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Kings of Macedon, Alexander III the Great, 336-323 BC, AR Tetradrachm - Amphipolis Mint under Antipater120 viewsHead of Herakles right, wearing lion skin headdress.
AΛEΞANΔPOY Zeus Aëtophoros seated left; janiform head vase in left field. Graffiti in upper left field - Aramaic kaph (k) and sadhe (s).
Price 6; Troxell, Studies, Issue A3; SNG Cop 660; Muller 853.
Struck at Amphipolis in the period 332-329 BC.
(29 mm, 17.15 g, 2h)
This is one of the first emissions of Alexander’s coinage struck in his homeland, albeit about three years after he departed for Asia Minor. Recent scholarship places the start of Alexander’s distinctive coinage in 333/2 BC at Tarsos, in eastern Asia Minor, shortly after which the design was transferred to Macedonia where Alexander’s coinage was struck under the authority of his regent in Greece, Antipater. Die studies indicate that this coin was from the fourth tetradrachm emission of a mint in Macedonia, most probably Amphipolis. It was most probably struck in the period 332-329 BC. The Aramaic graffiti on the reverse, plus the obverse reverse rim test cut are pointers to the likelihood that this coin travelled beyond its location of issue in Macedonia, into the eastern Mediterranean where Aramaic was the main spoken language.n.igma
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Seleukid Kingdom, Seleukos I Nikator, 312-281 BC, AR Tetradrachm - Babylonia, Uncertain Mint 6A 115 viewsHead of Herakles right wearing lion skin headdress.
ΒΑΣΙΛEΩΣ ФIΛIÎ Î OY Zeus Aëtophoros enthroned left, star symbol beneath throne, Î recut over an earlier mint control in left field.
Taylor, Triparadeisos to Ipsos, Series IV, 189 (this coin), Plate 12, 189 (this coin), dies A50/P1; HGC 9, 11a (same dies); SC 68 (same dies); WSM 1241 (same dies); Price P167 (same dies).
Uncertain Mint 6A in Babylonia, 303-302 BC.
Struck under Seleukos utilising a reverse die from an earlier lifetime Philip issue (Price P160) with the left field mint control recut. Obverse die linked to examples of SC 67 (Alexander), SC 69 (Seleukos) and SC 50.1 (Alexander Uncertain Mint 1) .
One of four examples known and the only one outside the ANS (Newell) collection.
(26 mm, 17.0 g, 3h).
This very late posthumous issue in the name of Philip III is a unique numismatic circumstance. It was struck from a Philip III lifetime reverse die used about twelve years previously, paired to an obverse die that was also used to strike coins in the name of Alexander and Seleukos. This was not a matter of happenstance, but rather a deliberate pairing of dies that symbolically linked the name of Seleukos to the preceding Argead kings in a ritual numismatic statement of legitimacy. This occurred in Uncertain Mint 6A, which by this time was a mobile military mint, attached to the army of Seleukos on the campaign to Ipsos. This ritual symbolic numismatic acclamation of kingship paralleled the acclamation of Seleukos as king by the assembled army in a long-standing Macedonian tradition.
Reference: Taylor, L. W. H. 2015. From Triparadeisos to Ipsos: Seleukos I Nikator’s Uncertain Mint 6A in Babylonia. AJN Second Series 27: 41-97.n.igma
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Calabria, Tarentum, 334-330 BC, AR Didrachm 75 viewsNaked horseman crowning himself on stationary horse right, small ΣA and large Ionic capital beneath.
Taras holding sea snake and whip astride dolphin facing left, KO in lower right.
Fischer-Bossert group 75, 960-973; HN Italy 941-942; SNG ANS 1026; Vlasto 654-8; Evans V, E1 and McGill II, 57-58.
(20 mm, 12h).
Spink & Son Ltd, July 1988.n.igma
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Ptolemaic Kings of Egypt, Ptolemy I Soter as Satrap, 323-305 BC - Memphis Mint74 viewsHead of Herakles right wearing lion-skin headdress; test cut applied to top of the head.
AΛΕΞANΔPOY Zeus seated left, holding eagle and scepter; rose before, ΔI beneath throne, O between throne and scepter.
Price 3971; Muller 124; SNG Copenhagen 853; Dewing 1180.
Memphis mint ca. 323-316 BC.
(27 mm, 16.92 g, 12h).
ex- Barry P. Murphy.
Amongst the first Egyptian issues of Alexandrine tetradrachms, minted shortly after Ptolemy took control of Egypt as Satrap.
n.igma
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Kings of Macedon, Alexander III The Great, 336-323 BC, AR Tetradrachm – Damaskos c. 326/5BC69 viewsHead of Herakles right in lion-skin headdress, paws tied at neck.
ΑΛΕΞΑΝΔΡOΥ Zeus Aëtophoros seated left on a backless throne; in left field forepart of ram right; beneath throne two pellets above strut, ΔA below.
Taylor AJN 29, Damaskos, Series 2.2.2, 202 (this coin), Pl.11, 202 (this coin), dies A14/P7; Price 3204. Damaskos c. 326/5 BC.
(25 mm, 17.01 g, 11h).
Reference: Taylor. L. W. H. "The Damaskos Mint of Alexander the Great." AJN Second Series 29 (2017): 47-100.
The Alexander mint at Damaskos (Damascus) opened for a brief period in the mid 320’s. The reason and purpose behind its brief operation have not been established. However, its coinage was the fourth most abundant in the Demanhur Hoard with all Damaskos issues represented. The reverse of the Damaskos iissues, bearing a portrayal of Zeus seated with parallel legs and a legend absent the royal title suggests that the mint closed before the death of Alexander III the Great
n.igma
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Cilicia, Tarsos, Satrap Mazaios, 361-334 BC, AR Stater64 viewsBaaltars, wearing a himation over his lower limbs, seated to left, holding a lotus-tipped sceptre, a thymiaterion surmounted by an eagle on left, Aramaic legend BLTRZ (Baaltars) to right.
Lion advancing left on ground, Aramaic legend MZDY (Mazday = Mazaios) above.
Casabonne Series 5, Group B; SNG Levante 188; SNG France 431; SNG von Aulock 5463; BMC 64.
(22 mm, 10.52 g, 11h).
Harlan J. Berk; ex- Lewis Egnew Collection: Superior, 30 May 1995, lot 7695.
This coin type is from a short-lived emission, stuck immediately prior to Alexander the Great’s invasion of Asia. The attribution of the walking-lion series of Mazaios was originally given to the mint of Tarsos, but Newell argued that they more likely were struck at Myriandros in his study of that mint in AJN 53 (1919). Later, J.D. Bing, in AJN 1 (1989), argued for an alternative attribution of the Myriandros coinage to the mint of Issos. While most dealers and numismatic works continue to follow the attribution of Newell, Casabonne’s study of Cilicia during the Persian period convincingly returns these coins of Mazaios to the mint of Tarsos.
n.igma
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Aeolis, Kyme, ca. 151-145 BC, AR Tetradrachm 64 viewsHead of the Amazon Kyme right, hair bound with tainia.
KYMAIΩN METROΦANHZ Bridled horse standing right, left foreleg raised above an oinochoe (one-handled jug), all within laurel wreath.
Oakley obverse die 1; BMC Aeolis p111, 74, SNG Copenhagen 104 (same obverse die).
(33 mm, 16.77 g, 12h).
Forum Ancient Coins.
Dating to 151-145 BC based on the analysis of recent hoards: Commerce (“Demetrius I” Hoard), 2003 (CH 10.301) by Lorber and Gaziantep Hoard (CH 9.257; 10.308) by Meadows and Houghton date the stenophoric civic issues of Kyme to the interval ca. 151-145 BC.n.igma
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Thrace, Mesembria, ca. 200-190 BC, AR Tetradrachm - in the name of Alexander III the Great62 viewsHead of Herakles r. with the features of Alexander the Great (?) wearing a lion skin headdress.
ΒΑΣIΛΕΩΣ ΑΛΕΞΑΝΔΡΟΥ, Zeus enthroned l., legs draped, confronting eagle held on outstretched r. arm and grasping lotus-tipped scepter, crested Corinthian helmet with cheek guards facing r. before, ΔIOΣK in exergue.
Price 1003; Waggoner “The Propontis Hoard” Revue Numismatique 1979, 30 (same obverse die). The same reverse die as that of this coin was re-cut by erasing the name ΔIOΣK while adding a monogram beneath the throne and was used to strike Propontis Hoard 31, Price 1005. This is the only known example from this reverse die in its initial state.
(31 mm, 16.85 g, 12h)
Eukratides Ancient Numismatics; CNG 42 (29 May 1997), lot 245
One of nine known examples of Price 1003 and the only one from this reverse die, which was re-cut to Price 1005.
Price in describing this emission noted, ”The Mektipini and Propontis hoards document the chronology of the chronology of the late third and early second century BC. In particular they pinpoint the dramatic issues of Dioskouridas, with the very fine portrait, apparently of Alexander in the guise of Herakles as an issue of the 190’s BC.”
As indicated by Price, this is one of the few Alexandrine issues where there is a possibility that the portrayal of Herakles might have been based on a portrait of Alexander the Great. For whatever reason this portrayal was restricted to a single obverse die that was used to strike all known examples of Price 1003 and 1004.
The letters ΔIOΣK in exergue of this coin are an abbreviation of ΔIOΣKOYPIΔA, the name Dioskouridas, a relatively common name in the second century BC. The full name is spelt out in the exergue on an associated emission from the same obverse die, Price 1004. Die wear evident on this coin (Price 1003) indicates it was struck after Price 1004. This revised sequence is further validated by the fact that the reverse die of this coin was subsequently re-cut by erasing the letters ΔIOΣK while engraving a monogram beneath the throne. In this modified form the reverse die was then used to strike Propontis Hoard 31, Price 1005. This is the only known specimen of Price 1003 on which this reverse die, the precursor to Price 1005, has been identified. Until the identification of the reverse die on this coin, it was only known in its modified re-cut form on Price 1005 where ΔIOΣK is faintly visible in the exergue.
