L. Cestius and C. Norbanus AV Aureus. Rome, January-April 43 BC. Draped bust of Africa right, wearing elephant skin headdress / Corinthian helmet set atop curule chair, legs decorated with eagles; CESTIVS above, C•NORBA below, S•C - PR across fields. Crawford 491/1a; CRI 195; Babelon Cestia 1 and Norbana 3; Bahrfeldt 24; Calicó 3a. 8.06g, 20mm, 12h. Extremely Fine; in superb condition for the issue. Ex Ernst Ploil Collection; Privately purchased in July 1997. Dating and interpreting this aureus has proved troublesome in part due to its imagery. It is the second aureus type in a series which complicates more than it enlightens, and the lack of information regarding Cestius and Norbanus themselves hinders us considerably. The most likely explanation according to Sear (The History and Coinage of the Roman Imperators) is that this aureus was an emergency issue of the Senate in 43 BC, in response to Antony having marched his legions towards Cisalpine Gaul which he had demanded be given to himself despite it already being governed by Decimus Brutus. Antony’s actions were condemned by the Senate which, swayed by Cicero, allied itself with Octavian thus legalising any military action he and his troops might take against Antony, who was promptly declared a public enemy. If indeed this aureus was thus minted to pay for the Senate’s legions, then it is suggested by Sear and Crawford that the elephant skin headdress should be assumed to be a reference to the troops themselves, possibly being units hastily withdrawn from the province of Africa. The presence of the Corinthian helmet on the reverse of our current coin has not yet been fully explained. Sear has suggested it is symbolic of Minerva, goddess of war, particularly since CRI 195a replaces the helmet with snakes, also a symbol of Minerva. It is tempting however to see in the reverse image a powerful symbol of the times – by March of 43 BC both consuls had marched north with their legions, leaving the consuls’ chairs in Rome empty, replaced on these coins by symbols of war. Indeed both consuls, Hirtius and Pansa, would be mortally wounded in battle against Antony, leaving the consulship vacant for nearly four full months from April 21 until Octavian was sworn in on August 19. This coin is paired with an aureus also issued by Cestius and Norbanus which depicts the bust of Sibyl(?) on the obverse and a cart driven by Cybele on the reverse (Crawford 491/2, CRI 196). The iconography of that type is perhaps even less well understood than that of the present, and further complicates an already difficult interpretation. As for the moneyers themselves, Appian mentions a Cestius who was proscribed following the foundation of the first triumvirate (Civil War 4.26) and, like Cicero, came to a sudden end; C. Norbanus may have survived his colleague and may be the same C. Norbanus C. f. Flaccus who held the consulship in 38 BC.
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Kyrenaika, Kyrene AR Tetradrachm. Circa 450-420 BC. Silphium plant with two pairs of leaves and five umbels; at base of stem, two tiny leave to [left] and right / Head of Zeus Ammon to right, hair secured in a plait, with dotted neck truncation; KYP before, all within circular torque-like border. BMC -, cf. 42-43, pl. V, 16-17; Traité III -; SNG Copenhagen -; Delepierre -; McClean -; Boston MFA -; Jameson -. 17.40g, 26mm, 4h. Extremely Fine; wonderful, lustrous metal. Extremely Rare. From the Dr. Albert Potts collection; Acquired privately in Paris, 1967. Kyrene was founded in 631 BC by Dorian settlers from Thera and their leader Battos, as instructed by the Delphic oracle. Around a hundred years later as the city grew in prosperity to rival even Carthage, Kyrene began issuing silver coins of archaic style on small, thick modules. Virtually all of the coins of Kyrene display the badge of the city and the principal source of its wealth - the silphium plant. It was described as having a thick root, a stalk like fennel, large alternating leaves with leaflets like celery, spherical clusters of small yellow flowers at the top and broad leaf-like, heart-shaped fruit called phyllon. The plant was valued in ancient times because of its many uses as a food source, seasoning for food, and, most importantly, as a medication. Perfumes were made from the flowers, the stalk was used for food or fodder while the juice and root were used to make a variety of medical potions. Aside from its uses in Greco-Roman cooking (as in recipes by Apicius), the many medical applications of the plant included use to treat cough, sore throat, fever, indigestion, aches and pains, warts, and it has even been speculated that the plant may also have functioned as a contraceptive, based partly on testimony from Pliny. The plant only grew along a narrow coastal area, about 125 by 35 miles. Much of the speculation about the cause of its extinction rests on a sudden demand for animals that grazed on the plant, for some supposed effect on the quality of the meat. Overgrazing combined with over harvesting and climate change led to its extinction. Pliny reported that the last known stalk of silphium found in Kyrenaika was given to the Emperor Nero as a curiosity. The city never recovered from the extinction of its principal export, and economic decline combined with a series of devastating earthquakes led to the abandonment of the city in the 4th Century AD. The syncretic god Zeus Ammon, depicted on the obverse of this coin, combines the Greek Zeus with the Egyptian king of gods, Amun-Ra, who was often shown in Egyptian art with a ram's head. Zeus Ammon was also especially worshipped in Sparta and Thebes, both of which are recorded by Pausanias as having temples to the god (see his Description of Greece 3.18.3 and 9.16.1). The oracle was famed in later times for being visited by Alexander the Great in 331 BC and later Hannibal.
