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. This coin, struck from highly artistic dies.... The female on the obverse of this coin, though, does not have any characteristics that identify her as a particular deity, and she may simply be the representation of a nymph in the local folklore.
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Rhodos, Rhodes AR Tetradrachm. Circa 404-385 BC. Head of Helios facing slightly right / Rose with bud to right; POΔION above, [grain ear and Δ to left]; all within incuse square. Hecatomnus 56 (A37/P48); IGCH 1209 = Bérend, SNR 51, pl. 5, 51 (this coin). 15.24g, 26mm, 12h. Extremely Fine. Extremely Rare, one of apparently only two known examples. From a European collection, privately purchased from NAC; From the Marmaris Hoard, 1971 (IGCH 1209). In Pindar's ode, the island of Rhodos was said to be born of the union of Helios the sun god and the nymph Rhodos, and the cities Lindos, Ialyssos and Kameiros were named for their three sons. The Persians invaded and overran the island, but were in turn defeated by forces from Athens in 478 BC. The cities then joined the Athenian League, although when the Peloponnesian War broke out in 431 BC, Rhodes remained largely neutral, even though officially it was still a member of the League. In 408 BC the cities of the island united to form one territory, building for themselves a new capital, the city of Rhodes, on the northern end of the island. Its regular plan was superintended by the Athenian architect Hippodamos. In 357 BC however, the island was conquered by the king Mausolos of Karia, and later it fell to the Persians in 340 BC. To the great relief of its citizens, Rhodes became a part of the growing Macedonian empire in 332 as Alexander the Great passed through Asia Minor, liberating or conquering the Persian lands as he went. Following the death of Alexander, Rhodes formed strong commercial and cultural ties with the Ptolemies in Alexandria, and together formed the Rhodo-Egyptian alliance that controlled trade throughout the Aegean in the 3rd century BC. The city developed into a maritime, commercial and cultural centre; its coins circulated throughout the Mediterranean. Its famous schools of philosophy, science, literature and rhetoric shared masters with Alexandria. Its school of sculptors developed a rich, dramatic style that can be characterized as 'Hellenistic Baroque'.
Baktria, Indo-Greek Kingdom, Archebios Dikaios Nikephoros AR Tetradrachm. Circa 75-65 BC. BAΣIΛEΩΣ ΔIKAIOY NIKHΦOPOY APXEBΙOY, diademed, draped and cuirassed bust right, wearing crested helmet covered with pelt of scales and adorned with head of Gorgon and wing / 'Maharajasa dhramikasa jayadharasa Akhebiyasa' in Kharosthi, Zeus standing facing, brandishing thunderbolt in raised right hand and cradling sceptre in left arm; monogram to left. Bopearachchi 4E; Bopearachchi & Rahman –; SNG ANS 1300. 9.72g, 26mm, 12h. Extremely Fine. Very rare with the helmet adorned with the Gorgon head and wing.
Q. Servilius Caepio (M. Junius) Brutus AR Denarius. Military mint travelling with Brutus and Cassius in western Asia Minor or northern Greece, late summer-autumn 42 BC. L. Plaetorius Cestianus, moneyer. Laureate, veiled and draped female bust right, wearing polos on top of her head; L•PLAET•CEST around / Sacrificial axe and simpulum; BRVTVS below. Crawford 508/2; CRI 214; RSC 2; Kestner 3780; BMCRR East 66-67. 3.88g, 19mm, 1h. Extremely Fine. Struck on a very broad flan. Light surface deposits. Rare. From the G.J.P. Collection, purchased c. 1920s.
Sicily, Messana AR Tetradrachm. Circa 412-408 BC. The nymph Messana, wearing chiton and holding reins with both hands, driving biga of mules walking to left; above, Nike flying right to crown Messana; in exergue, two opposed dolphins / Hare springing to right, head of youthful Pan below to right, with curly hair and with a tiny horn over his forehead; ΜΕΣΣΑΝΙΟΝ around. Caltabiano 604; SNG ANS 369. 16.95g, 25mm, 11h. Obverse die somewhat rusted, otherwise Extremely Fine. Very Rare. Ex Nomos 5, 25 October 2011, lot 118.
Marc Antony Legionary AR Denarius. Military mint moving with Antony (Patrae?), 32-31 BC. ANT•AVG•III VIR•R•P•C•, praetorian galley to right / Three signa decorated with wreaths and rostra; CHORTIS•SPECVLATORVM above. Crawford 544/12; CRI 386; RSC 6; Kestner 3841; BMCRR East 185. 3.60g, 17mm, 7h. Good Extremely Fine. One of the most pleasing examples sold in recent years. Rare. From the G.J.P. Collection, purchased c. 1920s.
