Le più belle rappresentazioni di guerrieri

[King John]

Leu Numismatik AG > Auction 14	Auction date: 14 October 2023
Lot number: 125 Price realized: This lot is for sale in an upcoming auction -
Lot description: LYDIA. Saitta. Septimius Severus, 193-211. Medallion (Orichalcum, 49 mm, 52.65 g, 6 h), Androneikos, son of Iollas Kratistos Stephanophoros and first archon for the second time, late 193-195. AYT•KAI•Λ•CЄΠ CЄΟΥΗΡΟC ΠЄΡΤΙ Laureate and cuirassed bust of Septimius Severus to right, cuirass decorated with gorgoneion. Rev. ЄΠΙ•ΑΝΔΡΟΝЄΙΚΟΥ•Δ•ΙΟΛΛΑ•Κ•CΤЄΦΑ / CΑΙΤΤΗΝΩΝ / ΑΡΧ•A• Mên standing right, wearing Phrygian cap and with crescent on his shoulder, holding pine-cone in his right hand and scepter in his left, facing Kybele seated left on throne, holding patera in her right hand and resting her left arm on tympanon; between them, lion seated left. BMC -. GRPC Lydia 84 (same dies). F. Imhoof-Blumer: Antike griechische Münzen, in: SNR 19 (1913), 161 corr. (reverse legend misread). SNG Copenhagen -. SNG von Aulock -. Winterthur 3889 (same dies). Extremely rare and by far the finest of just four known examples. A spectacular medallion of exquisite early Severan style, boldly struck on a full flan and with an incredibly artistic portrait. Very minor areas of weakness, otherwise, good extremely fine. Ex Roma XXIII, 24 March 2022, 529. The early Severan coinage of Saitta is remarkable in several ways, most notably for employing an incredibly talented artist, who crafted some of the most impressive dies in all of Severan provincial coinage. Furthermore, the city was one of the few provincial mints to strike coins in the name of Clodius Albinus Caesar (see lot 126 below), providing a terminus ante quem of 195 for the issue, when tensions between Septimius and his powerful ally in the west erupted in civil war. Since Pescennius Niger controlled Asia Minor until Septimius' victories in late 193 and early 194, the production of Saitta's fine coinage displaying both the winner, Septimius, and his designated Caesar, Albinus, must date to the period between late 193 and 195. We can only speculate what prompted the polis of Saitta to issue such an impressive (and no doubt expensive) coinage, but the answer may lie in the dating we have just established. With Septimius' victories in the Battles of Cyzicus and Nicaea, control over Asia Minor shifted from loser to winner, and the communities of the region may have felt the need to publicly pledge their allegiance to the new strongman to avoid being punished for having been on the wrong side of history – and how better to do that than with such a colossal and beautifully designed medallion, supplemented by a smaller denomination for the newly appointed Caesar? If this is indeed what happened, it illustrates a recurring theme in the political history of the ancient world, namely the dangers local communities faced when conflict between regional or imperial powers broke out. Picking the right side could bring about great benefactions to a city, but supporting a future loser of a conflict could equally result in severe repercussions from the victor, who usually held little regard for the dire situation local decision makers found themselves in. Punishments in Hellenistic or Roman times ranged from the removal of privileges and the imposition of fines to the sacking and destruction of a city. While Roman emperors usually refrained from such extreme measures as it deprived them of valuable tax revenues, the conflict between Septimius and Niger was marked by particular brutality, revealing itself in the siege and destruction of Byzantium by Septimius in 194-196, and in the sack of both Laodicea and Tyre by Niger after their defection from his cause in 194. Picking a side really could be a matter of life and death, and supporting the winner of a conflict in time was of crucial importance not just to economic and honorary status, but also to physical survival. Since historiography focusses on the powerful and ignores the weak, details of Saitta's relationship with Niger or Septimius are unfortunately lost, as are the undoubtedly heated discussions in the local boulè and within the demos regarding the outbreak of civil war following a century of relative stability within the Empire. We have no proof that Saitta's contemporary coinage reflects a demonstrative public break from Niger and steering towards Septimius. Perhaps Saitta's early Severan coinage was just that, an issue of monumental coins, possibly financed by the first archon, Androneikos, as a benefaction to his city, that just so happened to coincide with Septimius' victory in the civil war. But the effort put into this coinage as well as the timing and the iconography argue for a more nuanced view, one in which the local elite was fully aware of imperial politics and the dangers and opportunities it presented. From this perspective, the highly unusual appearance of both Septimius Severus and Clodius Albinus on Saitta's exceptionally beautiful coins this shortly after Niger lost control over Asia Minor can hardly have been a coincidence, and likely reflects a deliberate and wise move by the city's elite. Estimate: 25000 CHF

[King John]

