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2016 Onyx EB37 Bugatti Recreation Registration Number: MCY 331J Date Of First Registration: 01/05/2016 Vin Number: ONYXTYPEB37182015 Engine Number shown on V5C: 11K2AF05229198 (Not Confirmed) MOT Expiry: 13/12/2017 V5C Present Listing: 0 Former Keepers Current Mileage Shown: N/A 1397 CC BlueThe Onyx sports car company is based in Barnoldby Le Beck North East Lincolnshire and produces bespoke cars. This vehicle is a Onyx EB 37 Bugatti Replica built by its current keeper with the help of Onyx Sports cars and took between six and seven years to build. The chassis was built by Onyx and the body work hand built by Ivan Dutton Bugatti specialist who specialises in the preparation and maintenance of Bugatti's for competition racing. The vehicle is fitted with a Rover K series 1397 CC engine coupled to an Mg Midget gearbox and rear axle.The vehicle was SVA tested on 04/01/2016 and is fully road legal with current MOT certificate.The vehicle is supplied with front and rear mud guard/wheel arches and registration plates (not fitted currently).Buyer's premium of 10% (+VAT) applies to this lot

A Set of Eight Rolls-Royce Advertising Boards, from a series of ten, dedicated to the hundred men who will become Rolls-Royce owners this month, each measuring 58cm high by 41cm wide, with cardboard easel supports to verso, second series named 'First you get a body the you spend four days just looking at it', third series 'The most unpopular man at Rolls-Royce Motors', fourth 'Addition why sixty-four nuts underneath you Rolls-Royce are painted yellow', fifth ' This is what keeps you in your seat', sixth ' This is the rat-trap in your Rolls-Royce', eight 'Why is this man lurking in the boot of your Rolls-Royce' ,nine 'No two are exact alike', ten 'one hundred Rolls-Royces' Buyer's premium of 20% (+VAT) applies to this lot

Mounted and framed photographic print of a seated Highland cow, signed by the photographer and entitled 'Bovine Beauty' by a local award winning photographer Steven J Dowd who is selling his work due to retirement

A 1960 Norton Dominator Model 99, registration YRK 260, chassis number R14/92193, black and cream. The twin-cylinder Dominator entered production in 1949 to directly compete against the Triumph Speed Twin and was developed by Bert Hopwood who himself had previously been on the Speed Twin design team. Introduced in 1956, the featherbed-framed Model 99 featured the larger 597cc alloy-headed engine developing 31bhp and came with alloy hubs and uprated brakes that had been a feature the previous year. Our Dominator has had just 2 keepers from new, with the current custodian acquiring the bike in 1997. Largely original, we understand that the bike starts and runs sweetly and comes with a history file and set of manuals. Green log-book, V5C, no MOT. See illustration.

A pair of Christian Dior Bijoux gold tone heart shaped clip earrings together with a quantity of stone set necklaces, pendants, earrings and bracelets stamped Grosse and three later Christian Dior gold tone logo pendants and an associated necklace and earring set (qty) Notes - The German jewellery firm Grosse was founded in 1907 by Heinrich Henkel and Florentin Grosse who by 1930s were a leading costume jewellery maker of international renown. Shortly after the war, the firm signed an exclusive world license agreement with Christian Dior Paris, granting them the rights to manufacture and distribute of the "Christian Dior Bijoux" collection in 1955. In 2006 the family withdrew from the business and the firm became part of the Dior group.

A Fine Carved Mahogany Chippendale Style Bureau Bookcase, by E W Varley, dated 1924, the gothic style pierced gallery above a dentil cornice with blind fret carved frieze and glazed doors enclosing oak shelves, the fall enclosing a fitted interior of pigeon holes, small drawers and a secret drawer labelled Year 1924 Made to the order of Mr J H Pickering by E W Varley, 14 Blackburns Yard, Church Street, Whitby, with four long drawers below with rococo brass handles all between cluster columns, raised on carved bracket feet, 121c by 60cm by 239cm See illustration and inscription of drawer During the early part of the 20th century Varleys of Whitby were a prominent Yorkshire family run business supplying the finest quality 18th century style furniture to clients in Britain and America. Running in the first three decades, Ernest William Varley (1876-1952), accompanied by his elder brother and son, who were both called Tom, ran their business from a workshop in Blackburn's Yard, Church Street, Whitby. Together they established a highly successful and reputable name in the furniture trade. Predominantly specialising in works to order they pride themselves on their quality, style and traditional techniques. See lot 682 for a painting of George Varley

George Percy Jacomb-Hood MVO (1857-1937) Mrs Arthur Heygate standing in an interior Signed and dated 1907, with various original inscribed labels verso, oil on canvas, 134cm by 78cm see illustration The lady depicted in the painting was born Frances Harvey (1865-1931) She married Arthur Heygate (1862-1935) who was an Assistant Master at Eton College

Six scrap books including the personal scrap book of Dr Gordon Reece who predicted the General Election results in the early 1980s Thatcher era and others including Trains & Ships

A rare Shikargar tulvar, dating: circa 1800, provenance: North India, dating: circa 1800, provenance: North India, Curved, single-edged blade in damask, completely decorated with beautiful carvings in bas-relief portraying hunters on horseback and on foot, elephants, lions and other animals fighting each other, nice job of the engraver who exploited the damask patterns on animals to give them a form of vitality; rectangular tang decorated with floral motifs. Hilt in Delhishahi style finely decorated with floral and geometrical motifs in silver. Wooden scabbard covered with red velvet (worn-out) with silver mounts engraved with floral motifs, chape with a sail reminiscent of European influence, cap with suspension ring., length 81 cm.

A unusual ceremonial mace, dating: 18th Century, provenance: India, dating: 18th Century, provenance: India, Made of precious wood, sandalwood or rosewood, and covered with embossed silver; the mace used to give authority, command and power to the one who held it., length 135 cm.

An exceptional black-figure Attic amphora 530 – 500 BC; alt. cm 49; Amphora with a distinctive concave neck, flattened shoulder, ovoid body tapering down, echinus foot and three-ribbed ribbon handles attached vertically between the neck and the shoulder. Painted in the black-figure style with white and purple highlights, the neck is decorated with palmettes and lotus flowers, the shoulder with a circle of rays. Beneath the handles are four interwoven tendrils, each of which ends in a palm. Below the central section, which displays figurative scenes, is a meander motif which is in turn above a climbing lotus flower bud motif. A band of rays decorate the foot. The lid, which has a spherical pommel, is decorated with concentric bands and ivy branches on the outer rim.Decoration of the body: Side A) on the left is a warrior armed with a helmet, spear and Boeotian shield depicted throwing himself towards a second warrior on the right, who is also armed with a helmet, spear and circular shield; between the fighters is a kneeling warrior, his head turned to the left, holding a spear and a shield. The scene depicted could be the episode in the Iliad in which Achilles defends Antilochus against Memnon, Side B) thiasus: a bearded Dionysus is depicted at the centre with his head turned to the left, wearing a crown of ivy and a long himation. He extends a kantharos towards a female figure in a mantle standing opposite him; probably Ariadne. Behind the god is a satyr playing a diaulos and a Maenad; the background is filled with vines and bunches of grapes.Museum restoration; Attic black-figure pottery of the end of the 6th century is distinguished by ceramists that favour representations of Homeric hymns and Dionysian scenes painted on medium-sized and large vases (amphora, hydria, krater).PROVENANCE:Private collection, London; acquired on the European art market in the 1980s.Ongoing thermoluminescence analysis report by Oxford Authentication Ltd.

