Didrammi ateniesi “civetta”

[apollonia]

Salve

Questi nominali sono molto più rari dei tetradrammi, come risulta dalle quotazioni raggiunte nelle aste.

Numismatica Ars Classica NAC AG, Auction 106, lot 226, 09.05.2018

Greek Coins
Attica, Athens. Didrachm circa 460, AR 8.48 g. Head of Athena r., wearing Attic helmet decorated with palmettes. Rev. ΑΘΕ Owl standing r. with closed wings, head facing; in upper l. field, olive sprig with berry. All within incuse square. Svoronos pl. 8, 10. Seltman A309/P388. Starr Group II C, 78 (these dies).
Very rare, fewer than 50 specimens known of which less than ten are in private hands.
A prestigious issue of lovely style with a delightful old cabinet tone,
two nicks on obverse, otherwise good very fine
 

Privately purchased from Harlan J. Berk in December 1989 at the NYICC. From the Harald Salvesen collection.

Starting price: 16.000 CHF - Estimate: 20.000 CHF - Result: 40.000 CHF

 

[apollonia]

Hess Divo AG, Auction 335, lot 40, 06.12.2018

GREEK COINS FROM THE ABOU TAAM FAMILY COLLECTION. ATTICA. ATHENS. Didrachm, about 475-465 BC. AR 8.59 g. Head of Athena r., wearing crested Attic helmet decorated with three olive leaves and volute, disc-shaped ear-clip and necklace. Rev. Within incuse round, shallow incuse square, in which owl standing r., head facing, in field r., AΘE, l., two olive leaves, the l. one overlapping the frame. Seltman, A. 212,455 (this specimen, illustr. pl. XX); Starr 36,80 (this specimen); Svoronos, A. pl. 9,18 (this specimen).
Extremely rare denomination of a very rare issue. Excellent transitional style.
Wonderful old cabinet tone. Extremely fine
Provenance:
Consul E.F. Weber collection.
Goekopp collection.
Auction J. Hirsch, Munich XXI (1908),1649.
Auction Numismatica Ars Classica NAC AG, Zurich 54 (2010),96.

Starting price: 100.000 CHF - Result: 140.000 CHF

 

[odisseo]

....altro che.......questo da sempre.

I didrammi rappresentano per il collezionista della serie ateniese un pezzo chiave e tra i più rari assieme all'inarrivabile decadramma, ai rarissimi aurei ateniesi ed ai nominali delle "wappenmunzen" di taglio dracma, didramma e tetradramma.

Dovrebbe esserci tra l'altro nel Celator (vado a memoria) uno studio dei primi 90' dello stesso Salvesen, collezionista che ha venduto il proprio esemplarare tramite la Nac.

Odisseo

[apollonia]

Lo studio dovrebbe essere quello citato alla fine della descrizione di questo esemplare (CNG 66, 19 May 2004, Lot: 384. Estimate $15000, Sold For $19500).

ATTICA, Athens, Circa 475-465 BC. AR Didrachm (8.49 gm). Head of Athena right, wearing crested Attic helmet decorated with three olive leaves over visor and spiral palmette on the bowl / Owl standing right, head facing; olive sprig behind; all within an incuse square. Starr Group IIc, 76 (same obverse die); Dewing -; SNG Copenhagen 30. Lightly toned, nice VF, well centered. Very rare, only ten examples in private hands. ($15,000)

The historical context of this Athenian didrachm, as well as concomitant tetradrachms and celebrated dekadrachms of the same class, has been the matter of much debate. The evidence from the 'Dekadrachm Hoard' confirms the picture suggested by Kraay (ACGC, pp. 66-68), of a rapid evolution from Starr Groups II to V. The relative state of wear on the coins in the hoard, with Group II being, generally, about extremely fine and Group V being mostly mint state, clearly demonstrated that only a short period elapsed between the former and the latter. The key historical dates are the battle of the Eurymedon River in 467 BC, where the Persian booty was enormous and is attested to have been distributed (Plutarch, Kimon 13. 6-8), and the capture of Thasos and its mines in 463/2 BC, where the plunder may be assumed to have been very substantial (Plutarch, op. cit. 14. 2). It is now generally accepted that the didrachms, tetradrachms, and dekadrachms of Class II must have been struck in the 460s BC, and it seems clear that such exceptional and compact issues must have served some special function.