Marc Antony and Octavian AR Denarius. M. Barbatius Pollio, quaestor pro praetore. Military mint moving with Antony (Ephesus?), 41 BC. Bare head of Antony right;M•ANT•IMP•AVG•III•VIR•R•P•C•M•BARBAT•Q•P around / Bare head of Octavian right, with slight beard; CAESAR•IMP•PONT•III•VIR•R•P•C• around. Crawford 517/2; CRI 243; Sydenham 1181; RSC 8a. 3.79g, 23mm, 12h. Fleur De Coin. Struck on a broad, medallic flan.
Constantine I AV Solidus. Antioch, AD 324-325. CONSTANTINVS P F AVG, laureate head right / ADVENTVS AVGVSTI N, Constantine on horseback to left, cloak flying, raising right hand and holding spear in left; SMAN* in exergue. RIC 48 (this coin cited); C. 11; Alföldi 5; Depeyrot 41/1. 4.42g, 20mm, 11h. Good Extremely Fine; light marks on reverse. Extremely Rare. This coin cited in H. Mattingly, et al, The Roman Imperial Coinage Vol. VII (1966); Ex Leu 91, 10 May 2004, lot 689; Ex Hess-Leu 45, 12 May 1970, lot 645; Ex Hess-Leu 24, 16 April 1964, lot 356; Ex Münzen & Medaillen 13, 17-19 June 1954, lot 762. The tetrarchy that had effectively governed the affairs of the empire since the reign of Diocletian broke down irretrievably in its third generation and culminated in the civil war between Licinius in the East and Constantine in the West. With Constantine victorious following the Battle of Chrysopolis on 18 September 324, he became the first sole emperor to rule over the Roman territories since the institution of the tetrarchy in AD 293. This coin commemorates the planned adventus (arrival) of the emperor Constantine I into the Eastern city of Antioch - formerly under the dominion of Licinius - an event for which the mint of Antioch clearly made preparations, but which was cancelled by Constantine who blamed the controversy between the bishop of Alexandria and Arius regarding the nature of Christ’s personhood as the reason for his decision not to go East as planned. This coin therefore stands as an unusual record of a celebration that never took place, which may perhaps explain its extreme rarity - the issue having either been prematurely aborted, or recalled. The adventus coin type with an emperor on horseback was first introduced by Trajan, although precursors can be found in earlier coinage. This coin follows the traditional adventus design, showing the emperor mounted and riding forward with his cloak billowing and his arm raised in a gesture of greeting with the reverse legend explicitly highlighting “the arrival of our emperor”. The adventus of an emperor was marked with great ceremony by the inhabitants of a city and normally involved processions, honours, speeches and gifts in addition to possible benefits to the city itself such as when Constantine I gave tax relief to the city of Augustodunum (modern day Autun).
Etruria, Populonia AR 20 Asses. Circa 300-250 BC. Facing head of Metus, hair bound with diadem; X:X below / Blank. EC I, 58.93 (O33, this coin); HN Italy 152. 8.45g, 25mm. Extremely Fine. From the collection of a Swiss Etruscologist; This coin published in I. Vecchi, Etruscan Coinage, 2012; Ex Astarte 7, 10 October 2001, lot 4; Ex Athos D. Moretti Collection, Numismatica Ars Classica 7, 1 March 1994, lot 67; Ex Hess-Leu 15, 7 April 1960, lot 24.
