Cleopatra and Marc Antony AR Denarius. Uncertain Eastern mint, autumn 34 BC. ΚΛΕΟΠΑΤΡA ΒΑCΙΛICΗC ΒΑCΙΛΕWΝ Τ...N, diademed and draped bust of Cleopatra right; at point of bust, prow right / ANTONI•ARMENIA•DEVICTA, bare head of Marc Antony right; Armenian tiara to left. Crawford -, but cf. 543/1 for types of different style and legends; CRI -; Sydenham -; RSC -; Kestner -; BMCRR East -; RBW -. 3.71g, 20mm, 4h. Extremely Fine. Unique and unpublished; a coin of great numismatic importance. This unexpected novum is a remarkable addition to the coinage of these most famous of lovers, and the late imperatorial period in general. Bearing more refined portraits of both Cleopatra and Antony, and more importantly an obverse legend in Greek and a reverse legend in Latin, it offers us new insights into the production of these iconic dual-portrait denarii. Bilingual coins were, although extremely uncommon, not unheard of by the late 1st century BC. Among the earliest are certain Italian coins that bear dual Oscan and Greek inscriptions; there are also numerous issues of formerly Punic-dominated cities, particularly in Spain, where bilingual inscriptions occur, sometimes on the same side as in the case of Bailo (SNG BM Spain 477-8); certain Alexander-type issues at Tyre retain their Phoenician-character dating alongside the Greek legends. The most conspicuously bilingual Greek coins are those of the late Greco-Baktrian and Indo-Greek kings, whose coinage frequently bears a Greek obverse inscription naming the king, and a Karosthi reverse legend. Even in more recent years, a denarius-standard coinage had been issued by the Roman-allied king of Numidia, Juba I, which bore a Latin obverse legend, and a neo-Punic reverse inscription. The precedent therefore certainly existed for such coins when they were considered politically expedient. While a certain number of the Antony-Cleopatra denarii feature the head of the Queen on the reverse die, the vast majority of surviving specimens have a Cleopatra obverse die, and an Antony reverse die. Though these coins are commonly referred to as denarii of Antony and Cleopatra, it is more proper to refer to them as denarii of Cleopatra, for Antony. The Queen is depicted here with the prow of a galley at the point of her bust, symbolising her importance to the naval building programme that would eventually see the combined Antonian-Ptolemaic navies field 290 warships at Actium. Lamentably, the die was substantially degraded at the time of striking this coin - part of the legend which appears to be ‘T….N’ is illegible – however this degradation of the die is interesting, as is the case of the Queen’s name. We know that despite their scarcity today the dual-portrait denarii were issued in large numbers, and clearly hastily so, to pay Antony’s troops. The numerous die breaks on this specimen point to extensive usage on a level that the (many) other dies with exclusively Latin legends do not. What therefore became of these Greek-legend coins, and why were no other Greek-legend dies produced? Perhaps it was a much smaller part of the issue intended for the payment of a particular group of Ptolemaic-pattern troops, or it may be that this specimen represents a prototype strike that was rejected by Antony or his men, and replaced with the Latin-only coins. It is noteworthy that the Latin-only coins display Cleopatra’s name in the genitive (Cleopatrae), while this coin, in common with the Isis-headdress bronzes of Patras, displays it in the nominative. T. V. Buttrey (‘Grammar and History: Thoughts on Some Late Roman Republican Coins’ in Essays Russo) argues that on the Latin-only issues “Cleopatra acknowledged openly, with the Hellenistic genitive legend, that Antony was, effectively, equal sharer of the monarchy”. Certainly this appears not to have been the case with this obverse die, and if it did indeed precede the more substantial issue of Latin-only dies, this would present us with another possible reason for it being discontinued, and possibly recalled, which could thus explain its exceedingly low survival rate. In any case, this unique and important coin represents one of the last missing pieces of a puzzle which now permits us with a greater degree of certainty to attribute the dual-portrait denarii to a mint authority controlled by Cleopatra, not Antony.
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Trebonianus Gallus Æ30 of Seleucia ad Calycadnum, Cilicia. AD 251-253. AVK ΓA OYIB CABIN ΓAΛΛOC, radiate, draped and cuirassed bust right / CЄΛЄYKEΩN TΩN ΠΡΟC KΛΔN, Athena advancing right, thrusting spear at serpent-legged giant throwing stones. SNG Levante 780; SNG BN 1055. 12.04g, 31mm, 5h. Good Very Fine. The reverse of this coin depicts a scene from the Gigantomachy, the great battle fought between the Giants and the Olympian gods for supremacy of the cosmos. The most important divine struggle in Greek mythology, the Gigantomachy was the second major conflict of Zeus' reign. In this scene we see Athena spearing a serpent-legged Giant, perhaps Enkelados.
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.
Kingdom of Pontos, Mithradates VI Eupator AV Stater. Bithyno-Pontic year 223, intercalary month 13 = October 74 BC. Diademed head right / Stag grazing left; BAΣIΛEΩΣ above, MIΘPAΔATOY / EYΠATOPOΣ in two lines below; to left, star-in-crescent above ΓKΣ (year); two monograms to right, IΓ (month 13) in exergue; all within Dionysiac wreath of ivy and fruit. Unpublished in the standard references; Roma VII, 758 (this coin); CNG 96, 372 (same dies); cf. for date: Callataÿ 1997, tetradrachms D56-59. 8.41g, 21mm, 12h. Extremely Fine. Unpublished; one of only two known a coin of great numismatic importance. Ex Roma Numismatics VII, 22 March 2014, lot 758. A beautifully idealized portrait of the ageing king, the obverse die of this coin was also used to strike a previously unrecorded stater dated with the intercalary month IB (i.e., September 74 BC; see CNG 93, 22 May 2013, lot 339). This places this unique coin circa October 74 BC, making it one of the very latest gold staters of Mithradates of which we are currently aware. The facts that the obverse die was reused and the paucity of surviving specimens both suggest that the issue was a small one. Additionally, this coin stands out for having been issued more than ten years after the main series of staters had ended in 85 BC. This revival of gold issues by Mithradates can only be explained by the events unfolding at the time: the death of Nikomedes IV of Bithynia in 75 left no heirs to the kingdom, and instead bequeathed the state to Rome. Faced with the prospect of losing a coveted territory to his old enemy who would not share a border with his own lands, Mithradates began renewed preparations for war. This coin was struck on the very eve of Mithradates’ invasion of the new Roman province of Bithynia and the start of the Third Mithradatic War (73-63 BC). This conflict would result in great devastation being wrought on Pontos, betrayal on the part of Mithradates’ son Machares who allied himself with Rome, and rebellion by another son Pharnakes (see lot 765) who assumed control of the army and forced his father to commit suicide. Armenia, which under Tigranes ‘the Great’ had supported Mithradates in his war on Rome, suffered several heavy defeats and the loss of its capital; it ended the war as a client state of Rome. Pontos would cease to exist as a kingdom, and would be declared to be a Roman province by a victorious Pompey. Intercalation - the inserting of months, days, even hours and seconds - into the calendar is a practice which aligns the calendar in use with the observable seasons or phases of the moon. There are many recorded instances of intercalation from classical antiquity, and the Romans used it extensively until Julius Caesar reformed the Roman Calendar of 355 days replacing it with his own Julian Calendar of 365.25 days, which took effect in 45 BC.
Marc Antony AR Denarius. Athens, 38-37 BC. III•VIR•R•P•C•COS•DESIG•ITER•ET•TERT, radiate bust of Sol right / M•ANTONIVS•M•F•M•N•AVGVR•IMP•TER, Antony standing right, dressed as priest, veiled, wearing toga and holding a lituus. Crawford 533/2; CRI 267; Sydenham 1199; RSC 13a. 3.70g, 20mm, 7h. Near Mint State. Among the finest known examples. Ex Leo Benz Collection, Numismatik Lanz 88, 23 November 1998, lot 844. This coin is a truly outstanding example of the type, being well struck on sound metal, lacking the always-present areas of flatness, and having been barely circulated. Of the hundred or so examples present on CoinArchives, this is by a very significant margin the finest.
Kingdom of Macedon, Alexander III ‘the Great’ AR Tetradrachm. Civic issue of Miletos, circa 295-270 BC. Head of Herakles right, wearing lion skin headdress / Zeus Aëtophoros seated left, holding sceptre; AΛEΞANΔPOY to right, MI monogram in left field. Price 2150. 17.19g, 31mm, 1h. Fleur De Coin. From the Ambrose Collection; Ex Stack's Bowers and Ponterio 164, 6 January 2012, lot 155.