The reverse die of this coin also warrants further mention for its unusual iconography when compared to others in the series. The associated Disokouridas issue, Price 1004, bears Zeus seated on a backless throne, the latter depicted only in an outline form only. On this coin, the base of the throne is quite detailed, while a disjoint and improperly scaled back, defined in a bare, undecorated linear outline style appears to have been added almost as an afterthought. The same effect is apparent on the three other reverse dies used to strike Price 1003. The left side offset of the outline of the throne back relative to the throne base is pronounced, while the height of the back rises above the shoulder of Zeus, so as to intersect his head. This incongruity of the treatment of the back of the throne is a stark contrast to the well styled, detailed engraving of the balance of the reverse.
n.igma
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Attica, Eleusis, ca. 322/17-307 BC, Æ 15 62 viewsTriptolemos holding ears of wheat, in winged chariot drawn left by two serpents.
Pig standing right on a long torch (bacchos) within wreath of wheat ears; legend EΛEY (illegible) below.
BMC Attica p. 113, 10; Svoronos pl. 103.26-28; SNG Copenhagen 421-423; Kroll, Agora, 49.
(15 mm, 2.22 g, 8h).
Harlan J. Berk Buy or Bid Sale 159, 3 June 2008, 480; ex- John Twente Animal Collection.n.igma
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Akarnania, Oiniadai, 219-211 BC, Æ 2261 views Laureate head of Zeus right, eagle (?) behind.
Head of man-faced bull, the river-god Acheloos right, trident above, OINIAΔAN behind.
BCD Akarnania 349; SNG Copenhagen 403.
(22 mm, 6.73 g, 1h).
Harlan J. Berk Buy or Bid Sale 187, September 2013, 336. n.igma
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Kings of Macedon, Philip III Arrhidaios, 323-317 BC, AR Tetradrachm - Babylon ca. 317 BC under Seleukos as Satrap 55 viewsHead of Herakles right wearing lion skin headdress.
ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ ФIΛIÎ Î OY Zeus Aëtophoros seated left, KY beneath throne, radiate head of Helios in left field.
Price P205 (same dies as P205c); Waggoner Issue VII, 248-256.
Struck during the Satrapy of Seleukos at Babylon Royal Mint (Babylon I) ca 318-316 BC.
(27 mm, 17.13 g, 10h).
Sayles and Lavender, August 2008, on consignment from the Arthur J. Frank Collection; ex-J.Schulman List 205, June 1975, 35.
This coin marks the artistic peak of the Babylonian style. Subsequent issues became less detailed, more stylized and simplified through to the closure of the mint in 305 BC.n.igma
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Parthia, Andragoras, ca. 245-238 BC, AR Didrachm55 viewsHelmeted head of Athena r.; monogram behind.
Owl standing r., head facing; galley prow r. above grape vine branch behind, AΘE to r.
Taylor 'Birds of a Feather' 2.15; HGC 12, 3 (Baktria); H. Nicolet-Pierre & M. Amandry, RN 1994, 49 (Baktria); SNG ANS 9, 4 var. (Baktria).
(18 mm, 8.11 g, 6h).
Roma Numismatics E-Live 4 (20 Nov. 2018), lot 440; ex- 'Andragoras-Sophytes' Hoard.
This coin like all the Series 2 didrachms has a strongly developed hammered edge fabric giving the edge of the coin a faceted appearance that is much more evident in hand than in the photo.
Although the mint control symbol consisting of a galley prow may seem out of place on a coin struck in Parthia, it should be remembered that the province of Parthia bordered the Caspian Sea, the world's largest inland body of water, undoubtedly plied by galleys in ancient times.
The 'Andragoras-Sophytes' hoard came to market from mid-late 2017. It was reputedly found in 2014 and consisted of approximately 600 coins from at an undisclosed location in Afghanistan (Hoard information: Olivier Bordeaux & Osmund Bopearachchi). Around half of these coins were marketed by Roma Numismatics in a succession of auctions commencing in 2017 and continuing through 2019.
n.igma
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Seleukid Kingdom, Seleukos I Nikator, 312-281 BC, AR Drachm - Susa54 views Helmeted head of Seleukos right.
ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ ΣEΛEYKOY Nike standing right, holding in both hands a wreath that she places on trophy to right; H to lower left, AX in lower middle field.
Marest-Caffety AJN 28, Victory Coinage 2.5, 209 (this coin), dies A10/P11, Pl. 15, 209 (this coin); SC 174.5; HGC 9, 34; BMC 39; CSE 1024; Jameson 1656.
Susa mint 300-295 BC.
(15.5 mm, 4.09 g, 12h).
Triton XVIII, 6 January 2015, 713; ex- Cederlind 106, 17 December 1996, 814; Peus 340, 2 Nov. 1994, Lot 476..
Referred to as the Susa Trophy Series, this coin type has a number of unique and enigmatic attributes. It was only stuck at Susa for a period of about five years between 300-295 BC. The type is rarely found west of the Tigris River and appears to have been largely confined to circulation in Susiana and Persis.
Recent work by Marest-Caffey (AJN 28, 2016) placed this enigmatic issue in its true context. The obverse image is polysemous, incorporating elements of Persian iconography of power into a portrait of Greek style and format. This deliberate ambiguity played to the belief systems of different components of Seleukos’s domain. A Macedonian audience could see this as an image of Alexander the Great, while the Persians could see in the taurine imagery as a reflection of Seleukos himself.
The reverse iconography of Nike erecting a trophy is specifically Greek while the trophy itself bears Greek armour including a shield that prominently bears the Macedonian starburt. The latter fixes the issue after the Battle of Ipsos in 301 BC in which Seleukos played a prominent role in the defeat of Antigonos Monopthalmos.
The ‘trophy’ coinage appears was struck in the period 300-295 BC.
n.igma
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Kings of Macedon, Alexander III The Great, 336-323 BC, AR Tetradrachm - Babylon 330-328 BC under Mazaios as Satrap53 viewsHead of Herakles right in lion skin headdress, paws tied at neck.
ΑΛΕΞΑΝΔΡOΥ Zeus Aëtophoros seated left, Φ to left, M above laurel sprig beneath throne.
Taylor, Babylon, Group 1.2.8, 101 (this coin), Pl. 3, 101 (this coin), dies A11/P3: Price 3588 (same obverse die as Price 3584); Waggoner Issue I, 7e-f.
Babylon Royal Mint 330-328 BC.
(24 mm, 17.24 g, 12h).
Reference Taylor, L. W. H. "The Earliest Alexander III Tetradrachm Coinage of Babylon: Iconographic Development and Chronology." AJN Second Series 30 (2018): 1-44.
TThe unique reverse style of this coin is to be found on some of the issues of Soli in Cyprus starting in 325/4 BC. It is likely that the engravers responsible transferred from Babylon to Cyprus to start Macedonian Imperial mint operation on the island. n.igma
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Elis, Olympia, 97th-100th Olympiad, 392-380 BC, AR Hemidrachm 52 viewsHead of Eagle right; ΠO (Polykaon) below.
Thunderbolt with volutes above and wings below; F-A across field; all within olive wreath.
HGC 5, 433 (R2); BCD Olympia 95; Seltman, Temple pl. VIII, 20. Zeus Mint.
(15 mm, 2.58 g, 1h).
Classical Numismatic Group, August 2009; ex- BCD Collection (not in previous sales); ex- Dr. J. S. Wilkinson Collection: Malter 49, 15 November 1992, 627.n.igma
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Akarnania, Leukas, 87 BC, AR Didrachm52 viewsCult statue of the goddess Aphrodite Aeneias with stag standing right, holding aplustre, bird on standard behind; all within a laurel wreath.
ΛΕΥΚΑΔΙΩΝ ΦΙΛΑΝΔΡΟΣ (Leukadion Philandros) above prow of galley right.
de Callataÿ Didrachms of Leukas 195-212 dies O31/R2; BCD Akarnania 313-314; BMC 180, 101-103; Postolokas, Lambros 67, 688 var.
(23 mm, 7.90 g, 11h)
Forestier & Lambert.
Based on the study of de Callataÿ, Didrachms of Leukas, this coin was struck in the summer and autumn of 87 BC as a contribution to Sulla’s campaign against Mithrades Eupator. De Callataÿ connected it with the encampment of Sulla’s troops at Leukas that year and argued that the coinage is a pseudo-civic Greek coinage issued by and for for the Romans. This is reflected in the reverse iconography where the galley prow is distinctively Roman, identifieable as such by the wolf head on the prow, above the ram, a decorative element unknown on Greek vessels.
This coin was struck when the Hellenistic age was in advanced decline, succumbing to the expansionary drive of Rome. The coins of this issue were often struck from relatively crude dies in an advanced state of wear. Yet they retain a charm and aesthetic that in some sense seems to speak of the last gasps of a dying Hellenistic age. The obverse image is thought to depict the cult statue of Aphrodite Aeneias, whose sanctuary was situated near the town of Leukas, overlooking the shipping canal that separated the island from the mainland. n.igma
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Achaian League, Elis, ca. 50 BC, AR Hemidrachm 52 viewsLaureate head of Zeus right, KA monogram in outer right field.
Wreath surrounding AX monogram in centre; FA monogram to left, Ω above ELIΣ monogram (Elis) in upper field and XE monogram to right, thunderbolt below.
BCD Peloponnesos 685 (this coin); HGC 5, 540 (R2); Clerk 261; SNG Copenhagen 306.
(15 mm, 2.39 g, 6h).
Classical Numismatic Group e-Auction 160, 14 March 2007, 44; ex- BCD collection: LHS Auction 96, 8-9 May 2006, 685; ex- Danish National Museum, Copenhagen (c.f. SNG Cop 306 deaccessioned duplicate).n.igma
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Kings of Macedon, Alexander III the Great, 336-323 BC, AR Tetradrachm – Byblos mint c. 321/0 BC52 viewsHead of young Herakles r. in lion skin headdress, paws tied at neck.
ΑΛΕΞΑΝΔΡOΥ Zeus Aëtophoros seated l., retrograde B to l., H beneath throne.
