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Home ▸ Catalog ▸ |Themes & Provenance| ▸ |Quality| ▸ |High Grade||View Options:   | | | When first introduced to ancient coins, most people are shocked to learn that some coins remain in mint state and even more surprised to learn that they are not all in musuems. Ancient people did not have stocks, bonds mutual funds, or bank accounts. The primary implement for holding wealth was coins, often buried, and often buried in uncirculated or mint state condition. If an owner died without recovering their coins or telling an heir where to find them, they were lost. Millions of ancient coins have been recovered, and thousands have been found in superb condition. |
Scipio was the Pompeian commander of the anti-Caesareans. His headquarters was at the provincial capital of Utica, near the site of Carthage, and this is likely the site of his mint. Defeated by Caesar's forces, Scipio committed suicide in 46 B.C.SH27786. Silver denarius, Crawford 459/1, Sydenham 1046, RSC I Caecilia 47, BMC Africa 1, Vagi 77, SRCV I 1379, EF, weight 3.887 g, maximum diameter 16.5 mm, die axis 135o, Africa, Utica mint, 47 - 46 B.C.; obverse Q. METEL PIVS, laureate head of Jupiter right, beard and hair in ringlets; reverse elephant walking right, SCIPIO above, IMP in exergue; SOLD
Anastasius, 11 April 491 - 1 July 518 A.D.
Anastasius I came to the throne at the age of 61 after being chosen by the wife of his predecessor, Zeno. He is noted for leaving the imperial government with a sizeable budget surplus of 23,000,000 solidi by reducing government corruption, reforming the tax code, and currency reform. He is venerated as a saint by the Syriac Orthodox Church. His improvements to the government, economy, and bureaucracy of the Eastern Roman empire were so dramatic that he is often described as the first Byzantine emperor.SH19042. Gold solidus, DOC I 3a (not in the collection, refs Tolstoi), Tolstoi 70, Hahn MIB 4, SBCV 3, Morrisson BnF -, BMC Wroth -, Ratto -, aEF, nice strike, nice coin, weight 4.480 g, maximum diameter 20.7 mm, die axis 180o, 1st officina, Constantinople (Istanbul, Turkey) mint, c. 491 - 498 A.D.; obverse D N ANASTA-SIVS P P AVC, helmeted and cuirassed bust facing slightly right, helmet with plume, trefoil ornament and diadem, pellets on cuirass, spear in right hand and behind head, shield on left arm ornamented with mounted cavalryman right attacking prostrate enemy; reverse VICTORI-A AVCCC A CONOB, Victory stands half left, head left, long jeweled cross in right hand which rests on ground, star right; SOLD
Diadumenian, Mid May - 8 June 218 A.D.
Spes was the Roman personification of Hope. In art Spes is normally depicted carrying flowers or a cornucopia, but on coins she is almost invariably depicted holding a flower in her extended right hand, while the left is raising a fold of her dress. She was also named "ultima dea" - for Hope is the last resort of men. On this coin, the Caesar, Diadumenian, the designated successor of the emperor, is identified as the hope for the future of the Roman people.SH82699. Silver denarius, RSC III 21b; RIC IV 117; SRCV II 7450; BMCRE V, p. 510, 93 var. (from front) and 94 var. (no cuirass); Hunter III 4 var. (no cuirass), Choice EF, excellent portrait, translucent look drapery, light rose tone on luster, excellent centering and strike, tiny edge cracks, but for slight obv. double strike it would be FDC, weight 3.000 g, maximum diameter 20.4 mm, die axis 0o, Rome mint, as caesar, Jan - mid May 218 A.D.; obverse M OPEL ANT DIADVMENIAN CAES, bare-headed, draped and cuirassed bust right, seen from behind; reverse SPES PVBLICA (the hope of the public), Spes advancing left, flower in right hand, raising skirt with left hand; SOLD
Byzantine Empire, Theophilus, 12 May 821 - 20 January 842 A.D.
After Leo III, 717-741 A.D., the semissis and tremissis were issued only in small quantities and normally only on particular occasions for ceremonial distribution.SH10988. Gold semissis, SBCV 1674; DOC III-1 26c, Morrisson BnF 8-10, EF, weight 1.749 g, maximum diameter 12.8 mm, die axis 135o, Sicily, Syracuse mint, 829 - 830 A.D.; obverse ΘEOFIΛOS, crowned bust of Theophilus facing with short beard, wearing chlamys and holding globus cruciger; reverse similar to obverse, but emperor wears loros instead of chlamys; ex Edward J. Waddell; SOLD
Kindarite Huns, Peroz, c. 345 - 350 A.D.