According to the comprehensive census conducted by Harald Salvesen (The Celator, vol. 10, no. 2 [February 1996], p. 6-7), the total of known Athenian didrachms is 42, with only 10 in private hands and three unaccounted for.

[apollonia]

Classical Numismatic Group, Inc., Auction 99, lot 121, 13.05.2015

Very Rare Athens Didrachm

ATTICA, Athens. Circa 475-465 BC. AR Didrachm (19mm, 8.49 g, 11h). Head of Athena right, wearing earring, necklace, and crested Attic helmet decorated with three olive leaves over visor and a spiral palmette on the bowl / Owl standing right, head facing; olive sprig to left, AΘE to right; all but one leaf of olive sprig within incuse square, the totality within incuse circle. Starr Group IV, 142 var. (O122/R– [unlisted rev. die]) = Svoronos, Monnaies, pl. 9, 14 = Seltman 471 = SNG Berry 642 (same obv. die); HGC 4, 1617 corr. (Starr groups; same obv. die as illustration); SNG Copenhagen 30; Boston MFA 1602; Hunterian 10; Rhousopoulos 1979. Good VF, toned, slight granularity. Well centered on a broad flan. Very rare, fewer than 50 didrachms of this type (Starr Groups II–IV) known, of which only about a dozen remain in private hands.

CNG 99, Lot: 121. Estimate $15000 - Sold for $27500. 

 

[apollonia]

Classical Numismatic Group, Inc., Triton XXI, lot 419, 09.01.2018

The Iconic Classical Athens Didrachm
Ex Harald Salvesen Collection

Greek
ATTICA, Athens. Circa 475-465 BC. AR Didrachm (19.5mm, 8.42 g, 8h). Head of Athena right, wearing earring, necklace, and crested Attic helmet decorated with three olive leaves over visor and a spiral palmette on the bowl / Owl standing right, head facing; olive sprig to left, AΘE to right; all but one leaf of olive sprig within incuse square, the totality within incuse circle. Starr Group IV, 143 (O123/R135); Seltman 473 (same dies); Svoronos, Monnaies, pl. 9, 16 & 19 (same dies); HGC 4, 1617 corr. (Starr groups); SNG Copenhagen 30 (same dies); Boston MFA 1602; Hunterian 10; Rhousopoulos 1979 (same dies); K. Schefold, Meisterwerke Griechische Kunst (Basel, 1960), 458 (this coin). Near EF, beautifully toned. Well centered on a broad flan. Very rare, fewer than 50 didrachms of this type (Starr Groups II–IV) known, of which only about a dozen remain in private hands.
 

Ex New York Sale IV (17 January 2002), lot 157 (purchased by Harold Salvesen); private collection in Basel (per Schefold [1960]).

Triton XXI, Lot: 419. Estimate $50000 - Sold for $75000.

[apollonia]

Numismatica Genevensis SA, Auction 10, lot 16, 03.12.2018

LE MONDE GREC
Attique
Athènes.
Didrachme vers 465 av. J.-C. Tête d'Athéna casquée à droite, portant une boucle d'oreille, le casque décoré de trois feuilles d'olivier et d'une palmette / Chouette debout à droite, la tête de face, dans un rectangle; en haut à gauche, un rameau d'olivier; le tout sur un disque incus. 8,51g. Seltman 465 (mêmes coins); Starr 75 (cet exemplaire); Svoronos-Pick pl. 8, 24-26.
Le plus bel exemplaire connu de cette monnaie d'illustre provenance. Superbe exemplaire.
 

Exemplaire provenant de la collection von Hoffmann, vente Sotheby's (1995) lot 57 et des ventes Hess-Leu 36 (1968) lot 206, Leu 42 (1987) lot 232 et Leu 52 (1991) lot 72 et de la collection Harald Salvesen.
 