An Apulian red-figured PhialeSecond half of 4th century BC; diam. cm 40; A gently curving plate with a flat rim, on a moulded base, with ribbon-shaped handles set horizontally on the rim; there is a small knob at each end of the handles. The tondo is encircled by a sequence of olive leaves. At its centre, an androgynous, winged eros is depicted nude, standing to the right; he carries a phiale and a fan in his hands and wears earrings and anklets. Opposite, a female figure advances to the left, her head turned to the right; she wears a long chiton, a pearl necklace and in her right hand hangs a phiale. The background is filled with floral motifs, whilst the groundline is decorated with ovoli motifs, beneath which sits another phiale. Restored. The phiale, a vessel generally used for libation rituals, in fourth century Apulian production is closely linked to the female world and, in particular, to the cult of Eros. The red-figure style decoration with details overpainted in white, is characterized by betrothal scenes, in which a female figure often appears in the company of Eros, who is offering the bride-to-be objects such as phiale, perfume bottles, a looking glass and wreaths.PROVENANCE:Private collection, London; acquired on the European art market in the 1990s.

AMELIA EARHART INTEREST: LEICA 1 black paint finish, serial number 43793, dating to 1929-30; fitted with Leitz Elmar 1:3,5 f=50mm collapsible lens, with correct brass lens cap, along with range finder, numbered 41404, two reloadable film cassettes and film holder, and a small leather Leitz filter purse, all contained in a leather caseNote: This lot comes with an autographed card by Amelia Earhart (American 1897 - 1937) from her own personal stock. This camera was reputedly owned by Earhart's husband, George P. Putnam, and was gifted to her. Amelia Earhart found fame as the first female aviator to do a solo flight across the Atlantic Ocean. Earhart disappeared during an attempt to make a circumnavigational flight of the globe in 1937. She vanished over the central Pacific Ocean near Howland Island. Fascination with her life, career and disappearance continues to this day.Note from the vendor on this lot: 'My grandfather Wullie MacDonald left Scotland for Canada in the 1920s. He worked in and around the Montreal and Toronto areas, although I have no recollection of what work he did to earn a living. According to my father he found it tough in Canada and eventually migrated south and entered into the United States where he lived and worked in New York for several years. One job he had I recall was with a New York Typewriter manufacturer, however, that company either relocated to a different state or it ceased its NY operations. At some point my grandfather either owned or worked for a cleaning company that collected laundry from hotels and private persons in New York. It was during this time that he met Amelia Earhart and her husband. My grandfather regularly collected laundry from Miss Earhart's and her husband's home in Rye NY and became friends with them and the two boys. It was on one occasion upon calling at the house to either collect laundry or possibly returning the freshly laundered linens that he spoke with Ms Earhart who had just recently in the last day or two returned from a trip from Chicago with her husband. I believe this was in 1933. It is my understanding that she did not fly herself. Miss Earhart was a keen photographer and may have studied photography either at school or at a college and she had this Leica camera which she had carried with her on her trip. Originally I believe it was her husband's camera. Ms Earhart did not like the Leica as she preferred a folding camera which she owned and used. My grandfather commented on the Leica and Ms Earhart showed it to him. She subsequently gifted it to him, and it is my understanding that Ms Earhart was a kind and generous person and this act of kindness was not out of character. Enclosed with the camera was a card signed by Ms Earhart which was autographed before my grandfather. There is a small leather purse with the camera but I believe that may have been purchased separately at a later date.'

A pair of Bausch and Lomb 6x30 Military Stereo binoculars, in calf leather carrying case. These binoculars belonged to Major Harry James George Mocock who served in both the RAOC and REME in both WWI and WW2 joining the army by falsely declaring an earlier birth date

A cased WWII D.F.C. (Distinguished Flying Cross) to Flying Officer James Tennant Ross who served with Coastal Command, flying a Mosquito in many operations including one attack on German destroyers for which he was give the award, shortly after this he was killed on 28th October, 1944 at a Scottish airfield in a collision with another aircraft while taking off on an operational flight. Included in this lot are letters of sympathy from King George and F. O. Ross, Commanding Officer, the Book of Service and Remembrance 1939-45, a Squadron group photograph and an album of photographs concerning a trip made by F. O. Ross to the Pensacola Air Station, USA in 1942

A large Doulton Burslem platter painted by Louis Bilton decorated with large roses and harebells on a cream ground with gilded pierced edge handles, 70cm long x 41cm wide Louis Bilton 1860 - 1910, an English artist who spent three years in Sydney, Australia, 1885 - 1887 making drawings of Australia Flora for "The Picturesque Atlas of Australasia", this publication became one of the most significant cultural projects in 19th Century Australia, many of his paintings were painted on Doulton ceramics

A Picture Postcard Album of Hollywood Movie Stars 1920's - 1940's, over three hundred mostly produced in the U.K. 'Colourgraph' and 'Picturegoer' Series. Difficult to find anyone who is not represented but includes Laurel and Hardy, Abbot and Costello, Greta Garbo, Marilyn Monroe, Ronald Reagan, Joan Crawford, Ginger Rodgers, Sabu, David Niven, George ;Gabby' Hayes and Johnny Sheffield amongst many others. Together with sixteen Players and Wills Cigarette Card Albums, nearly all complete.

A JAMES II "SACK" ONION SHAPED DARK GREEN BOTTLE. 8.5ins high, 7ins diameter. Excavated in Burma 1933. Please Note: It is believed this bottle belonged to the famous pirate Samuel White who spent his time in Burma and Collis wrote a terrific successful book about him.

A JAMES II "SACK" ONION SHAPED DARK GREEN BOTTLE. 7.5ins high, 7ins diameter. See label on reverse. Please Note: It is believed this bottle belonged to the famous pirate Samuel White who spent his time in Burma and Collis wrote a terrific successful book about him.

Severus Alexander AV Aureus. Rome, AD 227. IMP C M AVR SEV ALEXAND AVG, laureate and draped bust right / P M TR P VI COS II P P, Mars walking right, holding spear and trophy. RIC 60c; BMC 407 note; C. -; Biaggi 1328; Calicó 3111. 6.34g, 20mm, 5h. Good Extremely Fine. Rare; only 6 examples on CoinArchives. Ex H. D. Rauch 75, 6 May 2005, lot 644. A naturally unwarlike young man, Severus Alexander's early coinage is almost entirely without any types of specific interest, likely because the hands in which power lay at this time wished it so. While Alexander was still a minor, government was maintained by Julia's Maesa and Mamaea, women who one would assume preferred to see Alexander's figure remain on the throne while avoiding any of the scandal seen under Elagabalus. Here shown simply as the god Mars, later issues of a very similar reverse type depict either Alexander with the same attributes, or perhaps Romulus, one of the two mythical founders of Rome and the supposed son of Mars.

Caracalla AV Aureus. Rome, AD 201. ANTONINVS PIVS AVG PON TR P IIII, laureate, draped and cuirassed bust right / CONCORDIAE AETERNAE, jugate busts right of Septimius Severus, radiate and draped, and Julia Domna, diademed and draped, on crescent. RIC 52 var.; C. 1; BMC 260; Calicó 2849. 7.38g, 20mm, 6h. Extremely Fine. Very Rare. Struck during the period of rule in which both Caracalla and his father Septimius Severus were co-Augusti, this coin's obverse legend refers to Caracalla's official name Marcus Aurelius Antoninus, given to him in order to further legitimise the rule of the Severans through a fictitious link to the Antonine adoptive emperors who came before them. A decade before the death of Septimius, and Caracalla's despicable murder of his brother Geta, the Severan family are here portrayed as unified in the rule of the empire. The imagery presented is a strong propagandistic message of stability offered by a virtuous imperial family, creating the potential for a long-lasting dynasty by grooming the next generation for the duty of ruling the empire. Having been made Augustus at the age of ten, and only thirteen when this type was minted, the clear implication is that Rome should look forward to many more years of Severan peace. The mutual dependence of the sun and the moon is used as a means to portray the strong bond of Septimius Severus and Julia Domna, while emphasising the concept of permanence – in this case, of the principate and the empire it ruled. Septimius' radiate crown denotes him as a representation of Sol, and the bust of Domna is set upon a crescent moon, the attribute of Luna. The legend CONCORDIAE AETERNAE (eternal harmony) is intended to refer not only to the imperial family, connoting firm hands on the tiller of the empire and a secure succession, but also reflects Septimius' (largely justifiable claim) to have brought peace and a renewed golden age to Rome. There existed among the general populace a heartfelt belief that a stable imperial family was conducive to having a stable domain, and this reassurance is dovetailed neatly into another key element of the Roman collective psyche - the idea that Rome and its empire were everlasting - a concept that features heavily in literature such as the Aeneid, a work that had had a profound impact on Roman culture.

