We found 216136 price guide item(s) matching your search
There are 216136 lots that match your search criteria. Subscribe now to get instant access to the full price guide service.
Click here to subscribe- List
- Grid
-
216136 item(s)/page
Lot 134
Crete, Knossos AR Drachm. Circa 350-220 BC. Laureate head of Apollo left / Diademed youthful male figure (King Minos?), wearing drapery over his lower limbs, seated to left on a square labyrinth, holding Nike in extended right hand and sceptre with left; monogram to left, AΓEI (= gifts?) in the exergue. Le Rider, Crete, plate 35, 6 (this coin); Svoronos 88, pl. VI, 15; BMC 28, pl. V, 14 (same reverse die); Jameson 2519 (same reverse die). 4.88g, 2mm, 12h. Very Fine; old repair below eye. Very Rare, only one other example on CoinArchives. Ex Northern California Collection; Privately purchased from Freeman & Sear, 2003; Ex Numismatica Ars Classica 18, 29 March 2000, lot 189. The possible identification of the ambiguous reverse as the legendary king Minos rests largely on the youthfulness of the figure together with his being seated upon the labyrinth of Daedalos, built to house the Minotaur. Though we are all familiar with the myth of king Minos, Theseus and the Minotaur, the extent of historical fact behind this story is uncertain, and excavations of the Minoan palace complex at Knossos has revealed no such structure. The explorer Arthur Evans, during his investigations of the site in 1900-1903, prompted by the enormity of the scale and intricateness of the architecture postulated that the palace itself was the origin of the mythological labyrinth. This theory is supported by the close association of the word ‘labyrinth’, which is a pre-Greek word of Minoan origin, with the Lydian word ‘labrys’ (double-axe); the labrys motif appears frequently at the Knossos palace complex, and excavations have unearthed many ancient ceremonial double-axes among grave-goods there. Whether there is a kernel of truth to the myth we may never know, but in the critically acclaimed bildungsroman ‘The King Must Die’ (published 1958) by Mary Renault, the author constructs an archaeologically and anthropologically plausible story that might have developed into the myth, presenting the palace at Knossos of the kings who are always called Minos as the Labyrinth, the king’s son Asterion - the swarthy product of an adulterous union between his unfaithful wife Pasiphae and an Assyrian bull-dancer - as the ceremonial bull-mask wearing Minotauros (signifying heir to the throne), and the winding passages of vaults and store-rooms beneath the palace, through which Theseus must escape with the assistance of Ariadne, as the maze which he negotiates with the help of Ariadne’s thread.
Lot 546
Trajan AV Aureus. Rome, AD 112-113. IMP TRAIANVS AVG GER DAC P M TR P COS VI P P, laureate, draped and cuirassed bust right / Frontal view of the hexastyle façade of Trajan's Forum, with central entrance and two alcoves containing statues to either side, an elaborate statue group comprised of facing quadriga between three statues on each side atop the roof; FORVM TRAIAN in exergue. RIC 257; C 168 var. (not cuirassed); Calicó 1031; BMCRE 509; Biaggi 494; Woytek 409f. 7.30g, 19mm, 6h. Good Extremely Fine. The finest example of this desirable type to have been offered in many years. Trajan became consul for the sixth and final time on January 1, AD 112; on the same day he dedicated his new Forum complex. It is thought to have been designed by the architect Apollodorus who accompanied Trajan on his campaigns in Dacia and is famous for building a bridge across the Danube river recorded by ancient authors and artists. When complete, the vast complex consisted of the area fori (main square), the Basilica Ulpia, the column of Trajan, and two libraries, all situated adjacent to the Markets of Trajan on one side and the Forum Augustum on another. The project sought to exceed previous imperial fora in plan, scale and ornamentation while focusing directly on Trajan’s military achievements in Dacia. Each imperial forum had specific architectural and decorative schemes which created specific ambiences; thus, Trajan’s military theme is vastly different from the Forum of Vespasian (also known as the Temple of Peace and not officially called a forum since there is no evidence of it serving a political function) which instead contains gardens, fountains and promenades. One ancient account tells us that “all along the roof of the colonnades of Trajan’s forum there are placed gilded statues of horses and representations of military standards, and underneath is written Ex manubiis [from money obtained through spoils]” (Aulus Gellius, Attic Nights 