Leu Numismatik AG > Auction 14	Auction date: 14 October 2023
Lot number: 34 Price realized: This lot is for sale in an upcoming auction -
Lot description: SICILY. Segesta. Circa 412/10-400 BC. Didrachm (Silver, 21 mm, 8.39 g, 7 h). The river-god Krimisos, in the form of a hunting dog, standing right, on the scent; above, diademed small head of the nymph Aigeste to right. Rev. ΣEΓEΣTAZI-B Diademed head of the nymph Aigeste to right; all within shallow round incuse. BMC 28 (same dies). Gillet 507 (this coin). Hurter 155g (this coin). A beautiful coin of wonderful style. The obverse struck somewhat off center and with some edge marks, otherwise, about extremely fine. From the collection of Regierungsrat Dr. iur. Hans Krähenbühl, Leu 8, 23 October 2021, 30, privately acquired from Bank Leu on 13 March 1974, and from the collection of C. Gillet ('Kunstfreund', 1879-1972), photofile no. 507. The types of the long-running series of didrachms from Segesta relate to its foundation myth, in which Aigeste, the daughter of the Trojan Hippotes, was seduced by the river-god Krimisos, who appeared to her in the form of a hunting dog. Aigestes, the offspring of this relationship, became the ancestor of the Elymians, a native people living in western Sicily in and around the cities of Entella, Eryx and Segesta. In the Aeneid, Vergil later took up a local myth according to which Hippotes came to Sicily in the wake of Aeneas' wanderings. The appearance of such mythological connections of local heroes to the progenitor of the Romans was not uncommon in the time of the Roman expansion; it was a way of dealing with changing political dynamics and it often brought along, as in the case of the Elymians, favorable treatment by the Roman administration. However, there may be some truth to the myth, as the few recorded Elymian words do in fact point to an Italic origin of this language. Estimate: 5000 CHF ILLUSTRAZIONE: ESEMPLARE DI CANE CIRNECO DELL'ETNA

[King John]

Classical Numismatic Group > Auction 124	Auction date: 19 September 2023
Lot number: 725 Price realized: 6,000 USD   (Approx. 5,613 EUR)   Note: Prices do not include buyer's fees.
Lot description: Galla Placidia. Augusta, AD 421-450. AV Semissis (16.5mm, 2.04 g, 6h). Ravenna (or Rome) mint. Struck AD 440-455. Pearl-diademed and draped bust right / Christogram within wreath with large central jewel; COMOB. RIC X 2054 (Rome and/or Ravenna); Ranieri 79 (Ravenna); Depeyrot 47/5 (Rome). Slight wave in flan. Near EF. Very rare. Lot includes a David Sear Certificate of Authenticity. Estimate: 4000 USD

[King John]

SENZA ELMO E CON ELMO 1) Gorny & Mosch Giessener Münzhandlung > Auction 297	Auction date: 9 October 2023
Lot number: 396 Price realized: This lot is for sale in an upcoming auction
BAKTRIEN Heliokles II. Dikaios, ca. 100 - 90 v. Chr. Tetradrachme im indischen Gewichtsstandard ø 27mm (9,74g). Vs.: ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ ΔΙΚΑΙΟΥ / ΗΛΙΟΚΛΕΟΥΣ, heroische Büste mit Diadem, Ägis mit Gorgoneion auf der l. Schulter und Speer in Rückansicht n. l. Rs.: Maharajasa dhramikasa / Heliyakreyasa, Zeus mit Strahlenkrone, geflügeltem Blitzbündel und Zepter, l. unten im Feld Monogramm. HGC 12, 379; Bopearachchi 4A; Mitchiner 2, 291a. RR! vz-st Estimate: 5000 EUR 2) Gorny & Mosch Giessener Münzhandlung > Auction 297 Auction date: 9 October 2023 Lot number: 397 Price realized: This lot is for sale in an upcoming auction -   Lot description: BAKTRIEN Heliokles II. Dikaios, ca. 100 - 90 v. Chr. Tetradrachme im indischen Gewichtsstandard ø 25mm (9,57g). Vs.: ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ ΔΙΚΑΙΟΥ / ΗΛΙΟΚΛΕΟΥΣ, heroische Büste mit Diadem, böotischem Helm, verziert mit Stierhörnern und -ohren, Ägis mit Gorgoneion auf der l. Schulter und Speer in Rückansicht n. l. Rs.: Maharajasa dhramikasa / Heliyakreyasa, Zeus mit Strahlenkrone, geflügeltem Blitzbündel und Zepter, l. unten im Feld Monogramm. HGC 12, 380; Bopearachchi 5B; Mitchiner 2, 292a. RR! vz Estimate: 4000 EUR

[King John]