![Septimius Severus AR Denarius. Laodicea ad Mare, AD 198-202. [L] SEPT SEV AVG IMP XI P[ART MAX], laureate head right / VOTIS](https://cdn.globalauctionplatform.com/d9008806-462a-482f-ab33-a66d00b8f8fa/7c2c075d-fc1d-45ea-96bd-5fd176aad29a/468x382.jpg)
Constantine XI Palaeologus AR Stavraton. Constantinople, Siege of Constantinople, AD 1453. Bust of Christ facing, wearing nimbus cruciger and holding book of Gospels, IC and B to left and right / KWNCTANTINOC ΔΕCΠΟΤΗC Ο ΠΑΛΕΟΛΟΓ in the outer circle, ΘV ΧΑΡΙΤΗ ΒΑCΙΛΕΩC ΡΟΜΕΟΝ in the inner circle, crowned bust of Constantine facing, wearing maniakon. Bendall, Revue Numismatique 1991, ‘The Coinage of Constantine XI’, pp. 135-142, pl. XV, 93 (this coin). 6.78g, 23mm, 12h. Extremely Fine for this issue. Extremely Rare and of great historical importance. Purchased from Harlan J. Berk Ltd., 16 July 1990; From the Constantine XI Hoard. The reign of Constantine XI is primarily remembered for marking the end of the so-called ‘Byzantine’ Empire, the remainder of the Eastern Roman Empire that had stood for a thousand years after the fall of Rome and the West. Constantine XI succeeded his brother John VIII Palaiologos on 6 January 1449, and had reigned for only two years when the Ottoman Sultan Murad II died, being followed by his zealous nineteen year old son Mehmed II, who was obsessed with the conquest of Constantinople. A diplomatic miscalculation on the part of Constantine was seized upon by Mehmed as a convenient casus belli, and preparations for war commenced. In the winter of 1451/2 Mehmed cut off Constantinople from the Black sea by establishing a fortification on the European side of the Bosporus which together with the existing fort on the Asian side, gave the Turks complete control of the strait. Specifically, it prevented help from Genoese colonies on the Black Sea coast from reaching Constantinople. Realising that a siege was imminent, Constantine prepared his defence of the city. Despite appealing to the Pope and Western princes for aid in the defence of the city, little help came. France and England were weakened by the Hundred Years War, Spain was in the final stages of the Reconquista, the German states were wracked by infighting and Hungary and Poland had suffered a crushing defeat at Varna which they had not recovered from. In the end only a few soldiers from the northern Italian city states arrived, together with some adventurers and independent companies. Any hope of help from Constantine’s brothers in Morea was dashed by an Ottoman invasion of the peninsula intended to pin down their troops. In the winter of 1452 Mehmed arrived with his army at Constantinople, and the siege of the city began. Greatly depopulated over the years, Constantinople was now a city of just 50,000 inhabitants, with an army of only 7,000 to defend them. Arrayed against Constantine was a force at least ten times larger than his, with state of the art artillery provided by the gunsmith Orban. After a siege of fifty-three days and determined fighting, the city fell. When all hope had faded, according to Michael Critobulus (writing later in Mehmed's service) Constantine tore off his imperial regalia so as to let nothing distinguish him from any other soldier and led his remaining men in a last charge, perishing in the fighting. Struck during the siege of Constantinople, the present coin is illustrative of how far the empire had fallen. Its fabric is crude, struck on recycled silver from church altar vessels in order to pay mercenaries, and the quality of the artistry no better than the worst barbaric imitative issues of the migration period, yet the historical importance of these extremely rare coins cannot be overstated. 29 May 1453 is often cited as end of the late Middle Ages of the post-classical era, and the start of the early-modern period. The siege coinage of Constantine XI can thus rightly considered to be the last ‘ancient’ coins.
Mysia, Kyzikos EL Hekte. Circa 500-450 BC. Silenos crouching to right supporting amphora on left leg and with left hand pouring wine into cup he holds in his right; below, tunny fish to right / Quadripartite incuse square. Hurter & Liewald I 172 (same obv. die); cf. Von Fritze I 172 (unlisted denomination); cf. Greenwell 42 (same); cf. SNG France 318-9 (stater); SNG von Aulock –; Boston MFA –. 2.68g, 11mm. Extremely Fine. Extremely Rare, and among the finest known examples.
![Severus Alexander Ӕ33 of Aegeae, Cilicia. Dated CY 227 = AD 230-231. AYT KAI M AVP CEV AΛEΞ[ANΔPOC], radiate, draped and cuir](https://cdn.globalauctionplatform.com/d9008806-462a-482f-ab33-a66d00b8f8fa/bafe2f59-b22e-4d9c-da09-cb397a6cd55b/468x382.jpg)
Severus Alexander Ӕ33 of Aegeae, Cilicia. Dated CY 227 = AD 230-231. AYT KAI M AVP CEV AΛEΞ[ANΔPOC], radiate, draped and cuirassed bust right / AΛEZANΔPOVΠOΛIC AΔPIANΩN, Tyche and three figures standing right before ship with sail; ZOC in field above, AIΓAIWN above •M•Ԑ•Π•Θ• in exergue. SNG France 2364 corr. (obverse legend); SNG Levante 1767 (same dies). 20.49g, 33mm, 7h. Near Very Fine. Extremely Rare.
Antoninus Pius and Marcus Aurelius AV Aureus. Rome, AD 140. ANTONINVS AVG PIVS P P TR P COS III, laureate, draped and cuirassed bust right / AVRELIVS CAE•SAR AVG P II F COS, bare-headed, draped and cuirassed bust left. RIC III 417e; Strack 115δ; Calicó 1728 = Biaggi 797 (same dies); BMCRE 154 (same dies). 7.17g, 20mm, 12h. Good Extremely Fine. Lustrous; two finely detailed portraits of handsome style. Very Rare. Ex Jacquier 24, 1 January 2000, lot 276. Antoninus Pius was adopted as Hadrian’s successor in 138, following the death of his first adopted son Lucius Aelius. In order to gain Hadrian’s favour, Antoninus had agreed to adopt Aelius’ son, Lucius Verus, as well as Marcus Aurelius, who was betrothed to Aelius’ daughter Ceionia Fabia. This acceptance of pre-determined successors was representative of Antoninus’ role as a surrogate emperor and the guardian of Hadrian’s adoptive line. Despite adopting Hadrian’s chosen successors, Antoninus was able to claim Marcus Aurelius as his own chosen heir. As the nephew of the Emperor’s wife Faustina, Marcus Aurelius was already a distant relative. Following Hadrian’s death, Antontinus convinced Aurelius to amend his marriage arrangements by annulling his betrothal to Ceionia Fabia and instead agreeing to marry the Emperor’s daughter Faustina. Aurelius was advanced in successive stages to near equality with Antoninus; he was granted the title of Caesar in 139 and become consul the following year, while Verus was almost neglected. This coin was most probably struck to commemorate the consulship of Marcus Aurelius in 140, and emphasise his legitimacy as the successor to the Emperor. The attempt to strengthen Aurelius’ claim to the Imperial throne over that of Verus was effective, for the Senate sought to make Aurelius sole emperor upon Antoninus’ death. It was only on the insistence of Aurelius that the Senate was to accept his adoptive brother Verus as joint ruler.