Etruria, Vulci AR Didrachm. 5th - 4th century BC. Winged Metus running to left, head facing, holding serpent in each hand / Cartwheel with long crossbar supported by two struts; Etruscan legend ‘?e-zi’ above and below strut. EC I, 1.8 (O1/R4, this coin); HN Italy 206 (Volci?); SNG ANS 12 (Uncertain mints); BMC Italy = PCG pl. 13, 1 (Uncertain mint of Etruria). 10.90g, 28mm, 8h. Extremely Fine. Extremely Rare; a superb example of a classic rarity of high late archaic artistic merit that has only ever been in a public sale twice, but with different die combinations: Leu Numismatik 77 (2000), lot 26, and Numismatic Ars Classica 18 (2000), lot 1. From the collection of a Swiss Etruscologist; This coin published in I. Vecchi, Etruscan Coinage, 2012; Privately purchased from Freeman & Sear (Los Angeles), 3 May 2002. The identification of Vulci as the mint is based on single spot finds in the general vicinity of that city. The coins are of a late archaic style of high artistic merit, some with legends ‘?ezi’ and ‘?ezle’ (TLE 785-786), which have been much discussed. The most recent interpretation suggests a connection with the concept of ‘la sfera del sacro’ (cf. Bruni 1986, pp. 83-103; see also Pallotino 1975 p. 367), a sacred area, possibly within a temple compound responsible for the coinage, similar to that at the temple of Juno Moneta in Rome. The coins have no marks of value and are on a weight standard of about 5.8g, similar to the early issues of Populonia (EC I, Series 1-6) and Luca (?) (EC I, Series 11-6). The ruins of the city of Vulci (Etr. Velx-; Latin Volci) in southwest Etruria (now Lazio) lie close to the right bank of the river Armenta (Fiora), on a plateau with a commanding view of Monte Argentario and Cosa. The city grew to become an important member of the twelve populi of Etruria and flourished from the late 8th to 4th centuries BC, largely through the extraction of minerals from nearby Monte Amiata and international trade of highly developed arts and crafts, including painted vases, encouraged by the presence of Greek artists. Official and clandestine excavations at Vulci from the time of Luciano Bonaparte (1st Prince of Canino and Napoleon’s brother) have unearthed the largest group of Attic black-figure and red-figure vases extant and are today present in museums worldwide. In the second half of the 4th century BC, Vulci began to feel the pressure of Roman expansionism. The struggle to remain independent came to an end in 280 BC when, defeated, it had to relinquish a large part of its territory, including the coast, to Rome. Once it had lost its independence, the city declined and rapidly fell into obscurity.
Julia Domna (wife of S. Severus) AV Aureus. Rome, AD 196-211. IVLIA AVGVSTA, draped bust right / MATER DEVM, Cybele seated left on throne, towered, holding branch in right hand and resting left elbow on drum; on either side of throne, a lion crouching left. RIC 565 (Severus); C. 126; BMCRE 50; Calicó 2629 (same dies). 7.28g, 21mm, 6h. Good Extremely Fine. Very Rare. From the property of B.R.S., United Kingdom. Of the many titles conferred on his wife by the emperor Septimius Severus, included are Mater Senatus et Patriae (mother of the Senate and Rome), the unique title of Mater Augustorum (mother of the Augusti) and, on account of her companionship in the field, Mater Castrorum (mother of the camp). The emphasis is on Julia Domna as imperial mother not only to the two heirs Caracalla and Geta but also to segments of Roman society. This coin associates the empress with Cybele, the MATER DEVM (mother of gods), perhaps extending the reach of the imperial mother by association with the mother of the gods; as Cybele is the supreme divine mother, so Julia Domna is the supreme mother to mortals.