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.

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.

Gallienus AV Aureus. Rome, AD 260-268. GALLIENVS AVG, head left, crowned with reeds / FIDES MILITVM, Fides standing facing, head left, holding two standards. RIC 38 var. (rev. legend); Calicó 3494-5 var. (same). 3.66g, 20mm, 1h. Mint State. A handsome portrait of Gallienus in fine style. Extremely Rare. Gallienus was named Caesar at the same time his father Valerian became emperor in AD 253. Within a month, he was promoted to the rank of Augustus and joint ruler. The responsibility for the western provinces was handed to him the following year as Valerian marched east to campaign against the Persian army. Gallienus proceeded to take military action to secure the Rhine and Danube frontiers from German attacks. His efforts were successful and he earned the title ‘Germanicus Maximus’ five times between 255 and 258, though he lost his eldest son during a campaign in the Danube early in 258. This loss was the beginning of a series of unfortunate events to befall the western emperor. Valerian was captured by the Persian king Shapur I in 260, significantly weakening Gallienus’ position and leaving a power vacuum in the east. The first to take advantage was Ingenuus, governor of Pannonia and Moesia, who was proclaimed emperor at Sirmium by the troops under his command but defeated soon after by Gallienus’ general Aureolus. Rebellion also broke out on the Danube frontier when Regalianus proclaimed himself emperor, requiring prompt and successful action from Gallienus. A further uprising occurred in 260, when Macrianus and Quietus were proclaimed joint emperors, making Antioch their capital with widespread support in the Eastern provinces. Macrianus marched against Gallienus but was killed by Aureolus in 261, while Quietus was murdered in Emesa where he was taking refuge. The following year saw Aureolus revolt, although he was swiftly convinced to make peace. Whilst the uprisings in the east had been successfully quelled, it had cost Gallienus dearly in the West. By the end of 261, Postumus had taken control of Gaul, Britain and Spain and assumed the title of Augustus, establishing an independent empire which would survive for almost 15 years. Unable to successfully challenge the Gallic Empire led by Postumus, Gallienus spent the following years dealing with minor invasions and rebellions until the Goths and the Heruli launched a large scale invasion of the Balkans in 268. Leaving Aureolus in charge at Milan, Gallienus advanced to counter the invasion, although he was unable to prevent the sacking of Athens before defeating the invaders at Naissus. Taking advantage of the Gothic War, Aureolus defected to Postumus, prompting Gallienus to return to Italy in September 268, where he defeated Aureolus at Pontirolo and laid siege to him at Milan. Gallienus was unable to bring matters to a decisive conclusion for he was murdered in his camp by the commander of his Dalmatian cavalry. The reverse legend of this beautiful aureus ironically bears the legend ‘loyalty of the soldiers’ and depicts Fides, the Roman goddess of trust and loyalty. Many reverse types depicting Fides were minted after 260 and Mark Hebblewhite (The Emperor and the Army in the Later Roman Empire, AD 235–395, 2016) has suggested this was in response to the uprisings of 260, reflecting Gallienus’ desire to show the army that he trusted in their continued support. Indeed, Gallienus had barred senators from taking military office after some had shown disloyalty in their support of the usurpers, and increasingly relied on the support of his existing officers.

Macedon, Akanthos AR Tetradrachm. Circa 470-430 BC. Lion right, attacking bull crouching left; in exergue, fish left / AKANΘION in shallow incuse around quadripartite square, the quarters raised and granulated. Cf. Desneux 96 (unlisted obv. die); SNG ANS -. 17.43g, 30mm, 9h. Good Extremely Fine. Sharply struck and perfectly centred within a full border. The ubiquitous and persistent theme of the lion-bull combat can be traced back to the figurate art of the third millennium, where the geometrical motifs are replaced by narrative symbolic representations, and the scene is characteristic of Near Eastern art in its infancy. The earliest known depiction occurs on a ewer found at Uruk dated to the latter part of the Protoliterate period, circa 3300 BC. That ewer has a relief depiction of a lion attacking a bull from behind (see Henri Frankfort, Art and Architecture of the Ancient Orient, 1963). The scene became widely distributed by 500 BC, featuring prominently in the Achaemenid Empire, and in particular at the palace of Darios in Persepolis, where it occurs no fewer than twenty seven times, including on the main staircase leading to the imperial complex. Its frequent appearance in key locations strongly suggests an important symbolic significance, which unfortunately has not survived antiquity in any explicitly clear form. Explanations for the symbolism and its power over the ancient peoples who reproduced it with prodigious enthusiasm have ranged from it being an expression of royal power, to it being an astronomical allusion, as well it being an embodiment of the constant struggle between civilisation (represented by the domesticated bull), and nature (represented by the untameable lion). This latter argument may well hold true for the Mesopotamians of Uruk, who it is known took a rather grim view of the world, seeing it as a battleground of opposing powers. One interpretation that has gained traction in recent years is that the motif is apotropaic in nature, serving to ward off evil in a similar function to the gorgoneion, which like the lion attack motif is very prevalent in ancient Greek coinage, though there is little evidence to support such a notion. G. E. Markoe ('The Lion Attack in Archaic Greek Art', Classical Antiquity Vol. 8, 1, 1989) convincingly suggests that a more likely explanation may be found in the examination of archaic Greek epic poetry, particularly in Homeric literature, wherein a lion attacking cattle or sheep is repeatedly employed as a simile for the aggression and valour of combatant heroes. In notable passages, Agamemnon's victorious advance against the Trojans in the Iliad (11.113ff and 129) and Hektor's successful pursuit of the Achaeans (15.630ff) are both likened to a lion triumphing over its hapless prey. In both of these cases the allusion is completed by the defeated being compared to fleeing prey animals. In all, there are twenty five examples present in the Iliad of heroic warriors being compared to leonine aggressors, with the victims variously compared to boars, sheep, goats, bulls or deer. The repetition of this literary device is clearly demonstrative of how deeply rooted the imagery was in the Greek (and perhaps more generally human) consciousness. Of further and great significance is the involvement of the gods as the primary instigators of heroic leonine aggression in almost every case, and as it is made clear that the lion itself is an animal that is divinely directed to its prey (11.480, by a daimon), so then is the lion attack a metaphor for divinely inspired heroic triumph.

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.

Kings of Cappadocia, Ariarathes IX Eusebes Philopator AR Tetradrachm. First reign. Dated year 3 = 97 BC. Diademed head of Ariarathes IX right / ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ ΑΡΙΑΡΑΘΟΥ ΕΥΣΕΒΟΥΣ ΦΙΛΟΠΑΤΟΡΟΣ, Athena standing left, right hand supporting Nike who offers wreath to her, left hand resting on grounded shield, vertical spear in background behind; Γ in exergue. Mørkholm, Essays Robinson, 8 (A2/P11); Simonetta 4b (Ariarathes V); NC 1961, pl. III, 14. 16.27g, 30mm, 12h. Very Fine. Extremely Rare; Mørkholm records only 2 examples. Son of the infamous Mithradates VI of Pontos, Ariarathes IX was installed on the throne of Cappadocia at the age of eight by his father, who had treacherously killed the previous Cappadocian king Ariarathes VII, his sister's son. Though a few years into the new boy-king's reign a faction renounced his rule and called upon the former king's brother to lead the revolt, this was soon suppressed and Ariarathes XI ruled for a couple of years more, until in 95 BC the Roman Senate resolved to depose him. After a short period of turmoil, the Romans directed the Cappadocians to choose whomsoever they wished to rule, and thus the kingdom passed to Ariobarzanes I Philoromaios. After a brief restoration by his father's ally Tigranes the Great of Armenia, Ariarathes was again deposed, and thus deprived of his kingdom, he was apparently killed while serving as a commander of his father’s troops in northern Greece during the First Mithradatic War. Despite what must have been a prodigious quantity of coinage issued in the name of Ariarathes IX, today it is extremely rare. Only five of his coins have come to auction over the past couple of decades, of which three are similarly from his first reign, and all from year 2.

