| Athens, Attica, Greece |  |
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| Athens, Attica, Greece, 3rd Century B.C., Eleusian Coinage |   | Triptolemus was a demigod of the Eleusinian mysteries who presided over the sowing of grain-seed and the milling of wheat. His name means He who Pounds the Husks. In myth, Triptolemos was one of the Eleusinian princes who kindly received Demeter when she came mourning the loss of her daughter Persephone. The young goddess was eventually returned to her from the Underworld, and Demeter in her munificence, instructed Triptolemos in the art of agriculture, and gave him a winged chariot drawn by serpents so that he might travel the world spreading her gift. |
| GB35141. Bronze AE 14, Kroll 51 and 55, F/VF, weight 2.962 g, maximum diameter 14.3 mm, die axis 315o, Athens mint, obverse Triptolemus seated in chariot left; reverse ELEUSI, pig right, torch below, all within wheat wreath; $120.00 (€99.60) |
|  | Theseus was a legendary king of Athens, son of Aethra, and fathered by Aegeus and Poseidon. He was responsible for the synoikismos ("dwelling together")?the political unification of Attica under Athens, represented emblematically in his journey of labors, subduing highly localized ogres and monstrous beasts. |
| GB29361. Bronze drachm, Svoronos, pl. 96, 1 (same dies), Fair, edge break, holed, weight 6.389 g, maximum diameter 23.6 mm, die axis 225o, Athens mint, 150 - 175 A.D.; obverse helmeted head of Athena right; reverse Theseus slaying Minotaur; ex Harlan J. Berk; $290.00 (€240.70) |
| Athens, Greece, Old Style Tetradrachm, 449 - 413 B.C. |  | The old-style tetradrachm of Athens is famous for its almond shaped eye, archaic smile and charming owl reverse. Around 480 B.C. a wreath of olive leaves and a decorative scroll were added to Athena's helmet. On the reverse a crescent moon was added.
During the period 449 - 413 B.C. huge quantities of tetradrachms were minted to finance grandiose building projects such as the Parthenon and to cover the costs of the Peloponnesian War. |
| GS41385. Silver tetradrachm, SNG Cop 31 ff., SGCV I 2526, gVF, encrustation, test cut?, weight 17.227 g, maximum diameter 24.0 mm, die axis 270o, Athens mint, obverse head of Athena right, almond shaped eye, crested helmet with olive leaves and floral scroll, wire necklace, round earring, hair in parallel curves; reverse AQE right, owl standing right, head facing, erect in posture, olive sprig and crescent left, all within incuse square; $280.00 (€232.40) |
| Egypt, Imitative of Athenian Old Style Tetradrachm, c. 420 - 380 B.C. |  | Athenian tetradrachms with this droopy eye and bent back palmette have been identified as Egyptian imitative issues because they are most frequently found in Egypt and rarely in Greece.
Early in his reign the Egyptian Pharaoh Hakor, who ruled from 393 to 380 B.C., revolted against his overlord, the Persian King Artaxerxes. In 390 B.C. Hakor joined a tripartite alliance with Athens and King Evagoras of Cyprus. Persian attacks on Egypt in 385 and 383 were repulsed by Egyptian soldiers and Greek mercenaries under the command of the Athenian general Chabrias. Perhaps these coins were struck to pay the general and his Greek mercenaries.
From the Harald Ulrik Sverdrup Collection. |
| GS41386. Silver tetradrachm, cf. SNG Cop 31 ff., SGCV I 2526 (Athens), gVF, tight flan, weight 17.111 g, maximum diameter 22.2 mm, die axis 270o, obverse head of Athena right, droopy eye, crested helmet with olive leaves and bent-back palmette, wire necklace, round earring, hair in parallel curves; reverse AQE right, owl standing right, head facing, erect in posture, olive sprig and crescent left, all within incuse square; $280.00 (€232.40) |
| Egypt or Philistia, Imitative of Athenian Old Style Tetradrachm, c. 420 - 380 B.C. |  | Characteristics that indicate this coin is an imitation from Egypt or Philistia include the following: - The letters are abnormally thick. - The central dot in the theta is missing. - The palmette is abnormally thick and the petals curl back. - Two countermarks from the near east. - The line down the neck along the edge of the neckguard is solid and thick, official issues have a line of pearls or a thinner line. |
| GS42595. Silver tetradrachm, cf. SNG Cop 31 ff., SGCV I 2526 (Athens), VF, test cuts, banker, weight 16.935 g, maximum diameter 24.1 mm, die axis 270o, obverse head of Athena right, droopy eye, crested helmet with olive leaves and bent-back palmette, wire necklace, round earring, hair in parallel curves; reverse AQE right, owl standing right, head facing, erect in posture, olive sprig and crescent left, all within incuse square; $260.00 (€215.80) ON RESERVE |
| Athens, Greece, Old Style Tetradrachm, 449 - 413 B.C. |  | The old-style tetradrachm of Athens is famous for its almond shaped eye, archaic smile and charming owl reverse. Around 480 B.C. a wreath of olive leaves and a decorative scroll were added to Athena's helmet. On the reverse a crescent moon was added.