Mysia, Kyzikos EL Stater. Circa 500-450 BC. Head of Silenos facing; tunny fish upward to either side / Quadripartite incuse square. CNG 75, 23 May 2007, lot 336; cf. Von Fritze 77 (fractions only); SNG France -, cf. 208 (hekte); Hurter & Liewald I, 77; BMC -; Gillet -; Gulbenkian -; Jameson -; Weber -. 16.13g, 19mm. Extremely Fine. Extremely Rare; one of only a dozen or so known examples. From the collection of an antiquarian, Bavaria c. 1960s-90s. The teacher and faithful companion of the wine-god Dionysos, Silenos was described as the oldest, wisest and most drunken of the followers of Dionysos, and was said in Orphic hymns to be the young god's tutor. Originally a folkloric man of the forest with the ears of a horse (and sometimes also the tail and legs of a horse), Silenos was often depicted with thick lips and a squat nose, as is the case here, fat, and most often bald – though our Silenos may consider himself fortunate in that he sports a full head of hair. Unusual consideration has been given to symmetry in the composition of this type: though symmetrical designs do occur, as in the case of two eagles perched on an omphalos (v. Fritze 220) or the double bodied sphinx (v. Fritze 138) to name but two, this is one of a tiny minority of designs that incorporates two tunny fish for balance. Interestingly, it has been suggested that the head of Silenos on this coin very possibly served as the model for a silver issue of the slightly later Lykian dynast Teththiveibi (see BMC 88 and SNG Berry 1164). One of the principal myths concerning Silenos has him lost and wandering in Phrygia, rescued by peasants and taken to the Phrygian King Midas, who treated him kindly. In return for Midas' hospitality Silenos regaled him with tales and Midas, enchanted by Silenos' fictions, entertained him for five days and nights. When the god Dionysos found his wayward friend, he offered Midas a reward for his kindness towards Silenos, a blessing which the avaricious Midas squandered by choosing the power of turning everything he touched into gold. How fitting then, that we should see in this beautiful coin a faint reflection of that classic myth of the drunken but sage Silenos looking out at us across the millennia through this window of golden metal.
Caligula AV Aureus. Rome, AD 40. C CAESAR AVG PON M TR POT III COS III, laureate head of Gaius 'Caligula' right / GERMANICVS CAES P C CAES AVG GERM, bare head of Germanicus right. RIC 25; C. 6; BMCRE 26; BN -; Calicó 324. 7.70g, 19mm, 7h. Good Very Fine. Very Rare. Ex Monsieur Note (1910-1982) Collection, France. Much attention has been given over the years to the seemingly base character of Gaius, known to history as Caligula (meaning 'little soldier's boot) after the nickname he acquired as a child from his father Germanicus' soldiers during their campaign in Germania. Though there are few surviving sources concerning his reign, he is generally described as noble and moderate in the first six months of his rule, after which time the sources focus upon his cruelty, sadism, extravagance and sexual perversion. All surviving sources, except Pliny the Elder, characterise Caligula as insane, but given his extreme unpopularity it is difficult to separate fact from fiction in the historical record. Recent studies have attempted to ascribe a medical reason for his unusual behaviour, citing encephalitis, epilepsy or meningitis as possibilities, however the question remains unanswered. Philo of Alexandria, Josephus and Seneca state that Caligula was insane, but describe this madness as a personality trait that came through experience. Certainly the experiences in the early years of his life would have been sufficient to leave an individual severely traumatised at the very least; born in AD 12 into the perilously dysfunctional Julio-Claudian family, his father Germanicus was allegedly poisoned by an agent of Tiberius (Germanicus' uncle) when Caligula was only seven, and his mother Agrippina and eldest brother Nero were banished by the emperor on charges of treason in 29. His other older brother Drusus was imprisoned on similar charges in AD 30, and in the same year Nero was killed or committed suicide. His mother was mistreated in exile, losing an eye during a beating from a centurion, and died in AD 33. Tacitus (Annals, 6.25) speculates that she was starved to death as was Drusus, who died after having been reduced to chewing the stuffing of his bed. Meanwhile, Caligula and his sisters were "nothing more than prisoners of Tiberius, under the close watch of soldiers" according to Suetonius (Lives of the Caesars, III.64). All the while, Caligula was forced to act as