; die axis 3.00 (Caltabiano 628, 2 and pl. 38, this coin; Jameson 653, same dies; Gulbenkian 226-227, same obverse die; SNG ANS 381, same obverse die; Basel 368, same obverse die), toned, very fine and very rare. Provenance: Maison Platt, June 1921, lot 38; A.D. Moretti collection; Classical Numismatic Group and Numismatica Ars Classica sale 40, 1996, lot 801; M.L. Collection of Coins of Magna Graecia and Sicily, Numismatica Ars Classica 82, 20 May 2015, lot 46. This signed obverse die by an otherwise unknown die engraver is paired with three reverse dies with differing arrangements of the legend. While Caltabiano doubted the existence of the signature because on most specimens it is difficult to read, she seems not to have examined the Bunker Hunt specimen (formerly in the Käpelli collection) upon which the signature is particularly clear (see Hunt sale part 2, Sotheby’s New York, 21 June 1990, lot 238 with enlargement). Both Exakestidas at Kamarina and Kimon at Syracuse (see lots 9 and 16 in this catalogue) signed their coins in a similar way with tiny letters inscribed along the exergual lines of their obverses. Caltabiano has suggested that the present coin is struck over a coin of Akragas but since the Jameson example from the same dies shows the same “flaws” they must be on the die rather than indicative of an overstrike. Caltabiano 628, 6 (Gulbenkian 226) actually belongs to her no. 627 so that she has recorded a total of only six coins including the present piece from these particular dies.
Lot 313
Segesta, didrachm, c. 475-450 BC, hound standing right with head lowered, on double exergual line, rev., ΣΕΓΕΣΤΑZΙ-Β, head of nymph Segesta right wearing earring and necklace, 8.44g, die axis 5.00 (Hurter 45a, this coin; Ward 221, this coin; Weber 1502, same dies), faint flan crack, good very fine and very rare, from the Ward collection, J. Pierpoint Morgan and the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. Provenance: John Ward collection; J. Pierpoint Morgan (before 1905); Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Sotheby’s Zurich, 4 April 1972, lot 181; Numismatica Ars Classica 6, 1993, lot 78; Dr. Murray Gell-Mann collection; Roma XI, 7 April 2016, lot 102.
Lot 316
Syracuse, dekadrachm by Kimon, c. 405-400 BC, fast quadriga driven left by charioteer who holds goad over horses in extended right hand and reins in left; above, Nike flies to crown him; below, in exergual area, arranged on two steps are a panoply of arms below which, ΑΘΛΑ; on exergual line faint traces of the signature ΚΙΜΩΝ, rev., [ΣΥΡΑΚΟΣΙΩ], head of Arethusa left, her hair in ampyx and held in net, wearing single-drop earring and pearl necklace; Κ on ampyx; four dolphins around (one off flan) with the lower one bearing the signature ΚΙΜΩ[Ν], 43.36g, die axis 11.00 (Jongkees 3p, this coin; Rizzo pl. LII, 3, same dies; SNG Lockett 998, same dies), about extremely fine and rare, formerly in the Bibliothèque Nationale, Paris. Provenance: Bibliothèque Nationale, Paris (published by J. De Foville, Choix des monnaies grecques du Cabinet de France, RN 1913, pl. I, 173); Münzen und Medaillen XXV, 17 November 1962, lot 419; Denyse Bérend collection (before 1985); exhibited at the Edward Merrin Gallery, New York, 1985; Morton & Eden 66, 7 November 2013, lot 340. In the 1962 Münzen und Medaillen sale this coin was described as Chef-d’œuvre du célèbre graveur syracusain et peut-être sa creation la plus attachante – Superbe. It is struck from the dies which are signed three times by the artist, once on the obverse and twice on the reverse. The purpose of this issue is thought to be in celebration of the famous Syracusan victory over the Carthaginians in 405 BC and Kimon’s brief coinage was followed by the much larger issue of decadrachms by Euainetos which extend into the early 4th century BC.