Une cinquantaine d’exemplaires connus, dont moins d’une douzaine en mains privées. Le didrachme athénien semble avoir vu le jour du temps de Cimon, vers 475-465 avant J.-C. Fils du héros de Marathon, Miltiade, Cimon joua un rôle important dans la formation de la Ligue de Délos. Destinée à protéger la Grèce des incursions perses, cette ligue se révéla rapidement être un instrument de l’hégémonie athénienne. Les cotisations versées par les cités membres de la ligue serviront ainsi plus tard à payer la construction du Parthénon.

 

Starting price: 150.000 CHF - Result: 200.000 CHF

 

[apollonia]

Didramma d’oro (Numismatica Ars Classica NAC AG, Auction 77, lot 46, 26.05.2014)

Greek Coins
Attica, Athens
Didrachm or stater circa 407-404, AV 8.61 g. Head of Athena r., wearing crested Attic helmet decorated with spiral palmette and two olive leaves. Rev. AΘE Owl standing r. with closed wings, head facing; before, branch upwards and behind, olive sprig with one berry. All within incuse square. Jameson 2495 (this reverse die). ACGC 202 (this reverse die). Robinson ANSMN 9, 1960, pl. II, 9 (this reverse die).

One of the greatest rarities of the entire Greek series, only the fifth specimen known. An issue of tremendous historical interest and importance, a minor scuff on obverse, otherwise about extremely fine Privately purchased in 1999.

Starting price: 280.000 CHF - Estimate: 350.000 CHF - Result: 475.000 CHF

Per una dettagliata descrizione di queste emissioni v. didascalia completa al collegamento

https://www.sixbid.com/en/numismatica-ars-classica-zurich/1298/greek-coins/1197121/b-greek-coins-b?term=46&orderCol=lot_number&orderDirection=asc&priceFrom&displayMode=large&auctionSessions=&sidebarIsSticky=false

[okt]

Ma perché didrachm? Perché pesa come due dracme? Però, essendo d'oro, ne vale almeno venti!

[apollonia]

Sono stati coniati anche sottomultipli dello statere o didramma aureo e il corrispondente valore in dramme d’argento è dato dalla seguente tabella

Quindi bisogna scendere fino all’obolo per avere il corrispondente valore del didramma d’argento.

 

[okt]

11 ore fa, apollonia dice:

Sono stati coniati anche sottomultipli dello statere o didramma aureo e il corrispondente valore in dramme d’argento è dato dalla seguente tabella

Quindi bisogna scendere fino all’obolo per avere il corrispondente valore del didramma d’argento.

 

Non conoscevo queste denominazioni dell'oro, ma ce le siamo inventate noi moderni oppure ci sono delle fonti storico letterarie che le attestano?

[apollonia]

La seconda. L’articolo da cui ho tratto la tabellina e di cui allego la prima pagina parla dell’emissione di queste monete verso la fine della guerra del Peloponneso per motivi di necessità.

The Functions of the Emergency Coinages of the Peloponnesian War

Wesley E. Thompson, Mnemosyne Fourth Series, Vol. 19, Fasc. 4 (1966), pp. 337-343 (7 pages)

 

 

[apollonia]

Alla fine del post # 8 avevo segnalato per una dettagliata descrizione di queste emissioni auree la didascalia completa del didramma/statere descritto al collegamento

https://www.sixbid.com/en/numismatica-ars-classica-zurich/1298/greek-coins/1197121/b-greek-coins-b?term=46&orderCol=lot_number&orderDirection=asc&priceFrom&displayMode=large&auctionSessions=&sidebarIsSticky=false

Riporto la descrizione completa con le parti più specificatamente attinenti all’argomento in grassetto.

Few Greek coins are as historically significant as the gold issued by Athens in the closing years of the Peloponnesian War. Surrounded by a besieging army of Spartans and their allies, Athens was brought to its knees in the midst of military defeat, bankruptcy, starvation and plague. Thus ended the most famous of the ancient Greek wars, but not before the Athenians had stripped the plating from their golden Nikai and converted it into gold coins that included the drachm offered here.