Carinus, as Caesar, AV Aureus. Siscia, AD 282. M AVR CARINVS NOB CAES, laureate and cuirassed bust right / VICTORIA AVG, Victory standing left on banded globe, holding laurel wreath in outstretched right hand and palm frond over left shoulder. RIC -, cf. 190E (Victory carrying trophy); cf. Cohen 139 (same); Sear 12287 (this coin); Calicó 4372 (this coin). 4.84 gm, 20mm, 6h. Good Extremely Fine. Rare. From the Ambrose Collection; Ex Andre Constantine Dimitriadis Collection; Ex McLendon Collection, Christie’s New York, 12 June 1993, lot 191. Raised to the rank of Caesar in the West in AD 282 under his father Carus, who had been proclaimed emperor after the assassination of the emperor Probus, Carinus immediately set out on campaign against the Germanic Quadi tribes whom he met with some success. Returning to Rome in early 283, he celebrated a triumph and was proclaimed Augustus, and thus began his joint rule with his father. Meanwhile his brother Numerian, also Caesar, was on campaign with their father against the Sassanid Persians in the East. It was here that Carus died in July or August 283, but not before having made significant gains against the Sassanids under Bahram II: he had taken the capital Ctesiphon, crossed the River Tigris and was marching his troops further into Mesopotamia. Carus’ death is most likely attributable to natural causes (an unknown illness, though some sources claim it was a lightning strike), and Numerian succeeded him as Augustus unchallenged. The army however wished to return to the West, and Numerian was unable to do more than acquiesce. As the column proceeded slowly back toward Roman territory Numerian himself was taken ill and died under suspicious circumstances - the general Diocletian was proclaimed emperor by the troops and accepted the purple on a hill outside Nicomedia. Upon hearing the news, Carinus marched his army eastwards and the two met in Moesia at the Battle of the Margus River. Again, accounts differ as to the progress of the battle: some say that Carinus had the upper hand until he was assassinated by a tribune whose wife he had seduced, while others suggest that the battle was a complete victory for Diocletian and that Carinus’ army deserted him. Following the victory, both the eastern and western armies recognised Diocletian as sole emperor, and he marched unopposed on Rome. Struck in late 282 when Carinus still held the rank of Caesar, this aureus depicts him in military gear on the obverse, while the reverse type depicts the Victoriola, the cult statue of Victory standing on a globe. It symbolises the power and majesty conferred on an emperor by victory in battle, and is often shown on later reverse types being conferred on the emperor by Jupiter or another deity. Used in this context, it appears to attest to a recent military victory, perhaps Carinus’ own successes against the Germanic tribes. That this coin was struck shortly before Carinus was raised to the rank of Augustus might partly explain its relative rarity, however the Damnatio Memoriae which Diocletian wrought on Carinus after his death would also bear on the scarcity of gold coins in his name.
Ionia, Ephesos AR Tetradrachm. Circa 390 BC. Chian standard. Xeines, magistrate. Bee with slightly curved wings seen from above; Ε-Φ flanking / Forepart of stag to right with head reverted, palm tree to left; ΞΕΙΝΗΣ downward to right. Cf. Ashton et all, ‘The Hecatomnus hoard’, in Coin Hoards IX, RNS, London 2002, p. 102, 2a (different dies) = Spink NC 1953, 17478. 15.21g, 28mm, 12h. Extremely Fine. Extremely Rare - the second recorded example. This is a particularly finely engraved example of Head’s period IV tetradrachms which introduced this bold new reverse type to the Ephesian repertoire of issues: the forepart of a stag, sacred to the goddess, and the palm tree under which Artemis was born. This magistrate, ΞΕΙΝΗΣ, is also recorded on a unique didrachm of the previous transition period III (Karwiese, Lysander as Herakliskos Drakonopnigon’, NC 1980 pp. 22-3 = ANS 12); the implication therefore is that this issue was one of the very earliest, if not in fact the first, of the now iconic stag and palm tetradrachms. The quality of engraving on this marvellous tetradrachm is worthy of note; the bee in particular is rendered in a particularly fine, naturalistic style. Evidently the engraver was working from life, having had in all likelihood a specimen to study while he worked. This lifelike image stands in contrast to later issues that most likely copied other coins; all too soon the bee becomes overly geometric and symmetrical - the wings are straightened and squared off, and much of the realistic character present in the design is lost.
Diva Faustina II Æ Sestertius. Rome, AD 175-176. DIVA FAVSTINA PIA, draped bust right / SIDERIBVS RECEPTA, Diva Faustina as Diana, standing right, with crescent at shoulders, holding long torch in both hands; S-C across fields. RIC 1715 (Aurelius); MIR 18, 64-6/10; Banti 120. 21.46g, 30mm, 12h. Near Extremely Fine. Beautiful, untouched patina. Scarce. Falling ill whilst accompanying her husband Marcus Aurelius in journeying to the East, the passing of Faustina II was marked on the coinage with a series of 'Consecration' issues in the usual types, but also with the unusual legend we see on the present piece. Faustina is depicted here as Diana Lucifera (the "Bringer of Light") carrying a lit torch, illuminating the scene of her entry into the afterlife. That Faustina would be received into the firmament, and that the people of Rome and the Empire would appreciate the fact, was clearly very important to Marcus Aurelius as this coin proudly proclaims that she had indeed been 'Received by the Stars'.
Constantine III AV Solidus. Lugdunum, AD 408-409. D N CONSTANTINVS P F AVG, pearl-diademed, draped and cuirassed bust right / VICTORIAA AVGGG (sic), Emperor standing right, holding labarum and Victory on globe, treading on captive to right; L-D across fields, CONOB in exergue. RIC 1512; C. 5 var.; Bastien Lyon pl. 28, 250n (same dies); LRC 793; Depeyrot 22/2. 4.43g, 21mm, 12h. Fleur De Coin. Very Rare; an exceptional example of the type.
Sabina BI Tetradrachm of Alexandria, Egypt. Dated Year 15 = AD 130-131. CABEINA CEBACTH, diademed and draped bust right / CABEINA CEBACTH, Sabina seated left, holding corn-ears and sceptre; LIE (date) above. Milne 1306; Emmett 1334; Curtis 558-559, 561; BMC 917 var. 13.68g, 25mm, 12h. Good Extremely Fine, attractive and still partially lustrous metal. Extremely Rare, and likely the finest known example. Sabina is here depicted wearing an intricately detailed headdress and diadem, but underlying this proud representation was a dark secret: the empress is known to have had an affair with Suetonius, her husband Hadrian's personal secretary, an affair recorded in the Historia Augusta, Life of Hadrian (1.11.3). However, it is also known that Hadrian was not left in the position of the cuckold, as he had a famously passionate relationship of his own with his favourite, Antinous. This interesting coin is a good exemplar of the power of propaganda and the representation of the Imperial family as a united front. It highlights the importance given to the portrayal of the emperor and his family, ensuring that they be seen, from the outside at least, as models of dignity and virtue. The charming portrayal of Sabina on this issue, which was struck in the same year Suetonius died, may have coincided with a renewal and strengthening of the ties between the emperor and his empress.
Hadrian Ӕ As. Rome, AD 119. IMP CAESAR TRAIANVS HADRIANVS AVG, laureate head right / PONT MAX TR POT COS III, Britannia seated facing, foot on rock, resting head on hand and holding sceptre; large shield right; S-C across fields; BRITANNIA in exergue. RIC 577a; BMC 1175; SCBC 635. 7.78, 24mm, 5h. Very Fine. Fine untouched even green patina. Very Rare. The first appearance on a coin of the personification of the Roman province of Britannia was struck early in the reign of Hadrian and presumably commemorates the suppression of an uprising of the northern British tribes that had begun shortly before or after Trajan's death. The trouble on the northern frontier made obvious the need for a strong fortification to mark the northern boundary of Roman Britain, which would eventually manifest itself as the Vallum Aelium (Hadrian’s Wall).
Anastasius I AV Solidus. Constantinople, AD 498-518. D N ANASTASIVS P P AVG, helmeted and cuirassed bust facing slightly right, holding spear over shoulder and shield decorated with cavalryman motif / VICTORIA AVGGG Δ, Victory standing left, holding long staff surmounted by staurogram; star in left field, CONOB in exergue. MIBE 7; Sear 5. 4.51g, 21mm, 7h. Fleur De Coin.
Kings of Persis, Vahbarz (Orbozos) AR Tetradrachm. Persepolis, circa 200-150 BC. Diademed head of Vahbarz to right, with luxuriant moustache and jutting beard; wearing kyrbasia or satrapal hat, with flap down to form a visor, and pendant earring / Fire Temple; to left, Vahbarz standing right in attitude of prayer; to right, standard. Alram 526; Boston MFA 2343; Sunrise 566 (this coin). 16.00g, 28mm, 2h. Near Mint State. Extremely Rare; probably the finest surviving example. Ex Sunrise Collection; Ex Superior Galleries, 1-12 December 1992, lot 2219.