Price -.
Previously unrecorded type that based on style and mint controls is attributed Byblos (Berytos of Price) and dated to c. 321/0 BC in a mintage associated with the withdrawal of the Macedonian Royal army from Egypt to Triparadeisos.
(26 mm, 16.72 g, 9h).
Solidus Numismatik 29 (12 May 2018), Lot 46.
This type is unrecorded in Price. The style together with the retrograde B mint control associate it with the small series of Alexander issues attributed to Berytos by Price, now reattributed to Byblos. It appears that this coinage was struck to help meet the arrears in army pay that resulted from the abortive campaign led by Perdikkas against Ptolemy in Egypt. Perdikkas was assassinated and as the Macedonian Royal army withdrew to Triparadeisos the matter of arrears in pay became a festering issue with the infantry. In an effort to placate the troops it appears that a mint at Byblos was established to coin available silver for at least a token payment to the army.
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Seleukid Kingdom, Antiochos I Soter, 281-261 BC, Æ 15 51 viewsThree quarter right facing laureate head of Apollo.
ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ ANTIOXOY Nike right erecting a trophy; controls outer left and right indecipherable or off-flan.
SC 389; HGC 9, 178 (R1).
Seleukia on the Tigris mint.
(15 mm, 2.67 g, 6h).
Gorny & Mosch 216, 16 October 2013, 2618.
Wonderfully rendered head of Apollo accompanied by a very dynamic Nike; a delightful little bronze! n.igma
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Parthia, Satrapy of Andragoras, ca. 250-238 BC, AR Tetradrachm51 viewsHelmeted head of Athena r.
Owl standing r., head facing, olive-sprig and crescent behind, AΘ[E] to r.
Taylor 'Birds of a Feather' 1.1; SNG ANS 9, 1; HGC 12, 1.
(23 mm, 16.73 g, 6h).
Roma Numismatics eSale 45 (5 May 2018), Lot 373; ex-'Andragoras-Sophytes' Hoard.
The advanced style of the owl and the 6h die adjustment of this coin indicate that it was struck at the end of Series 1 in the transition to Series 2 at which time the die axis adjustment changed from 12h to 6h and the reverse incuse square gave way to a non-incuse reverse. This intermediate fabric is proof that the two series were struck without a time gap between them.
The 'Andragoras-Sophytes' hoard came to market from mid-late 2017. It was reputedly found in 2014 and consisted of approximately 600 coins from at an undisclosed location in Afghanistan (Hoard information: Olivier Bordeaux & Osmund Bopearachchi). Around half of these coins were marketed by Roma Numismatics in a succession of auctions commencing in 2017 and continuing through 2019. n.igma
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Roman Ephesus50 viewsIonia, Ephesus, Claudius, 41-54, AR Cistophoric Tetradrachm
TI. CLAVD CAES AVG. Claudius bare head, facing left.
DIAN-EPHE Cult statue of Diana (Artemis) of Ephesus inside a tetra style temple, set on three tiered base; pediment decorated by figures flanking three windows.
RIC I 118; RPC I 2222; BMCRE 229; RSC 30; Sear Millennium 1839. Ephesus ca. 41-42 AD.
(25 mm, 11.14 g, 6h).
The Temple of Artemis (Diana) at Ephesus was one of the Seven Wonders of the ancient world. Depicted on this coin, which was minted shortly after Claudius’ accession to the throne, there remains no trace of the temple other than some recently stacked column remnants to mark the location. Pliny The Elder described the temple as 115 meters in length, 55 meters in width, made almost entirely of marble; consisting of 127 Ionic style columns 18 meters in height. The original temple, which stood on the site from about 550 BC, was destroyed by arson in 356 BC. It was rebuilt at the direction of Alexander III the Great around 330 BC, in the form depicted on the coin, only to be destroyed by the Goths in 262 AD. Again rebuilt, it was destroyed for the final time by Christians in 401 AD. The marble of the temple was used to construct other buildings. Some of the columns found their way into the church of Hagia Sophia in Constantinople (Istanbul).
The site of the temple was rediscovered in 1869 by an expedition sponsored by the British Museum, but little remains to be seen today. A Christian inscription found at Ephesus reads Destroying the delusive image of the demon Artemis, Demeas has erected this symbol of Truth, the God that drives away idols, and the Cross of priests, deathless and victorious sign of Christ. This Christian zeal explains why so little remains of the site despite its repute in the ancient pre-Christian world.
This coin is rare with a few dozen examples known. In contrast to most examples, which show a four-tiered temple base, the reverse of this coin shows a three-tiered temple base, the same as that found on the Parthenon. The rectangles visible on the pediment of the temple are frequently identified as depictions of tables, or altars attended by flanking figures. However, architectural reconstructions of the temple show these rectangles as windows permitting light into the temple interior, a fact supported by the presence of pediment window frame moldings amongst the remains of other temples from the period in Asia Minor. The Ionic style of the temple’s columns, as described by Pliny, is clearly visible in the reverse image.n.igma
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Argolis, Hermione, ca. 280-250 BC, AR Triobol 50 viewsWreathed head of Demeter Chthonia left.
EP monogram above ΔI, all within wreath of grain.
BCD Peloponnesos 1302 (this coin); HGC 5, 748; Grandjean, Monnayage Group II, Emission 8, D16/R25 (this coin cited).
(15 mm, 2.58 g, 11h)
Auctiones GmbH 47, 24 April 2016, 25; ex- BCD Collection: LHS Numismatics 96, 8-9 May 2006, 1302; ex- GMRH, May 1979, SFr 500 (per BCD ticket); ex- Ashmolean Museum from the E.S.G. Robinson Collection, donated to the Ashmolean, disposed of as a duplicate.
This coin has a notable provenance that can be traced back to the collection of Edward Stanley Gotch Robinson (1887-1976) a classical numismatist and the Keeper of the Coin and Medal Department at the British Museum 1949-1952. He endowed the Ashmolean with his coin collection in 1964. Within three years of his death the Ashmolean disposed of this coin from the collection, despite the type being extremely rare. That's gratitude for you!n.igma
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Attica, Athens, 454-413 BC, AR Tetradrachm 49 viewsHead of Athena right, wearing created Attic helmet decorated with three olive leaves above visor and floral design on bowl.
Owl facing standing right, head facing, AΘE to right, olive sprig and crescent to left, all within incuse square.
SNG Copenhagen 31; Sear 2526.
(23 mm, 17.04 g, 9h).
Freeman & Sear.n.igma
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Kings of Macedon, Alexander III The Great, 326/5 BC, AR Tetradrachm - Babylon 326/5 BC under Mazaios as Satrap49 viewsHead of Herakles right in lion-skin headdress, paws tied at neck.
ΑΛΕΞΑΝΔΡOΥ Zeus Aëtophoros seated left, Φ above M beneath throne.
Taylor, Babylon, Group 1.1.1, 1 (this coin), Pl. 1, 1 (this coin), dies A1/P1: Price 3579; Waggoner Issue I, 9b-d; Newell Reattribution 189 pl. 25, 11 (same obverse die).
Babylon Royal Mint 330-328 BC.
(25 mm, 16.68 g, 12h).
Hess-Divo Auction 320, 26 October 2011, 112.
Reference Taylor, L. W. H. "The Earliest Alexander III Tetradrachm Coinage of Babylon: Iconographic Development and Chronology." AJN Second Series 30 (2018): 1-44.
This is the only known Babylon mint Alexander on which Zeus is portrayed with an open facing palm, on which rests his eagle. All other examples exhibit the upward hand in profile style that displaced the open facing palm style on coinage in the east by 325 BC. This iconography of this coin served to date the start of the Imperial Mint at Babylon to 326/5 BC.n.igma
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Kings of Macedon, Alexander III The Great, 336-323 BC, AR Tetradrachm - Tarsos49 viewsHead of young Herakles right in lion-skin headdress, paws tied at neck.
ΑΛΕΞΑΝΔΡOΥ Zeus Aëtophoros seated left, pellet above A beneath throne.
Price 2997; Newell Tarsos 8 (Newell’s Officina A, obverse die XXIV) pl. III, 6 (same obverse die); Muller 1292.
Tarsos mint 329/328 BC - dies from the Sidon and Tyre engraver.
(25 mm, 17.17 g, 1h).
Harlan J Berk Buy or Bid Sale 184, 7 May 2013, 55.
The dies from which this coin was struck are from the same engraver that cut the obverse dies for the first issues of Sidon and Tyre in the collection. The engraver was transferred to Tarsos from Tyre in 329 BC, thus dating this coin to 329/328 BC – refer Newell Tarsos under Alexander p. 80-81.n.igma
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Kings of Macedon, Alexander III The Great, 336-323 BC, AR Tetradrachm - Tarsos 49 viewsHead of young Herakles right in lion skin headdress, paws tied at neck.
ΑΛΕΞΑΝΔΡOΥ Zeus Aëtophoros seated left, pellet under throne. ΔI monogram graffiti before head of Zeus.
Price 2993; Newell Tarsos 3 (Newell’s Officina A, dies IX/25) pl. II, 2 (same dies); Muller 1291.
Tarsos mint 333/2 BC.
(26 mm, 17.18 g, 11h).
ex- Gorny & Mosch.
Newell catalogued forty examples of this type from six obverse and thirty reverse dies indicating a far more prolific issuance than the inaugural Tarsos 1 emission to which it is die linked by five examples struck with Tarsos obverse die III. All of the specimens of Tarsos 3 catalogued by Newell originated in the Demanhur Hoard. Price did not catalog any additional specimens to those noted by Newell in the British Museum Collection, which holds five specimens from the Newell Collection. n.igma
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Kings of Macedon, Alexander III The Great, 336-323 BC, AR Tetradrachm - Babylon 330-328 BC under Mazaios as Satrap 48 viewsHead of Herakles right in lion-skin headdress, paws tied at neck.
ΑΛΕΞΑΝΔΡOΥ Zeus Aëtophoros seated left, Φ beneath throne above strut, M below strut.