Paul-Francis Jacquier > Auctions 51-52	Auction date: 15 September 2023
Lot number: 198 Price realized: 135 EUR   (Approx. 144 USD)   Note: Prices do not include buyer's fees.
Lot description: A. Postumius Albinus. Denar, 96. ROMA. Drap. Büste der Diana mit Bogen und Köcher über der Schulter rechts. Rv/ A ALBINVS S F. Drei Reiter mit Lanze und Schild über einen gefallenen Krieger n. links galoppierend. Bab. (Postumia) 4; Sydenham 613; Crawford 335/9; RBW 1210. 3,64 g. Getönt, sehr schön Starting price: 90 EUR

[King John]

Dr. Busso Peus Nachfolger > Auction 436	Auction date: 2 November 2023
Lot number: 3637 Price realized: This lot is for sale in an upcoming auction
Lot description: Lydien Mostene Claudius und Agrippina II. Bronze 50/54, Magistrat Pedianos. Beider Büsten nebeneinander / Heros zu Pferd mit Doppelaxt. 12h. RPC 2461. 4.20 g.; 19,3 mm. Schwarze Patina Schön - sehr schön. Estimate: 50 EUR

[King John]

Nomos AG > Auction 27	Auction date: 22 May 2023
Lot number: 1091 Price realized: 42,000 CHF   (Approx. 46,558 USD / 43,159 EUR)   Note: Prices do not include buyer's fees.
Lot description: MYSIA. Lampsakos. Circa 350-340 BC. Stater (Gold, 20 mm, 8.50 g, 9 h). Head of bearded Kabeiros to left, wearing a laureate pilos. Rev. Forepart of Pegasus to right; all within a very shallow incuse square. Baldwin 39d and pl. III, 27 (this coin). Kraay-Hirmer 732. Regling, Ward, 612 (this coin). Traité II, 2, 2550 and pl. clxxi, 17 (= B 39c, same dies). Rare, one of five known examples. With a head of very fine style, but reminiscent of that of a contemporary Persian satrap! Reverse struck from a worn die, otherwise, extremely fine. From the Exceptional Private Collection, Leu Numismatics 76, 27 October 1999, 154, ex Bank Leu 25, 23 April 1980, 137 and from the collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art and John Ward, Sotheby's Zurich, 4 April 1973, 518. The head on the obverse of this coin has been identified as Odysseus by some, perhaps because of its similarity to heads definitely of Odysseus found on coins from Ithaca (as BMC Peloponnesus 7-9 ff. and HGC 6, 121 ff.) and to the head on the standing figure of the denarii of C. Mamilius Limetanus (Crawford 362). The wreath makes it clear that this is, in fact, Kabeiros. Estimate: 40000 CHF

[King John]

Nomos AG > obolos 29	Auction date: 8 October 2023
Lot number: 364 Price realized: This lot is for sale in an upcoming auction -
Lot description: SELEUKID KINGS. Seleukos II Kallinikos, 246-226 BC. (Bronze, 22 mm, 7.73 g, 11 h), Seleukeia on the Tigris. Jugate busts of the Dioskouroi to left, the nearer turned slightly towards the viewer, each wearing laureate pileos. Rev. ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ ΣΕΛΕΥΚΟΥ Nike standing left, crowning trophy with wreath held in right hand and holding palm branch in left; at foot of trophy, bull's head right; in left and central fields, monograms. HGC 9, 332. SC 776. Very fine. Starting price: 75 CHF

[King John]

Savoca Numismatik GmbH & Co. KG > Online Auction 161 | Silver	Auction date: 16 April 2023
Lot number: 55 Price realized: 110 EUR   (Approx. 122 USD)   Note: Prices do not include buyer's fees.
Lot description: Thrace. Apollonia Pontica circa 480-450 BC. Drachm AR 17 mm, 3,35 g Upright anchor; crayfish to left, A to right / Facing gorgoneion. very fine SNG Bulgaria 120ff.; SNG BM Black Sea 153/57; HGC 3.2, 1323; SNG Copenhagen 452. Starting price: 50 EUR

[King John]

Roma Numismatics Ltd > The Mike Ballerini Collection	Auction date: 19 October 2023
Lot number: 582 Price realized: This lot is for sale in an upcoming auction
Lot description: Sicily, Hispani at Morgantina Æ 19mm. Circa 200-180 BC. Helmeted head of Athena to left; head of ram to left above, P• (magistrate's name) beneath chin / Warrior, holding spear, on horseback to right; HISPANORVM below. CNS III, 2; HGC 2, 914. 6.54g, 19mm, 12h. Good Very Fine; somewhat corroded. From the Mike Ballerini Collection, collector's ticket included. Estimate: 5 GBP

[King John]