In 431 B.C. Athens and her rival Sparta descended into a two-stage war that raged until 404. From the outset the war had weighed heavily on the Athenian coffers, and over time the costs had depleted the city’s mining proceeds, state savings, temple treasuries, taxes, and annual tribute from her reluctant allies. The year 413 was especially hurtful to the Athenian cause. The Spartans captured Deceleia, in northern Attica, and in doing so not only caused 20,000 Athenian slaves to defect, but interrupted the main overland route by which Athens received food, supplies, and the output of its silver mines at Laureion. Then, the armada that Athens had sent against Syracuse was utterly destroyed. The cost in terms of ships and manpower was on such a scale that Athens found it impossible to recover its power and prestige. Revolts were sparked among members of the Delian League, which encouraged the Spartans and Persians to amplify their efforts. Athens survived the next few years by tapping into a reserve treasury of some 1,000 talents of silver, the equivalent of about 1.5 million tetradrachms.

However, by 407 or 406 Athens was no longer able to issue silver coinage, and it forged an unprecedented monetary policy: a dual-level system comprised of a ‘token’ coinage of silver plated coins (and perhaps validated bronze tokens), and a gold coinage. The scholastic notes to Aristophanes’ Frogs (718-33) indicate that the gold coins were struck in 407/6, and that silver-plated coins were struck in the year that followed.

However, they probably were issued at the same time if they were meant to be the two components of an emergency monetary system. In recent years, the theory that bronze coins were officially struck in Athens at this time has been effectively opposed. It would seem that the fiduciary coins consisted of plated silver pieces, principally tetradrachms and drachms of the familiar Athenian type, and that private-issue copper tokens (kollyboi) may have been validated by the government to augment the money supply. For its gold bullion the Athenians turned to offerings stored on the Acropolis and the gold-covered statues of Nike, which in recent years had become emblems of the city’s great economic reserves. These emergency funds were used to build and outfit a new fleet that in 405 was defeated at Aegospotami in the Hellespont by the Spartan general Lysander. The victorious Lysander then invested the city of Athens, which surrendered in the spring of 404, bringing an end to the Peloponnesian War.

The Athenian gold from the war is uncommonly well documented for an ancient coinage. The bullion was stripped from seven of the eight golden Nikai on the Acropolis; each statue was covered in about two talents worth of gold in the form of removable plates. Robinson estimates that the husks of those statues, along with some additional reserves, would have allowed for the production of about 100,000 drachms weight in gold. That being the case, a very large quantity of these coins could have been struck and their production may have continued from 407 well into 404.

Unfortunately, only a handful of these gold coins survive today, suggesting that almost every piece was secreted away and eventually was consigned to the melting pot. Five denominations of ‘emergency’ gold coins are known to have survived: the didrachm (stater) of about 8.60 grams, the drachm (half-stater) of about 4.30 grams, the hemidrachm (quarter-stater) of about 2.15 grams, the diobol (‘hecte’) of about 1.45 grams, and the obol (‘hemihecte’) of about 0.70 grams. A sixth denomination perhaps can be added to the list, for an account of the treasurers of Athens entered sometime after 385/4 B.C. (Inscriptiones Graecae II, 1414, lines 6-7) records the receipt of two gold hemiobols. These coins, presumably, would have been 1/24th staters weighing about 0.35 grams.

Perhaps the most fascinating piece of evidence concerning these gold coins comes from another Athenian treasurer’s report (Inscriptiones Graecae II, 1408, lines 11-13), which also was created a generation or more after the Athenian surrender. The remarkable inscription describes how “the dies and the little anvils on which they used to strike the gold coins” were still preserved in a wooden box with the public seal.