Taylor, Babylon, Group 1.1.1, 7 (this coin), Pl. 1, 7 (this coin), dies A3/P5: Price 3579 (same obverse die as Price 3579b); Waggoner Issue I, 10a-c;; Newell Reattribution 190.
Babylon Royal Mint 330-328 BC.
(26 mm, 17.20 g, 12h).
Hess-Divo Auction 320, 26 October 2011, 111.
Reference Taylor, L. W. H. "The Earliest Alexander III Tetradrachm Coinage of Babylon: Iconographic Development and Chronology." AJN Second Series 30 (2018): 1-44.
The more realistic style of both obverse and reverse of this coin was the basis from which the characteristic Babylon style of the subsequent high-volume issues of the Babylon mint evolved. n.igma
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Kings of Macedon, Philip III Arrhidaios, 323-317 BC, AR Tetradrachm – Babylon II under Seleukos as Satrap 47 viewsHead of Herakles right wearing lion skin headdress.
ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ ФIΛIÎ Î OYZeus Aëtophoros seated left, ancient Greek Zeta beneath throne, ΛY above prow of galley in left field.
SC Ad43.15; Price P158 (Arados); Duryat (Arados) Group V, Series 11.
Struck in Babylonia 317/16 BC under Seleukos as Satrap 320-316 BC.
(27 mm, 17.01 g, 2h).
Ship ahoy ... on the Euphrates River in Babylon!
Diminutive but thought provoking is the galley prow mint control of this coin ... some of Alexander's fleet constructed in India even found its way here after the eastern anabasis. Perhaps easy to see why these types were incorrectly attributed to Arados by Price and earlier workers. The concept of ships in the desert is unusual to say the least, but proven in the written historical record and evidenced on a few of the coins of Babylon!
n.igma
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Seleukid Kingdom, Seleukos I Nikator, 312-281 BC, AR Tetradrachm – Sardis46 viewsHead of Herakles r. wearing lion-skin headdress.
ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ ΣEΛEYKOY Zeus Nikephoros seated l., monogram on shield to l., AΣ beneath throne.
SC 3.1; HGC 9, 16a; Miller & Hoover AJN 22 (2010), 8 (this coin) dies A1/P2; WSM 1350 P2 β, A1/P2 (this coin). Seleukos’ military mint at Sardis 282-281 BC.
(25 mm, 17.07 g, 12h).
Naville Sale XV (2 Jul. 1930), lot 1061.
This coin was struck in 282 BC following the fall of the city of Sardis to Seleukos, during the preliminaries of the campaign that delivered the decisive victory over Lysimachos at Korupedion, in the late summer of 281 BC. This coin is from the first obverse and second reverse die used in the series. It is one of two examples from this die set that survives to this day. The series from which it comes was interpreted by Miller and Hoover (The Sardes Mint under Seleucus I Nicator) to have originated from a military mint operation associated with Seleukos army. The obverse bears a striking resemblance to the last die used at Seleukeia in Pieria, to the extent that both dies were almost certainly engraved by the same hand. This led Miller and Hoover to propose that "Stylistic affinities between the first die of Sardes and the last of Seleucia in Pieria raise the possibility that the equipment and personnel of the latter may have been moved to Sardes to serve as a supplemental military mint."n.igma
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Kings of Macedon, Alexander III The Great, 336-323 BC, AR Tetradrachm – Cyprus, Salamis under Nikokreon45 viewsHead of young Herakles right in lion skin headdress, paws tied at neck.
ΑΛΕΞΑΝΔΡOΥ Zeus Aëtophoros seated left, bow to left.
Price 3139a (same dies); Newell Salamis 7. The first tetradrachm emission of Salamis ca. 325/4 BC, struck under Nikokreon.
(24 mm, 16.97 g, 12h).
CNG 259 (6 July 2011) Lot 66
After the Battle of Issos, the island of Cyprus surrendered to Alexander III the Great, denying the Persian navy a base in proximity to the westernmost coast of the Mediterranean. Struck from the first set of tetradrachm dies used at the mint, this coin dates to the start of Alexander emissions from Salamis around 325/4 BC. Nikokreon (ca. 331-311/10 BC), under whose authority this coin was issued, succeeded his father Pnytagoras on the throne of Salamis. He had actively supported Alexander in the siege of Tyre and is reported to have paid homage to Alexander after the conqueror’s return from Egypt to Tyre in 331. In return he was left in power to govern Salamis. Following Alexander’s death he allied himself with Ptolemy who in 312 BC placed him in control of the entire island of Cyprus. He died in 311/10 BC after which Cyprus became the focus of the power struggle between the military forces of Ptolemy and Antigonos Monopthalmos.n.igma
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Seleukid Kingdom, Seleukos I Nikator, 312-281 BC, AR Tetradrachm - Babylon I ca. 308/7 BC45 viewsHead of Herakles right wearing lion skin headdress.
ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ AΛΕΞANΔPOY Zeus Aëtophoros seated left, MI in left K(?)Λ beneath throne.
Price -; SC -. Previously undocumented type best placed immediately following Price 3771 in the Babylon I sequence.
(29 mm, 17.1 g, 9h)
Naville 21, 20 March 2016, 96.
The mint controls and style place this coin as an issue of Babylon, struck immediately after the conclusion of the Babylonian War in 308 BC. This event was associated with the removal of a wreathed mint control monogram associated with Antigonos Monopthalmos from coinage also bearing the left field MI control. The MI control was used on Price 3745- 3771 all of which are associated with the victory wreathed control signifying Antigonos supremacy as strategos of Asia. The KΛ control beneath the throne was previously used on Babylon I issues (Price 3711-3713) struck in the final stage of Seleukos’s first satrapy and in the immediate aftermath of his flight to Egypt. Based on the previous association and usage of these mint controls, this coin most probably represents the last of MI mint control issues, the first after the defeat of Antigonos by Seleukos. In Price’s sequence, it is best placed immediately following Price 3771; the earliest issue of Babylon I under the control of Seleukos following the Babylonian War. n.igma
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Phliasia, Phlious, ca. 400-350 BC, Æ Chalkous 44 viewsBull butting left, head lowered and turned to face viewer.
Large Φ with two pellets.
HGC 5, 177; BCD Peloponnesos 129; Weber 3882 (this coin); MacIsaac Issue 2, G.
(14 mm, 1.60 g, 3h).
CNG Classical Numismatic Review XXXIX, 1, April 2014, 834574; ex- BCD Collection (not in LHS sale); ex- Virgil M. Brand Collection (Part 7, Sotheby’s, 25 October 1984), lot 306 (part of); ex- Sir Hermann Weber Collection, no. 3882 purchased from W.C. Thieme, Leipzig, 1888.
Provenance Notes:
Sir Hermann David Weber (1823-1918) was a German physician who had a very distinguished lifetime career in medicine in England, including that of being a doctor to the royal family. Collecting from the late 1870’s, he amassed one of the largest private collections of ancient Greek coins of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. It consisted of over 8,500 coins in total. Weber purchased this humble Phlious chalkous in 1888 from the dealer W.C. Thieme, Leipzig. Spink and Son purchased the collection from the executors of Weber’s estate, with the condition that the firm undertake the publication of the collection. This was duly completed by the mid-1920’s in a four-volume work that remained a standard reference for ancient Greek coinage throughout much of the twentieth century. Spink and Son dispersed the Weber collection, from whence this coin found its way into the collection of the prominent American collector Virgil M Brand.
Virgil M. Brand (1862-1926), born into a wealthy American brewing family in Chicago, developed an interest in coin collecting in 1889 and amassed one of the greatest private collections of all time, consisting of 368,000 ancient and modern coins including 68,000 gold coins. Each coin in the collection was documented by an entry in what became a thirty-volume set of descriptive ledgers. A lifetime bachelor and somewhat eccentric character, Brand chose to live modestly in a small apartment above his brewery in Chicago, shunning ostentation and devoting his time to the pursuit of his collecting, reading and local charity. He spent over $3 million on coins during his life. The collection was housed in cigar boxes that were packed into leather satchels, hidden behind his book collection. Virgil M. Brand died intestate and amongst various probate disputes his two brothers began to sell off the most prominent pieces from the collection in the 1930’s. Eventually, Jane Brand Allen, a niece of Virgil M. Brand, inherited the remains of the collection. These coins were sold in a series of auctions conducted by Sotheby’s, Bowers and Merena and Spink and Son during the 1980’s.
By this means the coin came into the collection of BCD the pre-eminent collector of mainland Greek coins during the last half of the twentieth century. BCD disposed of the coins of the Peloponnesos from his collection in 2006 at which time this coin passed into the inventory of the Classical Numismatic Group from whom it was purchased after its listing in the first edition of the newly revived Classical Numismatic Review produced by the company in April 2014.n.igma
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Thessaly, Ainianes, Hypata, 87 BC, AR Didrachm 44 viewsHead of Athena right wearing Attic helmet decorated with tendril, Pegasos and four horse protomes.
ΑΙΝΙΑΝΩΝ l. up, ΚΑΝΩΡ r. down, Phemios as a slinger, naked but for chlamys over his shoulder and sword in scabbard, shooting sling to right; behind, leaning against his right leg, two spears.
De Callataÿ, Le monnayage d'argent au type d'Athéna Parthénos émis au nom des Ainianes, p. 130, 34 D4/R1 (this coin); BCD Thessaly II 41.2 (this coin).
This is the only known example from ΚΑΝΩΡ.
(24 mm, 6.97 g, 12 h)
Harlan J. Berk 181, 17 November 2012, 230; ex-BCD Collection: Triton XV (BCD Thessaly II Catalogue), 3 January 2012, 41.2.
Almost all specimens of this coinage appear to have a provenance to collections formed in the early twentieth century. No documented hoards of the type have been found. The examples that have come to market in the last few decades appear to have been recycled from old collections. Seventy six specimens are known and documented (de Callatay). Twenty-five exist in private hands.