Nomos AG > Auction 27	Auction date: 22 May 2023
Lot number: 1056 Price realized: 20,000 CHF   (Approx. 22,170 USD / 20,552 EUR)   Note: Prices do not include buyer's fees.
Lot description: THRACE. Maroneia. Circa 436/5-411/0 BC. Stater (Silver, 27 mm, 14.34 g, 3 h), struck under the magistrate Posideios. Μ-ΑΡΩΝ Free horse springing to left; above, crested Corinthian helmet to left. Rev. ΕΠΙ - ΠΟΣΙ - ΔΗΙ - Ο Grape vine with four bunches of grapes and four leaves. Gillet Plates 824 (this coin). Schönert-Geiss 145.2 (this coin, but with incorrect weight). SNG Lockett 1193. West 18 (this coin). Very rare. Toned and struck on a broad flan. About extremely fine. From the Spina collection, Nomos 1, 6 May 2009, 38, ex Leu 81, 16 May 2001, 133 and Bank Leu 18, 5 May 1977, 98, and from the collections of C. Gillet and R. Allatini ("Gentleman...relinquishing the pursuit"), Sotheby, Wilkinson & Hodge, 9 May 1904, 182. The legendary founder of Maroneia was Maron, a son of Dionysos. This was quite appropriate, given the fact that Maroneia's wealth came from wine production. The previous owners of this coin included a number of collectors, famous for their connoisseurship. Roberto Allatini (1856-1927) was a member of the famous Italian-Jewish family who were prominent in Thessalonika during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. They owned the most important flour mill in the city (Allatini crackers and other baked products are one of the best known names in Greece today) and they were prominent benefactors of the city. As a collector, R. Allatini seems to have sold quite a few coins in 1904, but he kept collecting, not surprisingly with an emphasis on northern Greece, until his death, after which his remaining coins were sold in Ars Classica XIII in 1928. This coin ultimately passed to Charles Gillet, better known as 'Kunstfreund' from the famous catalogue of that name, which contained a small selection of his incredible collection and appeared shortly after his death. The present coin was not in the sale but was sold privately to one of Gillet's close friends, a well known collector with a wonderful eye for style. It was sold after his death and ended up in yet another fine collection. Estimate: 12500 CHF

[King John]

Leu Numismatik AG > Auction 14	Auction date: 14 October 2023
Lot number: 124 Price realized: This lot is for sale in an upcoming auction
Lot description: LYDIA. Hyrcanis. Pseudo-autonomous issue. Hemiassarion (Bronze, 16 mm, 2.63 g, 6 h), time of Commodus, circa 180-182 (?). MAKЄΔONΩ Mask of Silenos to right, wearing wreath of ivy and fruit. Rev. YPKANΩN Pan, nude and with animal tail, dancing to right, holding pedum in his right hand and raising his left. BMC 2 = RPC IV.2 online 1746.1 (same reverse die). Winterthur 3748 (same reverse die). Very rare. An exceptionally well preserved example of this very interesting issue, perfectly struck and by far the finest known. Extremely fine. From the Vineyard Collection, Nomos 17, 26 October 2018, 193 corr. (reverse misdescribed) and ex Münzen und Medaillen AG 88, 17 May 1999, 331 (illustrated on the front cover!). Hyrcanis was a Seleukid foundation in the Hyrcanian Plain west of Sardis, a fertile region in the Hermos Valley named after colonists from Hyrcania on the south-east shore of the Caspian Sea settled there by the Achaemenid Kings. Seleukid interest in the area arose from the need to defend their Anatolian possessions from the Galatian menace and Hyrcanis was just one of a whole number of military colonies where the Kings of Asia settled veterans to bolster local defenses. RPC roughly dates our coin to the second half of the 2nd century AD, but we can perhaps be more precise, as its Dionysiac motives, as well as its inscriptions, fit in perfectly with a series of 'mythological' coins struck under Commodus, one of which shows a procession of Dionysus on the reverse (RPC IV.2 online 11429). The remarkable legends attest to the vivid awareness of the citizens of Roman Hyrcanis of their descent, as the obverse refers to the Macedonians, whereas the name of the polis on the reverse alludes to the far-away Caspian Hyrcanians. This is also mirrored in Pliny's Natural History and in Tacitus' Annals, who speak of 'the Macedones, surnamed Hyrcani' (Plin. Nat. Hist. 5.31) and the 'Hyrcanian Macedonians, as they were called' (Tac. Ann. 2.47), respectively. Estimate: 2500 CHF ILLUSTRAZIONE: MASCHERA TEATRALE DI SILENO

Modificato 4 Ottobre, 2023 da King John

[King John]