 

 

[apollonia]

Dramma d’oro (Numismatica Ars Classica NAC AG, Auction 66, lot 46, 17.10.2012)

Starting price: 160.000 CHF - Estimate: 200.000 CHF - Result: 240.000 CHF

Lot 46. Attica, Athens
Drachm circa 407-404, AV 4.30 g. Head of Athena r., wearing crested Attic helmet decorated with spiral palmette and two olive leaves. Rev. AΘE Owl standing r. with closed wings, head facing; before, branch upwards and behind, olive sprig with one berry. All within incuse square. Robinson ANSMN 9, 1960, pl. II, 1 (possibly this reverse die). Svoronos pl. 15, 3 (possibly these dies).
Of the highest rarity, only the fourth specimen known and the only one in private hands.
An issue of tremendous historical importance and fascination, minor marks on obverse,
otherwise about extremely fine Of all the Greek city states, none issued more silver coinage than Athens: untold millions of ‘owl’ tetradrachms were struck from the late 6th Century B.C. onward, until the great city succumbed to Roman rule. Yet for all her might, Athens rarely produced gold coins, and only at moments of desperation. This gold drachm belongs to a series struck at the height of peril in the closing years of the Peloponnesian War and is undoubtedly one of the most famous of all Greek coinages.
The Athenian preference for silver was not necessarily of choice, but circumstance. Athens did not have a consistent source of gold, yet its rich silver mines at Laureion were virtually inexhaustible, allowing Athens to take centre stage in Greek affairs for centuries. The later Macedonian kings, by comparison, possessed equally abundant sources of gold and silver once Philip II acquired the Pangaean mines. Thus, he and his immediate successors issued great quantities of coins in both metals.
In 431 B.C., Athens and her rival Sparta descended into conflict. Known as the Peloponnesian War, this two-stage conflict raged until 404, when Athens finally succumbed to her enemies. From the outset the war weighed heavily on the Athenian coffers, and over time mining proceeds, state savings, temple treasuries, taxes, and annual tribute from her fair-weather allies dried up.
Two particularly wounding events occurred in 413. The Spartans occupied Deceleia, in northern Attica, and thus were able to interrupt the main overland route for food and supplies, and to cut off Athens from her mines at Laureion. Then, an even more critical event: the expedition Athens had sent against Syracuse was utterly destroyed. The cost in ships and manpower was on a massive scale, and the consequent loss of prestige caused revolts among members of the Delian League and encouraged the Spartans and Persians in their opposition to Athens.
Athens survived the next few years by tapping into a reserve treasury of some 1,000 talents of silver, the equivalent of about 1.5 million tetradrachms. However, by 407 or 406 Athens could no longer issue silver coinage, and it turned to a new monetary solution: a system of ‘token’ coinage and gold coinage, which included the piece offered here.
For gold bullion, the Athenians turned to offerings on the Acropolis and gold-covered statues of Nike, which in recent years had become emblems of the city’s great economic reserves. With these emergency funds a new fleet was constructed and outfitted, but to no good end: in 405 Athens suffered a final, crippling naval defeat – this time by the Spartan general Lysander at Aegospotami in the Hellespont. Lysander then invested the city of Athens, which surrendered in the spring of 404 B.C., bringing the Peloponnesian War to an end.
Unlike most Greek coinages, the Athenian gold from the closing years of this war is well documented, from the historical circumstances of its issuance, to the sources of the bullion, and even the subsequent disposition of the dies that were used.
The scholiast’s notes to Aristophanes’ Frogs (718-33) indicate that the gold coins were struck in 407/6, and that silver-plated coins were struck in the year that followed. It is perhaps more likely, however, that they were issued at the same time if they were meant to be the two components of a new monetary system. Furthermore, Robinson makes a good case that copper coins were briefly, and officially, issued at this time based on two quips of Aristophanes (Ecclesiazusae 814 and Aiolosikon quoted by Pollux, IX, 63).
Seven massive, golden Nikai from the Acropolis must have been sufficient to sponsor the coinage, as the eighth remained intact. Each statue contained about two talents worth of gold, and Robinson estimates that the husks of those statues and some additional reserves would have allowed for the striking of about 100,000 drachms weight in gold. That being the case, a very large quantity of these coins must have been struck and production may have continued into the early part of 404. Unfortunately, only a handful of these gold ‘emergency’ coins survive today, as most were secreted away and eventually lost to melting pots.
Based upon the coins that have survived, we can be sure that five denominations of ‘emergency’ gold coins were struck, the largest being the didrachm (stater) of about 8.6 grams and the smallest being the obol of about 0.72 grams. An account of the treasurers of Athens entered sometime after 385/4 B.C. (Inscriptiones Graecae II, 1414, lines 6-7) records the receipt of two gold hemiobols, suggesting that a sixth denomination was issued, though no hemiobols survive. These coins, presumably, would have been 1/24th staters weighing about 0.36 grams. Another Athenian treasurer’s report (IG II, 1408, lines 11-13) provides an even more fascinating detail, namely that when the record was made, sometime after 385/4 B.C., “the dies and the little anvils on which they used to strike the gold coins” were still contained in a wooden box with the public seal.