Based on another study by de Callataÿ,” Didrachms of Leukas” this coin like the following coin of Leukas was struck in 87 BC (The First Mithradatic War) as a contribution to Sulla’s campaign against Mithrades VI Eupator. As noted by de Callataÿ both Leukas and Hypata “are located at strategic points for any Roman army coming from Brundusium and going directly to Attica.” The fabric and technical features of both coinages “support the strong suspicion that skilled Roman agents were involved in the process. Their volumes (ca. 250 talents of monetized silver in both cases) are consistent with the situation facing Sulla in the summer of 87 BCE.”n.igma
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Egypt, Memphis or Aswan (?), Satrap Sabakes, 335-333 BC, AR Tetradrachm44 viewsHead of Athena right with punch mark X on cheek.
Owl standing right, head facing, crescent and olive spray to left, crescent above a stylized thunderbolt (Sabakes symbol) and Aramaic legend SWYN (Aswan) to right, punch mark X on owl.
Nicolet-Pierre 6, D4/R-; SNG Copenhagen 3; Van Alfen Type I, O4/R-; Mitchiner 10a; Sear GCV 6232. Van Alfen (AJN 14 2002) countermark 3 on obv. & rev.
(24 mm, 16.91 g, 9h).
From LWHT Col.; HJB 166, 15 October 2009, 176.
Sabakes, to whom the issue of this coin type is attributed, was the penultimate Persian Satrap of Egypt. In 333 BC he led a contingent from Egypt to join the Persian army facing Alexander the Great at Issos, where he perished in battle. It is likely that this coin was struck under his governorship, perhaps for use as payment in preparations for the expeditionary force in support of Darius III. Counter marks are commonly present on these coins and most of the surviving examples are worn, indicating an extended period of circulation. This is consistent with the fact that the next coinage to be struck in Egypt was almost a decade later, shortly after the death of Alexander the Great.
n.igma
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Islands off Thrace, Thasos, ca. 412-404 BC, AR Drachm 43 viewsJolly Satyr carrying a nymph, striding forward in anticipation.
Granulated quadripartite incuse square.
Le Rider, Thasiennes 8; HGC 6, 336; SNG Cop 1018; Dewing 1325; BMC 35; Pozzi 2382; SNG Lockett 1223.
(14 mm, 3.5 g)
Harlan J. Berk.
Of exceptional late style.
n.igma
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Islands off Troas, Tenedos, Early 4th century BC, AR Drachm 43 viewsJaniform heads of a diademed female (Hera ?) left and laureate male (Zeus ?) right.
TE NE ΔΙ ON Labrys, grape bunch and thymiaterion flanking handle, all within incuse shallow incuse circle.
SNG Ashmolean 1237; HGC 6, 386.
(16mm, 3.67 g, 12h).
ex-CNG
Tenedos was an island town a few kilometres off the coast of the Troas, south of Ilion (the legendary Troy). It was the place where the Greeks hid their fleet near the end of the Trojan War, so as to trick the Trojans into believing that they had left, emboldening the latter to take the Trojan horse inside the city walls of Troy. It was an island city of strategic significance due to its proximity to the southern entrance of the Dardanelles. The best of the female/male janiform heads of this coin type are a masterpiece of late Classical Greek numismatic art.n.igma
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Seleukid Kingdom, Seleukos I Nikator, 312-281 BC, AR Tetradrachm – Uncertain Mint 442 viewsHead of Herakles right wearing lion-skin headdress.
ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ reading up on left, ΣEΛΓYKOY (misspelled with Γ rather than E) reading down on right, Zeus Aëtophoros seated left, ΣΕ monogram to left, circled ΜΗY monogram beneath throne.
SC 60.2; HGC 9, 12d (R2-3); WSM 1342 (same obverse die).
Uncertain Mint 4 in Cappadocia, Eastern Syria, or Northern Mesopotamia 301-281 BC.
(26 mm, 17.15 g, 5h).
Naville 21, 20 March 2016, 97.
Seleucid Coins (p. 33) notes the declining competence exhibited by reverse dies in the series to which this coin belongs. This is a characteristic along with the mint controls, shared with some of the later issues of Uncertain Mints 6A/1, perhaps pointing to the mobile military nature of the mint and resultant variable access to skilled engravers. The misspelled legend fits with this observation.
n.igma
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1. Thrace, Byzantion, 340-320 BC, AR Siglos41 viewsHeifer standing left above dolphin, VΠΥ above.
Incuse square of mill-sail pattern.
SNG BM Black Sea 21; SNG Copenhagen 476; Sear GCV 1579.
(17 mm, 5.36 g)
Classical Numismatic Group electronic Auction 146, 23 August 2006, 34.
Standing on the European side of the Bosporos, Byzantion with its twin city Kalchedon on the Asia Minor side of the Bosporos was the ancient gateway between the two continents, a role that continues to the present.
The symbolism of the bull and the heifer on the obverse of the coins of twin cities of Kalchedon (Asia Minor) and Byzantion (Europe) respectively is striking and points to a shared identity. They stood astride the southern entrance to the Bosporus. Both were 7th century BC foundations of Megara and jointly they controlled the vital grain trade from the Black Sea into the Mediterranean.
The grain ear upon which the bull of Kalchedon stands alludes to this fact. That of the dolphin beneath the Heifer of Byzantion is a reflection of the maritime orientation of the city and the bountiful pods of dolphins that even to this day frolic in swift flowing waters of the Bosporus beneath the old city walls of Constantinople which succeded Byzantion and was in turn succeded by Istanbul. n.igma
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Kings of Macedon, Philip II, 359-336 BC, Æ1640 viewsHead of Apollo right.
ФIΛIΠΠOY Youth on horseback right; below, dolphin above AP monogram.
Hersh 1999, p.163, 31; SNG Alpha Bank 405; SNG ANS 909; SNG Munchen 188-189; Mionnet vol. I, 752.
Uncertain Macedonian mint.
(16 mm, 6.44 g, 1h)
Coin India; found in Pakistann.igma
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Kings of Macedon, Alexander III The Great, 336-323 BC, AR Tetradrachm - Tarsos 333/2 BC40 viewsHead of young Herakles right in lion-skin headdress, paws tied at neck.
ΑΛΕΞΑΝΔΡOΥ Zeus Aëtophoros seated left, pellet under throne.
Price 2990; Le Rider Pl. 1, 1 (same obverse die); Newell Tarsos 1 (Newell’s Officina A, dies III/5).
Tarsos mint 333/2 BC.
(25 mm, 17.22 g, 2h).
Gorny & Mosch.
This coin is from the first emission (Newell Tarsos 1) of Alexander tetradrachms from Tarsos, which is now understood to have been the mint from which Alexander the Great produced the first coins of what were to become his distinctive standard type. It comes from the third obverse die made for the type and dates to 333 BC, either immediately before or after the Battle of Issos, there being no certainty on this point. It is amongst the first Alexander tetradrachms to be struck.n.igma
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Kings of Macedonia, Alexander III The Great, 336-323 BC, AR Tetradrachm - Tyre 330/29 BC40 viewsHead of young Herakles right in lion skin headdress, paws tied at neck.
ΑΛΕΞΑΝΔΡOΥ Zeus Aëtophoros seated left, Phoenician letters ayn and kaph (a contraction of the name of ‘Ozmilk) in left field, regnal year 20 below.
Price 3250 (Ake); Newell Ake Series IV, 12 (plate VI, 11 same obverse die XIII).
The first dated Alexander from the mint at Tyre struck 330/329 BC.
(25 mm, 17.10 g, 9h).
Harlan J. Berk 191, 2 July 2014, 46 (incorrectly attributed to Pella).
This is the first dated Alexander from the mint at Tyre. The year 20 date relates to the reign of ‘Ozmilk which has conclusively been determined to be the year 330/29 based on the extensive study of the precursor dated coinage of Tyre by Elayi and Elayi (2009).
The crude, rough hammered fabric and often crudely engraved reverse dies point to a hurried issue. The coinage may have been struck to fund the reconstruction of Tyre following the siege of the city in the first half of 332 BC. Unusual is the attempt to convey fleshy lines on the neck of Herakles; a less than successful artistic endeavor that was not repeated on subsequent dies.n.igma
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Baktrian Kingdom, Eukratides I, ca. 171-145 BC, AR Tetradrachm 40 viewsΒΑΣΙΛΕYΣ MEΓAΣ EYKPATIΔHΣ Diademed and draped bust of a mature Eukratides right, wearing a crested helmet decorated with ear and horn of a bull.
HΛIOKΛIOΣ KAI ΛAOΔIKHΣ Co-joined busts facing right of Eukratides parents, Heliokles and Laodike, ΦΛΩ monogram to left.
Bopearachchi Series 15 A; SNG ANS 526-527; Mitchiner 182a; Qunduz 245-246; HGC 12, 133; Sear 7572.
(30 mm, 16.16 g, 12h).
Gorny & Mosch Giessener Munzhandlung Auction 126, October 2003, 1534.
The distinctive reddish black remnant patina of this coin is a characteristic of the silver coins from the Mir Zakah deposit. It is probably from this, the largest hoard of coins ever found, that the coin is derived.
This issue may have been inspired by the earlier “pedigree” coinage of Agathokles and Pantaleon, but equally likely given the many apparent anomalies associated with the issue, is that it was issued by the parents of Eukratides as statement of their position and prestige in Baktrian society. Heliokles’ bare head indicates that he was not a king, whereas the diadem on Laodike’s head suggests that she was of royal blood. Tarn identified her as a Seleukid princess, daughter of Seleukos II and sister of Antiochus III. On the other hand, Hollis in Laodike Mother of Eucratides of Baktria makes a plausible case that Laodike was the daughter of Antiochos III. Hollis argues that Eukratides was in this way connected to the Seleukid royal family and was perhaps facilitated by the latter in his endeavor to seize the Baktrian throne.