Leu Numismatik AG > Web Auction 27	Auction date: 9 September 2023
Lot number: 443 Price realized: 3,400 CHF   (Approx. 3,813 USD / 3,558 EUR)   Note: Prices do not include buyer's fees.
Lot description: CIMMERIAN BOSPOROS. Pantikapaion. Circa 370-355 BC. Hemidrachm (Silver, 14 mm, 2.52 g, 6 h). Bearded head of Pan with animal ears and a pug nose facing slightly to left, wearing wreath of ivy and fruit. Rev. ΠΑΝΤΙ Lion attacking stag to right. HGC 7, 65. MacDonald 42. SNG BM Black Sea 860. SNG Stancomb 536. Very rare and of exceptionally fine style. Somewhat rough, otherwise, good very fine. From the Pontos Euxeinos Collection, formed in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Starting price: 500 CHF illustrazione: STATUA DEL DIO PAN

[King John]

Leu Numismatik AG > Web Auction 26	Auction date: 8 July 2023
Lot number: 1095 Price realized: 1,300 CHF   (Approx. 1,461 USD / 1,334 EUR)   Note: Prices do not include buyer's fees.
Lot description: LESBOS. Mytilene. Circa 377-326 BC. Hekte (Electrum, 11 mm, 2.56 g, 12 h). Head of Dionysos to right, wearing wreath of ivy and fruit. Rev. Bald facing head of Silenos with long beard and two animal ears within rectangular incuse. Bodenstedt 90. SNG Copenhagen 323-4. SNG von Aulock 1718. Flan faults on the reverse, otherwise, good very fine. Starting price: 150 CHF ILLUSTRAZIONE: ANTIFISSA ETRUSCA CON TESTA DI SILENO PROVENIENTE DA CERVETERI, WALTERS ART MUSEUM, BALTIMORE (USA)

[King John]

Roma Numismatics Ltd > Auction XXVIII	Auction date: 9 November 2023
Lot number: 502 Price realized: This lot is for sale in an upcoming auction -
Lot description: Maximian AV Aureus. First reign. Treveri, AD 295-305. MAXIMIANVS P F AVG, laureate head to right / HERCVLI CONSERVATORI, bearded head of Hercules to right, wearing lion skin headdress; TR below. RIC VI 47; Depeyrot 7A/2; Calicó 4655. 5.36g, 19mm, 6h. NGC graded Ch AU★, 5/5 - 4/5, Fine Style (#2022637-028). Extremely Rare; one of only four known, with only one other (considerably more worn) example offered at auction in the past 20 years. Acquired from Heritage World Coin Auctions. When Diocletian took the dramatic step of raising Maximian to the role of Augustus and co-ruler of the Roman Empire in circa AD 286, both men took on religious titles; Diocletian that of 'Iovius' and Maximian 'Herculius'. The choices were symbolic: Diocletian's association with Jupiter, the 'king of the gods' reflected his seniority and strategic dominance, while Maximian's title recalled the physical might and prodigious activity of the hero who famously completed twelve labours. Indeed, Maximian, who had served in the Roman army from the reigns of Aurelian and Probus, was an aggressive, vigorous commander who engaged in important military campaigns in Gaul, Germany and North Africa. The coinage of Maximian consistently highlights his association with Hercules, the celebrated hero whose portrait, complete with lionskin and club, graced some of the most iconic types of Greek and Roman coinage, including that of Alexander III 'the Great'. Early in his reign, Maximian is sometimes pictured in the guise of Hercules, wearing his lion skin headdress (e.g. RIC V.2 494). He employs dynamic reverse types of Hercules strangling the Nemean lion (RIC V.2 500), besting the Hydra (RIC VI Treveri 9), capturing the stag of Arcadia (RIC VI 84b), carrying the Erymanthian boar over his shoulders (RIC VI Treveri 24) and leading Cerberus from hell (RIC VI Treveri 48), symbolising five of the twelve labours in an energetic sculptural style which emphasise the sheer force and power of the hero and the emperor by association. On others (e.g. RIC VI Treveri 13), Hercules is rendered in static, calm scenes with legends such as 'HERCVLI VICTOR' or 'VIRTVTI HERCVLIS', highlighting the hero's virtue and the victorious peace achieved by military might. It is to this latter vein of imagery to which we might assign this type: Hercules is represented in a majestic bust type, and the legend 'HERCVLI CONSERVATORI' celebrates the hero as a defender or preserver of emperor and empire. That this epithet 'conservator' is traditionally associated with Jupiter reinforces the connection between the two divinities and the two emperors Diocletian and Maximian. Types with legends celebrating the two senior colleagues and their junior counterparts (e.g. RIC VI Treveri 40) also feature Jupiter and Hercules standing facing one other, joining hands in a symbol of unity and holding together Victory on globe, a powerful symbol that the bond between the two Augusti will deliver peace, prosperity and victory for the whole Roman empire. Estimate: 40000 GBP

[King John]