Elagabalus AV Aureus. Rome, AD 218-219. IMP CAES M AVR ANTONINVS AVG, laureate, draped and cuirassed bust right / VICTOR ANTONINI AVG, Victory walking right, holding wreath and palm. RIC 154; C. 288; BMC 30; Calicó 3038. 6.77g, 20mm, 6h. Good Extremely Fine. Rare. From the Ambrose Collection; Ex Noble Numismatics 99, 17 April 2012, lot 3599. The unusual reverse legend of this coin, specifically referencing the Antonine family from which Elagabalus falsely claimed descent, is evidently a slur on Macrinus and his son Diadumenian as dynastic interlopers whom the new emperor had triumphantly defeated, thus bringing about the restoration of the family line.
![Cleopatra and Marc Antony AR Denarius. Uncertain Eastern mint, autumn 34 BC. CLEOPATRAE•[REGINAE•REGVM]•FILIORVM•REGVM, diade](https://cdn.globalauctionplatform.com/511c8e38-fc68-4f60-a09e-a72200fe76ff/df5ddfbe-d0e5-4e1f-c787-5561a736dc77/468x382.jpg)
Cleopatra and Marc Antony AR Denarius. Uncertain Eastern mint, autumn 34 BC. CLEOPATRAE•[REGINAE•REGVM]•FILIORVM•REGVM, diademed and draped bust of Cleopatra right; at point of bust, prow right / ANTONI•ARMENIA•DEVICTA, bare head of Marc Antony right; Armenian tiara to left. Crawford 543/1; Antonia 95; Sydenham 1210; CRI 345. 3.91g, 18mm, 12h. Good Extremely Fine. Two bold, well-struck portraits. Very Rare. Issued in the wake of the successful campaign against Armenia in early-mid 34 BC, this type proudly commemorates the victory with the legend ‘Armenia Devicta’ (Armenia vanquished). In the execution of his war on Parthia in early 36 BC, Antony had followed the advice of the Armenian king Artavasdes to invade Parthia not from the West (which would have been the shortest route) but from the North, subduing the Parthian allied kingdom of Media Atropatene along the way, whose king was (conveniently) an enemy of Artavasdes. At the fortified town of Phraaspa however, the attack foundered and Artavasdes abandoned Antony in the face of the enemy, allowing his logistics train and two legions to be massacred in an ambush. Following a failed two-month siege of Phraaspa, Antony was forced to call off the campaign and effect a fighting retreat back to friendly territory, in the course of which no fewer than eighteen battles were fought. Antony arrived back in Syria by late 36 BC, having lost about 40% (some 80,000 men) of his original force. In early 34 BC, after variously attempting to lure Artavasdes out to meet with him to discuss marriage proposals and renewed war on Parthia, pleasant inducements and entreaties through the king’s companions, and then a forced march to the capital Artaxata and what Cassius Dio describes as ‘aggressive use of his soldiers’, eventually Antony convinced Artavasdes to come to his camp, where the king was promptly arrested. Antony proceeded to plunder the country as best he could, and returned to Alexandria with his captives: King Artavasdes, his wife, and his family. There he celebrated a mock Roman triumph – an eastern pastiche of Rome’s most important military ceremony – wherein Antony paraded through the streets in a chariot with his captives walking behind him. Cleopatra watched, seated high above with Caesarion at her side. As a grand finale, the whole city was summoned to the gymnasium to bear witness to a political statement which became known as the Donations of Alexandria. Antony and Cleopatra, dressed as Dionysus-Osiris and Isis-Aphrodite, sat on golden thrones while Antony distributed kingdoms among his children by Cleopatra: Alexander Helios was named king of Armenia, Media and Parthia, his twin Selene was awarded Cyrenaica and Libya, and the young Ptolemy Philadelphus was given Syria and Cilicia. Cleopatra was proclaimed Queen of Kings, a title evidenced on the obverse of this coin type, which also names ‘her Children, who are kings’. Most damaging of all to his relations with Octavian was the naming of Caesarion as a legitimate son and heir of Julius Caesar. This caused a fatal rupture of Antony’s relations with Octavian, and Rome. When the triumvirate officially expired on the last day of 33 BC it was not renewed, and the Roman world again found itself at war.
Octavian AR Denarius. Italian mint (Rome?), autumn 30 - summer 29 BC. Bare head right / IMP•CAESAR on architrave of arch surmounted by facing quadriga bearing Octavian. RIC 267; CRI 422; RSC 123; BMCRE 624 = BMCRR Rome 4348; BN 66. 4.00g, 20mm, 2h. Good Very Fine. A coin struck to commemorate Octavian's victory at the Battle of Actium over the forces of Marc Antony and Cleopatra, the reverse probably depicts the triumphal arch erected in the Forum in Rome to honour Octavian, circa 29 BC.
Hadrian AV Aureus. Rome, AD 125-128. HADRIANVS AVGVSTVS, laureate, draped and cuirassed bust right / COS III, Hadrian on horseback galloping right, holding couched lance, cloak billowing out behind. RIC 186; Calicó 1226. 7.34g, 21mm, 6h. Extremely Fine. Well struck on a broad flan; beautiful lustre. From the Ambrose Collection; Ex H.D. Rauch 86, 12 May 2010, lot 763. Though not a warrior emperor in the same manner as his predecessor Trajan, the iconography of this coin immediately recalls the similar types issued under Trajan, and also the ancient denarii of the Republic which featured the Dioscuri in similar posture with couched lance. Despite the militaristic theme of this coin and others issued during his reign (which are almost as common as coins with peaceful themes), Hadrian’s policy was peace through strength, or threat of strength, with an emphasis on discipline. His skills as a military administrator were well applied during his reign, and aside from the consolidation of the empire’s frontiers, Hadrian also made a great many beneficial reforms to the Roman military system, including the introduction of the first regular unit of auxiliary, mailed cataphract cavalry, the ala I Gallorum et Pannoniorum cataphractata, whose primary armament was a heavy lance far more effective than a regular cavalry spear, capable of puncturing two layers of chain mail.
Valentinian I AV Solidus. Nicomedia, AD 364. D N VALENTINIANVS P F AVG, pearl-diademed, draped and cuirassed bust right / RESTITVTOR REIPVBLICAE, Emperor standing facing, head right, holding labarum inscribed with a Christogram and Victory on globe; SMNE in exergue. RIC 2a; Depeyrot 10/1. 4.54g, 21mm, 12h. Fleur De Coin.
Maurice Tiberius AV Solidus. Constantinople, Consular issue of AD 602. D N MAVRC TIb PP AVI, Emperor enthroned facing, crowned and wearing consular robes, holding aloft mappa and cross / VICTORIA AVGG H, angel standing facing, holding long staff surmounted by staurogram and globus cruciger; CONOB in exergue. DOC 2a; MIBE 2; Sear 474. 4.43g, 23mm, 6h. Fleur De Coin. One of the very finest known examples. Very Rare.
Mysia, Lampsakos AV Stater. Circa 394-350 BC. Head of female left, wearing triple-pendant earring and necklace / Forepart of Pegasos flying right within shallow incuse square. Baldwin, Lampsakos 27; SNG France 1156 = Traité II 2565 (same obv. die); G.F. Hill, “Greek coins acquired by the British Museum in 1919,” NC 1920, p. 111 and pl. XIV, 6 = Weber 5102 (same obv. die). 8.40g, 16mm, 12h. Good Very Fine. Extremely Rare; one of only three known, the other two in museum collections (the BN and BM) and both of which are struck from the same die pair - the present coin therefore adds a new reverse die to the corpus. Ex Triton X, 9 January 2007, lot 273.
Crusaders. Cyprus, Richard I 'the Lionheart' Æ Tetarteron. King of England, 1189-1199. Crowned facing bust, holding cross-tipped sceptre and globus cruciger / Cross on three steps; arms ending in R E X. Metcalf, Lusignan p. 2; Bendall, "A Cypriot Coin of Richard I Lion-heart?", NumCirc April 2002, pp. 62-63; Schultze, A Cypriot Coin of Richard I Lion-heart", NumCirc February 2003, pp. 6-7; Bendall, "Richard I in Cyprus Again", NumCirc April 2004, pp. 85-86. 0.96g, 17mm, 1h. Very Fine. Very Rare.
Asia Minor (Karia?), uncertain mint EL Hekte. Circa 600-550 BC. Forepart of lion to right / Irregular incuse square. CNG 73,418; G&N 30, 93; otherwise unpublished 2.73g, 10mm. Good Extremely Fine. Apparently the third (and finest) known example. This coin is likely a product of a mint in Ionia or Karia. The style of the lion is similar to those found on the coins of Miletos, Knidos, and Lindos. Of these cities, however, only Miletos has known electrum coinage, but the design in the Miletos incuses is distinctly different from this coin. The incuse on this coin is most similar to those of Samos. While Samos has electrum coinage with lion types, none of these types are similar to that on the present coin.