13.25.1). Perhaps the message the emperor wished to send was that his rule saw such great military achievement that his successes alone were capable of creating the greatest public architectural space in Rome. Following Trajan’s death, Hadrian is reported to have added a colossal temple to the deified Trajan and his wife Plotina (of which very little survives) so that the completed Forum focused not only on Trajan’s military victories, but also on his apotheosis. The magnificence of this complex in comparison to previous imperial fora is emphasised by ancient witnesses, one of whom, when describing the emperor Constantius II’s reaction when he first visited Rome in AD 357, says it was “a construction unique under the heavens, as we believe, and admirable even in the unanimous opinion of the gods…” (Ammianus Marcellinus 16.10.15). It was later a space where various important events occurred; Hadrian and Aurelian ordered the burning of notes of debt to the state here (Historia Augusta, Hadrian 7.6, Aurelian 39.3), Marcus Aurelius held a sale of imperial treasures here following a period of war as an alternative to taxing the provinces (Historia Augusta, Marcus Aurelius 17.4) and here laws were frequently fastened up on bronze tablets to be read by the public. This coin was produced following the dedication of the forum and depicts the magnificent arch commemorating Trajan’s victories in Dacia which acted as its entrance. Martin Beckmann (see The Early Gold Coinage of Trajan’s Sixth Consulship in The American Journal of Numismatics Vol. 12 (2000), pp. 119-156) argues that it was part of the first production of AD 112 which contained a group of types focusing on commemorating the forum such as depictions of the Basilica Ulpia, and Equus Traiana (the following year saw the production of coins showing the newly built Trajan’s Column). His study reveals that there were ten dies for this reverse type and that “from the die links it appears that the forum type carried on strongly, perhaps to the end of the entire series…” implying that significant importance was attached to the promulgation of this great architectural work, the grandest of all imperial fora to date, made possible by the emperor’s military victories.
Lot 591
Caracalla AV Aureus. Rome, AD 198. IMP CAE M AVR ANT AVG P TR P •, laureate, draped and cuirassed bust right / MINER VICTRIX, Minerva standing left, holding Victory and inverted spear; shield at her side, trophy to right. RIC 25b; Calicó 2696 = Biaggi 1183 (same rev. die). 7.36g, 20mm, 12h. Near Mint State; superbly lustrous and undoubtedly one of the finest known examples of the type. Very Rare. From the property of B.R.S., United Kingdom. The reverse type of this coin had ancient roots; the evolution of the type can be traced back as far as the denarii of C. Vibius C. f. Pansa in 90 BC, which featured the figure of Minerva, holding a trophy over her shoulder, in a galloping quadriga (Crawford 342/5). Julius Caesar further popularised the Minerva Victrix type with his use of a standing design upon his bronze issue of 45 BC (Crawford 476/1), and in this standing form the type would be popularised under Domitian, who adopted Minerva as his patron deity; Domitian’s provincial coinage also features the first appearance of Minerva standing with a trophy behind her (RPC II 2304). Yet the type in its present form was instituted comparatively late on, in the reign of Commodus c. AD 188/9, when it was used on very rare aurei (Calicό 2290a) and bimetallic medallions (Gnecchi II, p. 57, 48), sestertii and denarii. It may seem strange that the Severans should wish to prominently re-use a type commisioned for Commodus, particularly given how fresh the excesses and outrages committed by that former emperor would still have been in the minds of Roman citizens everywhere. However, Caracalla’s father Septimius Severus was himself a usurper, albeit to an emperor who had shamefully bought the imperial throne at auction. Thus Septimius, in order to shore up his ambitions to forge an imperial dynasty, was required for appearances’ sake to legitimise his rule in the eyes of mob. This inevitably manifested itself, as with the Flavians a century before, in the form of piety towards the earlier ‘good’ emperors. In Septimius’ case, he owed his rank and position to advances gained under Marcus Aurelius and Commodus, the latter of whom had himself appointed Septimius as governor of Pannonia Superior in AD 191. He therefore sought to apply a veneer of validity to his assumption of the helm of empire by force, which he did by styling himself the ‘son of Marcus’, and renaming his eldest son (who would be known to history by his nickname Caracalla) Marcus