Lot 318
Siculo-Punic coinage, Entella, tetradrachm, c. 330-320 BC, head of Tanit left, hair wreathed with barley leaves, wearing triple-drop earring and pearl necklace, rev., free horse rearing forwards and to right in front of palm tree, 17.09g, die axis 5.00 (Jenkins 123, this coin cited; SNG Lloyd 1616, same dies; Boston 488, same dies), fine toning, good extremely fine and rare, from the Niggeler and Robinow collections. Provenance: Walter Niggeler collection, Bank Leu-Münzen und Medaillen, 3 December 1965, lot 541; Hermann Robinow collection, Morton & Eden 51, 24 October 2011, lot 65.
Lot 319
Siculo-Punic coinage, Entella, tetradrachm, c. 320-300 BC, head of Tanit left wreathed with barley leaves, wearing earring and pearl necklace; four dolphins around and scallop shell beneath chin, rev., horse’s head facing three-quarters left; to right, palm tree; below Punic inscription, 16.93g, die axis 11.00 (Jenkins 163, this coin cited; SNG Fitzwilliam 1488, same dies; SNG Copenhagen 85, same dies), well toned, about extremely fine. Provenance: G. Picard collection, A. Sambon, Paris, 1923, lot 312; Helbing 70, Munich, 1932, lot 538; Helbing fixed price list XVII, 1934, 176; Ars Classica, Lucerne, 1933, lot 923; Münzhandlung Basel 8, 1937, lot 185; Denyse Bérend collection (before 1985); exhibited at the Edward Merrin Gallery, New York, 1985; Morton & Eden 59, 13-14 November 2012, lot 743.
Lot 320
Island off Thrace, Samothrace, hemidrachm, c. 500-480 BC, sphinx with curled wing seated left with right foreleg raised, rev., quadripartite incuse square, 1.94g (SNG Lockett 1209, this coin; W. Schwabacher, Ein Fund archaischer Münzen von Samothrake, Transactions of the International Numismatic Congress, London, 1936, 110, 2e, this piece; Jameson 2442, same dies), toned, extremely fine and extremely rare. Provenance: Kiourpet hoard, 1930 (IGCH 696); R.C. Lockett collection, Glendining, 12 February 1958, lot 1125; Roma VIII, 28 September 2014, lot 496.
Lot 322
Macedonia, Amphipolis, drachm, c. 380 BC, laureate head of Apollo facing three-quarters right, rev., ΑΜΦ-ΙΠΟ-ΛΙΤ-ΕΩΝ arranged on square frame within which race torch, 3.49g, die axis 1.30 (Lorber 56d, this coin; Jameson 1943, same dies; de Hirsch 962, same dies; de Luynes 1563, same dies), very fine and rare. Provenance: Egger sale, 10 December 1906, lot 262; Fenerly Bey collection, Egger XLI, 18 November 1912, lot 330; Virgil Brand collection, part 3, Sotheby’s Zurich, 9 June 1983, lot 54; Morton & Eden 68, 10 June 2014, lot 12.
Lot 326
Kingdom of Macedonia, Philip II (359-336 BC), didrachm, Amphipolis, c. 355-348 BC, head of Herakles right wearing lion-skin headdress, rev., ΦΙΛΙΠ-ΠΟΥ, Philip, wearing kausia, chlamys and tunic, on horseback left, raising right hand and holding reins in left; below horse’s raised foreleg, bow, 7.06g, die axis 9.00 (Le Rider 174b, this coin; SNG Alpha Bank 281, same dies; SNG Copenhagen supplement 110, same dies), good very fine and very rare, one of only three examples of this variety published. Provenance: R. Abecassis collection; Bank Leu 81, 16 May 2001, lot 176; Money Museum, Zurich (https://www.moneymuseum.com/en/coins?&id=777).
Lot 332
Boeotia, Thebes, hemiobol, c. 470-440 BC, half Boeotian shield with Θ below, rev., amphora in incuse square, 0.46g, die axis 7.00 (Bérend [Mildenberg Festschrift], pl. 1, 9, this coin; SNG Fitzwilliam 2922), very fine, an extremely rare variety. Provenance: BCD collection, Triton IX, 10 January 2006, lot 368 (where the existence of the theta on the obverse is first noted – on no other coins of Thebes does it appear on the obverse); Morton & Eden 75, 2 July 2015, lot 8.