Cilicia, Ura AR Stater. Mid 5th century BC. Stag (ibex) recumbent right, head reverted; pellet below, tree(?) behind / Crenelated city wall with two towers; Aramaic legend above; all inside pelleted border within incuse square. Cf. Casabonne p. 90 and pl. I, 13; and A. Lemaire, "Remarques à propos du monnayage cilicien d'époque perse et de ses légendes ara-méennes" in REA XCI (1989), pl. III, 15–20. 10.30g, 20mm, 4h. Very Fine. Extremely Rare, one of only three examples of this city’s coinage on CoinArchives.
Gordian III AV Aureus. Rome, AD 241-243. IMP GORDIANVS PIVS FEL AVG, laureate and draped bust right / P M TR P IIII COS II P P, Apollo, bare to waist, seated left, holding branch and resting left elbow on lyre. RIC 102; Calicó 3221a. 5.22g, 21mm, 12h. Fleur De Coin. Rare. The depiction of Apollo seated with branch and lyre, as seen on this aureus, was a reverse type never seen on an imperial coin prior to the reign of Caracalla. The iconography of Apollo as depicted here has as its origin the provincial coinage of Colophon, the city responsible for the administration of the oracle of Apollo at Claros. Milne (Kolophon and its Coinage, NNM 96, 1941) concluded that this type must have been associated with the oracle at Claros, as early roman provincial issues suggest (see RPC II 1052). Whilst Colophon minted few coins during the imperial period until the reign of Caracalla, it would mint regularly thereafter until the cessation of provincial coinage in Ionia under Gallienus. Whilst the Roman mint may not have been consciously alluding to the Clarian cult, it has been suggested by C. Rowan (Under Divine Auspices: Divine Ideology and the Visualisation of Imperial Power in the Severan Period, 2012) that this iconography was most likely introduced to represent an emperor’s patronage and consultation of the oracle at Colophon.
Marc Antony and Lucius Antony AR Denarius. Ephesus, late summer 41 BC. M. Nerva, quaestor pro praetore. Bare head of Mark Antony right; capis to left; M•ANT•IMP•AVG•III•VIR•R•P•C•M•NERVA•PRO•Q•P• around / Bare head of Lucius Antony right; L•ANTONIVS COS around. Crawford 517/5c; CRI 247; RSC 2b; Sydenham 1186; Kestner –; BMCRR East 108. 3.91g, 21mm, 8h. Extremely Fine. Very Rare.
Domitius Domitianus BI Tetradrachm of Alexandria, Egypt. Dated year 2 = AD 297/8. ΔOMETIANOC CEB, laureate head right / Nike advancing right on ground line, holding wreath in outstretched right hand and palm frond over left shoulder; L-B (date) across fields. Köln 3368; Dattari (Savio) 6183; K&G 126.6; Emmett 4244. 7.77g, 18mm, 1h. Near Extremely Fine. Very Rare.
Constantine I AV Solidus. Ticinum, AD 324. CONSTANTINVS P F AVG, laureate bust right / VICTORIB AVGG ET CAESS NN, Victory seated right on cuirass and shield, holding shield inscribed VOT XX, trophy and captive before; SMT in exergue. RIC 110; Depeyrot 17/12. 4.44g, 19mm, 6h. Extremely Fine. Extremely Rare, apparently the third and finest known specimen, the only one in private hands. This type, known only from one example in Leningrad and a rather sad example acquired by the BM in 1981, was curiously dated by RIC to AD 320/1, despite the obvious vicennalia celebrated on the reverse, and the corresponding issues of Sirmium, Nicomedia and Cyzicus being dated all to 324. Struck in anticipation of Constantine’s vicennalia which would begin the following year on 26 July 325, this coin proudly advertises the military victories of Constantine and his sons Crispus and Constantine Caesar, and the shield held by Victory announces the coming vicennalia. The emperors had much to celebrate; the preceding four years had seen a string of dazzling victories. In 320 Crispus had led a victorious campaign against the Franks, bringing twenty years of peace to the Rhine frontier. The following year Constantine had expelled the Goths from the Danube frontier and led an expedition into the old province of Dacia, either repairing Trajan’s bridge or erecting a wholly new one in the process. In 323, taking with him his seven year old son and namesake, Constantine defeated an invasion of Goths and Sarmatians north of the Danube in Dacia, and claimed the title of Sarmaticus Maximus. Then in mid-324 renewed conflict with Licinius saw Constantine win a great victory at the Battle of Adrianople, and ultimately claim sole rule of the empire by year’s end. Yet despite the auspicious lead-up to Constantine’s vicennalia, the year’s celebrations would end in great bitterness. The climax of the vicennial year celebrations was to be in Rome in July 326, but while en route to Rome Constantine gave the order for the execution of his eldest son Crispus, supposedly on charge of attempted rape of Constantine’s wife Fausta. Zosimus in the fifth century and Joannes Zonaras in the twelfth century both reported that Fausta, jealous of Crispus, and ambitious for the succession of her own sons, brought this untrue accusation against Crispus. Constantine, believing her, and true to his strong personality and short temper, executed his beloved son. A short while later, discovering the truth, Constantine had Fausta killed by suffocation and ordered a damnation memoriae with the result that no contemporary sources record the specific details of her fate.