Akarnania, Argos Amphilochikon AR Stater. Circa 340-300 BC. Pegasos flying left; A below / Head of Athena left, wearing Corinthian helmet; octopus behind. Pegasi 13; BCD Akarnania 131 (this coin); SNG Copenhagen -. 8.43g, 21mm, 6h. Very Fine. Very Rare. Ex Münzen & Medaillen 23, 18 October 2007, lot 131; Privately purchased from Superior Galleries, November 1985.
Marcian AV Solidus. Constantinople, AD 450. D N MARCIANVS P F AVG, helmeted, pearl-diademed and cuirassed bust three quarters facing, holding spear over right shoulder and shield decorated with horseman / VICTORIA AVGGG A, Victory standing left, holding long jewelled cross; star in right field, CONOB in exergue. RIC 510. 4.47g, 21mm, 6h. Fleur De Coin.
Octavian AR Denarius. Italian mint (Rome?), autumn 32 - summer 31 BC. Bare head right / Venus standing right, seen from back and with drapery covering only her thighs, holding transverse sceptre in left hand, resting left elbow on column, and holding helmet in right hand; on left, shield with star motif set on ground, leaning against column; CAESAR DIVI•F across fields. RIC 250a; CRI 395; RSC 62; BMCRE 599 = BMCRR Rome 4333; BN 19-22. 4.09g, 20mm, 11h. Extremely Fine. In contrast to the singular type seen in Marc Antony's 'Legionary' series, the coinage of Octavian was carefully constructed to send a powerful message reinforcing his divine ancestry, as well as his position as Caesar's true heir. Part of this message is conveyed through the use of two interesting pairs of types that bear reference to directly opposed attributes, Venus and Pax. Illustrated by the present coin and the following three lots, on which Octavian and Venus swap obverse for reverse in the first instance, followed by Octavian with Pax, these types were likely intended to strengthen the belief that Caesar's heir was fully capable of bringing peace to Rome.
Valentinian I AV Solidus. Arelate, AD 364-367. D N VALENTINIANVS P F AVG, pearl-diademed, draped and cuirassed bust right / RESTIVTOR REIPVBLICAE, Emperor standing facing, head right, holding labarum inscribed with a Christogram and Victory on globe; KONSTAN in exergue. RIC 1b; Depeyrot 13/1. 4.44g, 21mm, 12h. Fleur De Coin. Exceptionally well detailed reverse.
Gallienus AR Antoninianus. Rome, AD 267-268. GALLIENVS P F AVG, cuirassed bust of Gallienus left, wearing crested helmet, holding spear over right shoulder, shield with aegis on left / P M TR POT C VII P P (sic?), Mars, wearing crested helmet and chlamys, and carrying spear and shield, descending right towards to Rhea Silvia, who reclines left, nude to waist, raising right hand above head. RIC -; RSC -; C. -; Göbl, MIR -, cf. 945-946 for reverse type with alternate legends. 2.91g, 20mm, 5h. About Extremely Fine. Apparently unique and unpublished. A beautiful coin combining a bold militaristic portrait engraved in fine style, with a classic scene from Roman mythology. This scene, while well attested in surviving Roman artwork, occurs only one other time in the entirety of the vast Roman coinage series, on an As of Antoninus Pius (see lot 822); a medallion of Faustina Senior, clearly not intended for monetary use, also bears the type, and was probably created around the same time.
Augustus AR Denarius. Lugdunum, 15 BC. AVGVSTVS DIVI•F, bare head right / IMP X flanking Apollo Citharoedus of Actium, standing left, holding plectrum and lyre; ACT• in exergue. RIC 171a; Lyon 28; RSC 144; BMCRE 461-2 var. = BMCRR Gaul 175-6 var. (no pellet after ACT); BN 1399-401. 3.81g, 19mm, 8h. Fleur De Coin. Easily the finest example present on CoinArchives. Apollo Actius is honoured by Augustus in this reverse type for his victory at the Battle of Actium, where an ancient temple dedicated to Apollo overlooked the sea. Augustus also had the temple enlarged and renovated as an expression of his gratitude, and he similarly dedicated the Actian Games in further celebration.
Octavian AR Denarius. Italian mint (Rome?), autumn 30 - summer 29 BC. Laureate bust of Apollo Actius right, with features of Octavian / Octavian, veiled and in priestly robes, ploughing right with team of oxen; IMP•CAESAR in exergue. RIC 272; CRI 424; RSC 117; BMCRE 638-40 = BMCRR Rome 4363-5; BN 92-6. 3.58g, 21mm, 10h. Good Extremely Fine. The obverse of this rare coin borrows from the Greek tradition of moulding the features of a deity to resemble the ruler, as was the case on the coinage of Alexander and his father Philip. The reverse depicts Octavian as city founder of Nicopolis in Epeiros, established in 31 BC at the site of the battle of Actium in memory of his victory over Antony and Cleopatra. The sacred boundary was marked by a pomerium or sacred furrow. On the spot where Octavian's own tent had been pitched he built a monument adorned with the beaks of the captured galleys; and in further celebration of his victory he instituted the so-called Actian games in honour of Apollo Actius, who had an ancient temple on the promontory there.
Seleukid Empire, Antiochos IV Epiphanes AR Tetradrachm. Antioch, circa 168-164 BC. Laureate head of Zeus right, with the features of Antiochos / Zeus Nikephoros seated left, with Nike standing right crowning Zeus with laurel wreath; BAΣIΛEΩΣ ANTIOXOY to right, ΘEOY EΠIΦANOYΣ NIKHΦOPOY to left. SC 1398; Le Rider, Antioche, Series IIIA; Mørkholm Series III; SMA 63; SNG Spaer 1003; Houghton 106-107. 16.79g, 33mm, 12h. Good Very Fine. Very Rare. Struck to commemorate Antiochos' return to Antioch following the conclusion of his second Egyptian campaign, this coin features a head of Zeus that bears distinct resemblance to Antiochos IV himself. Evidence to support an interpretation of the obverse as an amalgamation of Antiochos and Zeus can be found in the facts that Antiochos both caused the radiate diadem – a symbol of royal apotheosis - to be introduced on Seleukid coinage, and added the self-given title EΠIΦANHΣ (God Manifest) to his coinage. Yet despite his grand titles, Antiochos IV's second Egyptian campaign was brought to a conclusion not by any great victory of his or his enemy's. Before reaching Alexandria, Antiochos' path was blocked by a single, old Roman ambassador named Gaius Popillius Laenas. Popillius, with whom Antiochos had been friends with during his stay in Rome during his youth, offered Antiochos not a friendly welcome, but an ultimatum from the Senate: he must withdraw his armies from Egypt and Cyprus, or consider himself in a state of war with the Roman Republic. Antiochos begged to have time to consider but Popillius drew a circle around him in the sand with his cane and told him to decide before he stepped outside it. Weighing his options, Antiochos decided to withdraw; only then did Popillius agree to shake hands with him.
Marcus Aurelius AV Aureus. Rome, AD 172. M ANTONINVS AVG TR P XXVI, laureate, draped and cuirassed bust right / IMP VI COS III, Marcus Aurelius in military dress standing to left, holding thunderbolt in his right hand and reversed spear in his left; behind him stands Victory, who crowns him with a wreath held in her right hand, and holds a palm with her left; between them, pellet. Biaggi 856; BMC 566; C. 308; Foss 46; RIC 264; Sear II 4860; Calicó 1873. 7.19g, 20mm, 6h. Near Mint State. Very Rare. Ex D. J. Foster Collection, Noble Numismatics 109, 28 July 2015, lot 3513; Ex Spink Noble 40, 18-20 November 1992, lot 2613; The image of the emperor on the reverse of this coin is not only unusual, but also historically very interesting. Aurelius has here assumed the symbols of Jupiter, holding a thunderbolt and spear while Victory crowns him with laurels; we should interpret this image as representing the close connection between the supreme god Jupiter and the person of the emperor who was not only the head of state but also the pontifex maximus. Yet the dating of this issue seems to precede two important events that occurred across the Danube in the campaign of 172-4: namely, the 'lightning miracle' and the 'rain miracle', which two incidents are recorded on the column of Marcus Aurelius in Rome. The Historia Augusta (Marcus 24.2) tells us that in the case of the 'lightning miracle' the emperor 'summoned a thunderbolt from heaven against a siege-engine of the enemy by means of his prayers' - the column clearly shows a stone enclosure filled with Romans, and outside a siege tower struck by a bolt of lightning that has burst into flames. The second and more important of the two events, the 'rain miracle' as related by Cassius Dio, describes how the Legio XII Fulminata was surrounded and entangled in a defile, suffering from thirst, and almost forced to surrender. A sudden storm then gave abundance of rain which refreshed the Romans, while hail and thunder confounded their enemies who were struck down by bolts of lightning. Thus the Romans were able to achieve a near bloodless victory. This was considered for a long time afterwards to have been a miracle and nothing less than divine intervention by Jupiter on behalf of the Romans. That the issue pre-dates the rain miracle seems relatively certain, since it is well attested that Aurelius' seventh acclamation as Imperator occurred in the immediate aftermath of this event. The depiction then of Aurelius on the reverse of this coin, wielding the power of Jupiter, seems curiously prophetic.