Antoninus Pius Æ As. Rome, AD 140-144. ANTONINVS AVG PIVS P P TR P COS III, laureate head right / IMPERATOR II, Victory advancing left, holding shield inscribed BRITAN; S-C across lower fields. RIC 732. 11.95g, 27mm, 12h. Near Extremely Fine. Antoninus Pius received his second imperial acclamation, as recorded in this coin’s reverse legend, for the victory by his governor in Britannia, Q. Lollius Urbicus, over the Brigantes. It was Urbicus who also constructed the Antonine Wall in Scotland between the Firth of Forth and the Firth of Clyde, which was to be the northernmost frontier barrier of the Roman Empire.

Kingdom of Lydia, Kroisos AV Stater. Heavy series. Sardes, circa 564/53-550/39 BC. Confronted foreparts of lion and bull / Two incuse squares of unequal size. Berk 2; Le Rider, Naissance, pl. V, 2; Traité I 396; BMC 30; Boston MFA 2068–9; Gulbenkian 756. 10.79g, 19mm. Extremely Fine. Rare. Kroisos is credited with issuing the first true gold coins with a standardised purity for general circulation. The series began on a ‘heavy’ standard, with gold and silver staters of equal weight, around 10.6-10.7 grams, which was later reduced to about 8.17 grams for the gold. Studies have shown that coins of both standards circulated together, but that the heavy standard was only used for a relatively short time compared to the light standard, which continued to be used into the Persian period. All of the coins of Kroisos feature without variation his heraldic badge, the confronted heads of a lion and a bull, both ancient symbols of power. The badge itself doubtless stems from the ubiquitous and persistent theme of the lion-bull combat scene, which may be interpreted as a metaphor for divinely inspired heroic triumph. Indeed, divinely inspired heroic triumph was exactly what Kroisos expected when, encouraged by a prediction by the Delphic Oracle that if he attacked Persia he would destroy a great empire, Kroisos made his preparations for war with Cyrus the Great. The war resulted in defeat for Kroisos; his numerically superior army was smashed, and the capital Sardes was captured along with Kroisos and his family, who were immolated on the orders of Cyrus. Lydia became a satrapy of the Persian Empire, though it continued to mint coins in the traditional types, and indeed the legendary wealth of Kroisos was used by Cyrus to form the basis of a new Persian gold standard currency.

Sasanian Kings, Shapur I AV Dinar. Ctesiphon, AD 260-272. Draped bust right, wearing diadem and mural crown surmounted by a korymbos; one pellet above and two below diadem ties / Fire-altar flanked by two regal attendants wearing mural crowns, symbol to left of flames. SNS type IIc/1b. Göbl type I/1. 7.51g, 21mm, 3h. Mint State. Rare. In AD 253 Shapur met and annihilated a Roman army of 60,000 at the Battle of Barbalissos, and proceeded then to burn and ravage the Roman province of Syria. Armenia was conquered, and Georgia submitted to Sasanian control. With his northern borders secure, Shapur then led an army which penetrated deep into Syria, plundering all the way to Antioch which quickly fell to his forces. The Roman counter-offensive under emperor Valerian was slow, but by 257 Antioch had been recovered and the province of Syria returned to Roman control. Shapur's speedy retreat caused the Romans to launch a hasty pursuit of the Sasanians all the way to Edessa, where they were severely defeated by the Persians, and Valerian along with the survivors of his army were led away into captivity. The defeat and capture of Valerian surely marks the greatest achievement in the reign of Shapur, who is also called 'the Great', and the submission of Valerian is commemorated in a mural at Naqsh-e Rustam, which shows the emperor bending the knee before Shapur on horseback. Valerian's army was sent to Bishapur, and the soldiers were used in engineering and development works, such as the Band-e Kaisar (Caesar's dam) near the ancient city of Susa.

Carthaginian Spain, Barcid Dominion AV Stater. Uncertain mint, circa 229-221 BC. Laureate bust of Nike left, wearing earring and necklace / Horse prancing to right. Villaronga, Las monedas hispano-cartaginese, Barcelona 1973, 64 = Jenkins-Lewis 454 = CNH 20 = ACIP 560 = Hunter collection III, p. 608, 1 ‘Micipsa’ (same dies). 7.53g, 17mm, 11h. Very Fine. Extremely Rare, apparently only the second specimen known and the only one in private hands. Ex Numismatica Ars Classica 84, 20 May 2015, lot 540. In 237 Hamilcar Barca, after losing the First Punic War against Rome but having won the Mercenary Revolt against the Libyans, turned his attention to Spain and disembarked at Gadir with a Carthaginian army which according to Polybios was to "re-establish Carthaginian authority in Iberia" (Histories, 2.1.6). He proceeded to conquer southern and south-eastern Spain and the mining production of Baetica and the Sierra Morena before dying in battle in 229 at Heliké (Elche?). Hamilcar was succeeded by his son-in-law Hasdrubal the Fair who expanded the new province by skilful diplomacy and consolidated it with the foundation of Akra Leuka (Alicante) and Qart Hadasht (‘New Carthage’, the Latin: Carthago Nova), originally named Mastia, as his capital by 228. After his untimely death at Heliké in 221 he was succeeded by Hannibal, the oldest son of Hamilcar Barca, and his second son Hasdrubal.

Romanus III AV Histamenon Nomisma. Constantinople, AD 1028-1034. + IhS XIS REX REGNANTIVM, Christ Pantokrator enthroned facing / ΘCE bOHΘ RωMANω, the Virgin, nimbate on right, and Romanus, bearded to left, both standing facing; the Virgin wears pallium and maphorium, and with her right hand crowns the emperor, who wears saccos and loros, and holds globus cruciger in left hand; MΘ between their heads. DOC 1; Sear 1819. 4.41g, 23mm, 6h. Good Very Fine.

Michael II AV Solidus. Constantinople, AD 820/1-822. * MIX AHL ЬASILE', crowned facing bust, wearing slight beard and chlamys, and holding akakia and cross potent / MIXAH L ЬASILEЧ' E, crowned facing bust, wearing slight beard and loros, and holding cruciform sceptre and globus cruciger. DOC 1 (same obv. die); Füeg 1.A (same dies); Sear 1639. 4.36g, 21mm, 6h. Extremely Fine. Extremely Rare; only two other examples on CoinArchives. Born into a humble family of professional peasant-soldiers, Michael was born in 770 in Amorium, Phrygia. As a soldier, he rose quickly to high rank, becoming a close aide to the general Bardanes Tourkos, along with his colleagues and future antagonists Leo the Armenian and Thomas the Slav. Both he and Leo married daughters of Bardanes, though both renounced the general after he rebelled against the emperor Nicephorus I in 803 and were rewarded with higher military positions. Following the death in battle of the emperor Nicephorus against Khan Krum of Bulgaria, and the abdication of his severely wounded son Stauracius, the throne was passed to Michael I Rhangabe. The new emperor was unable to counter the Bulgarian threat, and under his leadership the progress of the war went from bad to worse, with the Imperial army suffering a devastating defeat at Versinikia. Leo, with the assistance of Michael the Amorian, was able to force the emperor to abdicate in his favour. Thus Leo became emperor and Michael the Amorian and Thomas the Slav were raised still higher in standing. Yet the relationship between Leo and his colleague Michael soon soured; Michael was imprisoned on suspicion of conspiracy. Whether or not Michael was indeed conspiring to usurp the throne before his imprisonment, when faced with his impending execution he arranged Leo's assassination from his prison cell. The deed was carried out in the chapel of St. Stephen on Christmas of 820, and Michael the Amorian was crowned Michael II with the prison irons still around his legs. Immediately forced to deal with his former colleague Thomas the Slav who had set himself up as a rival emperor, Michael was forced to call upon the aid of Omurtag of Bulgaria to defeat Thomas' forces, whose surrender he eventually obtained in October of 823. With a severely weakened army, Michael was thus unable to prevent the conquest of Crete in 824 by a relatively small force of Arabs, and failed in a subsequent attempt to retake it in 826. The following year, the Muslim conquest of Sicily began, an assault Michael was powerless to stop. Despite these serious failures, Michael established a stable dynasty and his direct descendants would rule the empire for more than two centuries, inaugurating the Byzantine renaissance of the 9th and 10th centuries.