Marc Antony Legionary AR Denarius. Military mint moving with Antony (Patrae?), 32-31 BC. ANT•AVG•III VIR•R•P•C•, praetorian galley to right / LEG XXIII, aquila between two standards. Crawford 544/39. 3.40g, 18mm, 6h. Extremely Fine. Rare; only 17 examples on CoinArchives. From the Alban Collection. XXIII was the highest number given to a legion within Marc Antony’s order of battle. This legion appears to have been disbanded after Actium, as XXIII was never again employed as a legionary numeration following Augustus' reorganisation of the Roman army, in which he consolidated and decreased the total number of serving legions.
Elis, Olympia AR Stater. 'Hera' mint, 105th Olympiad, 360 BC. Head of Hera left, wearing pendant earring and low stephane ornamented with F-A between palmettes / Eagle with closed wings standing to left; thunderbolt behind, olive wreath around. Seltman 334 (FE/ιρ). 12.05g, 24mm, 6h. Extremely Fine. Extremely Rare. Ex P. Gérard Collection, Roma Numismatics VIII, 28 September 2014, lot 246. In 476 the Greeks convened an arbitration court in Olympia to act as a mediator between their cities in cases of disputes to try to end the inter-city warfare that kept the Greeks divided and fractious. In commemoration of this newly found place at the heart of Greek politics the Eleans erected a massive new temple to Zeus built of marble (which would later house the gold and ivory statue by Phideas). The humble old temple was rededicated to Hera, who had no important cult at Olympia until then. It was in this rededicated temple that the ‘Hera mint’ coins were supposedly struck. A substantial coinage was struck for the 105th Olympiad in celebration of the sanctuary of Olympia having been liberated from Arkadian occupation in 363 BC. Master engravers were employed to create dies for both workshops, one of which had been closed since 380 BC. An extremely rare stater struck at the Zeus workshop (see Roma Numismatics IV, 30 September 2012, lot 141) formalises the celebratory nature of the coinage by depicting the nymph Olympia for the first time along with the legend FAΛEIΩN OΛYMΠIA - ‘Olympia belongs to the Eleians’.
Anonymous Æ Quadrans. Time of Domitian to Antoninus Pius. Rome, AD 81-161. Head of Annius Verus right, as the personification of Summer, crowned with vine-leaves and with grape-clusters over neck / S•C within wreath of vine-leaves and grapes. RIC 34. 3.89g, 18mm, 12h. Very Fine. Rare. The head on the obverse has been identified as Annius Verus, a son of Marcus Aurelius (Cohen). Van Heesch, in Studia Paulo Naster Oblata I, pp. 193-197, distinguished four types of busts in the series, and connects them with representations of the four seasons, the bust on this coin being that of Summer.
Italy. Verona, Bishop Giuseppe Grasserio AR Medal. By Giuseppe Zapparelli. 1839. IOSEPHVS GRASSERIVS EPISCVPVS VERONENSIS A MDCCCXXXVIIII, bishop’s bust right; below, ZAPPARELLI / PIETATE SAPENTIA LIBERTATE CLARISSIMVS, Pietas, Sapentia and Libertas standing by cippus with a child; below, ZAPPARELLI. 48.00g, 44mm, 12h. Extremely Fine. Very Rare.
Herennia Etruscilla AR Tetradrachm of Antioch, Seleucis and Pieria, Syria. AD 249-251. EPENNIA ETROYCKIΛΛA CEB, diademed and draped bust right, resting on a crescent; [•• below bust] / ΔHMAPX EΞOYCIAC, eagle standing right on palm branch, holding wreath in beak. McAlee 1165b; Prieur 608 (citing 4). 12.74g, 25mm, 5h. Extremely Fine. Very Rare.