Lot 333
Boeotia, Thebes, tetartemorion, c. 450-425 BC, Boeotian shield, rev., trilobite vine leaf in incuse square, 0.20g (Bérend [Mildenberg Festschrift], pl. 1, 25, this coin), very fine, apparently unique with the vine leaf reverse. Provenance: BCD collection, Triton IX, 10 January 2006, lot 384; Morton & Eden 75, 2 July 2015, lot 10.
Lot 334
Euboia, Euboian League, stater, c. 375-357 BC, cow reclining to left with head turned back to lick its flank, its tail emerging from behind, rev., ΕΥΒ, head of nymph Euboia right wearing earring, her hair tied up on top; all within incuse square, 12.08g, die axis 9.00 (Wallace 2, II/1, this coin illustrated; Gulbenkian 506, same dies; Jameson 1176, same dies; SNG Lockett 1777, same reverse die), toned, slightly porous, about extremely fine and very rare. Provenance: Spink Numismatic Circular, vol. LIX, 9, October 1951, 48262; Dr E O and Mrs F M Halliwell collection, Baldwin’s 68, 28 September 2010, lot 3399; David Freeman collection; Roma VII, 22 March 2014, lot 363.
Lot 335
Arkadia, Pheneos, drachm, c. 360-350 BC, head of Demeter left wearing corn wreath, triple-drop earring and pearl necklace, rev., ΦΕΝΕΩΝ, Hermes, nude but for cloak, seated left on rocks, holding kerykeion in right hand and resting the left on the rock; in field to left, ΘΗΡΙ, 5.58g, die axis 10.00 (Traité III, 901, pl. CCXXV, 9, this coin; BCD 1616; BMC 14; Jameson 1255; SNG Lockett = Weber 4323, all from the same dies), dark toned, very fine and extremely rare. Provenance: Pozzi collection, Naville I, 14 March 1921, lot 1951; Bement collection, Naville VII, 23 June 1924, lot 1288; John Work Garrett collection, Bank Leu and NFA, 16 October 1984, lot 230; BCD collection (but not included in his auction sale); Adam Smith collection, Morton & Eden 66, 7 November 2013, lot 318. The rocks on which Hermes is seated have been associated with Mount Kyllini in the north east of Arcadia and the location of a sacred cave where Hermes was born. The drachms of Pheneos are rarer than the staters and all known examples are struck from a single pair of dies. J. Babelon in Traité (followed by the cataloguers of the Pozzi and Bement sales) suggested that the name ΘΗΡΙ could be the signature of the celebrated 4th century artist Therikles of Corinth (Traité III, p. 603) but this theory is no longer accepted. For the stater issued in parallel with the drachms and “signed” with a Θ see Schultz, S., Die Staterprägung von Pheneos, SNR 71, 1992, reverse die R1.
Lot 339
Elis, Olympia, stater, c. 360-350 BC, head of Hera right wearing stephane adorned with lily and palmette, rev., eagle standing left with head turned back; all within olive wreath, 11.90g, die axis 2.00 (Locker Lampson 235, this coin; Seltman 313b, possibly this coin), minor obverse marks, high relief, toned, very fine and rare. Provenance: Grand Duke Alexander Michailovitch collection, Ars Classica XII, 18 October 1926, lot 1554; G. Locker-Lampson collection; Münzen und Medaillen 72, 6 October 1987, lot 604; BCD collection, Leu Numismatics 90, 10 May 2004, lot 130; Princely Collection, Morton & Eden 86, 24 May 2017, lot 19. At Olympia there were two distinct mints striking, on the one hand, the coins depicting Zeus (see following lot) and on the other, the coins depicting Hera (as here). We know that the mints were separated because there are no instances of cross linkage of the reverse dies which feature the eagle. In 1951 Charles Seltman published the so-called Katoché hoard of Elean coins (NC 1951, part 1) and in so doing produced tables attributing his obverse dies to specific Olympiads (which took place every four years). In a final footnote he stated : “….. an error of four years, but not more than four, either up or down, is a possibility”. According to his scheme, this coin represents the stater issue from the Hera mint for the 106th Olympiad that took place in 356 BC. In the catalogue of the sale of the BCD collection in 2004 (where this coin featured) the cataloguer, whilst following Seltman’s scheme, expressed some reservations (p. 52), hence a somewhat less precise date for the present coin as well as the following lot is given here of c. 360-350 BC.