This coinage has a number of curious characteristics. The legend on this coin names Eukratides is in the nominative case, so that it serves to label his portrait rather than to identify him as the issuing authority of the coinage. The legend naming his parents, on the other hand, is in the genitive, normally used to indicate a filial relationship an argument supported by Hollis. However, it could also imply that Heliokles and Laodike had authorized the coinage. Both sides of the coin have defined filleted borders, unique in the coinage of Eukratides. All other issues bear only an obverse border around the image of the king. The fabric of these coins indicates that Heliokles and Laodike occupy the obverse, anvil struck side of the coin. Nevertheless, they are most frequently described in the opposite manner, in accord with the convention that the ruler occupies the obverse side of the coin.n.igma
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Seleukid Kingdom, Seleukos I Nikator, 312-281 BC, AR Tetradrachm – Carrhae 40 viewsHead of Herakles r. wearing lion-skin headdress.
ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ ΣEΛEYKOY Zeus Aëtophoros seated l., wreath and monogram to l., ΛY beneath throne.
SC 42.5; HGC 9, 12a (R2-3); WSM 776 dies A16/P30; Commerce ("Seleucus I") Hoard 2005 (CH 10.265) 1254 (this coin); CSE 2, 16 (AHNS 1026).
Carrhae (Karrhai) after 301 BC.
(26 mm, 17.08 g, 3h).
Roma E-Sale 3 (30 Nov. 2013), lot 290; from "a private American Collection"; ex- Holyland Numismatics (2012); ex- Commerce ("Seleucus I") Hoard 2005 (CH 10.265) #1254.
Carrhae (Karrhai) was Biblical Haran, the home of Abraham, located in southeastern Turkey a few kilometres from the modern-day village of Altınbaşak, on a tributary of the Euphrates River in northern Mesopotamia. A mint was established in the city around 315 BC under Antigonos Monopthalmos, who settled Macedonian veterans in the city. Many of these veterans joined Seleukos when he passed through the city in 311 on his way to reclaim his Babylonian Satrapy, although the city remained under Antigonid authority. After the Battle of Ipsos in 301 BC, the city fell within the Seleukid Empire.
n.igma
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Kings of Thrace, Lysimachos, 305-281 BC, AR Tetradrachm - Magnesia ad Maeandrum39 viewsDiademed head of deified Alexander right, with horn of Ammon.
BAΣIΛEΩΣ ΛYΣIMAXOY Athena enthroned facing left, left arm resting on shield, spear behind, Nike on extended right hand crowning the first letter of Lysimachos’ name, XMΛ monogram in wreath in outer right field.
Thompson 101.
Magnesia on the Maeander 293-287 BC.
(28 mm, 17.07 g, 12h).
Ancient Resource; ex- CNG 243 (27 Oct 2010) Lot 32.n.igma
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Parthia, Andragoras, ca. 245-238 BC, AR Drachm39 viewsHelmeted head of Athena right.
Eagle standing left, head right; grape bunch and leaf on vine with kerykeion (partially off flan) above.
Taylor Birds of a Feather 3.7, 176 (this coin illustrated); HGC 12, 8 var. (no kerykeion) (R2); Bopearachchi, Sophytes 2 var.; SNG ANS 9, 14-16 var. (no kerykeion); Mitchiner 26d.
(13 mm, 3.48 g, 6h).
Classical Numismatic Group Mail Bid Auction 75, 23 May 2007, 613.n.igma
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Lucania, Metapontion, ca. 510-470 BC, AR Didrachm38 viewsBarley ear of six grains, META upwards on left, all within cable border.
Incuse barley ear of seven grains.
HN Italy 1482; SNG ANS 237; SNG Copenhagen 1166; Noe 205.
(20 mm, 8.08 g, 12h).
Kirk Davis Classical Numismatics Catalogue 50, Fall 2006, 3.n.igma
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Seleukid Kingdom, Seleukos I Nikator, 312-281 BC, AR Tetradrachm - Susa38 viewsLaureate head of Zeus right.
ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ ΣEΛEYKOY Athena Promachos brandishing spear and shield in a quadriga of horned elephants right, anchor above IΣO monogram in right field, bee beneath.
SC 178.1; Kritt ESMS S-86 El. 43 dies A11/P-; ESM 327; HGC 9, 18c (R1-2). Susa Mint, 283-281 BC.
(25 mm, 17.17 g, 12h).
Freeman & Sear.
An example of the Susa mint transition from biga to quadriga reverse, using an obverse die previously only recorded in the biga series. This obverse die is not found on any of the previously documented (by Newell and Kritt) elephant quadriga coins of the series. It is the only known example that demonstrates an obverse die link between the biga and quadriga emissions. Moreover, the reverse is struck from a die that has some characteristics that suggest it was re-engraved from an elephant biga to an elephant quadriga. As such this coin is amongst the first of the Susa elephant quadriga chariot issues, probably dated to ca. 282 BC. n.igma
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Baktrian Kingdom, Eukratides I, ca. 171-145 BC, AR Tetradrachm 38 viewsDiademed bust of a youthful Eukratides right.
ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ EYKPATIΔOY (of King Eukratides) Dioskouroi on horseback charging right, carrying spears and palm branches, PK monogram to lower right.
Bopearachchi Series1B; SNG ANS 9, 431; Mitchiner 168(f); Qunduz 108-114; HGC 12, 130; Sear GCV 7568.
(32 mm, 16.75 g, 12h).
From LWHT Col.; CNG 73, 13 Sep. 2006, 535.
Eukratides I came to power in a revolt against the Euthydemid dynasty commencing around 171 BC and continuing for a decade. He extended his dominion to include all of Baktria and its realms both north and south of the Hindu Kush. Around 145 BC, Eukratides was murdered by his one of his own sons, probably Plato. By this time Baktria was weakened by the protracted struggle for power. The demise of Eukratides provided a catalyst for Scythian nomads to cross the Oxus, eventually to overrun Baktria. The city of Ai Khanoum appears to have been amongst the first to fall to invaders. This is evidenced by the fact that no coins later than those of Eukratides have been found in the excavations at Ai Khanoum. Within a decade Baktria had fragmented, overrun by Scythian nomads from the north, with the possible exception of a small Greek enclave in the eastern foothills of the Hindu Kush and the associated valley passes that led to the south and the Kabul Valley. A small remnant Greek civilization remained for another century to the south of the Hindu Kush before being overrun.
n.igma
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Baktrian Kingdom, Eukratides II, ca. 145-140 BC, AR Tetradrachm 38 viewsDiademed bust of Eukratides II r.
ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ ΣΩTHPOΣ EYKPATIΔOY Apollo standing l., arrow in his r. hand, in l. hand a bow resting on ground, monogram inner l. field.
Bopearachchi Series 3B; Mitchiner 173a (attributed to Eukratides I); SNG ANS 9, 625 (same dies); HGC 12, 162.
(31 mm, 16.62 g, 12h).
Harlan J. Berk Buy or Bid Sale 164 (Apr. 2009), Lot 251.
n.igma
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Kings of Thrace, Lysimachos, 305-281 BC, AR Tetradrachm - Magnesia ad Maeandrum37 viewsDiademed head of deified Alexander right, with horn of Ammon.
BAΣIΛEΩΣ ΛYΣIMAXOY Athena enthroned facing left, left arm resting on shield, spear behind, Nike on extended right hand crowning the first letter of Lysimachos’ name, encircled ΓYP monogram inner left field.
Thompson 116.
Magnesia ad Maeandrum 293-287 BC.
(28.3 mm, 17.08 g, 12 h).
Glenn W Woods.n.igma
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Attica, Athens, 454-413 BC, AR Tetradrachm37 viewsHead of Athena right, wearing created Attic helmet decorated with three olive leaves above visor and floral design on bowl.
Owl standing right, head facing; olive sprig & crescent behind, AΘE to right, all within incuse square.
Svoronos pl. 13, 20.
(24 mm, 17.07 g, 7h).
Harlan J. Berk Buy or Bid Sale 184, 7 May 2013, 63; ex-Freeman & Sear 2008n.igma
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Akarnania, Federal Coinage (Akarnanian Confederacy), Leukas, 3rd Century BC, Æ 23 37 viewsHead of Herakles right.
Head of man-faced bull, the river-god Acheloos right, trident above, letter A behind.
BCD Akarnania 35 (this coin); SNG Copenhagen 422; BMC 169, 16; Sear 2313. Leukas mint.
(23 mm, 7.14 g, 8h).
Classical Numismatic Group, January 2008; ex-BCD Collection: Munz & Medaillen Deutschland GmbH Auction 23, 18 October 2007, 5.n.igma
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Pontos, Amisos, ca. 125-100 BC, Æ Obol - Struck under Mithradates VI 37 viewsMale head right, wearing bashlyk.
AMI-ΣOY either side of quiver and unstrung bow.
HGC 7, 236; SNG BMC Black Sea 1135-8; SNG Stancomb 669; SNG Copenhagen 131; SNG von Aulock 57-58; Laffaille 414; Callataÿ p. 248, n. 19, pl. XLVIII, A–B.
Probably struck ca. 120-111 BC.
(25 mm, 21.62 g, 12h).
Classical Numismatic Group electronic Auction 341, 17 December 2014, 170.
Nicely detailed and amongst the best preserved examples of the type.n.igma
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Baktrian Kingdom, Apollodotos I, ca. 175-165 BC Æ Quadruple Unit37 viewsΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ AΠΟΛΛΟΔΟΤΟY ΣΩΤHPOΣ (of King Apollodotos Savior) Apollo standing facing holding bow and arrow.
Tripod on stand in dotted square border outside which Maharajas Apaladasta Iradasa (of King Apollodotos Savior) in Kharoshthi script (reverse image in photo above is inverted).
Mitchiner 209a; Bopearachchi 6A; SNG ANS 9, 346; HGC 12, 41; Sear GCV 7594.
(22 x 21 mm, 12h).
CNG e-Auction 162, 11 Apr. 2007, 134.