Sicily, Syracuse EL 100 Litrai. Agathokles, circa 304-289 BC. Laureate head of Apollo to left; tripod behind, ΣYPAKOΣIΩN before / Head of Artemis to right, wearing earring and pearl necklace, a ribbon in her hair and a quiver over her shoulder; ΣΩTEIPA before, tripod behind. Jenkins, ‘Electrum Coinage at Syracuse’, in Essays to Robinson, Group D, pl. 15, 3 (these dies); SNG Lockett 992; Gulbenkian 344. Good Extremely Fine. Very Rare, and among the finest specimens known. Ex Leu 33, 3 May 1983, lot 245; Ex Monnaies et Médailles 54, 26 October 1978, lot 132. With the usurpation of Agathokles in 317 BC, Syracuse once more monopolised the right of coinage for the whole of Sicily, even more distinctly than in the time of Dionysios. Yet the reign of Agathokles, as noted by Malcolm Bell (Morgantine Studies I, 1981) “was a watershed for the arts in Sicily, just as it was for politics. The change from a conservative late-classical style to the new modes of the early-Hellenistic period came very quickly, within the space of a decade, and it coincided with the replacement of democratic government by the new monarchy. It is clearly perceptible in the coins that Agathokles issued... the bronze Artemis Soteira and the electrum Apollo-Artemis issues, both of which belong after Agathokles’ assumption of the kingship in 304, document the full acceptance of early-Hellenistic style.” Certainly, the quality of the artistry demonstrated on this coin is of the highest standard. The opposing portraits of the divine twins were no doubt favoured by Agathokles on account of being patron deities of the island-fortress of Ortygia, the ancient heart of Syracuse, where according to myth the goddess Leto stopped to give birth to Artemis – and in some versions Apollo too. A temple is present on Ortygia which according to its inscription honours Apollo, but when Cicero visited Syracuse he wrote that it was dedicated to Artemis. Despite having suffered a humiliating defeat against Carthage and settled a peace treaty re-establishing the status quo between Carthage and Syracuse, the latter years of Agathokles’ reign were comparatively peaceful, and were prosperous times for the city. From c.300 Agathokles concentrated his efforts on southern Italy (Diod. Sic. 21 4 ff). In two campaigns he briefly brought Bruttium under his control, and supported Tarentum in 298/7 against the native Lucanians and Messapians. He conquered Kroton in 295 and concluded alliances with other cities. His aim seems to have been the union of Sicilian and south Italian Greeks under his rule. His preparations for another campaign against Carthage were brought to nothing however, as he was assassinated in 289/8, and owing to familial rivalries his designs for a dynasty were thwarted. Thus he ‘restored to the people their self-government’ (Diod. Sic. 21. 16. 5). Depicted often as a cruel and unscrupulous adventurer and tyrant, Agathokles achieved little of lasting historical importance; indeed after his death anarchy erupted both in Syracuse, where a damnatio memoriae was decreed, and in other places that had been under his rule (Diod. Sic. 21. 18). Nonetheless, his patronage of the arts left a legacy of beauty as embodied by a small number of surviving works of art from his reign, and smaller but no less wonderful objects such as this stunning coin.
Lucania, Herakleia AR Stater. Circa 330 BC. Head of Athena right, wearing single-pendant earring, necklace, and crested Attic helmet decorated with Skylla throwing stone held in right hand; EY to right / |-HPAKΛEIΩN, Herakles wrestling the Nemean lion: Herakles stands facing, head and upper body turned to left, right hand holding club behind body, left hand grasping lion’s throat; fluted jug beneath. [Club and AΠΟΛ to left]. Work 47 (same dies); Van Keuren 51 (same obv. die); HN Italy 1378; SNG ANS 66; SNG Lloyd -; Basel -; Bement 138 (same obv. die); Gulbenkian -; Hunterian 7 (same dies); McClean 825 (same obv. die); Weber 706 (same dies). 7.92g, 20mm, 3h. Near Extremely Fine. Rare. Unobtrusive test punch on reverse, but very good for the type and attractively toned. Ex Heritage 3012, 2 January 2011, lot 24380.
Kingdom of Macedon, Alexander III 'the Great' AR Tetradrachm. Side, circa 325-320 BC. Head of Herakles right, wearing lion skin headdress / Zeus Aëtophoros seated left, holding sceptre; AI in left field, BΣ below throne, BAΣIΛEΩΣ above, AΛEΞANΔPOY to right. Price 2952; Müller 1483. 17.18g, 27mm, 7h. Very Fine. Struck in high relief and lightly toned. Rare.
Ptolemaic Kingdom of Egypt, Ptolemy II AR Tetradrachm. Alexandria, circa 261-246 BC. Diademed head of Ptolemy right, wearing aegis / BAΣIΛEOΣ ΠTOΛEMAIOY, eagle with closed wings, standing on winged thunderbolt to left; ΠT ΣΩ in left field. Svoronos 403. 14.25g, 26mm, 12h. Very Fine. Very Rare.
Dynasts of Lycia, Ddenewele AR Stater. Telmessos, circa 420/10-400 BC. Head of Athena right, wearing crested Attic helmet decorated with spiral palmette and three olive leaves; monogram to right / Bearded head of Herakles right, wearing lion skin; monogram to left, DDÊNEWELE (in Lycian) before; all in dotted circle within incuse circle. Falghera 180 var. (square incuse); Reuter 90 (same dies); SNG Copenhagen Supp. –; SNG von Aulock –; BMC 131 (same dies). 8.35g, 23mm, 4h. Very Fine. Rare.
Claudius AR Denarius. Rome, AD 41-42. TI CLAVD CAESAR AVG GERM P M TR P, laureate head right / CONSTANTIAE AVGVSTI, Constantia seated left on curule chair, feet on stool, raising hand. RIC 14; von Kaenel Type 9; RSC 6. 3.77g, 18mm, 8h. Excellent silver quality, attractive tone, Near Extremely Fine. Rare.
Didia Clara AV Aureus. Struck under Didius Julianus, Rome, April-May AD 193. DIDIA CLARA AVG, draped bust right / HILAR TEMPOR, Hilaritas standing left, holding palm branch in right hand and cornucopiae in left. C. 2; BMC 13; RIC 10; Calicó 2402. 6.56g, 19mm, 6h. Very Fine. Scattered marks and scratches. Extremely Rare. Ex Sotheby's 'Collection of Highly Important Greek and Roman Coins', 20 June 1979; lot 123; Ex Münzen & Medaillen XXI, 9 March 1960, lot 64; Ex Vicomte de Quelen Collection, Rollin-Feuardent, 7 May 1888, lot 1267. This aureus, struck in the year her father Didius Julianus bought the throne of the Roman Empire at auction, shows Didia Clara as the proud bearer of the title Augusta which she and her mother Manlia Scantilla had assumed. Although she was allegedly the most beautiful woman in all of Rome, we know hardly anything about her life. She was married to Cornelius Repentinus, who served as a prefect of Rome during her father’s brief reign. Silver coins of this enigmatic Augusta are rare, and in gold they are very seldom seen. Hilaritas commonly appears on the coinage of Didia Clara. This Roman goddess personified happiness and celebration, often in the wake of the birth of a child into the imperial family. There are no records available to confirm whether Didia had children, but perhaps this type of coinage offers a clue that she may have. However these children would have never received imperial positions as the new emperor Septimius Severus removed her title following the death of her parents in the summer of 193. The fate of this mysterious woman following such tragedy is unknown.