Lot 342
Mysia, Kyzikos, electrum hekte, c. 410 BC, naked Helios kneeling right holding foreparts of two horses prancing to left and right; tunny fish below, rev., quadripartite incuse square, 2.67g (Jameson 2194, this coin; SNG von Aulock 7312, this coin; Kraay-Hirmer 715, this coin; von Fritze 149; BMC 106), extremely fine and extremely rare, probably the finest known and from the Jameson and von Aulock collections. Provenance: R. Jameson collection, Paris; Hans von Aulock collection; Bank Leu 38, 13 May 1986, lot 98; DNW, 22 June 2011, lot 1017; Princely Collection, Morton & Eden 86, 24 May 2017, lot 25. The engravers of the Kyzicene coinage drew their ideas from numerous sources, both local and foreign. Here, the inter-connected mythological relationships of Helios to Apollo; and Apollo as father to the city-founder Kyzikos point to an indigenous origin. The symmetrically balanced composition of the sun-god Helios flanked by the horses’ foreparts must have been sculptural in inspiration and the observation that the composition is perfectly square (Head, NC, 1877, p. 170 [J.P. Six]) suggests that it has “been copied from a metope of a temple.” (Greenwell, p. 59). Although full staters bearing this composition exist in some numbers, the hektes are exceedingly rare. The only example noted by Greenwell was acquired by the British Museum in 1841 and is well-worn.
Lot 345
Ionia, Miletos, drachm, c. 340-325 BC, laureate head of Apollo left, rev., ΔΙΑΓΟΡΑΣ, lion standing left with head turned back; above, eight-pointed star; to left, Miletos monogram, 3.61g, die axis 1.00 (Demeester 122, this coin; Deppert 148, same obverse die but the magistrate Diagoras not recorded at Miletos), old scuff on reverse but otherwise good extremely fine and dark toned, an exceptional specimen. Provenance: Falm collection, Numismatica Ars Classica 82, 20 May 2015, lot 188 (previously purchased from Tradart, Brussels, in 1996); Nomos 12, 22 May 2016, lot 98 (“a truly spectacular example of this issue, perfectly struck, beautifully preserved and finely toned”).
Lot 346
Ionia, Phokaia, electrum hekte, c. 360 BC, head of young satyr left, with animal’s ear and wearing ivy wreath with berries over forehead, rev., quadripartite incuse square, 2.55g (Bodenstedt 87.10, this coin; Jameson 1511, same dies; SNG Berry 1081, same dies), toned and about extremely fine, from the Kunstfreund (Charles Gillet) collection. Provenance: Kunstfreund (Gillet) collection, Bank Leu and Münzen und Medaillen, 28 May 1974, lot 221; Velkov collection, Vinchon, 24 November 1994, lot 115; Nomos 10, 20 May 2015, lot 48.
Lot 351
Julius Caesar (died 44 BC), aureus, Rome, 46 BC, with A. Hirtius as praetor, C CAESAR COS ITER, veiled head of Vesta right, rev., A HIRTIVS PR, lituus, jug and axe, 8.10g, die axis 5.00 (Molinari p. 189, 24, this coin (dies D1/R208); Crawford 466/1; Calico 36; Sear 56; Sydenham 1017), minor marks, extremely fine. Provenance: Hess-Leu 49, 27 March 1971, lot 314. After Caesar’s death Aulus Hirtius and Gaius Vibius Pansa Caetronianus were the consuls in 43 BC. Along with Octavian they defeated the forces of Mark Antony at Mutina but both consuls lost their lives. Hirtius was a personal friend of Cicero and had served as Caesar’s legate in Gaul. As Sear in The History and Coinage of the Roman Imperators 49-27 BC has noted he was “a man of wide-ranging talents… renowned as a connoisseur of fine food and wine. In the literary field he completed Caesar’s Gallic War by authoring the eighth and final book in the period immediately following the dictator’s assassination.”