 

[lacivettadiatena]

Pur chiamandomi qui come mi chiamo... Non avevo mai visto una civetta d’oro!!! Bellissime!!! @apollonia sai per caso se sono esposte in un qualche museo d’Europa queste didramme auree?

[apollonia]

58 minuti fa, lacivettadiatena dice:

Pur chiamandomi qui come mi chiamo... Non avevo mai visto una civetta d’oro!!! Bellissime!!! @apollonia sai per caso se sono esposte in un qualche museo d’Europa queste didramme auree?

Non mi risulta.

Ho trovato un altro esemplare di didramma aureo passato per le aste che posterò domattina.

apollonia

[lacivettadiatena]

14 ore fa, apollonia dice:

Non mi risulta.

Ho trovato un altro esemplare di didramma aureo passato per le aste che posterò domattina.

apollonia

Grazie @apollonia! Il tuo lavoro è prezioso!

Anche al Museo Numismatico di Atene, che ho visitato lo scorso dicembre, non mi pare di averne viste. Ricordo bene la decadramma ateniese con civetta (donata da un privato che ha voluto rimanere anonimo), ma queste didramme auree proprio non le ricordo...

Modificato 16 Aprile, 2020 da lacivettadiatena

[apollonia]

Aggiungo qualche notizia su queste emissioni auree tratta dalle didascalie dei pezzi battuti nelle aste.

Sette massicce Nike d'oro dell'Acropoli dovevano essere sufficienti a sponsorizzare la coniazione poiché l'ottava è rimasta intatta. Ogni statua conteneva circa due talenti d'oro e Robinson stima che i rivestimenti di quelle statue e alcune riserve aggiuntive avrebbero permesso di coniare circa 100.000 dracme d'oro. Stando così le cose, una quantità molto grande di queste monete deve essere stata coniata e la produzione avrebbe potuto proseguire fino alla prima parte del 404. Purtroppo, solo una manciata di queste monete d'oro "d'emergenza" sopravvivono oggi poiché la maggior parte di esse è stata secreta e alla fine è andata perduta nei crogioli.

Sulla base delle monete sopravvissute, possiamo essere sicuri che sono stati coniati cinque tagli di monete d'oro "d'emergenza", il più grande è il didramma (statere) di circa 8,6 grammi e il più piccolo è l'obolo di circa 0,72 grammi. Un resoconto dei tesorieri di Atene entrato qualche tempo dopo il 385/4 a.C. (Inscriptiones Graecae II, 1414, righe 6-7) registra la ricezione di due emioboli d'oro, suggerendo che ne fu emesso un sesto taglio, anche se nessun emiobolo è sopravvissuto. Queste monete, presumibilmente, sarebbero state 1/24 di statere del peso di circa 0,36 grammi. Un altro rapporto di un altro tesoriere ateniese (IG II, 1408, righe 11-13) fornisce un dettaglio ancora più affascinante, e cioè che quando è stata fatta la registrazione, qualche tempo dopo il 385/4 a. C., "i conii e le piccole incudini usate per coniare le monete d'oro" erano ancora contenuti in una scatola di legno con il sigillo pubblico.