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.

Bruttium, Kroton AR Stater. Circa 530-500 BC. Tripod, legs terminating in lion’s paws, two serpents at base; QPO to left / Incuse tripod, legs terminating in lion’s paws. Attianese 4; SNG ANS 239-241; HN Italy 2075. 8.17g, 29mm, 12h. Near Mint State. From the Louvière Collection, Belgium, privately purchased c.1970s. The importance of the Delphic oracle to the founding of Kroton was celebrated on its coinage from the earliest days. Despite later myths ascribing the founding of Kroton to Herakles, the city's historical oikist is recorded as Myskellos of Rhypai who, on consulting the Delphic oracle about his lack of children was given the response that Apollo would grant children, but that first Myskellos should found the city of Kroton 'among fair fields'. After being given directions on how to locate the site, Myskellos travelled to southern Italy to explore the land that he had been assigned, but seeing the territory of the Sybarites and thinking it superior, he returned once more to the oracle to ask whether he would be allowed to change. The answer came back that he should accept the gifts that the god gave him. A further element of the story is that Myskellos was accompanied on his expedition by Archias of Corinth; the Delphic oracle gave the pair the choice between health and wealth. Archias elected wealth, and was assigned the site of Syracuse, while Myskellos chose health: the favourable climate of Kroton, the eminent skill of its physicians and the prowess of its athletes later earned its citizens this reputation for good health.

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.

Valentinian I BI Maiorina. Constantinople, AD 364-367. D N VALENTINIANVS P F AVG, pearl-diademed and cuirassed bust right / GLORIA ROMANORVM, Valentinian and Valens standing in facing quadriga, nimbate and togate, each holding sceptre and mappa; CONSP in exergue. RIC -, cf. p. 209, 1 (Aureus with single emperor in quadriga distributing coins); LRBC -; DOC Late Roman -; Hunter -; ERIC II -; C. -. 6.56g, 25mm, 1h. Good Very Fine. Unique and unpublished; a fascinating type. Julian II was the last surviving male relative of Constantine and as such marked the end of his dynasty. The demise of Jovian left no natural successor, and according to Ammianus Marcellinus (Res Gestae XXVI.1.5), the generals and civil officials met in conclave to name a new emperor, a Pannonian officer of humble origin, Valentinian I, who was proclaimed Augustus on 28 February 364. This event is celebrated on the reverse of the unique Valentinian I aureus in the British Museum (also with mintmark CONSP) depicting the emperor alone scattering coins from a facing quadriga, which must be his first distribution issue on accepting the Augustate. However, the above hitherto unknown billon issue depicts Valentinian with a co-emperor, his brother Valens, who he nominated Augustus in Constantinople one month later, on 28 March 364. From the Codex Theodosius we learn that the largest billon coins which modern numismatists call Æ 1, were known as 'maiorina pecunia' and 'cententionales communes' (CTh 9.23.1), and that there were severe penalties for defacing them. They were a continuation of the billon nummi of Diocletian's currency reform of 293 which originally had a silver wash and content of about 4%, rarely seen; for discussion cf. RIV VIII pp. 48 and 65-6.

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.

L. Staius Murcus AR Denarius. Military mint travelling with Murcus, 42-41 BC. Head of Neptune right, with trident over shoulder / Male figure on right, holding sword in left hand and right hand raising kneeling female figure on left, between them, trophy with sword and shield, MVRCVS•IMP in exergue. Crawford 510/1; Sydenham 1315; CRI 337; Statia 1. 3.87g, 21mm, 12h. Very Fine. Extremely Rare. Like many commanders of the Imperatorial age, not a great deal is known about the career of L. Staius Murcus. Appian relates that he served under Caesar in Gaul and Africa, and was present at the Senate House on the Ides of March and whilst he did not participate in Caesar's murder, he approved of the deed. Following Caesar's assassination, the Senate sent Murcus to Syria as proconsul to besiege Q. Caecilius Bassus alongside Cassius. Murcus was posted to blockade the fleet of Cleopatra as she came to the aid of Marc Antony and Octavian. Domitius Ahenobarbus was sent to assist him in this, and the two formed a highly successful partnership, which resulted in dominance over the seas between Greece and Italy. This partnership was not to last long however, and as a rift formed between the two Murcus joined forces with Sextus Pompey. Murcus' stubbornness and refusal to cooperate with Pompey's plans led to a growing suspicion on behalf of the latter, who soon had Murcus assassinated.

Phocas AV Solidus. Constantinople, circa AD 602-610. O N FOCAS PERP AVC, draped and cuirassed bust facing holding globus cruciger, wearing crown with pendilia / VICTORIA AVCC Δ, angel standing facing, holding long staff surmounted by staurogram and globus cruciger; N in right field, CONOB in exergue. MIBE 6 (same rev. die); DOC 2; Sear 617. 4.41g, 21mm, 7h. Almost as Struck. Extremely Rare. Struck as a special issue perhaps commemorating the start of his reign, this solidus bears a particularly lifelike portrait of an emperor who was known to have had a grotesque physical appearance.

Sicily, Syracuse AR 8 Litrai. Fifth Democracy, circa 214-212 BC. Signed by the engraver Ly(sid...). Head of Demeter to left, wearing wreath of grain leaves, triple pendant earring and pearl necklace; behind, owl standing left / Nike, holding goad in her right hand and reins in her left, driving quadriga galloping to right; above, monogram of ΑΡΚ; on ground line, in tiny letters, ΛΥ; [ΣΥΡΑΚΟΣΙΩΝ in exergue]. Burnett D 53 = De Luynes 1395; Jameson 894 (this obverse die). 6.76g, 21mm, 12h. Extremely Fine. Extremely Rare. From the Ambrose Collection; Ex Numismatica Ars Classica N, 26 June 2003, lot 1176. This issue belongs to the series of silver coins that continued to be minted while Syracuse was under siege by the Roman general Marcus Claudius Marcellus. Syracuse had been ably and wisely ruled by Hieron II, who steadfastly maintained the city’s alliance with Rome. However, upon his death the throne passed to his grandson Hieronymos, who at the age of only fifteen allowed himself to be influenced by the pro-Carthaginian faction in Syracuse into renouncing the alliance his grandfather had so carefully preserved. This course of action resulted in revolution within the city; Hieronymos and his family were slain and democratic government was restored, but the following year a Roman army arrived to lay siege to the city. Though the defenders held out for three years, in part thanks to the engineering genius of Archimedes, the Romans finally stormed the city under cover of darkness. Much of the population fell back to the citadel, but this too fell after an eight month siege. As retribution for the city having changed its allegiance to Carthage at the height of the Second Punic War, and for having forced the Romans into a lengthy and costly siege while Italy and Rome herself remained in peril, the city was thoroughly sacked and the inhabitants put to the sword or enslaved. Though Marcellus gave instruction that Archimedes was to be spared, he too was slain in the sack. This extensive series of siege coinage reflects the last flourishing of Syracusan numismatic art; the diversity of the coinage is all the more impressive given that the city was being subjected to protracted warfare during this period. The series is special too for its depiction of so many deities, for whose divine assistance the people clamoured to deliver them from disaster.

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'.