Julia Paula Æ29 of Sidon, Phoenicia. AD 219-220. IVLIA PAVLA AVG, draped bust right, wearing stephane / Cart of Astarte containing baetyl within centre of zodiacal wheel. Rouvier 1571; BMC - (but cf. 10 for rev. type on coin of Elagabalus); Triton XV, 1433. 19.84g, 29mm, 6h. Very Fine. Extremely Rare.
Kings of Parthia, Phriapatios to Mithradates I AR Drachm. Hekatompylos, circa185-132 BC. Head of king left, wearing bashlyk / Archer seated right on omphalos, holding bow. Sellwood 9.1 (Mithradates I); Shore 7-8; Sunrise 252 (this coin). 3.95g, 19mm, 12h. Mint State. Rare. A wonderful example of the type. Ex Sunrise Collection.
Constantine I BI Nummus. London, late AD 314 - early 315. CONSTANTINVS P AVG, laureate and trabeate bust left / SOLI INVIC-TO COMITI, Sol standing left in quadriga seen from front, with raised right hand, holding globe and whip in left; MSL in exergue. CT 8.07.031 (this coin); RIC -. 3.10g, 21mm, 6h. Very Fine. Very Rare. Ex Vecchi 12, 5 June 1998, lot 896.
Faustina II AV Aureus. Rome, AD 161-176. FAVSTINA AVGVSTA, draped bust right / SALVTI AVGVSTAE, Salus seated left, holding patera in outstretched right hand, feeding snake that rises entwined around altar. RIC 716 (Aurelius); C. 198; BMC 153 (Aurelius); Calicó 2075. 7.21g, 21mm, 12h. Fleur De Coin. A charming, feminine portrait; lustrous metal with a subtle red tone. Ex Sincona 4, 25 October 2011, lot 4111; Ex Leu Numismatik 72, 12 May 1998, lot 455.
L. Mussidius Longus AR Denarius. Rome, 42 BC. Draped bust of Victory, with the features of Fulvia, right / Victory in prancing biga to right; L•MVSSIDIVS above, LONGVS below. Crawford 494/40; Mussidia 4; CRI 186; Sydenham 1095. 4.03g, 18mm, 8h. Good Very Fine. Very complete and in fine style for the issue. Very Rare. This rare type has long been recognised to depict Fulvia, the aristocratic and politically ambitious wife of Marc Antony. She was the first non-mythological Roman woman to ever appear on a Roman coin.
Octavian AR Denarius. Cyrene, autumn 31 BC. L. Pinarius Scarpus, moneyer. Open right hand; SCARPVS above, IMP below / Victory standing right on globe, holding wreath and palm; CAESARI downwards on right, DIVI•F downwards on left. Crawford 546/7; RIC 534; CRI 414; Sydenham 1283. 3.67g, 20mm, 12h. Good Very Fine. Extremely Rare with the shortened legends, and known from only one obverse die. According to Crawford, this coin represents the last denarius of the Roman Republic. L. Pinarius Scarpus commanded four legions for Marc Antony in Cyrenaica against Octavian's African army, which was under the command of Cornelius Gallus. After learning of Antony's defeat at Actium, Scarpus changed his allegiance to Octavian. This issue was struck shortly after the battle of Actium, the open hand signalizing a gesture of friendship toward Octavian.
Kingdom of Lydia, Alyattes EL Trite - 1/3 Stater. Sardes, circa 610 BC. Lion's head right with open jaws and protruding tongue, solar-disk above forehead, confronting open jaws of lion's head left; between the two, upwards Lydian legend ALYA; granular field / Two square punch-marks. For similar issues with Lydian legends cf. Weidauer groups XVII ('VALVEL') and XVIII ('..KALIL..'); ATEC pp. 215-216, groups a and b; Kraay ACGC p. 24, 63 (WELVES) or (WELVET). 4.71g, 13mm. Extremely Fine. Unpublished, and of the highest rarity and importance. From a private German Collection. The Lydians were commercial people, who, according to Herodotus, had customs like the Greeks and were the first people to introduce the use of gold and silver coins, and the first to establish retail shops in permanent locations (Herodotus I, 94). The kingdom reached its zenith during the reign of Alyattes, the fourth Lydian king of the house of Gyges, son of Sadyattes and father of Kroisos. He is seen as the founder of the Lydian Empire and continued the war begun by his father against powerful Miletos, though he was soon obliged to turn his attention towards the Medes and Babylonians. On 28 May 585 BC, during the Battle of Halys fought against Kyaxares, king of Media, a solar eclipse took place; hostilities were suspended, peace concluded, and the Halys fixed as the boundary between the two kingdoms. He proceeded to drive the Kimmerians out of Phrygia, thus securing the trade route with the east. In the west he was able to subdue the Karians, and took several important Ionian cities including Smyrna and Kolophon, enabling him to consolidate a Mediterranean trading outlet. The earliest electrum coinage of Lydia has been the subject of much scholarly debate and variously attributed to the reigns of Gyges, Sadyattes and Alyattes. In a well thought out article 'KUKALIṂ, WALWET, and the Artemision deposit', in Agoranomia, Studies in Money and Exchange Presented to John H. Kroll, ANS New York 2006, R.W. Wallace not only corrects the reading of the two previously known legends, 'VALVEL' and '..KALIL..', but convincingly demonstrates that the two series, with their several die links, belong to the same period during the reign of Alyattes, datable to about 600 BC. However, Wallace's interpretation of WALWET as the Lydian name of Alyattes is put seriously in doubt by the appearance of the above ALYA issue, a legend much closer to the Hellenized form of Alyattes. WALWET may be connected to the Luwian word 'walwi' (lion) and 'KUKALIṂ' may be translated as 'I am of Kukas'. These legends are probably the names of moneyers, mint-officials or regal titles appertaining to Alyattes. The ALYA issue was struck at 1/3 of a stater on the so-called Lydo-Milesian weight standard of 14.1 grams in alluvial electrum, a naturally occurring gold-silver alloy found in abundance in the washings of the Pactolos river which runs from the slopes of Mount Tmolos, through Sardis and empties into the Hermos. According to legend, King Midas divested himself of the golden touch by washing himself in the river (Ovid, Met. 11.140-144). The variable composition of electrum rendered it a difficult commodity to trade without a seal of guarantee of value, unlike pure gold or silver which had been merely weighed throughout the middle east for millennia. The seal of guarantee initially chosen was the image of a lion's head, the personification of royal authority, strength, courage, wisdom, justice, protection, fire and gold ('subterranean sun'), all attributes that the ambitious kings of Lydia would have been keen to emphasise. The lion, with its golden-brown coat and radiate mane was principally the personification of the sun itself, and hence it is found as a symbol of eastern sun-gods such as Mithras. The zodiac sign Leo was occupied by the Sun in the hottest part of the year, July 22 to August 22, and it was probably on account of this that it was believed that the lion was able to gaze directly at the sun without blinking. In Egypt the male lions were the guardians of the eastern and western horizons, and hence sun-rise and sun-set. It is not by chance that the head of the lion of this coin has a disk on the forehead, which can only be the solar disk, later replaced by a radiate setting or rising sun on the anonymous 1/3-staters (trites), usually attributed to Alyattes, hardly a wart 'Warz' as suggested by Weidauer for group XV. Indeed the very name of Anatolia (from the Greek Ἀνατολή, Anatolḗ) means the 'east' or [land of] 'sunrise'.