Aurelius Antoninus. In so doing, Septimius effectively adopted himself and his heir into the Antonine family. He furthermore made efforts to rehabilitate the memory of Commodus, and forced an unwilling Senate to deify the late emperor in 195. In 197, the year before this aureus was struck, Septimius was faced with a large-scale Parthian incursion into Roman Mesopotamia, only recently pacified after a campaign in 195 against rebellious local vassal states. Septimius’ military response began with the rapid subjugation of the Parthian-allied kingdom of Armenia, from where he marched to the relief of the strategically important city of Nisibis. Septimius then divided his army into three; the main force he led along the Euphrates to attack the dual metropolis of Seleucia-on-the-Tigris and Ctesiphon, while the second force would ravage eastern Mesopotamia, and the third would recross the Tigris into Adiabene. Babylon and Seleucia-on-the-Tigris were taken without resistance, and in January 198 the Parthian king Vologases chose to meet the Roman army in the field before the walls of the capital Ctesiphon. The battle resulted in a resounding defeat for the Parthians; the city itself was breached and thoroughly sacked - the male population was exterminated and ancient sources attest to 100,000 being enslaved. On January 28, the exact centenary of Trajan’s accession, Septimius proclaimed that he had conquered Parthia, and took the title that Trajan had first held, ‘Parthicus Maximus’. On the same day he conferred the rank of Augustus and status of co-emperor on his nine year old son Caracalla. This aureus, like many Severan issues struck in 198, makes reference to this victory over Rome’s old nemesis.
Lot 62
Sicily, Syracuse AR Dekadrachm. Time of Dionysios I, circa 405-370 BC. Charioteer driving galloping quadriga to left, holding kentron in right hand, reins in left; above, Nike flies to right, a wreath in her outstretched arms to crown the charioteer; in the exergue, a panoply of arms is set on two steps: a cuirass, two greaves, and a Phrygian helmet / Head of the nymph Arethusa to left, wearing a reed wreath, triple-pendant earring, and a pearl necklace; ΣΥΡΑΚΟΣΙΩΝ behind, four dolphins playing around her, a star below the rearmost. Gallatin XXIII-KII. 43.27g, 35mm, 5h. Good Extremely Fine. Very Rare. Ex Roma Numismatics V, 23 March 2013, lot 133; Privately acquired from the B.R.H. Collection, purchased c. 1980s in Munich. This type with a star behind Arethusa's head and below the rearmost dolphin is one of the most infrequently encountered in the dekadrachm series. Struck from a remarkable reverse die, not only on account of the excellent style of the Arethusa portrait, but also because of the astonishing high relief in which it was engraved. Standing proud from the fields 33% more than the majority of its counterparts, this nymph commands reverence and admiration. The fortuitously superb metal quality and lustre of the fields further complement the appearance of this sculptural marvel. The dekadrachms of Syracuse have been called 'the admiration of the ancient and modern world', and 'perhaps the most famous of all ancient coins'; rightly so, for by virtue of not only their impressive size and weight, but more importantly the incredibly detailed artistry of exquisite style which they bear, they represent the zenith of cultural and numismatic technological achievement at ancient Syracuse, and are among the most beautiful coins ever struck for circulation. Produced at the apex of Syracuse's power and glory, the dekadrachm issue began circa 405 BC, following the election of Dionysios as supreme military commander of Syracuse for his achievements in the war against Carthage, and his subsequent seizure of total power. Syracuse had only recently defeated an Athenian invasion of Sicily that resulted in the utter destruction of Athens' expeditionary force and ultimately contributed significantly to their defeat at the hands of Sparta in the Peloponnesian War. Then under Dionysios in 405, despite the ruin of great cities such as Akragas and Gela, Syracuse repulsed a Carthaginian invasion that might have resulted in a complete conquest of the island. Such glory was short-lived however, as the rule of Dionysios' son and successor was to bring only civil strife that would weaken the power of Syracuse. Never again would the city issue coinage on such a grand scale, and with the cessation of tetradrachm production in c. 400 BC, the dekadrachms represent the last great flourishing of classical numismatic art at Syracuse before two centuries of steady decline and eventual conquest at the hands of the Romans.
Loading...-
216136 item(s)/page