Leu Numismatik AG > Web Auction 27	Auction date: 9 September 2023
Lot number: 557 Price realized: 777 CHF   (Approx. 871 USD / 813 EUR)   Note: Prices do not include buyer's fees.
Lot description: LESBOS. Mytilene. Circa 454-428/7 BC. Hekte (Electrum, 10 mm, 2.51 g, 7 h). Diademed head of Silenos to right, with an animal ear and a long beard. Rev. Two opposed ram's heads with a palmette between them; all within incuse square. Bodenstedt 37. HGC 6, 963. SNG von Aulock 1700. Lightly toned. Struck from somewhat worn dies, otherwise, very fine. Starting price: 150 CHF

 

Modificato 10 Ottobre, 2023 da King John

[King John]

Gorny & Mosch Giessener Münzhandlung > Auction 297	Auction date: 9 October 2023
Lot number: 1238 Price realized: To Be Posted
Lot description: LESBOS Hekte ø 10mm (2,51g). 521 - 478 v. Chr. Vs.: Widderkopf n. l., darunter Hahn in Angriffsstellung n. r. Rs.: Incuser Kopf des bärtigen Herakles im Löwenskalp n. r., darunter incuse Keule mit sechs Perlen, l. im Feld vertieftes Rechteck. Bodenstedt 21; HGC 6, 947. Elektron! ss Ex Numismatik Naumann Auktion 41, Wien 2016, Los 258. Estimate: 750 EUR

[King John]

Morton & Eden > Auction 124 Auction date: 26 September 2023

Lot number: 137 Price realized: 8,000 GBP   (Approx. 9,735 USD / 9,196 EUR)   Note: Prices do not include buyer's fees.

Lot description: ‡ Sicily, Syracuse, drachm, c. 410-405 BC, head of Arethusa left wearing ampyx and sphendone decorated with stars; around, four dolphins, rev., [ΣΥΡΑΚΟΣΙ]-ΩΝ, Leukapsis, nude but for helmet, advancing right holding shield and spear; below, sword and dead ram; in ex., [ΛΕΥΚΑΣΠΙΣ], 4.08g, die axis 1.00 (SNG ANS 307; Jameson 804, same dies; AMB 482, same dies; Rizzo pl. 47, 5), toned, good very fine and extremely rare Provenance: Charles Gillet (1879-1972), private catalogue, pl. 31, 638; 'An Exceptional Private Collection', Leu 76, 27 October 1999, lot 59; European Connoisseur collection (formed before 2002). Estimate: 3000 - 4000 GBP

[King John]

Numismatica Ars Classica > Auction 140, 7/11/2023

Lot number: 127        Price realized: This lot is for sale in an upcoming auction -

Lot description: Phaestus Stater circa 350, AR 26 mm, 11.60 g. ΦAIΣΣTION Youthful, naked Heracles seated l. on a lion's skin spread over a low rock, his head turned r., holding club; in l. field, a column set on a base, from which hang a bow and quiver. Rev. Bull butting r.; all within an olive-wreath. BMC 17 and pl. XV, 9 (these dies). Jameson 1337 (this coin). Gillet 1020 (this coin). Kraay-Hirmer pl. 167, 550 (these dies). Svoronos, Crète p. 260, 39 and pl. 24, 6 (these dies). Very rare and in exceptional condition for the issue, undoubtedly the finest specimen known. A very interesting representation struck finely engraved by a talented master engraver perfectly struck and centred on a very broad flan. Wonderful old cabinet tone and good extremely fine Ex Sotheby, Wilkinson & Hodge 23-25 May 1894, R. Carfrae, 183; Sotheby, Wilkinson & Hodge 1900, Late collector (Rothschild), 298; Leu-M&M 28 May 1974, Kunstfreund, 207; Bowers and Ruddy Galleries 09 June 1980, 145 and New York XXVII, 2012, Prospero, 411 sales. From the Jameson and Charles Gillet collections. Phaestus had been an important centre of Minoan palatial culture in the Bronze Age and is probably best known for an enigmatic clay disk ("the Phaistos Disk") inscribed with a hieroglyphic script distinct from both the Linear A and Linear B familiar from elsewhere on Crete. After the collapse of Minoan civilization in the late thirteenth century BC, Phaestus was remembered in Greek mythology as one of three Cretan cities founded by the great king Minos. The other two were Cnossus and Cydonia. Another, probably local, tradition is reported by the ancient travel-writer Pausanias, in which Phaestus was founded by a son of Heracles. This origin story seems to find support in the present tetradrachm, which depicts Hercules resting after his labours. The inclusion of the column in the background suggests the association of the hero with the foundation of the city. The reverse type depicts a charging bull and almost certainly serves to underline the Cretan context of the coinage. This is not just any bull, but the infamous Cretan Bull that served as a curse on the family of Minos and on Crete in general due to its destructive rampages throughout the island. As his Seventh Labour, Hercules was sent to Crete to carry off the Cretan Bull to Tiryns. Minos was very happy to have the hero take the beast away from Crete, but after it arrived at the court of Eurystheus of Tiryns the bull is said to have broken its bonds and made its way north to become a terror to the inhabitants of Marathon in Attica. It was later killed by the Attic hero Theseus on the eve of his departure to Crete to slay the Minotaur. Estimate: 200000 CHF