Postumus Ӕ Double Sestertius. Lugdunum, AD 261. IMP C M CASS LAT POSTVMVS P F AVG, radiate,draped and cuirassed bust right / LAETITIA AVG, galley right with four rowers. RIC 143; Bastien 87. 15.92g, 32mm, 6h. Virtually Mint State – apart from a light patina, this remarkable specimen is otherwise exactly as it was when it left the die. One of the very finest known sestertii of Postumus in existence. Ex Roma Numismatics VII, 22 March 2014, lot 1223. Postumus appears to have been an imperial legate of Lower Germany when he defeated a Juthungian army which was returning from Italy, laden with goods and captives (even though they had been turned back by Gallienus at Mediolanum). Postumus had already distributed the captured wealth to the legions he commanded when he received the command of Gallienus’ son and Caesar, Saloninus, to hand over the recovered spoils. Renouncing Gallienus and Saloninus, the troops hailed Postumus as emperor, and proceeded to attack Colonia Claudia Ara Agrippinensium and kill Saloninus. Postumus immediately secured the loyalty of Gaul, Upper and Lower Germania, and Raetia. The following year Britannia, Gallia Narbonensis and Hispania followed suit. Though Postumus relied on the army which kept him in power for a decade, the safety of the provinces was not solely an army matter, for the coasts required protection also, and so it is reasonable that his navy deserved mention on the coinage. The issues which couple the reverse legends FELICITAS and LAETITIA with scenes of a galley probably show that the emperor by no means neglected his navy, and perhaps that it achieved success. The type of galley depicted on the reverse of the present coin could be a navis lusoria, which was a small military vessel of the late Roman Empire that served as a troop transport. It was smaller and narrower than similar earlier vessels, and ideally suited to the rivers close to the Limes Germanicus; the presence of this type of vessel in the Classis Germanica is shown through the discovery of the Mainz Roman ships in 1981-2, thus proving that they operated on the Rhine and Danube.
Severus II, as Caesar, AR Argenteus. Serdica, AD 305-306. SEVERVS NOB C, laureate head right / VIRTVS MILITVM, three-turreted camp gate with no doors; •SM•SDA• in exergue. RIC -; NAC 62, 6 October 2011, lot 2089 (same dies). 3.29g, 20mm, 12h. Minor bump behind portrait, otherwise Good Extremely Fine. Extremely Rare, one of very few known examples. Ex Heritage 3026, 25 September 2013, lot 23432. Most likely struck to mark the commencement of the Second Tetrarchy in AD 305, this extremely rare coin is one of only a handful known. A number of argentei of Severus II came to light in a hoard about a decade ago; prior to this, they were virtually unknown. Cohen lists no such types, and RIC lists one argenteus of Severus II (21), but as Augustus rather than Caesar. The scarcity of these types might be explained by the short period of time during which Severus held the position of Caesar before being elevated by Galerius after the death of Constantius I in summer 306 - in a matter of months he was raised from the senior ranks of the army to Augustus in the West. However, his time as Augustus came to an abrupt end when he was tasked with the suppression of the revolt of Maxentius in Rome: he marched on the city at the head of an army previously commanded by Maximian, father of Maxentius, to whom his soldiers deserted. Severus fled to Ravenna where, in 307, he was persuaded by Maxentius to surrender. Despite Maximian’s assurances that he would be treated with respect, Severus was nonetheless displayed as a captive and later imprisoned at Tres Tabernae. When Galerius invaded Italy to suppress Maxentius and Maximian himself, Maxentius ordered Severus’ death. He was executed (or forced to commit suicide) on 16 September 307.
Cilicia, Kelenderis AR Stater. Circa 425-410 BC. Nude rider, holding whip in his left hand, jumping from horse galloping to left; A below horse / Goat kneeling to left, head turned back to right; KEΛEN and ivy branch above. Kraay, The Celenderis Hoard, NC 1962, 4b (same dies); SNG Paris 53; SNG von Aulock 5617 (same dies). 10.58g, 20mm, 10h. Fleur De Coin. Perfectly centred on a broad flan, and in a perfect state of preservation. From the collection of an antiquarian, Bavaria c. 1960s-1990s.
Julia Domna AV Aureus. Rome, AD 194. IVLIA DOMNA AVG, draped bust right, with hair in six waves and bound up at the back / VENVS GENETRIX, Venus seated left, holding apple and sceptre, Cupid at her feet. RIC 537; C. 203; Calicó 2643a. 7.30g, 25mm, 6h. Extremely Fine. Extremely Rare. Following the infighting of AD 193, Septimius Severus and Julia Domna sought to establish a new dynasty of rulers for the empire. Together with their sons Caracalla and Geta they intended to present to the world a vision of the imperial family as striving harmoniously together for the good of Rome and the Empire, with each person appointed their role in the machinery of governance. As befitted the mother of the future emperors, Julia Domna quickly appropriated the role of 'Mother Venus' as the reverse legend of this coin attests. Julia, as Empress and mother to the future emperor's Caracalla and Geta, was particularly suited to the aspects of motherhood and domesticity that Venus Genetrix embodied, characteristics that were further expressed in the companion type of the same issue which features Fecunditas with two children (RIC 534). This reverse type, by highlighting these attributes, places particular emphasis on traditional Roman family values, which were an important part of the harmonious dynastic picture Severus and Julia wished to cultivate. However, it also ensured to glorify Severus by association through the presence of Cupid who, in some Latin mythology, was the son of Venus and Mars, God of War.
Trajan AV Aureus. Rome, circa AD 107. IMP TRAIANO AVG GER DAC P M TR P COS V P P, laureate, draped and cuirassed bust right / SPQR OPTIMO PRINCIPI in three lines within oak wreath C. 581; BMC 253; RIC 150; Woytek 224f; Calicó 1121. 7.39g, 20mm, 7h. Extremely Fine; lightly toned. Very Rare, and undoubtedly the finest example of this type to have been offered at auction in many years, normally being seen in worn condition and/or with surface flaws. Ex Archer M. Huntington Collection, Numismatica Ars Classica 67, 17 October 2012, lot 144; HSA inventory number 22179. A reverse legend that became a standard feature on his coinage, encircled here by the corona civica is the proud declaration made in AD 103 or 104 that the Senate and the Roman People (SPQR) recognised Trajan as the 'Optimus Princeps' or Best Emperor, linking him immediately with Jupiter Optimus Maximus, the protector and predominant deity of the Roman state. Likely struck after the Conquest of Dacia and the annexation of Nabataea to the empire, the inclusion of the oak wreath (traditionally awarded to those who had saved the life of a Roman citizen, but which had been a prerogative for every emperor since Augustus) and this legend may be seen as a further honorific gesture. For seven years following the completion of the Dacian campaign Trajan ruled as a civilian emperor, and this legend was utilised in many of the coin types that celebrate the public building works that he undertook. He improved the city water supply by building the Aqua Traiana, and embellished the centre of Rome with the Forum and famous column which bear his name, while further afield he had constructed the Via Traiana from Benevetum to Brundisium, and added an additional basin to the facilities available to ships at Porto near Ostia.
Trajan AV Aureus. Rome, circa AD 104/105-107. IMP TRAIANO AVG GER DAC P M TR P COS V P P, laureate, draped and cuirassed bust right / SPQR OPTIMO PRINCIPI, Trajan in military dress, on horseback galloping to right, hurling spear at fallen barbarian to right. C. 501 var. (bust not cuirassed); BMC 245 (same); RIC 208 var. (same); CBN 241; Calicó 1107a; Woytek 202 f2. 7.29g, 20mm, 7h. Mint State. Ex Numismatica Ars Classica 21, 17 May 2001, lot 433. Trajan had in AD 101-102 launched an offensive against the powerful Dacian king Decebalus with whom Domitian had signed an unfavourable (and some would argue shameful) treaty some twenty years before, the price of which was the payment of an annual ‘subsidy’ of eight million sestertii and the presentation of a diadem from Domitian to Decebalus. In that war, Trajan succeeded in defeating the Dacians in a series of pitched battles, and reduced Decebalus to the status of client king. The victory was celebrated with a triumph (Trajan’s first), and later by the construction of the Tropaeum Traiani. Although this victory had greatly eroded Decebalus’ power, he nonetheless began to rearm straight away, to harbour Roman runaways and to pressure the neighbouring barbarian tribes to ally themselves with him. In 104 he organised a failed attempt on Trajan’s life by means of some Roman deserters, as well as capturing Trajan’s legate Longinus who he tried to use as a bargaining chip; Longinus however took poison to avoid compromising his country and emperor. Then finally in 105 Decebalus launched an invasion of the Roman-held territories north of the Danube. Trajan was not unprepared; by 105 the concentration of Roman troops assembled in the middle and lower Danube regions amounted to fourteen legions – half of the entire Roman army. Trajan ordered the construction of a massive bridge over the Danube designed by Apollodorus of Damascus, which for over 1,000 years was the longest arch bridge ever built both in terms of total and span length. The counter-offensive consisted mostly of the reduction of the Dacian fortress network which the Romans systematically stormed while denying the Dacians the ability to manoeuvre in the open. At last Decebalus’ main stronghold of Sarmizegetusa was taken by storm and razed to the ground. Decebalus himself escaped, but soon after committed suicide as a Roman cavalry scout named Tiberius Claudius Maximus was closing on him. Maximus delivered the head and right hand of the enemy king to his emperor. Trajan’s second triumph was understandably a grand affair, which was accompanied by spectacular games that the emperor held in celebration: ten thousand gladiators fought in these games, and ten thousand animals were sacrificed in thanks to the gods. The riches of Dacia (estimated recently at 165 tons of gold and 331 tons of silver) were invested in a series of important public works, the jewels of which were the forum and great market in Rome which bore the emperor’s name, and the magnificent celebratory column depicting the glorious achievements of the campaign. As reward for his service the cavalry scout Tiberius Claudius Maximus was decorated and immortalised in a relief on Trajan’s column. A grave stele he ordered made for himself while he lived tells us of his deeds and honours, and bears his likeness on horseback, riding down the Dacian king. The relief is nearly identical to the reverse of this coin type.