Apollodotos was a contemporary of the later Euthydemid rulers, Agathokles, Pantaleon and Antimachos. His Greek coinage is rare with only less than a dozen portrait tetradrachm specimens known. Almost all of his coinage adhered to south Indian traditions, with bi-lingual Greek and Kharoshthi legends and non-portrait types struck on square flans, either elephant and bull on his silver, or Apollo and tripod on the bronze. From this coinage, which comprises the only evidence for his reign, it appears that Apollodotos administered his territories south of the Hindu Kush. The imagery on Apollodotos’ coins breaks with the tradition of the Euthydemid dynasty, portraying seated Athena on the tetradrachms (in the style of the reverse of Lysimachos coinage) and a standing Apollo on AE issues, reminiscent of the Seleukid coinage. Eukratides may have retained him as a provincial ruler through the struggle for power.n.igma
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Kings of Macedon, Demetrios I Poliorketes, 306-283 BC, AR Tetradrachm - Corinth ca. 290-287 BC 36 viewsHead of Herakles right wearing lion skin headdress.
BAΣIΛEΩΣ AΛEΞANΔPOY Zeus Aëtophoros seated left, Nikai on throne back, cornucopia in left field, NO beneath throne.
Price 691; Müller 877; Commerce ("Seleucus I") Hoard 2005 (CH 10.265) 339-374 (same obv. die as 376 a Price 691 variant). Struck ca. 290-287 BC in Corinth by Demetrios I Poliorketes.
Struck from worn and rusty dies.
(28 mm, 17.16 g, 4h).
ex- Commerce ("Seleucus I") Hoard 2005 (CH 10.265)
The Commerce ("Seleucus I") Hoard 2005 (CH 10.265) is believed to have been a part of Seleukos’ treasury at the time he was assassinated by Ptolemy Keraunos. The coins in the hoard consist of tetradrachms and drachms, of early the Hellenistic period accompanied by one Boeotian and five Athenian civic issues. The Hellenistic royal coinage derived from the mints of Alexander the Great, Antigonos Monopthalmos, Demetrios Poliorketes, Lysimachos and Seleukos. The hoard was found in an undisclosed location in Asia Minor. Its composition is inferred from 1,721 coins in commerce in 2005-06, although the total hoard is believed to have consisted of more than 3,000 coins. The hoard appears to have been closed around 281 BC at the time of the murder of Seleukos.
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Seleukid Kingdom, Seleukos I Nikator, 312-281 BC, Æ 21 - Apamea on the Axios 36 viewsElephant standing right.
ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ ΣEΛEYKOY Bridled horned horse's head left, anchor beneath.
SC 35; HGC 9, 79; CSE 415; WSM 1128; SNG Spaer 50-52; SNG Copenhagen 40; Sear GCV 6850.
Apamea on the Axios Mint 300-281 BC.
(21 mm, 7.86 g, 12h).
Seleukos I established Apamea on the Axios (a tributary of the upper Orontes River) in Syria around 300 BC. Named in honour of his Baktrian wife, Apama, it was developed on the site of the former Macedonian military colony of Pella. It became the primary Seleukid military depot and arsenal. In Apamea, Seleukos maintained his 500 war elephants and more than 30,000 horses to serve the needs of his cavalry, as well as an arsenal of weaponry and facilities for the manufacture of arms. For the next five generations, Seleukid military campaigns were mounted from Apamea.
The coin type is rare, with all known find locations being located in Syria, but with no control, or design linkages to any other emission from the Seleukid Syrian mints of the time. Newell placed this coin as the sole issue of Apamea during the reign of Seleukos I. This attribution was based on the absence of any linkage to any other Syrian mints and the iconography of the coin, which he felt reflected the military role and significance of Apamea. In the obverse he saw the war elephants, which were the pride of Seleukos’ army, while in the reverse he saw a reference to the powerful Seleukid cavalry, both of which were based at Apamea.
The iconography of the coin bears a striking similarity to the tetradrachm issues of Pergamon in Seleukos name in 281 BC, following the defeat of Lysimachos in the Battle of Korupedion. This short-lived emission is unique. Newell believed that it was possibly inspired by the Apamea bronze coinage, suggesting that the latter may have been struck at the time Seleukos was assembling his forces at Apamea for the decisive encounter with Lysimachos. Some of these coins may then have accompanied his soldiers into Asia Minor, eventually to find their way with his soldiers to Pergamon, where the type served as the model for the brief silver emission celebrating Seleukos’ victory at Korupedion. n.igma
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temp. STUART, William Sancroft, Archbishop of Canterbury, 1677-1690, AR Medal by George Bower 1688 36 views* GVIL · SANCROFT · ARCHIEPISC · CANTVAR · 1688 Bust of William Sancroft, the Archbishop of Canterbury, wearing camauro and canonical robes, facing right.
Seven medallions of the Bishops committed to the Tower of London: Bishops Henry Compton (middle – London), Francis Turner (upper right, proceeding clockwise – Ely), Thomas Ken (Bath), Sir John Trelawney (Bristol), Thomas White (Peterborough), John Lake (Chichester), and William Lloyd (St. Asaph); twelve stars around; signed GB·F· (George Bower fecit) below.
MI 622/37; Eimer 288b. By G. Bower. Dated 1688.
(51 mm, 53.45 g, 12h).
CNG 85 (15 September 2010) Lot 1562: California Collection of British Historical Medals.
This remarkable medallion portrays no less than eight people directly associated with a historical event that did much to shape the modern secular British democracy. In 1687, King James II enacted unilaterally and against the will of the Parliament the Declaration of Indulgence as the first step in establishing the freedom of religion in England. The ensuing protest concerned the legality of James right to make the dispensation in the absence of the support of Parliament, plus the absence of a guarantee that the Anglican Church would remain as the established church. Many leaders within the clergy refused to read the Declaration in church from the pulpit as instructed by the King in early 1688. This culminated in a petition to the King against the reading of the Declaration. The petition originated from the hand of the Archbishop of Canterbury, William Sancroft, depicted on the obverse of the medal and was signed by the six other bishops identified around the margin of the reverse of the medallion. Bishop Henry Compton, depicted in the centre of the reverse, was included on the medal due to his earlier dissent to the King’s approach to Catholicism, for which James removed him from office.
The seven bishops who signed the petition were charged with seditious libel and imprisoned in the Tower of London in May 1688. Brought to trial before the Court of the King’s Bench, the bishops were acquitted. This served as a precursor to James’ deposition shortly thereafter.
This medal was issued following the trial, in commemoration of the action taken by William Sancroft and his fellow bishops in refusing to follow James II’s edict to read the Declaration of Indulgence from the pulpit. The medal connects directly with one of the key events in British history, which lead ultimately to the deposition of James II by his son-in-law and daughter, William III and Mary II of Orange on 5 November 1688. As a direct result of the action of the seven bishops, the right to petition the king was enshrined in the new Bill of Rights in 1689. Simplistically, some people see this medal as a testament to religious intolerance, although the issues of the time that brought it into being were far more complex, involving matters of secular authority, constitutional right, and the very basis of power in the evolving secular democratic British state. This is demonstrated by the decision of Sancfroft and five of the seven bishops that they could not swear allegiance to the new protestant King William III, for to do so would be a repudiation of their prior sworn loyalty to the deposed Catholic King James II. As a result, Sancroft was dismissed from his role in 1690 and died in relative obscurity three years later.
Few coins, or medals, connect so directly with history and in doing so depict so many influential participants. The medal was the work of George Bower (d. 1690) a medallist who worked in London from 1650-1689. He had been appointed to the position of Engraver of the Royal Mint and Embosser in Ordinary in 1664.
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Parthia, Andragoras, ca. 245-238 BC, AR Didrachm36 viewsHelmeted head of Athena r.; bunch of grapes behind.
Owl standing r., head facing, crescent, olive spray (largely off-flan) and bunch of grapes (mostly off-flan) behind, AΘE to r.
Taylor Birds of a Feather 2.3, 96 (dies a7/p12) ; HGC 12, 4 (Baktria); H. Nicolet-Pierre & M. Amandry, RN 1994, 24-28 (Baktria); SNG ANS 9, 5 (Baktria).
(19 mm, 7.94 g, 6h).
Roma Numismatics XVII (28 Mar. 2019), lot 587; ex 'Andragoras-Sophytes' Hoard.
The 'Andragoras-Sophytes' hoard came to market from mid-late 2017. It was reputedly found in 2014 and consisted of approximately 600 coins from at an undisclosed location in Afghanistan (Hoard information: Olivier Bordeaux & Osmund Bopearachchi). Around half of these coins were marketed by Roma Numismatics in a succession of auctions commencing in 2017 and continuing through to 2019.
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Thessaly, Krannon, 400-344 BC, Æ Dichalkon35 viewsLaureate head of Poseidon right.
KP-A Rider wearing chlamys and petasos on horse prancing right.
Rogers 179; SNG Copenhagen 39-40; BCD Thessaly 1081.2 (same dies); BCD Thessaly II (Triton XV) 117.7 (this coin).
(17 mm, 5.28 g, 1h).
Barry P. Murphy; ex- BCD Collection: Triton XV, 3 January 2012, 117.7.n.igma
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Thrace, Mesembria ca. 100 BC, AR Tetradrachm - in the name of Alexander III the Great35 viewsHead of Herakles wearing lion skin headdress r.
ΒΑΣIΛΕΩΣ ΑΛΕΞΑΝΔΡΟΥ, Zeus enthroned l., legs draped, confronting eagle held on outstretched r. arm and grasping lotus-tipped scepter, crested Corinthian helmet with cheek guards facing r. before, BAK above, ΘΕΣ below throne.
Price 1119; Callataÿ Groupe 3.
(32 mm, 15.7 g, 12h)
Freeman & Sear
Located on the western shores of the Black Sea, Mesembria was the most active mint in the Black Sea region, issuing Alexanders from the mid 3rd century until the death of Mithradates VI of Pontus in ca. 63 BC. The city minted the last of the posthumous Alexanders, more than two centuries after Alexander's death.
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Kings of Paeonia, Patraos, ca. 335-315 BC, AR Tetradrachm 35 viewsLaureate head of Apollo right.
[Î ]ATPAOY Warrior on horse rearing right, spearing fallen enemy who defends with shield; ligate [E]M monogram behind horse’s rear leg.
AMNG III 4; Paeonian Hoard 312 & 410 (same reverse die); SNG ANS 1040.