Elagabalus AV Aureus. Rome, AD 218-219. IMP CAES M AVR ANTONINVS AVG, laureate, draped and cuirassed bust right / FIDES MILITVM, laureate figure of Elagabalus standing right, dressed in military attire and holding transverse spear, flanked by a soldier carrying standard and shield to right and a second soldier holding a standard topped by a hand behind; a third standard in the background. RIC 76d; BMCRE 16 note; C. 42; Calicó 2994. 7.26g, 21mm, 12h. Good Extremely Fine. Extremely Rare. Ex Numismatik Lanz 58, 21 November 1991, lot 743. An incredibly unlikely emperor of no proven ability or wisdom, Elagabalus' rise to power was due to the persistence of his vengeful grandmother, Julia Maesa, sister to Julia Domna and sister in law to Septimius Severus. Having been exiled to Syria with her children and grandchildren by Macrinus in order that they not cause trouble at his accession, she plotted to have him assassinated and promote Elagabalus to the throne in revenge for the murder of Caracalla and the usurpation of the Severan line. Using her wealth and influence, and in combination with a public statement that Elagabalus was Caracalla's illegitimate child, she gained the backing of various Senators and soldiers who were loyal to the deceased emperor. Having achieved the allegiance of the Third Legion at Raphana, it took but little encouragement for Elagabalus to be declared emperor by the army in AD 218. Accepting the purple at the tender age of fourteen, Elagabalus took the formal name of Marcus Aurelius Antoninus, reaffirming the fabricated story that he was the illegitimate son of Caracalla and thus the true heir. This reverse type was used to further secure Elagabalus' position as Emperor, calling as it does for 'the loyalty of the soldiers', but the strong military type seen here was struck before the young emperor had shown his real character traits of religious fanaticism and sexual perversion, interests which only surfaced after his arrival in Rome. The ancient sources spare no detail in their descriptions of life in the Imperial palace of Elagabalus, aspects of which become evident on his later coinage.

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.

Irene AV Solidus. Constantinople, AD 797-802. EIPINH bASILISSH, crowned facing bust of Irene, wearing loros, holding globus cruciger in right hand, cruciform sceptre in left / •EIPINH bASILISSH Θ, crowned facing bust of Irene, wearing loros, holding globus cruciger and cruciform sceptre. DOC 1c; Sear 1599. 4.43g, 20mm, 6h. Good Extremely Fine. Struck after AD 797, when Irene had had her son Constantine VI deposed and murdered, this solidus depicts Irene on both the obverse and reverse, and marks a distinct shift from the types of her predecessors. Gone is the cross-on-steps reverse type, or figures of deceased members of the dynasty, to be replaced by two facing busts of Irene. Here we have Irene proclaiming herself Empress and sole ruler in the most public way possible. However, after just five years on the throne she herself was deposed and replaced by her Minister of Finance, Nicephorus, and thus ended the first period in the history of the empire during which the throne was occupied by a woman exercising power in her own right. Beginning during the time she ruled as regent for her son, Irene severely depleted the state treasuries with her policy of reducing taxation and making generous gifts to buy popularity, leaving the empire weak and unable to offer effective resistance to foreign aggressors. Having had to accept terms from the Arab Caliphs both in 792 and 798 in order to protect the fragile security, and being harried by the Bulgarians simultaneously, Irene was powerless to stop the formation of a new empire in the west under Charlemagne, who in AD 800 was crowned in Rome by Pope Leo III as Holy Roman Emperor due to his belief that the Imperial position was vacant, as it could not be filled by a woman.

Caracalla AV Aureus. Rome, AD 216. ANTONINVS PIVS AVG GERM, laureate, draped and cuirassed bust right, seen from behind / P M TR P XVIIII COS IIII P P, radiate lion radiate walking to left, thunderbolt in jaws. RIC 283a; C. 366; Biaggi -; Calicó 2754; BMC -; Hill 1546. Extremely Fine. Very Rare. From the Ambrose Collection. This aureus was struck at the beginning of Caracalla’s ill fated campaign against the Parthian Empire, and a year before the emperor’s assassination in AD 217. The invasion of Parthia in 216 was the culmination of an aggressive foreign policy in the east, and followed the invasions of adjoining kingdoms, which resulted in the annexation of Osroene. Prior to the invasion, Caracalla had agreed to marry the daughter of King Artabanus V and commit to maintaining peace in the region, only to attack the bride and guests at the wedding in order to provoke war. The reverse design alludes to Caracalla’s eastern military ambitions at this time, depicting a radiate lion with a thunderbolt in its jaws. Whilst the radiate lion is a clearly solar symbol and thus represents the East, the thunderbolt refers to Jupiter. This composite image therefore has been interpreted as Roman dominance over the east, and as a symbol of the combined divinity of Jupiter and Sol. Caracalla is thus drawing heavily on celestial imagery to propagandise his eastern campaign; the type would subsequently be revived by Philip I, Philip II, Gallienus, Aurelian and Probus, all of whom mounted campaigns in the East. The lion type may also have held some personal significance for Caracalla, who Cassius Dio tells us would surround himself with lions, one of which was a special pet called Akinakes (Persian for ‘short sword’) that was his companion at table and in bed. However it may have lost some of its shine for Caracalla when, after having been disturbed by a dream of his father Septimius warning him he would avenge Caracalla’s murder of his brother, his lion Akinakes seized him and tore his clothes, fulfilling the bad omen of his dream.

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.

Karia, Knidos AR Tetradrachm. Circa 200 BC. Head of Apollo right, wearing laurel wreath / Artemis Hyakinthotrophos standing facing, head left, holding phiale in extended right hand, her left arm resting on the statue of an archaic deity with a sheathed body and wearing a polos; to lower left, forepart of stag standing left, upon which drips liquid from Artemis’ phiale; KИIΔIOИ to right. G. Le Rider, “Un tétradrachme hellénistique de Cnide” in Essays Thompson, pp. 155–7 and pl. 18, 1 = BN inventory FRBNF41778907 (same dies). 16.61g, 30mm, 12h. Extremely Fine. Extremely Rare; apparently only the second known example, the other in the BN. Known only from two specimens, the other in the Bibliothèque nationale de France, this exceptionally rare type depicts Artemis Hyakinthotrophos (literally: ‘Artemis, nurse of Hyakinthos’), who as a result of her repeated manifestations during Philip V of Macedon’s siege of Knidos in 201 BC, was believed by her divine will to have secured victory for the Knidians, and she was accorded the epithet Epiphanes. In her honour a panhellenic festival with games was instituted. Two surviving inscriptions confirm the augmentation of what must have been a smaller, local festival: a text from Kos containing the Knidian decree of invitation and the Koans acknowledgement of the 200 BC Hyakinthotrophia; a second inscription may be found at the Knidian treasury at Delphi - a Delphic decree of recognition. That text states that Knidos has sent ambassadors to Delphi and has undertaken to increase the honours of the goddess, asking Delphi to join in this effort; Delphi decrees to praise the Knidians for the piety they show Artemis Hyakinthotrophos. Several victors in the panhellenic Hyakinthotrophia are subsequently attested in late Hellenistic inscriptions. Apart from these few surviving inscriptions, little else is known of Artemis Hyakinthotrophos or her festival - the present state of literary and archaeological evidence means that this aspect of the goddess remains nebulous. The use of the epithetic Hyakinthotrophos for Artemis, is unusual and at present unexplained, since she does not feature in the traditional myth of Hyakinthos, the hero-youth beloved by Apollo, who was accidentally killed by the god. The epithet perhaps suggests that she was responsible for tending to either Hyakinthos or to her brother Apollo with that epithet, however an alternative interpretation is that the epithet referred to the raising of beautiful boys in general, since the goddess is also attested with the epithet of kourotrophos, and was worshipped for her protection of those rearing infants. The striking of coinage for the specific occasion of panhellenic games is well attested, from the earliest Olympian coinage issued for the purpose of the Games, to the coinage issued by Antiochos IV Epiphanes for his augmented festival of Apollo at Daphne in 166/5 BC. Given the extreme rarity of the coinage indicating a brief output, it seems reasonable to conclude that this type was produced for this event.