Augustus AR Denarius. Spanish mint (Colonia Patricia?), July 18-17/16 BC. S•P•Q•R• IMP CAESARI, bare head left / QVOD• VIAE• MVN• SVNT• in four lines between two equestrian statues, holding aloft trophies, which face each other from arches on a viaduct. RIC 142; BMC 435; BN 1263 (plated). 3.78g, 19mm, 4h. Fleur De Coin. Exceedingly Rare, missing from virtually all major collections. This issue is among the very rarest of Augustus' denarii - only two other examples, both in very modest condition, have come to the market in recent years.
Mysia, Lampsakos AV Stater. Circa 394-350 BC. Head of female (Sappho?) left, hair in sakkos, wearing laurel wreath / Forepart of Pegasos flying right within shallow incuse square. Baldwin, Lampsakos -; Leu 20, lot 118; Münzen und Medaillen AG 53, lot 89; CNG 100, 74; otherwise unpublished. 8.44g, 17mm, 11h. Very Fine. Extremely Rare - one of only four known examples. It has been suggested that the head on the obverse of this important coin could be that of the lyric poetess Sappho. A native of the island of Lesbos, Sappho is best known for her poems about love. Much of this is now lost and survives in fragmentary form only, but her work was well known and greatly admired through much of antiquity. Today, only around 650 lines of Sappho’s poetry still survive, of which just one poem – the “Ode to Aphrodite” – is complete.
Caracalla AV Aureus. Rome, AD 205. ANTONINVS PIVS AVG, laureate, draped and cuirassed bust right / PONTIF TR P VIII COS II, Mars standing left, right foot on helmet, holding olive branch and reversed spear. RIC 80a; BMC 476; C. 419; Calicó 2777. 7.16g, 20mm, 5h. Fleur De Coin. A bold portrait, struck on a broad flan. Lustrous metal and perfect surfaces. Rare. From the Getrudenstrasse hoard found in Cologne in 1909.
Campania, Nuceria Alfaterna AR Didrachm. Circa 250-225 BC. Head of Apollo Karneios left with horn of Ammon; Oscan legend ‘nuvkrinum alafaternum’ around / Dioskouros standing facing beside his horse, head turned to left, holding the reins and a thyrsos. HN Italy 608; SNG ANS 560; SNG Copenhagen 566; SNG München 388; Sambon 1008. 7.14g, 22mm, 5h. Very Fine. Attractive, lustrous metal. Rare. Around the end of the seventh century BC, inhabitants of the Sarno Valley founded a new city in a strategic location between the gulfs of Naples and Salerno. Created from the synoecism (union) of several scattered villages, the new city was named Nuvkrinum (literally ‘new fortress’), and was situated astride the obligatory route between the aforementioned coastal areas, guarding a fertile valley. The city thus became one of the twelve most important centres of Etruscan colonisation in Campania created to stop the northward expansion of the Greeks. After the defeat of the Etruscan navy at the Battle of Cumae in 474 BC the Etruscans abandoned the region, and the city came into the possession of the Samnites who renamed it Nuvkrinvm Alfaternum, after the Samnite Alfaterni tribe. Hostile to the Romans during the Second Samnite War, in 308 BC it repulsed a Roman attempt to land at the mouth of the Sarnus, but in 307 BC it was besieged and surrendered. In defeat it became an ally of Rome and remained loyal during the war against Hannibal, for which loyalty it suffered greatly, being razed to the ground. The present coin dates to a period of prosperity between the two wars, and represents the only silver issue of this city.
Kings of Parthia, Mithradates I AR Tetradrachm. Seleukeia on the Tigris, circa 141/0 BC. Diademed and draped bust right of Mithradates right / BAΣIΛEΩΣ MEΓAΛOY APΣAKOY ΦIΛEΛΛHNOΣ, diademed and beardless young Herakles standing left, holding skyphos in extended right hand and cradling club in lion skin-draped left arm; monogram in exergue. Sellwood 13.2; Shore 35; BMC 50; Sunrise 260 (this coin). 15.02g, 26mm, 1h. Extremely Fine. Ex Sunrise Collection; Ex Gorny & Mosch 129, 8 March 2004, lot 195; Ex Santa Barbara Museum Collection, Numismatic Fine Arts I, 20 March 1975, lot 195. This type represents the first issue of tetradrachms by the Parthians. They were coined shortly after the Parthians had conquered Mesopotamia from the waning Seleukid Empire. As was to be expected, the die engravers of the mint at the Seleukid capital produced coinage that stylistically differed very little from the issues of the previous century under the Seleukid kings. While this could be viewed as both expedient and pragmatic – the Parthians had not struck coins since the reign of Arsakes and probably lacked experienced die cutters – Mithradates in fact actively promoted Hellenism in his territories and indeed styled himself 'Philhellenos' as seen on this coin. He also assumed the traditional Greek symbol of kingship, the diadem. Yet by the end of his reign, the Greek qualities that were so apparent on his early coinage were in decline, and by the reign of Orodes I in around 90 BC, the coins had become thoroughly eastern in style.
Cyprus, Salamis AR Stater. Uncertain (Phoenician?) king, circa 450-430 BC. Ram recumbent to left, retrograde Cypriot script from top right to bottom left: ‘pa-si-le-wo-se ma-xa-ko-sa’; all within dotted border / Ram’s head to left, retrograde Cypriot script ‘pa-si ku-ru-ko’ above, ankh, astragalos and facing panther’s head below; all within incuse circle. Unpublished in the standard references, for general type, fabric and style cf. K. McGregor, The Coinage of Salamis, Cyprus, from the Sixth to the Fourth Centuries, University College London (unpublished PhD Thesis 1998, J.I, 336-7, Euwateteos) = ACGC 1082 = BMC 38-9 = Traité II, 1135-6 (all in the name of king Evanthes). 10.98g, 22mm, 11h. Good Extremely Fine, some areas of flatness. Unique and of considerable numismatic and historical importance. From the collection of an antiquarian, Bavaria c. 1960s-1990s. The Greek dynasty of Salamis traced its ancestry back to the legendary hero Teukros, son of Telamon, king of the Greek island of Salamis in the Saronic Gulf. The first king and founder of the dynasty of Cypriot Salamis whose name appears on the Persian standard double sigloi and fractions is that of Evelthon (560-525 BC). It has long been recognised and confirmed by the Celenderis, Asyut, Lanarca, Zagazig and Jordan hoards, that many if not all of these issues were minted by his successors from c. 515 until the mid 5th century. Herodotus (5.104) lists four successors to Evelthon: Siromos, Chersis, Gorgos and Onesilos, none of whom are confirmed by the numismatic record. The only other names recorded on coins before the well attested Evagoras I are: Phausis (cf. J. Kagan and K. McGregor 1995: “The Coinage of king Phausis of Salamis”, CCEC 23, 3-9, 1995); Nikotamos (cf. BMC 31-32 (Nikodamos) and Evanthes (BMC 38-9) dated to the period 480-450 BC. This brings us to a short and obscure period of Phoenician rule which, according to Isokrates (Evagoras 19-20), came about when “there came from Phoenicia a fugitive, who after he had gained the confidence of the king who then reigned, and had won great power, showed no proper gratitude for the favour shown him; on the contrary, he acted basely toward his host, and being skilled at grasping, he expelled his benefactor and himself seized the throne. But distrustful of the consequences of his measures and wishing to make his position secure, he reduced the city to barbarism, and brought the whole island into subservience to the Great King. Such was the state of affairs in Salamis, and the descendants of the usurper were in possession of the throne when Evagoras was born.” Evagoras I, possibly as early as the 440s, took power from the Phoenician usurpers, the second of whom is recorded as having been named Abdemon, but the first whose usurpation is related by Isokrates is unknown to history. It appears that the above coin, clearly following the style of Nikodamos and Evanthes, but later than both and bearing an unrelated and strange obverse name, belongs to this brief Phoenician interlude. The syllables ‘ku’ and ‘ko-ru’ appear elsewhere on the coinage of Salamis. A range of issues attributed to Evelthon and/or his successors feature an Ankh with ‘ku’ in the centre (cf. BMC, Salamis 18, p. 49, p. IX. 15), which given the royal associations of the ankh symbol, must impart some especial pertinence to that particular syllable; an association with Kuprou = Cyprus is logical (and indeed this association has often been posited by various scholars), which may possible suggest an implied meaning: ‘Basileos of Kuprou’. Similar issues contemporary to the aforementioned coins of Evelthon and/or successors (cf. Dikaios 1961, p. 175, 6-7 = McGregor 223-224) additionally feature the syllables ‘ru-ko’ or ‘ko-ru’ adjacent to the ankh. The meaning of ‘ko’ and ‘ru’ remains elusive; K. McGregor 1999, (The Coinage of Salamis, Cyprus, From the Sixth to the Fourth Centuries BC, UCL doctoral thesis, p.52) notes the confusion and divided opinion concerning the ku-ru-ko legend: “Six 1883, p. 271, nos. 18-21 attributed the inscription to Gorgos; Deecke, 168 D read the syllables pu and po; Babelon 1893, p. cxiv-cxivi, no. 569 read the syllables as ru and po and combined the ku reading ku-po-ru ‘Kuprou'... Certainly ko-ru can be read as go-ru, gru, or indeed gor. See A. Leukart, ‘Syllabaire et dialecte chypriotes classiques’, Chypre des origines au Moyan-Age, 1975, p. 107.” None of these explanations is entirely satisfactory, however since it seems unlikely that a Phoenician usurper would bear the same name ‘Gorgos’ as one of Evelthon's successors (and have a mixed-up partially retrograde legend, if that is in fact how we are expected to read it: ‘pa-si ku ko-ru’ instead of the way it is actually written, which is ‘pa-si ku ro-ko’), then a direct association with Cyprus seems more appropriate. Therefore if we discount ‘ku-ru-ko’ as being the name of the king, we may tentatively attribute this coin on the basis of the obverse legend to a ‘pa-si-le-wo-se ma-xa-ko-sa’, or King ‘Maxakosa’ (=Mazaios or similar?).