Sicily, Katane AR Drachm. Circa 405-403/2 BC. Facing head of Silenos / Diademed head of Apollo left, olive leaf and berry behind, ΚΑΤΑΝΑΙΩΝ before; all within circular incuse. Mirone 103; SNG ANS 1262 var. (no leaf and berry); Jameson 554 (same dies). 3.56g, 17mm, 5h. Very Fine. Very Rare. During the ill-fated Athenian expedition to Sicily of 415-413 BC, Diodoros reports that Katane was at first in favour of Syracuse, though upon hearing the case of the Athenian strategoi Thucydides relates that the Katanaians were compelled to espouse the alliance of the invaders. Katane thus became the headquarters for the Athenian force, and remained its principal base of operations throughout the campaign. It was to this city that the survivors of Nicias' massacred army escaped, finding refuge there until they could return to Athens. Despite the utter destruction of their ally's forces, Katane appears to have emerged from the war largely unscathed, and may indeed have gained some economic benefit from the 300 talents of silver that the Athenian reinforcements brought with them in 414 to hire Sicilian cavalry, as well as the money the Athenians spent within the city. In any case, Katane remained free from Syracusan rule until 403, when a force under Dionysios I was able to capture the city by surprise thanks to the treachery of the strategos Arkesilaos. Dionysios then sold its people into slavery and granted the city itself to his Campanian mercenaries. It is to this late classical period, beginning with the Athenian alliance, that this drachm belongs. This brief span saw a second flourishing of the die engraver's art at Katane, with such masters as Herakleidas producing magnificent dies of remarkable skill and beauty (see the following lot). Though the present coin is not signed, the level of technical ability required to engrave such a high relief facing portrait is indicative of it being the work of a master of the first order. Indeed, the style of Apollo's portrait on the reverse is remarkably similar to those produced and signed by the 'Maestro della foglia', cf. Rizzo pl. XII, 1-10; pl. XIII, 4; pl. XV 1-2. It is conceivable therefore that this could be an unsigned work by the same individual. The depiction of Silenos is an unexpected departure from the typical Apollo/chariot issues of the main period; though Silenos features prominently on the coinage of Katane as a reference to its chief export, he had never been depicted by the Katanaians as the principal subject on a denomination greater than a litra. It is probable that the artist took some inspiration from an earlier electrum issue of Phokaia (Bodenstedt 43), struck c.521-478 that also featured a facing portrait of Silenos, and which has been described as a masterpiece of the Archaic period.
Revolt of the Heraclii AV Solidus. Alexandria or Cyprus, dated fixed IY 11 (summer AD 608). D N ERACLIO CONSVLI BA, facing busts of Heraclius and the Exarch Heraclius, each wearing slight beard and consular robes; cross between / VICTORIA CONSAB IA, cross potent set upon four steps; CONOB in exergue. DOC 11; MIBE 3; Sear 719; Berk 112. 4.46g, 20mm, 7h. Good Extremely Fine. Insignificant scratch on rev., tiny edge bump. Very Rare. Having been appointed Exarch of Africa by the Emperor Maurice Tiberius, Heraclius the Elder was venerated at Carthage where he had established ties with the local elite and enjoyed a safe and strong position. His son and namesake Heraclius the Younger married into the local African elite, his first wife Eudocia being the daughter of a local landowner. Although not as wealthy an area of the Empire as Egypt, Africa was able to stand alone in self sufficiency whilst also being a provider of grain and revenues to Constantinople, a position that further strengthened the Heraclii's position for the events of AD 608. Maurice was murdered by disaffected soldiers after they had rebelled against him and proclaimed their fellow soldier Phocas to be Emperor in 602, the culmination of a long struggle with the finances of the Empire, for which he had imposed high taxes and intended to introduce reforms to reduce expenditure on the maintenance of the army. The change of regime at first being welcomed due to the lowering of taxes, Phocas' methods of ensuring loyalty and keeping control of the government by killing thousands of dissenters (a claim we ought to take with caution as no contemporary histories remain), coupled with the disintegrating stability of the Eastern provinces where the Sasanian Persian king Khosrau II was preparing an invasion, led to increasing hostility towards him. In opposition to the tyranny of Phocas, Heraclius the elder and the younger were proclaimed Consuls, perhaps by the Senate at Carthage (a body which had no power to do so), and began issuing coinage depicting themselves in consular robes only, as we see on this very rare solidus, as they did not hold the imperial title at that time. Gaining support from Egypt, Syria, Cyprus and Sicily, Heraclius the Younger sailed to Constantinople, arriving in October 610, and the revolt culminated in a coup where he was crowned and saw to the execution of his predecessor, establishing a dynasty which would last a century, ending with the execution of Justinian II in 711.