Ionia, Magnesia ad Maeandrum AR Tetradrachm. Circa 350-325 BC. Rhodian standard. Lykomedes, magistrate. Helmeted and cuirassed cavalryman on horseback, galloping right, holding lance in right hand, cloak flowing behind / Bull charging left; ΜΑΓΝ above, ΛΥΚΟΜΗΔ below; all within circular maeander pattern. Imhoof-Blumer (1901) p. 76, 3; SNG Kayhan 409 (but magistrate’s name differently arranged). 15.10g, 25mm, 11h. Good Extremely Fine. Beautifully vivid iridescent toning. Very Rare. From the Ambrose Collection; Ex A. Tkalec, 18 February 2002, lot 62. A city of ancient founding, Magnesia was originally settled sometime in the second millennium BC by Magnetes from Thessaly, from whom the city took its name, along with some Cretans. According to myth, the settlers were soldiers from Agamemnon’s army, disbanded after the Trojan War. It occupied a commercially and strategically important position in the triangle of Priene, Ephesus and Tralleis. The city evidently grew in wealth and power relatively quickly, as in the 7th century it was already strong enough to challenge Ephesus and go to war with that city. According to Strabo, citing Archilochos, at some point around 650 BC the city was taken and destroyed by Kimmerians. Strabo also relates that the site was annexed by Miletos, who may have been responsible for its reconstruction (though Athenaeus gives a conflicting account, attributing the reconstruction to Ephesos). Regardless, the city was evidently rebuilt by 547/6, when it was plundered by Mazares and subjected to Persian dominion. The earliest coinage currently attributed to Magnesia appears to have been that issued by the exiled Athenian statesman and general Themistokles, who, having been cast out of his homeland, offered his services to his former enemy Artaxerxes. The Persian king was so elated at the offer of service from such a dangerous and illustrious foe, that he made Themistokles the governor of the district of Magnesia, and assigned him the revenue of not only that city, but also Myos and Lampsakos. Following the death of Themistokles, no further coinage appears to have been issued by Magnesia for possibly as much as a century, before the present issue of tetradrachms, didrachms and drachms. In 398 BC the city was moved from its original location at the confluence of the Meander and the Lethaeus, one of its tributaries, to its present location by Thibron who, at Pergamon, had succeeded Xenophon as commander of the Ten Thousand.

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.

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. Military mint travelling with Antony in northern Syria, late summer - autumn 38 BC. Bare head right, ANT•AVG•III•VIR•R•P•C• around / Trophy of arms; at base to left, prow left; Macedonian shield to right; IMP-TER across fields. Crawford 536/3 note; CRI 272; RSC 18b; Sydenham 1204; Kestner 3830 var. (obv. legend); BMCRR East 149. 4.01g, 19mm, 4h. Near Mint State. Sound, lustrous metal. A wonderful example of this desirable type. Very Rare. The Parthians had been well aware of Caesar’s ambitions to invade their territory, and during the civil war that followed the dictator’s assassination, they actively supported the cause of the Liberators, sending a contingent of troops which fought with them at the Battle of Philippi in 42 BC. Following that defeat the pro-republican general Titus Labienus, who had lately served as Cassius’ ambassador to Parthia, assisted the Parthians in their bid to invade the Eastern Roman territories. Along with the Parthian prince Pacorus, Labienus commanded the invasion forces which swept into Syria and down the Phoenician coast. Distracted first by his dalliance with Cleopatra, then by his wife Fulvia, in the following year Marc Antony eventually dispatched his lieutenant Publius Ventidius Bassus with eleven legions to drive back the invaders. Ventidius first surprised and defeated Labienus at the Cilician Gates, executing the traitor, then encountered a Parthian army at the Amanus pass which he also defeated. Finally in the spring of 38 at the Battle of Cyrrhestica, Ventidius inflicted an overwhelming defeat against the Parthians which resulted in the death of the Pacorus. Antony at this point hurried to take command of Ventidius’ forces in the prosecution of a campaign of reprisal against Antiochus of Commagene, who had aided the Parthians. Ventidius meanwhile was pensioned off back to Rome, where he became the first Roman to celebrate a triumph over the Parthians.

Philip I Æ39 of Tripolis, Lydia. AD 244-249. AVT•K•M•IOVA•ΦIΛIΠΠOC•AVΓ, laureate, draped and cuirassed bust right, seen from the front / TRIΠOΛE-I-TON K• ΛAOΔIK• [NEΩK], Leto, with veil billowing, advancing left while looking backwards; in each arm she holds a twin, the innermost leans to crown Zeus Laodikeos who stands left, holding sceptre and extending right hand towards her; OMONOIA in exergue. SNG von Aulock -, cf. 3323 (different obverse bust type and legend); Franke-Nollé pl. 102, 2371. 22.48g, 39mm, 6h. About Extremely Fine. Extremely Rare.

Mysia, Kyzikos EL Stater. Circa 550-500 BC. Head of youthful Perseus to left wearing winged cap; tunny fish downwards behind / Quadripartite incuse square. Von Fritze 65; SNG France 193. 16.16g, 21mm. Extremely Fine. Extremely Rare, one of very few known examples. Ex Roma Numismatics VII, 22 March 2014, lot 639. Kyzikos, purportedly the first Milesian colony, was located on the southwest shore of the Propontis in ancient Mysia next to the river Aisepos. Its prosperity was due principally to its two fine harbours, which made the city a convenient stopping point for merchant ships trading between the Aegean and Black Seas. Its principal export was the tunny, of which its waters had abundant stock. The prevalence of winged beings in Kyzikene coinage is a reflection of archaic mythological convention that assigned wings to most divine or sacred entities as an immediately visible and understandable symbol of their nature, and in the case of gods, of their power to move at will across great distances. In the case of the winged animals, we should probably understand these to be attributes of or animals sacred to a particular Olympian god. On the present coin we see Perseus, the child of Zeus and the mortal Danaë, the daughter of the king of Argos, who though he had no mythical connection to Kyzikos, is most likely chosen as the type in recognition of his divine status and widespread worship among the Hellenes. He wears here the Ἄϊδος κυνέην - the so-called Helm of Hades which rendered its user invisible to other supernatural entities, given to him by Athena to help him evade the gorgons Sthenno and Euryale after he had slain and decapitated their sister Medusa.

Attica, Athens AR Dekadrachm. Circa 469/5-460 BC. Head of Athena right, wearing single-pendant earring, necklace, and crested Attic helmet decorated with three olive leaves over the visor and a spiral palmette on the bowl / Owl standing facing with wings spread; olive sprig and crescent to upper left, AΘE around; all within incuse square. Fischer-Bossert 11 (O7/R11); Starr 59a; Seltman 450a, pl. 21 (A305/P385); Svoronos pl.8, 13; Vinchon 14 April 1984, Comtesse de Béhague 123 = Rhousopoulos 1965 (all same dies). 42.98g, 34mm, 10h. Very Fine. Very Rare; weight adjustment ('Stannard gouge') marks. From the collection of an antiquarian, Bavaria c. 1960s-90s; Ex private German collection, acquired c. 1960s. The dekadrachms of Athens have always been regarded as one of the greatest masterpieces in all of ancient coinage, and have ever been amongst the most highly prized possessions of private and institutional numismatic collections. The occasion for the striking of these imposing coins has been a subject of scholarly debate for many years, and several different theories have been advanced concerning the motivation for the striking of such a prestigious issue, and the source of the bullion used. Babelon (Traité II, col. 769-770) and Head (HN, pp. 370-371) both perpetuated a misinterpretation of a passage in Herodotos who said that Athens paid ten drachms to each of its citizens for surpluses from the Laurion mines (7.144.1). They both therefore dated the dekadrachm issue to c. 490 BC, shortly after the Battle of Marathon, a date which has been subsequently shown to be far too early. Robinson (NC [1924], pp. 338-340) proposed the victory at Salamis as the reason for issue, while Regling (Die antiken Münzen), advanced a similar view, suggesting the combined victories of Salamis and Plataea. Only Starr and Kraay (NC [1956], p. 55; ACGC, pp. 66-68) understood the dating to be later than the prevailing views, having themselves reviewed the hoard evidence. It was Starr (Athenian coinage 480-449 BC) who suggested the victory at the battle at the Eurymedon river in c. 469/5 as the reason for the issue. The subsequent discovery of the Asyut hoard in 1968 or 1969, and the Elmali hoard in 1984 confirmed the dating around the mid 460s BC. Certainly the Eurymedon victory provided both the celebratory occasion and the means to finance such a grand issue of coinage. In either 469 or 466 BC, the Persians had begun assembling a large army and navy for a major offensive against the Greeks. Assembling near the Eurymedon, it appears that the expedition’s objective was to move up the coast of Asia Minor, capturing each city in turn, thus bringing the Asiatic Greek states back under Persian domination, and furthermore giving the Persians strategically important naval bases from which to launch further expeditions into the Aegean. Led by the Athenian general Kimon, a combined force of Delian League triremes moved to intercept the Persian force, and taking them by complete surprise, the Persian forces were utterly routed, 200 triremes were captured or destroyed, and their camp was taken along with many prisoners. The spoils were reportedly vast, and such a stunning triumph would have provided ample reason for Athens to strike coins displaying its emblematic owl now standing fully facing, its outspread wings a clear statement of Athenian military power.