Marc Antony AR Denarius. Obverse die signed by 'P.' Athens, 33 BC. Bare head of Marc Antony right; in hair below ear, small P•; ANTON•AVG•IMP•III•COS•DES•III•V•R•P•C• around / ANTONIVS AVG•IMP•III in two lines. Crawford 542/2; CRI 347; Sydenham 1209; RSC 2. 3.85g, 19mm, 6h. Good Extremely Fine. Rare. Struck on a broad flan, well centred for the type and very complete for the issue. The small P on the obverse represents the only example of an artist engraving his initials on a Roman Republican coin. This fact went unnoticed for centuries, until it was first pointed out in a Santamaria sales catalogue in 1920.
Macedon, Philippoi AV Stater. Circa 356-345 BC. Head of Herakles right, wearing lion skin headdress / Tripod with legs terminating in lion's paws, circular ornaments on top; ΦIΛIΠΠΩN upwards in left field, grape bunch to right. Bellinger, ANSMN 11, 33, 20. 8.63g, 18mm, 8h. Mint State. Extremely Rare. Originally a Thasian foundation, the town of Daton alternated between Athenian control for most of the fifth century, a brief period of local autonomy in the first half of the fourth century, and once more came under the control on Thasos in circa 360 BC when the local mines were recaptured with Athenian backing and the town was refounded with the new name of Krenides. Shortly thereafter however, in 356 Krenides was threatened by Thracians, and the citizens appealed to the rising power in the area, Philip of Macedon. Philip had conquered Amphipolis the year before, and he now took Krenides under his aegis. The city was strengthened greatly with new fortifications, enlarged with new colonists, and was renamed Philippoi in honour of the king. Having gained command of the Mount Pangeion region and the 1000 talents a year in gold that its mines provided, Philip at first permitted the city to continue striking coinage in its own name, using types that it had previously employed, in both gold and silver - it is to this period of production that the present coin belongs. For a time therefore, the coinage of Philippoi must have circulated alongside Philip’s royal coinage, however with the advent of Philip’s currency reforms of the 340s, gold production at Philippoi came to an end. Philip revolutionised the coinage of the kingdom of Macedon, which would eventually also supersede that of all Greece. Philip’s brother Perdikkas, though he had initially struck a silver coinage, was later like his elder brother Alexander II before him, only able to coin in bronze. Philip now had prodigious quantities of not only silver, but gold too in measure beyond what his brothers could have dreamed. Before Philip, gold coins issued by the Greeks had been extremely infrequent, and struck usually only in times of great emergency. Philip’s control of the Pangeion mines now enabled him to make Macedon the first state in the Greek world to issue gold uninterruptedly year on year, which he did with a new standardised Macedonian gold currency denominated in staters, hemistaters and quarter staters, as well as 1/8 and 1/12 fractions. This wealth would provide the driving force behind his successive conquests, expansion and diplomatic manoeuvres that enabled him to unify all Greece under Macedonian hegemony, and set the stage for his planned invasion of Persia. As for Philippoi, following its incorporation into the Kingdom of Macedon, it would next feature significantly on the pages of history only centuries later when in October 42 BC, on the plain to the west of the city, the legions of Octavian and Marc Antony faced those Brutus and Cassius to determine the fate of the Roman world.
Septimius Severus Ӕ Sestertius. Rome, AD 203. SEVERVS PIVS AVG P M TR P XI, laureate and cuirassed bust right / INDVLGENTIA AVGG, Dea Caelestis(?) riding right on lion, holding drum and sceptre, over waters gushing from rock; SC in right field, IN CARTH in exergue. Hill, Severus 619 var. (bust type); BMC -; RIC -, cf. 759 (As). 30.84g, 32mm, 6h. Near Extremely Fine. Extremely Rare. As he hailed from Leptis Magna in the province of Africa, the production of coins under Septimius Severus bearing this interesting reverse scene and specifically referencing Carthage in the legend have traditionally been taken to mark the granting of a special favour to this city of his native land. It is often suggested that perhaps Severus caused to have built a new aqueduct to improve the water supply, based on the presence of water in the design, though being struck as it was in AD 203 after his successful campaign during the previous year this issue is perhaps more likely to be celebrating the newly expanded and refortified province of Africa as a whole. Although not being named on the coin, that the figure on the reverse is the principle female deity of Carthage, Dea Caelestis, is a generally accepted point. Also understood is Severus' attachment to the province of Africa, and therefore we can assume a continued reverence and worship of the traditional deities of the land by the Emperor. Perhaps then we might see in the scene depicted here the emperor appropriating the local deity of Carthage and carrying her to Rome over the waves of the Mediterranean, just as we see the similar action taken by a later emperor of the Severan dynasty marked in the numismatic record with reverse types showing the transportation of the sacred Stone of Emesa to Rome by Elagabalus in 218.
![Carausius BI Radiate. London, no mintmark, circa AD 287. [IMP CARA]VSIVS P F AVG, radiate and cuirassed bust right / LITI-IA](https://cdn.globalauctionplatform.com/511c8e38-fc68-4f60-a09e-a72200fe76ff/08436f97-bd7f-4b7c-e020-e8103d7bb05a/468x382.jpg)
Carausius BI Radiate. London, no mintmark, circa AD 287. [IMP CARA]VSIVS P F AVG, radiate and cuirassed bust right / LITI-IA (sic), Laetitia standing right holding trident, clasping hand of Carausius standing left holding sceptre (same reverse die to previous coin). Unpublished in the standard references, for reverse type with legend EXPECTATE VENI or similar, cf. RIC 216 (MSC) and 554 (RSR); Webb 264-5 and 603. 2.70g, 19mm, 10h. Fine. Extremely Rare.
Mysia, Kyzikos EL Hekte. Circa 550-500 BC. Bearded archaic male head to left; tunny fish to left below / Quadripartite incuse square. Cf. Von Fritze 66 (stater); Greenwell 78; Boston MFA -; SNG BN 194; BMC -; Gillet -; Gulbenkian -; Jameson 2170; Weber -; R. Käppeli, Kunstwerke der Antike: Kunstmuseum Luzern, Sammlung Robert Käppeli, Sonderausstellung zum 25 Jubiläum der Internationalen Musikfestwochen, Luzern (1938 - 1963), 11 August bis 27 Oktober 1963 (Basel: Schwabe, 1963), 4 (this coin). 2.67g, 11mm. Very Fine; attractive reddish tone, minor flan flaw on obverse. Very Rare. Ex R. Käppeli Collection, Numismatica Genevensis 7, 27 November 2012, lot 74.
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