Kings of Mauretania, Juba II AR Denarius. Caesarea, Circa 25 BC-AD 23. REX IVBA, laureate head right / ΒΑΣΙΛΙ ΚΛΕΟΠΑΤΡΑ, head of Cleopatra Selene left. Mazard 364; MAA 107-8; Cf. SNG Copenhagen 566 (rev. legend and bust variant). 3.21g, 18mm, 5h. Good Very Fine, lightly toned with blue iridescence. Beautiful style, with a very sensitive portrait of Cleopatra Selene. Extremely Rare. The Ptolemaic princess Cleopatra Selene was born to Cleopatra VII and Mark Antony in about 40 BC, but the precise date of the death of is unknown - she may have died before AD 6/7 when Juba II married the Herodian Princess Glaphyra, but dated coin issues in her name indicate her being still alive until about AD 17 and that in fact Glaphyra was probably Juba’s second wife while she still lived. It is known that by the time Juba II died in AD 23 she was already dead, as it is recorded that he was buried alongside his first wife in the Royal Mausoleum near ancient Iol, later Caesarea Mauretaniae, modern Cherchell in what is today Algeria.
Geta Æ Sestertius. Rome, AD 211. P SEPTIMIVS GETA PIVS AVG BRIT, laureate bust right / TR P III COS II P P, Italia seated left, holding sceptre and cornucopiae; at her feet, female figure (Annona or Ceres?) seated to left holding stalk of grain; at side of throne, river-god Tiber reclining to right, hand on urn. RIC 171a; BMC 45; Banti 55. 25.33g, 33mm, 12h. Near Mint State. Very Rare, and in incredible state of preservation. Untouched surfaces, and undoubtedly the finest known. From the Alban Collection. The intense mutual dislike that the sons of Septimius Severus and Julia Domna had for each throughout their lives is well known. Although Septimius intended for Caracalla and Geta to jointly rule the empire after his death in the manner of Marcus Aurelius and Lucius Verus, and despite the best efforts of the emperor and empress to reconcile their sons, the two brothers were incapable of working together. Until the death of Septimius in AD 211, Caracalla and Geta had portraits on the imperial coinage that were so similar that they were virtually indistinguishable by their faces alone. However, after the death of Septimius, in an effort to be seen as the true successor by virtue of similitude, Geta had his portraits made in the old likeness his father, with a longer beard sporting luxuriant curls, which he no doubt hoped would add a look of maturity as well as implying that the apple had not fallen far from the tree. The seated figure on the reverse, though not specifically named as Italia, is identified as the personification of Italy on the basis of the presence of the river god beside her throne, who must represent Tiber, and the small figure before holding a stalk of grain, marking her out as either Ceres or Anonna (most likely the latter, since Ceres would take precedence over Italia). Holding a cornucopiae, the figure of Italia is likely intended to convey a theme of prosperity and bounty, a positive message for the beginning of his reign, which would be cut brutally short by his brother only months later.
Sicily, Naxos AR Drachm. Circa 460-430 BC. Bearded head of Dionysos right, wearing tainia decorated with an ivy branch / Nude and bearded Silenos squatting half-left, holding kantharos in right hand and resting his left hand on his knee, tail behind; NAXION around; all within shallow concave circular incuse. Cahn 56 (V41/R47); HGC 2, 990; SNG Lloyd 1152; BMC 9; Jameson 676; de Luynes 1064; Pozzi 507 (all from the same dies). 4.26g, 18mm, 8h. Good Very Fine. Rare. Though not as rare as its earlier counterpart, this wonderful type is however notoriously difficult to obtain in high grade. In contrast to the earlier archaic drachm, the god Dionysos has on this type become increasingly humanised, with a less severe appearance not too dissimilar we may imagine from noblemen of that time. The reverse appears to continue the development away from static, romanticised scenes, instead portraying Silenos in a rather less than reverential pose, clearly inebriated and with an apparent carefree disregard for himself or his surroundings - instead preoccupied solely with his drinking cup.
Mysia, Kyzikos EL Hekte. Circa 500-450 BC. Lion to right, gnawing on the leg of a prey animal, its hoof held in his right paw and the upper part held in his mouth; below, tunny fish swimming to left / Quadripartite incuse square. BMFA 1502 (stater); Hurter-Liewald 177; Von Fritze 177, pl. V, 25 (stater); Sternberg XI, 106 = LHS 102, 259 (same dies), sold for CHF 34,000. 2.66g, 11mm. Good Extremely Fine. Extremely Rare - apparently only the second known example. Prior to the appearance of the particularly well preserved hekte at Sternberg XI in 1981, most cataloguers and scholars had referred to the object in the lion’s mouth as a sword or harpa, and that the lion is therefore engaged in an illogical animalistic act, attacking a weapon that perhaps had been used against it. This strange conclusion may be forgiven due to the fact that those surviving examples of the type (staters in inferior condition, and two fractions - a twelfth and a twenty-fourth) were indistinct, thus preventing accurate description. Thanks to the superb condition of the Sternberg example, the cataloguer was able to finally recognise the object in the lion´s mouth as being the lower leg and thigh of an animal, presumably that the lion had just attacked and killed.
Thracian Chersonesos, Paktye Æ11. Circa 375-325 BC. Head of roaring lion left / Wheat grain, scallop shell below, ethnik ΠAK-TY around. Roma Numismatics IV, 256 (this coin); see IACP p. 909, 671 for information on this polis. 0.91g, 11mm, 8h. Extremely Fine. Unique and of significant numismatic importance. Ex Roma Numismatics IV, 30 September 2012, lot 256. It is rare now to encounter a real novum in Greek numismatics. This coin bears the ethnik of Paktye, attested as a polis in ancient sources, that was founded by Athenians under Miltiades in the sixth century BC. Situated on the Propontic coast of the isthmus of the Chersonesos near the site of Helle's tomb, at the eastern end of the fortification wall constructed by Miltiades, Paktye appears to have been a settlement of limited size, and was never included in the Athenian tribute lists. Before the discovery of this coin it was believed that the city had never issued its own coinage. This wonderfully preserved specimen proves that not to be the case. A lion of distinctly Chersonesean style occupies the obverse, and this animal representation of the sun is paired with the wheat grain, for whose germination and growth it was responsible; on the reverse we see also the scallop shell, a noted symbol of fertility. The Thracian Chersonesos was renowned for its production of wheat, and as the foundation of their economy this grain has appropriately been taken for a civic emblem much as it was at Metapontion.