though he bore Tiberius no ill-will, whom Caligula claimed to have planned to kill with a dagger in order to avenge his mother and brother (Lives of the Caesars, IV.12). The grief felt by Caligula at the loss of his murdered parents, Germanicus and Agrippina, and his murdered brothers, Nero Caesar and Drusus Caesar, is evident in his efforts to commemorate their memories, of which his coinage provides numerous examples including the present aureus. Struck at the beginning of Caligula's reign, as part of a series honouring his dead father, mother and brothers, this particular coin pays homage to his father Germanicus. A talented military commander, Germanicus famously led eight legions in three campaigns against the Germanic tribes (AD 14-16), in the course of which he avenged the humiliating defeat suffered by Varus in the Teutoberg Forest and reclaimed two of the lost legionary eagles. He was awarded a Triumph upon his return to Rome in AD 17, and was subsequently dispatched to Asia to restructure the provinces and kingdoms of Asia, which were in such disarray that the direct attention of a senior member of the imperial family was considered necessary. In AD 19, in the midst of a feud with the governor of Syria Gnaeus Calpurnius Piso, Germanicus was suddenly taken ill with suspected poisoning, and soon died. Piso was implicated in his death, with suspicions falling on the emperor's chief advisor Sejanus, and even on Tiberius himself. Several historians of the time including Tacitus and Suetonius discuss how beloved Germanicus was by the people and how they regarded him as a model Roman. They took it upon themselves to commemorate Germanicus by honouring him with a Justitium (a suspension of public and private business) and the mourning was felt throughout the empire; "When the news of his death finally broke, neither edicts nor official expressions of sympathy could console the commons..." (Suetonius, The Twelve Caesars, p. 153). Caligula's decision to include his fathers portrait on this coinage would no doubt have gone over well with the people of the Rome who remembered his father, and would certainly have helped endear him to them as he began his reign as emperor.
Bruttium, Kaulonia AR Stater. Circa 525-500 BC. Nude Apollo walking right, holding laurel branch in upright right hand, small daimon running to right on Apollo's extended left arm, wearing chlamys and winged sandals, holding sword in right and and small branch in left; to right, stag standing right with head reverted, KAVL to left; all within dot and cable border / Incuse of obverse, but no ethnic and daimon without sword and branch; stag horns and laurel in relief. Noe, Caulonia, Group A, 14 (same dies); McClean pl. 50, 4 (same dies); SNG ANS 147 (same obv. die); HN Italy 2035. 7.70g, 30mm, 12h. Near Mint State. From the Jerome Sobieski Collection (Montreal, Canada); Privately purchased from Numismatic Fine Arts at the Chicago International Coin Fair (CICF), 1988. Though there is no literary record of the foundation of Kaulonia, archaeological evidence shows that it was established early in the second half of the seventh century BC. Both Strabo and Pausanias mention that it was founded by Achaean Greek colonists, and Pausanias additionally gives the name of the oikist as Typhon of Aegium. Others sources such as Pseudo-Scymnos claim that it was founded by Kroton but it could well be that Typhon and his settlers came at the request of Kroton. The design of the incuse staters of Kaulonia has elicited various interpretations over the years; those that were current at the time of writing Historia Numorum in 1911 were reviewed by Barclay Head. Head interpreted the figure as being a representation of the oikist Typhon, who holds in his hand a plant (??????) stalk, alike to that of the parsnip plant, which he takes to be a punning allusion to the city. Modern scholarship however tends to identify the figure as Apollo, as the symbolism is more easily associated with this deity – a laurel branch, for instance, being more easily recognisable and sacred to Apollo. The small running figure most likely represents a daimon, a divinity of a lower order, who serves as a messenger of the gods. It may be, given his occasionally winged feet, that this daimon should be seen to be a wind god such as Zephyros. The stag is the only element which has consistently defied explanation (even by Head); its meaning was clearly sufficiently explicit and important for it to have eventually served as a the principle reverse type of Kaulonia. It may be a reference to Artemis, who at Aegium was worshipped jointly with Apollo in a temple the two gods shared.