The Kindarite coins betray little of their Hun origins as the designs were copied from coins issued by the Kushan and Kushano-Sasanian kings, whom they succeeded. In Bactria, the coins of were struck in the name of the last Kushano-Sasanian king, Varahran Kushanshah, whom they may have retained as a puppet ruler, but the real power is identified by a Kindarite tamga.SH48317. Gold stater, ANS Kushan 2420, Mitchiner ACW 3592, Göbl Kushan 608, aEF, weight 7.796 g, maximum diameter 21.8 mm, die axis 0o, Gandhara mint, c. 345 - 350 A.D.; obverse Kushan style king standing facing, head left, nimbate, diademed, wearing pointed cap, sacrificing at altar from right hand, staff in left hand, trident above left; Brahmi inscriptions: Kapana next to altar, Peroyasa under left arm, Gadahara right; reverse goddess Ardochsho (Lakshmi) enthroned facing, nimbate, crescent on top of head, diadem with ladder-like ribbons in right hand, cornucopia in left hand, tamga upper left, Brahmi monogram sha right; SOLD
Mesembria, Thrace, c. 250 - 65 B.C., Civic Issue in the Types and Name of Alexander the Great
The monogram control symbol is apparently unpublished and we did not find another example online.SH90210. Silver tetradrachm, apparently unpublished; Price -, Müller Alexander -, Karayotov -, SNG Saroglos -, SNG Munchen -, SNG Alpha Bank -, SNG Cop -, aEF, weight 16.498 g, maximum diameter 28.2 mm, die axis 0o, Mesambria (Nesebar, Bulgaria) mint, c. 250 - 65 B.C.; obverse head of Herakles right, wearing Nemean Lion skin, scalp over head, forepaws tied at neck; reverse Zeus enthroned left, right leg drawn back, eagle in right, long lotus tipped scepter vertical behind in left, Corinthian helmet right over monogram in inner left, AΛΕΞANΔPOY downward on left, BAΣIΛΕΩΣ downward on right; ex CNG auction 324, part of lot 666; extremely rare; SOLD
Nuremberg, German States, 1700
Attractive and popular "lamb ducat".
The coin is dated using a chronogram. Four letters from the obverse legend were engraved larger than the others, giving the year MDCC (1700).
The denominations of the series range from 1/32 to 4 ducats!SH31262. Gold klippe ducat, KM 258, EF, weight 3.477 g, Nuremberg mint, obverse TEMPORA NOSTRA PATER DONATA PACE CORONA, pascal lamb standing left on globe, banner inscribed PAX across shoulder; reverse SECVLVM NOVVM CELEBRAT RESP NORIBENGENS, ornate cartouche bearing three shields of arms, dove above, signature IMF below; c. 20 mm square; SOLD
Diadumenian, Mid May - 8 June 218 A.D.
Diadumenian was the son of Macrinus, made Caesar at the age of nine in 217 A.D. and Augustus in 218. After his father's defeat he fled towards Parthia but was overtaken and executed.SH77397. Silver denarius, RIC IV 107.1a (S), RSC III 12; Hunter III 1, cf. BMCRE V p. 508, M82 (antoninianus, but denarius noted); SRCV II -, NGC AU (about uncirculated) (3819479-44); full circle centering, mint luster, weight 2.935 g, maximum diameter 19.6 mm, die axis 0o, Rome mint, as caesar, May 217 - mid May 218 A.D.; obverse M OPEL DIADVMENIANVS CAES, bare-headed and draped bust right, seen from behind; reverse PRINC IVVENTVTIS (Prince of Youth), Diadumenian standing slightly left, head left, in military dress, baton in right hand, scepter nearly vertical in left hand, legionary aquila and standard standing in ground behind him on right; ex Forum (2009); NGC| Lookup; scarce; SOLD
Russia, Anna Ioannovna, 26 February 1730 - 28 October 1740
Anna Ioannovna and sometimes anglicized as Anne ruled as Empress of Russia from 1730 to 1740. Much of her administration was defined or heavily influenced by actions set in motion by her uncle, Peter the Great, such as the lavish building projects in St. Petersburg, funding the Russian Academy of Science, and measures which generally favored the nobility, such as the repeal of a primogeniture law in 1730. In the West, Anna's reign was traditionally viewed as a continuation of the transition from the old Muscovy ways to the European court envisioned by Peter the Great. Within Russia, Anna's reign is often referred to as a "dark era."SH111005. Silver Rouble, Davenport Large 1670, SCWC KM 192.1, aEF, toned, light marks, die crack on rev., weight 26.520 g, maximum diameter 41.3 mm, die axis 0o, Moscow mint, 1732; obverse Б M AHHA IMΠEPATPИЛA ICAMOДEPЖИЛA BCEPOCИCКAЯ, crowned and cuirassed bust right; reverse MOHETA
1732, crown above crowned double-headed eagle, shield on breast ornamented with St. George spearing dragon, garland tied with X on tail, imperial scepter in right talons, imperial orb in left talons; SOLDAnastasius, 11 April 491 - 1 July 518 A.D.
"Although historians often date the start of the Byzantine Empire at either the dedication of Constantinople (330 AD - making Constantine I the first Byzantine Emperor), the split of the Roman Empire at the death of Theodosius I (395 AD - making Arcadius the first Byzantine Emperor), or even at the fall of the western Roman Empire (476 AD - making Zeno the first Byzantine Emperor), numismatically the break is clearly in the reign of Anastasius, specifically at his previously mentioned coinage reform of 498. That reform was a radical re-structuring of the bronze coinage, and a sharp departure from previous Roman designs. Although the pre- and post-reform silver and gold are indistinguishable, the vast bulk of the coinage, what the 'man-in-the-street' dealt with, was clearly symbolic of a new beginning, and thus Moneta ends its coverage of Roman coinage with Anastasius." - Moneta Historical ReferenceSH16824. Gold solidus, SBCV 3, DOC I 3i, EF, weight 4.481 g, maximum diameter 20.9 mm, die axis 225o, 10th officina, Constantinople (Istanbul, Turkey) mint, c. 491 - 498 A.D.; obverse D N ANASTA-SIVS P P AVG, helmeted and cuirassed bust facing slightly right, helmet with plume, trefoil ornament and diadem, pellets on cuirass, spear in right hand and behind head, shield on left arm ornamented with mounted cavalryman right attacking prostrate enemy; reverse VICTORIA AVGGG I (victory of the three emperors, 10th officina), Victoria standing left, long jeweled cross in right, star right, CONOB in exergue; mirror luster with some light scratches; SOLD
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