During the period 449 - 413 B.C. huge quantities of tetradrachms were minted to finance grandiose building projects such as the Parthenon and to cover the costs of the Peloponnesian War. |
| GS38517. Silver tetradrachm, SNG Cop 31 ff., SGCV I 2526, VF, two test cuts, weight 17.005 g, maximum diameter 24.4 mm, die axis 180o, Athens mint, obverse head of Athena right, almond shaped eye, crested helmet with olive leaves and floral scroll, wire necklace, round earring, hair in parallel curves; reverse AQE right, owl standing right, head facing, erect in posture, olive sprig and crescent left, all within incuse square; uneven toning; $250.00 (€207.50) |
| Athens, Greece, Old Style Tetradrachm, 449 - 413 B.C. |  | The old-style tetradrachm of Athens is famous for its almond shaped eye, archaic smile and charming owl reverse. Around 480 B.C. a wreath of olive leaves and a decorative scroll were added to Athena's helmet. On the reverse a crescent moon was added.
During the period 449 - 413 B.C. huge quantities of tetradrachms were minted to finance grandiose building projects such as the Parthenon and to cover the costs of the Peloponnesian War. |
| GS42596. Silver tetradrachm, SNG Cop 31 ff., SGCV I 2526, VF, test cuts, weight 16.913 g, maximum diameter 22.9 mm, die axis 0o, Athens mint, obverse head of Athena right, almond shaped eye, crested helmet with olive leaves and floral scroll, wire necklace, round earring, hair in parallel curves; reverse AQE right, owl standing right, head facing, erect in posture, olive sprig and crescent left, all within incuse square; $230.00 (€190.90) |
| Athens, Greece, Old Style Tetradrachm, 449 - 413 B.C. |  | The old-style tetradrachm of Athens is famous for its almond shaped eye, archaic smile and charming owl reverse. Around 480 B.C. a wreath of olive leaves and a decorative scroll were added to Athena's helmet. On the reverse a crescent moon was added.
During the period 449 - 413 B.C. huge quantities of tetradrachms were minted to finance grandiose building projects such as the Parthenon and to cover the costs of the Peloponnesian War. |
| GS41377. Silver tetradrachm, SNG Cop 31 ff., SGCV I 2526, VF, small test cut, weight 17.094 g, maximum diameter 24.0 mm, die axis 270o, Athens mint, obverse head of Athena right, almond shaped eye, crested helmet with olive leaves and floral scroll, wire necklace, round earring, hair in parallel curves; reverse AQE right, owl standing right, head facing, erect in posture, olive sprig and crescent left, all within incuse square; partially uncleaned; $225.00 (€186.75) ON RESERVE |
| Athens, Attica, Greece, c. 125 - 175 A.D. |  | After defeating Athens, King Minos of Crete demanded that, at seven-year intervals, seven Athenian boys and seven Athenian girls must be sent to Crete to be devoured by the Minotaur, a half-man, half-bull monster that lived in the Labyrinth created by Daedalus. On the third occasion, Theseus volunteered to slay the monster and took the place of one of the youths. King Minos' daughter Ariadne, out of love for Theseus, gave him a ball of string so he could find his way out. Following Daedalus' instructions given to Ariadne; go forwards, always down and never left or right, Theseus came to the heart of the Labyrinth and upon the sleeping Minotaur. He overpowered the Minotaur and slit the beast's throat. He used the string to escape the Labyrinth and escaped with all of the young Athenians and Ariadne. |
| GB35142. Bronze AE 12, SNG Cop 378, F, weight 1.552 g, maximum diameter 11.6 mm, die axis 315o, Athens mint, obverse bare head of Theseus right, club across shoulder; reverse AQH, bucranium (head of the Minotaur?); rare; rare; $150.00 (€124.50) |
| Athens, Attica, Greece, c. 130 - 100 B.C. |  | |
| GB41252. Bronze chalkous, SNG Cop 297, F, weight 6.799 g, maximum diameter 81.4 mm, die axis 0o, Athens mint, obverse helmeted head of Athena right; reverse A-Q-E, Zeus advancing right hurling thunderbolt, grain-ear lower left, eagle lower right; from the Dr. J. Hewitt Judd Collection (author of United States Pattern Coins Experimental & Trial Pieces); $150.00 (€124.50) |
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