Seleukid Empire, Antiochos II Theos AV Stater. Aï Khanoum, 261-246 BC. Diademed head of Antiochos I right / Apollo Delphinios seated to left on omphalos, holding arrow and resting left hand upon bow set on ground; ???????? to right, ???????? to left, monogram in left field. SC 435.1; ESM 695. 8.50g, 18mm, 5h. Good Very Fine, minor scuff on neck. Extremely Rare. Ex private German collection. Recent scholarship has reattributed a series of gold, silver and bronze coins with the mint mark of a delta within a circle, or close variants, from the ancient capital of Baktria, Baktra to previously unknown the city of Aï Khanoum in northeast Afghanistan. The history of this Hellenistic city is unclear - it was possibly founded by Alexander the Great as one of the military settlements left in this region, and could have been the settlement of Alexandeia Oxeiana. Another theory is that it was founded by Antiochos I in the early third century BC as a royal residence while Baktria was under Seleukid rule. Either way, the archaeological evidence clearly demonstrates that during the Hellenistic era Aï Khanoum was a major city. The excavations reveal that the city had a palace complex as well as a treasury, gymnasium, mausoleums and temples in addition to the discovery of unstruck bronze flans, highly suggestive that a mint was active here, although its dates of operation are not clear. Baktra had been suggested as the mint location only because, as Newell (Newell The Coinage of the Eastern Seleucid Mints. From Seleucus I to Antiochus III. 1938 pp. 229) wrote, the “only logical location for a large and active royal mint…[was] at Baktra, the political, commercial and geographical centre of the entire province.” However, a variant of the mintmark seen on this coin was found on bricks at one of the oldest parts of the ancient city of Aï Khanoum, a factor which led Kritt in his 2016 work ‘The Seleucid Mint of Aï Khanoum’ (Classical Numismatic Studies No. 9) to reattribute coins bearing this mintmark to this city. This was supported by Houghton and Lorber in ‘Seleukid Coins: a Comprehensive Catalogue’ who reassigned this whole series to Aï Khanoum and further argue that Baktra could not have issued these coins as a newly discovered bronze coin (catalogue number 283A) depicted the river god of the Oxus, which flowed by the city of Aï Khanoum, not Baktra.
Etruria, Populonia AR As. 3rd century BC. Male head right / Blank. EC I, 109.3 (O3, this coin); HN Italy 182; Sambon -; Vicari -. 0.60g, 9mm. Extremely Fine. Extremely Rare, one of less than a dozen known examples. From the collection of a Swiss Etruscologist; This coin published in I. Vecchi, Etruscan Coinage, 2012; Ex VCV Collection, Roma Numismatics X, 27 September 2015, lot 74.
North Africa, Carthage AR Shekel. Time of Hannibal. Carthago Nova, circa 218-206 BC. Bare male head (Hannibal?) left / Horse right, palm tree behind. MHC 142; ACIP 603; SNG BM Spain 104-5. 7.33g, 22mm, 12h. Good Very Fine; light scuff on edge. Very Rare. This coin is conventionally believed to carry the portrait of Hannibal on the obverse. In 237 BC Hamilcar Barca, after having lost the First Punic War against Rome, but having won the Mercenary War against the Libyans, disembarked at Gadir with a Carthaginian expedition with the purpose of "re-establishing Carthaginian authority in Iberia" (Polybios, Histories, 2.1.6), and within 9 years he had expanded the territory of Carthage well into the Iberian peninsula, securing control of the southern mining district of Baetica and Sierra Morena, before dying in battle in 228. Hamilcar was succeeded by his son-in-law Hasdrubal the Fair who expanded the new province by skilful diplomacy and consolidated it with the foundation of Akra Leuka, Mahon and finally in 227, Qart Hadasht (Latin: Carthago Nova) as his capital. After his untimely death in 221 he was succeeded by Hannibal (247-182), oldest son of Hamilcar Barca, and Hamilcar's second son Hasdrubal (245-207 BC). The Barcids now wielded control over much of the mineral rich Mediterranean side of the peninsula until 219 when Hannibal made the fateful move of taking and sacking Saguntum, a well established Roman ally. The wholesale slaughter of this Roman ally's population, and the arrogance with which the Roman ambassadors sent to Carthage to seek redress were met, led directly to the Second Punic War: the great statesman Quintus Fabius, speaking to the Carthaginian senate, gathered a fold of his toga to his chest and held it out, saying "Here, we bring you peace and war. Take which you will." The Carthaginians replied "Whichever you please - we do not care." Fabius let the fold drop and proclaimed "We give you war."