Lot 357
Antonia (daughter of Mark Antony, wife of Nero Claudius Drusus and mother of Claudius, died 37), aureus, Rome, struck under Claudius, c. 41-45, ANTONIA AVGVSTA, draped bust right wearing crown of corn-ears, hair in long plait down back, rev., CONSTANTIAE AVGVSTI, Antonia as Constantia standing facing, holding torch and cornucopia, 7.74g, die axis 5.00 (RIC Claudius 65; BMC 109; Calico 318; C. 1; G.M.A. Richter, Roman Portraits [1948], 48, this coin), very fine and rare. Provenance: Joseph H. Durkee collection (before 1899); Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Sotheby’s Zurich, 10 November 1972, lot 27.
Lot 384
Faustina Junior (wife of Marcus Aurelius, died 175), aureus, Rome, undated, FAVSTINAE AVG PII AVG FIL, draped bust right with band of pearls round head, rev., IVNONI LVCINAE, Juno standing left, holding patera and sceptre, 7.01g, die axis 6.00 (RIC Pius 505b; BMC 1045; Calico 2061, this coin; C. 131 var.), about extremely fine
Lot 199
JALAYRID, TEMP. HASAN BUZURG (736-757h), Dinar, Aydhaj, undated (but see below). Obverse: as an Ilkhanid dinar of Abu Sa‘id, dated 719h (Diler 488). Reverse: kalima in angular calligraphy arranged in square, names of Rashidun around; in centre: duriba bi-Aydhaj. Weight: 4.22g . Good very fine and excessively rare, apparently unpublished. This is a remarkable coin. The obverse appears to have been struck from an official Ilkhanid die of Abu Sa‘id, and the date – 719h – is clearly visible. Frustratingly, the mint-name on this side is difficult to interpret; it may have originally been Bazar, but the die appears to have been either modified or deliberately defaced at this point. The reverse die is anonymous, although the design and calligraphy is very similar to Jalayrid dinars of Hasan Buzurg and Uways I issued during the 750s. Exceptionally, however, the centre contains the mint – Aydhaj – which is very clearly engraved. Aydhaj appears to be unknown as an Ilkhanid mint but silver coins were struck there during the 750s by the Atabegs of Lur Buzurg (various dates from 751-757h), the Jalayrids (known for 756h only) and the Muzaffarids (various dates from 759h onwards). With the exception of the present coin, gold coins from this period appear to be unknown. It seems plausible to suggest that it was produced during the period when Aydhaj came under Hasan Buzurg’s control in 756h, although the existence of silver coins from Aydhaj dated 756h and 757h struck in the name of the atabeg Nur Award argues that Hasan Buzurg can only have claimed power there briefly. This would be fitting with this coin having been produced as an emergency issue, for which an obsolete Ilkhanid die was pressed into service for the obverse.
Lot 200
DURRANI, HUMAYUN SHAH (1207h) Mohur, Ahmadshahi 1207h. Weight: 10.91g References: Album 3104 RRR; Friedberg 5a, this coin illustrated; KM 129. Extremely fine, an extremely rare gold issue from this short-lived ruler. Ex Spink auction 12027, 4 December 2012, lot 581. When Taymur Shah died in 1207h he left no fewer than twenty-three sons to compete for his throne. One of these, Humayun Shah, briefly proclaimed himself as ruler but was quickly defeated and blinded by his brother, Zaman Shah, who eventually succeeded Taymur and went on to rule for a further nine years. All coins from Humayun Shah’s ephemeral reign are extremely rare.