 

[apollonia]

Gold Taken from Athena Parthenos (Triton XIX, Lot: 2041: Estimate $100000. Sold for $265000).

ATTICA, Athens. 295 BC. AV Stater (17mm, 8.60 g, 9h). Head of Athena right, with profile eye, wearing crested Attic helmet decorated with a “pi-style” palmette, disk earring, and pearl necklace / Owl standing right, head facing; olive sprig and crescent to left, AΘE and Eleusis-ring to right. J. Kroll, “The Reminting of Athenian Silver Coinage, 353 B.C.” in Hesperia 80 (2011), fig, 12, b; Svoronos, Monnaies, pl. 21, 17 = Jameson 1193 (same rev. die); HGC 4, 1577; SNG Copenhagen 83; BMC 129–31; Boston MFA 1099; Gillet 946; Gulbenkian 925 = Weber 3499. Near EF, a few scattered marks, minor deposits on reverse. Very rare.

From the collection of Dr. Lawrence A. Adams. Ex Numismatic Fine Arts XXX (8 December 1992), lot 71; Distinguished American Collection (Leu 52, 15 May 1991), lot 74; Christie’s New York (22 September 1986), lot 8.
On the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC, his empire was divided up among the Diadochoi, or “successors,” who were the top generals in Alexander’s army. With the aid of Antigonos I Monophthalmos, ruler of Phrygia, Kassander seized Macedon and most of Greece, including Athens (319-317 BC). Antigonos, however, had ambitions of his own. Planning to reunite Alexander’s empire under his own leadership, he frightened the other Diadochoi, including Kassander, to join forces in the First Diadoch War (315-311 BC). Though he was slowed, Antigonos’ plans were not altogether thwarted. He continued in his attempts to reunite Alexander’s empire under the title ‘liberator of Greece.’
The Second Diadoch War broke out in 310 BC and lasted until 301 BC. During this war, in 307 BC, Antigonos’ son, Demetrios I Poliorketes, ousted Demetrios of Phaleron, Kassander’s governor of Athens, and reestablished the old Athenian constitution. The grateful Athenians venerated Antigonos and Demetrios as divine saviors (theoi sōtēres). The freedom granted by the Athenian constitution, however, would prove to be a thorn in the side of Poliorketes. Soon, a demagogue by the name of Lachares came to power in the city and secretly allied himself to Kassander. Kassander pushed Lachares to increase his power, hoping to use the tyrant as a puppet through which he could exert his influence over Athens. Meanwhile, Demetrios lost favor with the Athenians as a result of various publicly financed extravagances and his sacrilegious installation of a harem in the Parthenon. Upon the death of Kassander in 298 or 297 BC, however, the Athenians were left in a vulnerable position. In 296 BC, Demetrios returned to Greece, temporarily blockading the city, until he was pulled away to deal with events in the Peloponnesos. Having secured his southern territory, Poliorketes again returned to besiege Athens in 295 BC. This siege lasted until early 294 BC, when the Athenians, starving and isolated, surrendered. Upon the fall of Athens, Lachares fled to Thebes, taking with him as much treasure as he could carry. Demetrios soon caught up to the tyrant, conquering his city of refuge. Thereafter, until 279 BC, when mention of him is lost, Lachares seems to have run from city to city, desperately trying to flee his many enemies.
 