[King John]

Nomos AG > Auction 29	Auction date: 5 November 2023
Lot number: 570 Price realized: This lot is for sale in an upcoming auction
Lot description: CALABRIA. Tarentum. Circa 280-228 BC. Diobol (Silver, 12 mm, 1.01 g, 7 h). Head of Athena to right, wearing a Corinthian helmet decorated with a coiled serpent on the bowl and with a neckguard. Rev. Herakles standing facing, holding club in his right hand and, with his left, seizing the bridle of a horse rearing to right (one of the Horses of Diomedes - the Eighth Labour of Herakles) with his left; above to left, monogram of AP; to right, monogram of MI (or ΜΥ). Côte 569 (same dies). Diobols, Series I, Type 276. HN III 1067. SNG Copenhagen 1013. Vlasto 1448 (this coin). Nicely toned. Reverse slightly off-center and traces of corrosion, otherwise, good very fine. From the "Collection sans Pareille" of Ancient Greek Fractions, acquired from Spink's c. 2000 (GR0076), and once in the collection of M. P. Vlasto. Most Tarentine diobols depict varying scenes from the First Labour of Herakles: the capture of the Nemean Lion. We see Herakles standing or kneeling, grappling with or clubbing the lion. However, this coin is part of a rare and exceptional series of Tarentine diobols, which show some of the other labours: the Eighth, the Taming of the Horses of Diomedes; and the Eleventh, the taking of some of the Golden Apples of the Hesperides (there are two versions, one showing Herakles with the apples and one with Herakles, on his journey, defeating Antaios - as HN III, 1063). It would be interesting to speculate why these other scenes appeared on the coins. Estimate: 300 CHF

Modificato 16 Ottobre, 2023 da King John

[King John]

Numismatica Ars Classica > Auction 140	Auction date: 7 November 2023
Lot number: 135 Price realized: This lot is for sale in an upcoming auction
Lot description: Cyzicus Stater circa 450-400, EL 22 mm, 15.95 g. Naked warrior, kneeling r., wearing a helmet and holding a weapon and a shield. Rev. Quadripartite incuse square, with granular surfaces. von Fritze 211 and pl. VI, 23 (this coin). Jameson 2569 (this coin). Gulbenkian 670 (this obverse die). Of the highest rarity, possibly only two specimens known. A very interesting representation struck on a full flan. Very fine Ex Naville IV, 1922, Grand Duke Mikhailovitch, 725; Ars Classica XIV, 1929, Capt. E.G. Spencer-Churchill, 333; Glendining 10 December 1986, Knoepke, 255 and New York XXVII, 2012, Prospero, 458 sales. From the Jameson collection. Estimate: 20000 CHF

[King John]

Nomos AG > Auction 30	Auction date: 6 November 2023
Lot number: 1319 Price realized: This lot is for sale in an upcoming auction
Lot description: MYSIA. Kyzikos. Circa 500-450 BC. Stater (Electrum, 20 mm, 15.85 g). Warrior, nude but for his helmet, kneeling to left, sighting along an arrow lightly held in his right hand and holding a sheathed sword with his left; below, tunny fish to left. Rev. Quadripartite incuse square. SNG Paris 261. Traité II, 2, 2633 and pl CLXXIV, 6-7. Von Fritze 115. Toned. A few uncleaned deposits, otherwise, good very fine. From a collection in Switzerland. Estimate: 10000 CHF

[King John]