Kings of Elymais, Kamnaskires V AR Tetradrachm. Seleukeia on the Hedyphon, Year 267 = 46/5 BC. Diademed and draped bust left, with pointed beard; star and anchor behind / BACIΛEΩC KAΠNACKIPOY TOY EΓ BACIΛEΩC KAΠNACKIPOY, diademed and draped bust left, wearing beard, date in exergue. Van’t Haaff p. 75, subtype 1-4. 14.01g, 30mm, 12h. Near Extremely Fine. Very Rare.
Kingdom of Macedon, Perdikkas III AR Diobol. 365-359 BC. Head of bearded Herakles facing right, wearing lion's skin headdress / Club and bow crossed, Π-Ε-Ρ around; all within shallow incuse square. Gemini VI, 10 January 2010, lot 63 (same dies); otherwise apparently unpublished; cf. SNG Alpha Bank 237-8; BMC 3 (Perdikkas II); Traité II, 805 and pl. CCCIII, 18 (same). 0.96g, 11mm, 7h. Very Fine. Toned. Extremely Rare.
Nero Æ Sestertius. Rome, AD 64. NERO CLAVD CAESAR AVG GER P M TR P IMP P P, laureate head left / Emperor with couched spear riding to right, second rider in background, standard bearer before; S-C across fields, DECVRSIO in exergue. RIC 175; WCN 133. 25.64g, 34mm, 6h. Very Fine. Rare. Ex UBS 63, 6 September 2005, lot 294.
Sicily, Syracuse AV Dekadrachm - 50 Litrai. Time of Agathokles, circa 317-310 BC. Laureate head of Apollo left; kantharos behind / Charioteer driving galloping biga right, holding kentron and reins; ΣYPAKOΣIΩN around, triskeles below. Roma V, 138 (same dies); cf. SNG ANS 552; SNG Copenhagen 747 var. (no obverse symbol); BMC 339; Triton VIII, 11 January 2005, 91. 4.30g, 16mm, 11h. Near Extremely Fine. Well detailed reverse. Lustre around the devices. Extremely rare variety with kantharos.
Sicily, Syracuse AR Didrachm. Deinomenid Tyranny. Time of Gelon I, circa 485-480 BC. Nude rider on horseback to right / Head of Arethusa right, wearing pearl diadem and necklace; ΣVRAKOΣΙΟN and three dolphins around. Boehringer 98 (same dies); Rizzo p. 34, 23; SNG ANS 26 (same dies). 8.32g, 21mm, 5h. Extremely Fine. Rare. Ex A. Tkalec, 15 May 2010, lot 13.
Caracalla Æ Sestertius. Rome, AD 210. IMP AVREL ANTONINVS PIVS AVG, laureate head right / PONTIF TR P XIII COS III, Caracalla and Geta, each togate, standing facing each other, sacrificing from paterae over altar behind which stands veiled Concordia facing; SC in exergue. RIC 452a. 23.23g, 34mm, 12h. Good Very Fine; a couple of light marks. Rare. Ex Arthur Bally-Herzog Collection; Münzen & Medaillen 14, 16 April 2004, lot 190; Purchased on 13 June 1903 from Dr. E. Merzbacher, Munich.
Domitius Domitianus Æ Nummus. Alexandria, AD 298. IMP C L DOMITIVS DOMITIANVS AVG, laureate head right / GENIO POPVLI ROMANI, Genius standing left, holding cornucopiae and sacrificing with patera; to left, eagle standing left, head right, wreath in beak; B to left, ALE in exergue. RIC 20. 7.49g, 26mm, 12h. Very Fine. Rare.
Elagabalus AR Denarius. Rome, AD 221. IMP ANTONINVS PIVS AVG, laureate, horned and draped bust right / P M TR P IIII COS III P P, Elagabalus standing left, sacrificing over lit altar, holding patera and club(?); a star in left and right fields. RIC -, cf. 46 (one star); BMC -, cf. 256-258 (same); Eauze 350; Solidus 6, 19 July 2015, lot 333 (same dies). 2.89g, 20mm, 5h. Near Mint State. Well struck on sound, lustrous metal. Extremely rare variant unlisted by RIC or BMC, though both note the difficulty in differentiating between the interchangeable branch or club that the Emperor holds.
The Social War, C. Papius AR Denarius. Mint moving Papius in Campania, circa 90 BC. Helmeted and draped bust of Mars right; mark of value X• and Viteliú in Oscan characters / Oath-taking scene of four soldiers, two on each side, pointing their swords at pig held by kneeling youth; in exergue, C•PAAPI•C• (retrograde and in Oscan characters). Campana 83; HN Italy 425; RBW 1225. 3.85g, 20mm, 12h. Extremely Fine, pleasant and lustrous metal. Overstruck on a coin of L. Flaminius. Very Rare. From the Alban Collection. Marcus Livius Drusus, who was Tribune of the Plebeians in 91 BC, attempted to bring Roman citizenship to the Italian allies. This, along with his land reform proposals, proved unpopular with the Senate and Roman landowners and he was assassinated before his plans were actioned. With the promise of citizenship rights removed, a rebellion of the Italian allies began, known as the Social War (cf. Livy, Periochae 71). During this war, the allies struck coins which were often inspired by the types found on Roman denarii, with some, like the present example, detailing the names of the rebel generals.
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