Lot 160
BURJI MAMLUK, FARAJ (FIRST REIGN, 801-808h) Mithqal, al-Qahira 805h. Weight: 4.35g Reference: cf Balog 627 [date not visible]. Very fine and extremely rare. This is a rare survivor of Faraj’s short-lived attempt to reform the coinage by reverting to the ancient Islamic dinar standard of circa 4.25g. As Balog notes, this reform ‘…lasted only two years and ended in complete failure. It is noteworthy that even during these two years (804-5H.), the emission of the accustomed coin-ingots of irregular weight was not discontinued, as if the authorities had, from the beginning, some misgivings as to the effect of the reform.’
Lot 166
AMIRS OF ‘ATHAR, ABU JA‘FAR AL-SAMI B. MUHAMMAD (fl.373-375h), Dinar, ‘Athar 375h. Obverse: In margin: mint and date (inner); unread words (outer); In field: la ilaha lla Allah | Muhammad rasul Allah | al-Ta’i‘ lillah. Reverse: In margin: Qur’an 17:81-82 (inner); unread words (outer); In field: amr bihi al-amir | Abu Ja‘far | al-Sami ibn Muhammad. Weight: 2.71g Reference: Album E1070 RRR, citing a single coin of this ruler, dated 373h. Very fine to good very fine and excessively rare, apparently unpublished
Lot 174
BUWAYHID, RUKN AL-DAWLA , Dinar, Isbahan 354h. Obverse: In margin, at 9 o’clock in tiny lettering, die-engraver’s signature: ‘amal al-Hasan b. Muhammad. Reverse: In field: Rukn al-dawla | Abu ‘Ali | Buwayh within double circle with four annulets at cardinal points. Weight: 4.14g References: Treadwell Is354G (citing a single example). Good very fine and extremely rare. The engraver al-Hasan b. Muhammad, whose signature appears on this coin, produced dies for a several Buwayhid mints between the 330s and 360s. His career has been studied in detail by Luke Treadwell in Craftsmen and Coins: Signed Dies in the Iranian World (third to fifth centuries AH).
Lot 51
‡ABBASID, JAHWAR B. AL-MARRAR, rebel at Rayy (137-138h). Fals, al-Rayy 138h. Obverse: la ilaha | illa Allah | wahdahu within octagon formed by two squares; date legend around. Reverse: Within square with circles at corners and in the middle of each side: Muhamamd | rasul | Allah; around which: mimma amr bihi al-amir Jahwar ibn al-Marrar bi’l-Rayy. Weight: 2.43g. References: Miles, Rayy 41; cf Peus auction 407, 7 November 2012, lot 1424. Good very fine and extremely rare. This extremely rare issue was struck by Jahwar b. al-Marrar, whom the caliph al-Mansur sent to Khurasan in 137h to suppress a revolt led by a certain Sinbadh. Jahwar quickly defeated Sinbadh, but no sooner had he done so than he himself rebelled against al-Mansur, occupying Rayy. Al-Mansur’s response was to dispatch another, larger army under one of his best and most loyal commanders, Muhammad b. al-Ash‘ath, by whom Jahwar was soon expelled from Rayy, dying soon afterwards. It has been suggested that the design on the reverse of this coin may be a representation of a defensive wall with circular towers – possibly the Shahrestan of Rayy.