This gold coin is thought to have been struck by Lachares during the siege in order to help finance the war effort (see Kroll, supra, pp. 251–4 for a full analysis). The gold used to produce this issue, according to Pausanias (Description of Greece 1.XXV.7), was taken from the statue of Athena Parthenos, created during the massive Periklean building projects of the Thirty Years Peace. Such use of sacred gold would not be alien to the Athenians, who had previously used the gold from the statue during the Peloponnesian War (Thucydides, The History of the Peloponnesian War, ii.13). Perikles himself commissioned the sculptor Pheidias to craft the colossal chryselephantine statue. Today, the sculpture survives in a few small-scale copied votive sculptures, as well as on bronze coins of Lysimachos of Thrace and Athenian bronzes of the third century BC. In addition, a reproduction of the statue stands in the replica of the Parthenon in Centennial Park, Nashville.
A story is told of Lachares by Polyaenos (Stratagems 3.7). As Lachares was fleeing Athens, he was pursued by a squadron of Tarentine cavalry. To distract his pursuers, the tyrant scattered “gold darics” (τῶν δαρεικῶν) on the road. The Tarentines stopped to pick up the money, giving Lachares enough time to escape. It is very possible, if not likely, that Polyaenos is not referring to Persian darics, but rather, the gold coins minted by Lachares. The Persians had been expelled from Greece two hundred years previously, and the Persian Empire itself had fallen to Alexander nearly 50 years before the time of Lachares. Therefore, it is unlikely that Persian darics were in circulation in Greece at the time. Since the Athenians, however, did not regularly mint gold coins, it is possible that when Polyaenos is using the word for daric, he is using it simply to mean “a gold coin,” and that the story refers to these emergency gold coins minted by Lachares.

 

[apollonia]

Nella prossima GERHARD HIRSCH NACHFOLGER AUKTION 357 sarà battuto un lotto di due monete Atena/civetta comprendente la denominazione d’argento più leggera dello standard ponderale attico, il tetartemorion (1/4 obolo: peso teorico 0,18 g). L’altro esemplare è un emiobolo (1/2 obolo: peso teorico 0,36 g).

Starting price: 160 EUR - Estimate: 200 EUR

Lot 164. GRIECHISCHE MÜNZEN, GRIECHISCHES MUTTERLAND, ATTIKA, ATHEN.
Lot. Hemiobol und Tetartemorion. 479-404. Behelmter Athenakopf r. Rs: Eule r., dahinter Olivenzweig.

SNG COP. 59 ff. Schöne dunkle Tönung. 2 Exemplare. gutes ss u. ssEx Sammlung A.W. vor 2013.

 

[apollonia]

Tetartemorion (Hirsch 352)

GRIECHISCHE MÜNZEN
GRIECHISCHE MÜNZEN, GRIECHISCHES MUTTERLAND, ATTIKA, ATHEN.
Tetartemorion. 479-404. Behelmter Athenakopf r. Rs: Eule r., dahinter Olivenzweig.
SNG COP. 62. 0.16g, Schöne dunkle Tönung. ssEx Sammlung A.W. vor 2013.

[apollonia]

Tetartemorion CNG 286

ATTICA, Athens. Circa 353-294 BC. AR Tetartemorion (5mm, 0.18 g, 6h). Helmeted head of Athena right / Owl standing right, head facing; olive sprig and crescent behind; all within incuse square. Kroll -; Klein 202. Good VF, obverse off center. Exceptional reverse strike.
From the Peter Lee Collection.

 

CNG 286, Lot: 64. Estimate $100. Sold for $320. 

 

[apollonia]

Emiobolo CNG 462

ATTICA, Athens. Circa 454-404 BC. AR Hemiobol (7mm, 0.32 g, 6h). Helmeted head of Athena right / Owl standing right, head facing; olive sprig behind; all within incuse square. Kroll 14; HGC 4, 1681. Toned. VF.
Ex Classical Numismatic Group Electronic Auction 314 (6 November 2013), lot 109.

CNG Electronic Auction 462 Lot: 73. Estimated: $ 100 - Sold For $ 170

[apollonia]

Gruppo di “Civette” d’argento dal British Museum 

https://research.britishmuseum.org/research/collection_online/collection_object_details/collection_image_gallery.aspx?partid=1&assetid=1601843001&objectid=1288335

 

[apollonia]

Dopo un'indagine, alla domanda di lacivettadiatena nel post # 15 posso dare risposta affermativa in quanto alcuni didrammi aurei che documenterò a seguire sono conservati al British Museum di Londra.

Non per pignoleria ma per seguire le regole della nostra lingua faccio presente che didramma (come tetradramma e decadramma) è di genere maschile e quindi prende la i al plurale; invece emidramma è di genere femminile come dramma e quindi prende la e al plurale.