Lot number: 144 Price realized: This lot is for sale in an upcoming auction

Lot description: Islands off Thrace, Thasos AR Stater. Circa 412-404 BC. Bald-headed and nude satyr in kneeling-running stance to right, carrying off protesting nymph; Σ to right / Quadripartite incuse square. Le Rider, Thasiennes 6; McClean 4199 corr. (letter not noted in text); HPM pl. X, 27-28 var. (letter); SNG Copenhagen 1013 var. (letter); HGC 6, 334; CNG Triton XXVI, 87. 9.12g, 21mm. Good Extremely Fine. Very rare with sigma on obverse. Thasos, a large island off the western coastal region of Thrace, gained its enormous wealth by virtue of its local silver mines as well as mines it controlled on the Thracian mainland opposite the island city-state. According to Herodotos (VI, 46), the city derived 200-300 talents annually from her exploitation of this mineral wealth. Additionally, Thasos gained much material wealth as a producer and exporter of high quality wines, which was tightly regulated by the government, and it was perhaps due to this trade in wine that her coinage spread throughout the Aegean making it a widely recognized and accepted currency in distant lands. The artistry of this coin is exceptional, and belongs to the very end of the 5th century BC before the end of the Peloponnesian War. Earlier didrachm staters struck to a local Thracian standard (originally of 9.8g and subsequently 8.7g) are quite crude in style, portraying a vigorous and beastly satyr forcibly abducting an unwilling nymph. By contrast the satyr on this coin is imbued with almost wholly human qualities. The engraving is by a superior artist and is in a very lovely style, the head of the satyr reminding us of the miniature masterpieces from Katane in Sicily depicting a satyr's head facing, while the head of the nymph here is strongly reminiscent of the head of the nymph found on the coins of nearby Neapolis in Macedon. There is no explanation in the relevant literature of the letters A, Σ, or Φ which sometimes appear in the obverse field of these later staters (they never appear on the earlier staters). They cannot be the signatures of the artists as the staters with the same letter often show a markedly different hand at work, so they most probably simply identify the magistrate responsible for the issue, a commonplace feature on other coinages from a number of mints during this and subsequent times. Estimate: 7500 GBP ILLUSTRAZIONE: ERMAFRODITO E SATIRO, DALLA VILLA A DI OPLONTIS, PARCO ARCHEOLOGICO DI POMPEI

 

Modificato 21 Ottobre, 2023 da King John

[King John]

Classical Numismatic Group, Inc.  Triton XI, 8/01/2008, lot 716

Augustus. 27 BC-AD 14. AV Aureus (8.04 g, 12h). Pergamum mint. Struck 19 BC. AVGVSTVS, bare head right / ARMENIA above, CAPTA in exergue, Victory, draped, wings spread, kneeling right on the back of a bull, recumbent on ground right, grasping the bull’s head and turning its horns. RIC I 514; Calicó 160 (this coin illustrated); BMCRE 671 = BMCRR East 308; BN 977-8; Biaggi 82 (this coin). Good VF, a few minor field marks. Very rare.
Ex Gilbert Steinberg Collection (Numismatica Ars Classica, 16 November 1994), lot 144; Nelson Bunker Hunt Collection (Part III, Sotheby’s New York, 4 December 1990), lot 68; Biaggi Collection, 82.
The eastern part of the Roman empire had long proved a difficult region to control. In 53 BC, Crassus was killed at Carrhae and his legions destroyed, with their prized legionary standards captured by the Parthians. The limits of Roman might were severely tested. Keeping Armenia free from Parthian domination was of great importance to Augustus. When the Armenians asked for Rome’s help in ridding them of Artaxes in favor of Tigranes, Augustus sent Tiberius to deal with the matter. In the event, the Armenians themselves removed Artaxes, Tiberius arriving late to be of little aid. However, the Romans, always ready to use propaganda to their advantage, treated this ‘victory’ as a monumental diplomatic triumph. Tiberius “put on a lordly air, especially after sacrifices had been offered up to commemorate the event, as though he had accomplished something by martial prowess” (Dio, LIV. 9).Prideaux suggests that the reverse iconography and consequent interpretation should be reexamined. The type is generally described as Victory cutting the throat of a recumbent bull, without any explanation of this weird and unusual scene. However, a close inspection reveals that the scene does not depict an act of throat cutting, nor any knife in Victory’s hand. Instead, Victory is mastering the bull by holding and turning its horns, as some famous wrestler is said to have done in an arena. The significance of this would have been obvious to the soldiers, citizens, or anyone else handling or viewing the coin. The scene should be correctly interpreted as the Romans’ mastering of the Taurus mountain range, the natural and formidable barrier beyond which Armenia was thought to have been out of reach and secure.
Estimate: 15000 USD

ILLUSTRAZIONE: STATUA ROMANA IN MARMO DEL II SECOLO D.C. CHE RAFFIGURA LA NIKE CHE SACRIFICA UN TORO, BRITISH MUSEUM

 

 

Modificato 23 Ottobre, 2023 da King John

[King John]

Gorny & Mosch Giessener Münzhandlung, Auction 191, 11/10/2010, lot 1787

BITHYNIEN NIKOMEDIA
Severus Alexander, 222 - 235 n. Chr. 4.97 g. Vs.: M AUR SEU ALEXANDROS AUG, drapierte Büste mit Strahlenkrone n. r. Rs.: NIKOMHDEWN DIS NEW/KORWN, halbnackte Figur (Leda!) hält in der erhobenen Rechten Kornähren, mit der Linken hält sie ihren Gewandzipfel, an dem ein Schwan mit ausgebreiteten Flügeln zieht. Rec. gén. 316. R! Dunkelgrüne Patina, fast vz

ILLUSTRAZIONE: Affresco pompeiano con “Leda e il Cigno” conservato al museo Archeologico nazionale di Napoli