Lot 124
‡FATIMID, AL-MU‘IZZ (341-365h), Dinar, Makka 363h. Weight: 4.19g Reference: Nicol 385, citing a single example known only from ‘notes taken in 1979…present whereabouts unknown.’. Small area of weak striking in margin, otherwise almost extremely fine and excessively rare. THE FIRST FATIMID DINAR STRUCK IN THE HOLY CITY OF MAKKA, During the 3rd/9th century, the Abbasid caliphs were responsible for ensuring that Makka itself was secure and that both trade and pilgrimage routes in the region were safe. As the power of the caliphs dwindled under al-Muqtadir and his successors, this role was increasingly assumed by local sharifs from the early 4th/10th century onwards. The chief threat to Makka during this period came from the Qarmatids, a radical Isma‘ili sect with its origins in Eastern Arabia. In 317h they attacked Makka itself, killing many people and carrying off the Black Stone. It was only after the Fatimids arranged to pay 50,000 dinars to the Qarmatids that the Stone was returned in 339h, and one contemporary writer records that it had been broken in two so that silver bars were used to repair it. The sharifs who governed Makka can hardly have been well-disposed towards the Qarmatids, who also had a bad reputation for attacking pilgrims – which was not only impious but also affected the commercial wellbeing of the city. But they seem to have had little choice but to cooperate with them to a certain extent, and for the first half of the fourth century it seems that an awkward but pragmatic relationship developed between Qarmatids and sharifs. Virtually no coins were struck at Makka during the first half of the 4th/10th century. Production of standard Abbasid dinars and dirhams seems to have ceased circa 302h, after which undated silver sudaysis were struck there by the Rassid al-Nasir Ahmad b. Yahya (301-325h). Thereafter we have a lacuna of some thirty years until 354h, when a dinar was struck there acknowledging the Abbasid caliph al-Muti‘ and also bearing the single letter kaf, in reference to Kafur, the Ikhshidid ruler in Egypt. It is not clear who issued this coin: it might conceivably have been produced anonymously by one of the sharifs, but the piece has obvious similarities with contemporary dinars issued by the amirs of ‘Athar from the late 330s until the early 350s. The link to Kafur is confirmed by the existence of a dinar struck at Makka three years later, in 357h, on which Kafur’s name is given in full. Whoever struck these coins evidently felt Kafur and the Ikhshidids were the most important power in the region at that time. The arrival of the Fatimids in the region changed this uneasy balance of power. Following the death of Kafur in 357h the Ikhshidid succession was disputed between Ahmad, the eleven-year-old son of ‘Ali b. al-Ikhshid, and the ambitious general al-Hasan b. ‘Ubaydallah. Meanwhile, Egypt was also struggling with economic and agricultural problems caused by poor Nile floods which sparked social unrest. The Fatimids took advantage of these difficulties by sending an army under Jawhar which successfully captured Egypt in 358h, whereupon they briefly concluded a peace treaty with the Qarmatids. For several years afterwards Fatimid armies struggled to seize control of Syria and Palestine; their opponents were the Qarmatids, supported variously by the remnants of the Ikhshidids, the ‘Uqaylids, the Buwayhids, and financially by the Hamdanids, all of whom had their reasons for wanting the Fatimids driven out of the region. Although the Fatimids already had a strong presence in the area and the sharifs of Makka had originally accepted Fatimid authority, the Qarmatids seem to have been able to drive out the pro-Fatimid element and establish themselves in Makka by 359h. Surviving dinars indicate that they continued to control the city as late as 362h, but they suffered a serious blow when the Fatimids defeated a Qarmatid army near Cairo in the following year. This defeat was clearly a major blow given that virtually no Qarmatid coins were struck in the region during the year 363h, while the Fatimids were able to issue both gold and silver coins in Palestine during this year. It is tempting to suggest that this Qarmatid defeat also weakened their position in Makka. Our sources confirm that al-Mu‘izz’s name was acknowledged in the khutba in both Makka and Madina in 363h and 364h, and it is entirely appropriate that Fatimid coins should also have been produced there in these two years. This beautifully engraved and excessively rare dinar remains a tangible expression of Fatimid sovereignty there.
Lot 188
‡ILKHANID, ULJAYTU (703-716h), Dinar, Shiraz 711h. Weight: 4.82g Reference: Diler 365 (this date not listed). Almost extremely fine and rare. The date on this coin is written as a combination of words and numerals, with the century given as ‘700’ and the remainder written in full as ihda ‘ashra.
Lot 1063
A 19 1/8'' Polyphon Upright Coin Operated Disc Musical Box with twin combs, large gilt bedplate and massive single spring motor under plain oak cover in walnut veneered case with typical arched glazed door, fret and half turned columns, lacking the pediment, coin gutter and 1d plaque missing; with 26 discs 38'' (97cm) high not operating on the coin but will manually, keystone moulding and all title plaques missing, rubs and minor losses throughout, tips and teeth Good, spider wheels worn, discs with surface rust
Loading...-
172622 item(s)/page