Anglo-Gallic. Edward the Black Prince, Lord of Aquitaine (1362-1372) AV Léopard d'or. Aquitaine, c.1362-1369. + ED : PmO : GnIS : AnGLIE : P'nCPS : AQVITNIE, crowned leopard passant left, raising right forepaw, within tressure of 10 arches, quatrefoils on points and within spandrels; double quatrefoil stops / + XPC : VInCIT : XPC REGnAT : XPC : IMPERAT, floriate cross within quatrefoil, leopards passant in angles. Withers-Ford 150.3c; Elias 140; Schneider III, 31; S 8121; Friedberg p. 220, 4 (Aquitaine). 3.47g, 28mm, 7h. Extremely Fine. Rare. An exceptional military commander, Edward ‘the Black Prince’ was the eldest son of King Edward III, on whose behalf he campaigned in France from the age of 15. Scoring decisive military victories over the French at Crécy in 1346 and Poitiers in 1356, the Black Prince twice crippled the French army for a decade each time. Struck at the height of the Black Prince’s popularity, the leopard d’or is an example of his use of iconography to bolster the English position in Aquitaine, as it appears to deliberately supersede the French mouton d’or – the Paschal Lamb on the obverse and the fleur de lys on the reverse are all replaced by English leopards. This coin was one of the last issues of leopards struck in the period 1357-1361, and the entire series was probably recalled in 1361, when Edward III renounced his title of king of France in exchange for ratification of his possession of Aquitaine in the Treaty of Brétigny. The captured French king John II had to pay three million gold crowns for his ransom, and would be released after he paid one million; he was also required to provide numerous hostages, including two of his sons. While the hostages were held, John returned to France to try and raise funds to pay the ransom. In 1362 John’s son Louis of Anjou escaped captivity. John thus felt honour-bound to return to captivity in England, where he died in 1364. In 1362, the Black Prince was invested as Prince of Aquitaine. He and his wife Joan of Kent moved to Bordeaux, the capital of the principality, where they spent the next nine years, and had two sons. The elder son, named Edward after his father and grandfather, died at the age of six. Around the time of the birth of their younger son, Richard (who would become King Richard II), the Black Prince was lured into a war on behalf of King Peter of Castile. The ensuing Battle of Nájera in 1367 was one of the Black Prince’s greatest victories. While the English longbow again demonstrated its devastating power, driving off the opposing cavalry, unlike in other battles of the Hundred Years’ War however, at Nájera it was the English who assaulted the French lines, with the English vanguard pinning the French formation while their mounted knights flanked and routed the enemy lines. Yet it was this campaign that shattered the Prince’s health, and he died some nine years later after a long-lasting illness contracted in Spain, becoming the first Prince of Wales not to become king, and thus robbing England of a capable and greatly respected heir.

Collection of 17 Beswick Beatrix Potter figures - Tabitha Twitchit & Mrs Moppet, Hunca Munca Sweeping, The Old Woman Who Lived In A Shoe, Appley Dapply, Hunca Munca, Timmy Willie Sweeping, Jemima Puddleduck, Mr Drake Puddleduck, Foxy Whiskered Gentleman, Pigling Bland, Mrs Rabbit, Tommy Brock, Mr Alderman, Ptolemy, Old Mr Brown, Cecily Parsley, Diggory Diggory Delvet and Mrs Tiggy Winkle Condition:

Claudius Æ Sestertius. Rome, circa AD 41/42. TI CLAVDIVS CAESAR AVG P M TR P IMP, laureate head right / EX SC OB CIVES SERVATOS in four lines within oak wreath. Von Kaenel type 54; C. 39; BMC 115; RIC 96; CBN 152. 29.60g, 35mm, 6h. Good Extremely Fine. A magnificent portrait of Claudius in the finest style. From the James Howard Collection. Struck for his accession, the reverse of this stunning sestertius bears a simple yet pleasing type that highlights Claudius’ familial ties to Augustus while at the same time bestowing upon him the honour of the corona civica, the award traditionally given to those who had saved the life of a citizen. A prerogative that was passed to each new emperor ‘by decree of the Senate’ (EX S C), the corona civica had originally been granted to Augustus for ending the strife of the civil wars and thus ‘saving’ the citizens of Rome.

Ionia, Ephesos AV Stater. Circa 133-88 BC. Draped bust of Artemis to right, wearing stephane, necklace of pearls and with her bow and quiver over her shoulder / Cult statue of the Artemis of Ephesos facing, a fillet hanging from each hand, deer to inner left, bee to inner right; Ε-Φ across fields. B.V. Head, 'On the chronological sequence of the coins of Ephesus', Num. Chron. 1880, p. 69, 2, and plate 5, 3 = Berlin, SM 219. 8.51g, 20mm, 12h. Very Fine. Extremely Rare, possibly only the second example known. The Hellenistic era gold coinage struck at Ephesos is extremely rare and rarely well preserved. Previously thought to have all been struck during the Mithradatic wars, this is now believed not to be the case. Some appear to be dated by the era of the Province of Asia and the dates they bear are too early for them to be Mithradatic War issues. That being said, they were not necessarily all issued at the same time, and such undated types as the present specimen could well have been issued much later. For an in depth discussion on the dating of this series cf. Gilbert K. Jenkins, 'Hellenistic gold coins of Ephesus', in Festschrift E. Akurgal, Anadolu-Anatolia 21, 1978/80, Ankara, 1987, pp. 183-8, pls. A-B. The reverse of this coin depicts the famous cult statue of Ephesian Artemis, housed in the great temple of Artemis that is considered one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. The original image of the goddess was a wooden xoanon that had represented a pre-Hellenic goddess who the Greeks later equated with Artemis. This first image, which was kept decorated with jewellery, was possibly lost in a flood in the 8th or 7th century which destroyed the temple; excavations have discovered the tear-shaped amber drops of elliptical cross-section which must have dressed it. In circa 550 BC, when reconstruction of the temple was begun (partly financed by Kroisos), it was undertaken in grand style and was supposedly the first Greek temple to be built of marble. The wooden xoanon was replaced by a new ebony or grapewood statue sculpted by Enoidos, which presumably survived until the temple was again destroyed, this time by an act of arson on the part of one Herostratos. The second destruction of the temple coincided with the birth of Alexander the Great; Plutarch later noted that Artemis was too preoccupied with Alexander's delivery to save her burning temple. The form of the goddess is distinctly near-eastern in appearance; characteristics such as her legs being enclosed in a tapering pillar-like term are closely related to Egyptian and Hittite images, and the curious feature of the many protuberances on her chest (usually described as breasts or eggs) are decidedly non-Greek in origin, and indeed have defied explanation or identification for centuries, though an association with fertility seems implicit.