Ionia, Magnesia ad Maeandrum AV Stater. Circa 155-140 BC. Euphemos, son of Pausanias, magistrate. Draped bust of Artemis to right, wearing stephane, and with bow and quiver over shoulder / Nike, holding kentron and reins, driving fast biga to right; MA?NHT?N (of the Magnesians) above, EY?HMO? ?AY?ANIOY below. Heritage 3056, 30066 (same dies); unpublished in the standard references, but for the magistrate Euphemos son of Pausanias and dating of the stephanophoric tetradrachms of Magnesia, cf. N. F. Jones, The Autonomous Wreathed Tetradrachms of Magnesia-on-Maeander", ANSMN 24, 1979, pp. 63-109, especially nos. 8-25; for the obverse Artemis bust type cf. B. Head, History of the Coinage of Ephesus, London 1880, p. 69, 1-7, pl. 5 and Mørkholm, Early Hellenistic Coinage, Cambridge 1991, 657 = Gulbenkian 985. 8.43g, 19mm, 12h. Extremely Fine. A coin of extreme rarity and great numismatic importance. From the A.F. Collection, Germany. The discovery of this totally new reverse type for a gold stater on the Attic weight standard of about 8.5g, fortunately signed by a very well known Magnesian magistrate, solves two long standing numismatic problems. Firstly, it allows for the dating of the Ephesian gold staters with which it is associated, and it confirms the mid second century dating of the Ionian stephanophoric coinage. Euphemos, son of Pausanias, was one of the eight magistrates who were responsible for the substantial silver stephanophoric 'wreath-bearer' tetradrachm issues, beautifully engraved and struck on broad flans on the Attic silver standard of about 17.2 grams. It is notable that Magnesia had in the late 4th and early 3rd centuries produced very high quality Attic standard gold staters with polished dies in the names of Philip, Alexander and Lysimachos. The obverse bust of Artemis is of exactly the same style as the well known Ephesos gold staters which depict on their reverse the Ephesian cult figure of Artemis. Until now those Ephesian staters have defied proper dating, having been given a chronological range by various authors from 150 to 88 BC (cf. Gilbert K. Jenkins, 'Hellenistic gold coins of Ephesus', in Festschrift E. Akurgal, Anadolu-Anatolia 21, 1978/80, Ankara, 1987, pp. 183-8, pls. A-B). Though of course it does not preclude the possibility that they were struck over an extended period of time, we may now at least say with some certainty that they were already being struck by around 150-140 BC. The evidence from the seven extant stephanophoric tetradrachm hoards from the contemporary territory of the Seleukid Empire, found together with dated Seleukid coins, points to a secure narrow chronological range for all these issues of 150-138 BC. Significantly the Magnesian coinage has often been found in close association with similar wreathed issues from Aigai, Kyme, Myrina, Herakleia, Lebedos and Smyrna in what must have been an unattested 'entente' by cities that had been guaranteed their autonomy following the imposition by Rome of the Treaty of Apameia between the Republic and Antiochos III in 188 BC - an attempt to stop the constant quarrelling between the Greeks. For the numismatic history of the period cf. Jones 1979, pp. 90-100 and Ch. Boehringer, Zur Chronologie Mittelhellenistischer Münzserien 220-160 v. Chr., Berlin 1972, pp. 49f."
Cyprus, Paphos AR Stater. Onasioikos, circa 450-440 BC. Bull standing left on beaded double line; [winged solar disk above, ankh to left]; all within dotted circular border / Eagle standing left; ankh to left, 'pa-si o-na' in Cypriot script around; all within dotted square border in incuse square. Tziambazis -; BMC -; Destrooper-Georgiades, p. 196, 13 = Gulbenkian 809 = NFA II, 1976, 275; Roma XIII, 405. 11.10g, 22mm, 12h. Near Extremely Fine. The fourth known example, and exceptionally complete for the issue. Of great numismatic and historical importance. From the collection of P.R., United Kingdom, outside of Cyprus before December 1992. The existence of this issue in name of 'Ona' in the style of the coinage struck in the name of Stasandros illustrates the many problems of attribution in early Cypriot numismatics. We know of coins attributed to a king 'Onasioikos' which utilise the same obverse type of a bull with ankh and solar disk, but with a flying eagle as the reverse design (BMC pl. XXI, 14 = Traité II 1306). This in itself is not unusual, since Cypriot cities often continued the same obverse type under different rulers much as other Greek city-states did. The present coin however, which bears the name of 'Ona'(sioikos), but utilises the same reverse type as the staters of King Stasandros with the only difference being the legend, suggests a more direct link between the two rulers than has hitherto been widely assumed. Indeed, the style of the reverse is so similar to archaic style issues of Stasandros (see following lot, certainly the work of the same hand), that it appears to conclusively demonstrate that this king Onasioikos was the immediate predecessor of Stasandros, since the latter retained the same types as seen on this issue for his first coinage. This theory is supported by the difference in style between the issues of Stasandros - the following lot, the 'earlier' issue, being distinctly archaic in appearance, while the 'later' issue is more classical in style. In a thorough analysis of this mint and inscriptions, A. Destrooper-Georgiades (Le monnaies frappées à Paphos (Chypre) durant la deuxième moitié du Ve siècle et leur apport à l'histoire de l'île" in Proceedings of the 12th International Numismatic Congress, Berlin 2000, pp. 194-8), proposes a sequence of kings based on the available numismatic evidence which securely places Onasioikos prior to the reign of Stasandros, who is in turn succeeded by at least two other kings, Mineos and Zoalios, who are known to history only from their inscriptions on re-engraved coins of Stasandros. The evidence presented by Destrooper-Georgiades demonstrates with a high degree of probability that the issues attributed to Onasioikos bearing the flying eagle reverse (generally dated to 400 BC without supporting evidence) are in fact an earlier issue of the same king named on the present type, and that his flying-eagle coinage should clearly be redated to before the reign of Stasandros. The archaistic appearance of the flying-eagle type weighs heavily in favour of this, since a backwards step from classical style to archaic is counter-intuitive. Destrooper-Georgiades proposes a revised dating of circa 450 BC for the flying-eagle type of Onasioikos, and a period from the mid-fifth century to the first decades of the fourth century for the standing-eagle coinage of Onasioikos, Stasandros, Mineos and Zoalios.
GB - A collection of six sovereigns and other coins and notes1905, 1930 SA, 1912, 1911 M, 1912, 1908; together with a group of Blue coin folders, partially filled with GB sixpences, three pennies, half crowns, pennies, shillings; Canada dollars and half dollars and other lower denomination coins; National Bank of Scotland £1, 1958, Treasury 10/-, three Bradbury war issue 10/- notes; a group of three WWII service medals, Defence medal, War medal, Special constabulary; a box of all world coins in individually labelled boxes, mainly 20th century but some early Tibet coins noted, a bundle of foreign banknotes, condition poor (qty)
GB - An album coin sheets with silvercoins noted; 3ds various; 6ds, 1821, 1816, 1819, other Victorian and later; shillings Queen Anne 1705, 1739, hammered shilling (drilled), other George III, Victorian and later; florins, Gothic, MDCCCLXXXIII, 1849 godless, Hammered James I 1603-1625, shilling XII; Half Crowns, 1817, 1834, 1820, other Victorian and later; Crowns: 1696, 1819, 1820, 1821, 1672, Victorian and other later; two albums with small amount of bronze GB coins; various album pages of bank notes to include: BOE, £1 small last size; BOE £5 Forde cashier; BOE 10/-; Clydesdale Bank £1, other modern £1 x 5; BOE £10; Clydesdale Bank £10, BOS £5 all modern, small group minor foreign currency (qty)
GB and other countries - A collection of mixed coins to includetwo cartwheel pennies; halfpennies, Belgian and other European bronze coinage; Maria Theresa Thaler; various crowns 1902; 1937; 1845; 1821; 1899; 1935; half crown 1887, other modern base metal crowns; commemorative crowns; various mixed bags 20th century; some pre 47 silver; an album of mixed coins, generally poor condition; two card coin boxes individual European coins, mainly 20th century; Irish pre 47 silver; some French silver; 5Fr 1834; 1875; 1867; 1868; 1870; 1869; USA, 50c 1833; $1 1889; 1925
EIGHTEENTH CENTURY RUSSIAN COINS, including kopecks, one dated 1792; along with a Maltese Scudo coin; a one yen coin; a 20 reales coin dated 1855; two cartwheel pennies and a medallion with accompanying note from Glasgow Museums and Art Galleries stating it to feature Cristoforo Madruzzo (13)
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