Damastion mint (?).
(23 mm, 12.55 g, 9h)
CNG; ex- Numismatica Ars Classica Auction N, 26 June 2003, 1242. n.igma
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Baktrian Kingdom, Diodotos I, ca. 255/250-240 BC, AR Tetradrachm 34 viewsDiademed head of Diodotos I right.
ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ ANTIOXOY Zeus advancing left hurling thunderbolt, eagle at feet, ΙΔΤ (Iota, Delta, Sampi) monogram in inner left field.
Holt A6.4 (this coin); Kritt A6 (plate 2 A6 this coin); CSE 1294 (this coin); SNG Lockett 3109 (this coin ID: SNGuk_0300_3109); Pozzi 2945 (this coin); ESM 717α (this coin); SNG ANS 77; SC 631.a; Bopearachchi 2E; Mitchiner 64d; Qunduz 6; HGC 9, 243.
Mint "A" - Ai Khanoum
(26 mm, 15.73 g, 6h).
Herakles Numismatics; ex- Houghton Collection (CSE 1294); ex- Lockett Collection (SNGLockett 3109); ex- Pozzi Collection: Naville Sale I (1921) 2945 (sold for CHF 35).
This coin has a very distinguished provenance and has been published as plate coin in four reference works.
The emission with the ΙΔΤ (Iota, Delta Sampi) mint control mark is the most abundant of the Diodotid issues, representing about 13% of known Diodotid precious metal coins. The same control carries over into the early coinage of Euthydemos, although eventually displaced by the PK control monogram after 208/6 BC when Antiochos III captured Ai Khanoum while Euthydemos remained besieged at Baktra, after which it appears that Baktra/Balkh assumed the role of primary royal mint in Baktria. In is notable that the Archaic Greek letter Sampi forms the bottom of the ΙΔΤ monogram. It is an Archaic Greek form of a double Sigma that persisted in Greek dialects of Asia Minor. Many Greek settlers from Asia Minor migrated to Baktria, including the illustrious ruler Euthydemos from Magnesia in either Lydia, or Ionia. The archaic Greek Sampi possibly traveled to Baktria with the earliest Greek settlers from Asia Minor.
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Seleukid Kingdom, Seleukos I Nikator, 312-281 BC, AR Drachm - Susa 34 viewsHelmeted head of Seleukos right, frontal facial features carved from the coin, apparently in an act of damnation.
ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ ΣEΛEYKOY Nike standing right, holding in both hands a wreath that she places on trophy to right; monogram to lower left, ΔI in lower middle field.
Marest-Caffety AJN 28, Victory Coinage 198 (this coin), dies A4/P4, Pl. 14 198 (this coin); SC 174.4 var. (left field monogram); HGC 9, 34; CSE 1024 var.; ESM 414 var.
Susa mint 300-295 BC.
(16 mm, 3.63 g, 8h).
DAMNATION: The defacement of Seleukos’ image on this coin may be one of the earliest acts of damnation recorded on coinage. A broad deep cut to the coin was made to remove the facial features on the obverse. Unlike a test cut, silver has been carved from the coin, rather than being displaced by a chisel blow. This removal of silver contributes to the current low weight of the coin (0.6 g less than the Attic weight standard). The defacement of the image of Seleukos may have been the result of Persid animosity to Macedonian occupation.n.igma
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Kings of Macedon, Alexander III the Great, 336-323, AR Tetradrachm – Susa under satrap Aspeisas 34 viewsHead of Herakles right wearing lion-skin headdress.
ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ AΛEΞANΔPOY (of King Alexander) Zeus Aëtophoros seated left, wreath in left field; AI above strut of throne, Î P monogram below.
Price 3857.
Struck under Aspeisas, satrap of Susiana, circa 316-311 BC.
(25 mm, 16.78 g, 9h).
Classical Numismatic Group Auction 76, 12 September 2007, 772. Incorrectly attributed in the auction catalogue to Seleukos I Nikator, as an unpublished SC 164.1 variant
Susa, or Shushan in biblical Hebrew, is modern day Shush, located in southwest Iran, about 150 km east of the River Tigris. Mint operations appear to have commenced in the city around the time of the death of Alexander in 323 BC. Antigonos Monopthalmos controlled Susa in the interval 320-311 BC, after which Seleukos I annexed it to his province of Babylonia.
At the time this coin was struck in 316-314 BC, the power of Antigonos Monopthalmos was at its zenith. The wreath on the reverse is symbolic of his triumph over Eumenes of Cardia, leaving Antigonos at that time the supreme claimant to the legacy of Alexander the Great. Aspeisas, under whose direct authority the coinage at Susa was struck, was appointed satrap of Susiana by Antigonos following the second Diadoch War. He occupied this role until ca. 311 BC when Seleukos took Babylonia and Susa. A similar Alexander tetradrachm (Price 3852) of Susa issued with Aspeisas’ name on the reverse is the geographical and chronological pointer by which the subsequent issues, including the Seleukid Susa Alexanders, are definitively placed as issues of the mint at Susa. The Aspeisas tetradrachm is followed by the Susa “wreath group” of which this coin is an example. The wreath group is connected directly by magistrates’ symbols, style, and fabric to the subsequent Seleukid issues.n.igma
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Kings of Macedon, Alexander III the Great, 336-323 BC, AR Tetradrachm - Amphipolis Mint under Antipater 33 viewsHead of Herakles right, wearing lion skin headdress.
AΛEΞANΔPOY Zeus Aëtophoros seated left; janiform head vase in left field. Graffiti in upper left field - Aramaic kaph (k) and sadhe (s).
Price 6; Troxell, Studies, Issue A3; SNG Cop 660; Muller 853.
Struck at Amphipolis in the period 332-329 BC.
(29 mm, 17.15 g, 2h)n.igma
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Kings of Macedon, Demetrios I Poliorketes, 306-283 BC, AR Tetradrachm - Corinth 33 viewsHead of Herakles right wearing lion skin headdress.
BAΣIΛEΩΣ AΛEΞANΔPOY Zeus Aëtophoros seated left dove left in wreath in left field, H beneath throne.
Price 671 (from the same obverse die as Price 670); Troxell Peloponnesian Alexanders pl. XIX, 6; Noe ANSNS 6, 19. Struck ca. 303-290 BC in Corinth by Demetrios I Poliorketes. Very rare.
(25 mm, 17.2 g, 1h).
Steven Battelle; ex-Gorny & Mosch 212, 5-6 March 2013, 1370.
Only two other examples of Price 671 are known, both from a different obverse die to that of this coin.This coin is from the same obverse die as that which struck the BM example of Price 670. On the latter, the die breaks around the eye of Herakles are more advanced, suggesting that Price 671 more correctly precedes the striking of Price 670 in the sequence of Corinthian Alexanders. n.igma
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Baktrian Kingdom, Diodotos I, ca. 255/250-240 BC, AR Tetradrachm 33 viewsDiademed head of the Diodotos I right.
ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ ANTIOXOY (of King Antiochos). Zeus striding left, hurling thunderbolt in right hand, aegis over extended left arm; eagle standing in lower inner left, monogram in left field above eagle.
SC 628 (b); Holt A2 (Holt A2 example 2 = this coin); Bopearachchi 2E; Mitchiner 64c; Kritt, Dynastic Transitions Type A2 (Plate 1, page 19); HGC 9, 243. Mint “A”- Ai Khanoum ca. 255-250 BC.
(29 mm, 16.92 g, 6h).
Eukratides Ancient Numismatics: ex- William K. Raymond Collection; ex- Kovacs (1997)
The Kingdom of Baktria was created from the Seleukid province of Bactro-Sogdiana when the satrap Diodotos I began to act independently of the Seleukid king, Antiochos II around 256 BC. The first step towards independence came with the issue of coinage depicting Diodotos I, rather than the Seleukid king, Antiochos II. On their reverse the coins bear the image of a striding Zeus, rather than the Seleukid patron god Apollo. Yet the coinage maintains the legend ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ ANTIOXOY indicating nominal servitude to the Seleukid king. This legend remained unchanged despite the accession to the throne of Seleukos III in 246 BC. In effect, this denies any allegiance to the latter king, while at the same time attesting to the legitimacy of Diodotos’ claim to the throne via his initial appointment under Antiochos II. Following the death of Diodotos I around 240 BC his son, Diodotos II, adopted the title of king, altering the legend of the coinage to that of ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ ΔIOΔITOY, an unequivocal statement of independence.
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Baktrian Kingdom, Antimachos I, ca. 175-165 BC, AR Drachm33 viewsDiademed head of Antimachos right wearing kausia.
ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ ΘEOY ANTIMAXOY (of King Antimachos a God) Poseidon standing facing, holding trident and palm branch, KP monogram in lower right field.
Bopearachchi Series 2A; SNG ANS 9, 279; Mitchiner 124b; HGC 12; 109; Sear GCV 7545.
(19 mm, 4.2 g, 12h).
Freeman & Sear Mail Bid Auction 13, Aug. 2006, 278; from the F. Martin Post Collection.
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Cyclades, Syros, 3rd- 1st Centuries BC, Æ 1132 viewsHead of Dionysos wreathed with ivy left.
Kantharos, between two symbols 8-Æ· (symbols largely off-flan).
Unpublished in the standard references, cf. CNG eAuction 248 (26 Jan 2011) Lot 119 (Syros).
(11 mm, 1.46 g 10h)
Forvm Ancient Coins
This coin was acquired with an "unknown attribution". Subsequently, CNG attributed the coin type to Syros. A handful examples are known from sales in recent years. n.igma
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Seleukid Kingdom, Antiochos I Soter, 281-261 BC, AR Tetradrachm - Seleukeia on Tigris 32 viewsDiademed head of the mature Antiochos right.
ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ ANTIOXOY (of King Antiochos) Apollo seated left on omphalos, examining arrow held in right hand and resting left on bow, monograms in outer left (ПA) and outer right (HP) fields
SC 379.1; ESM 143; Sear GCV 6866 var.; HGC 9, 128g. Seleukeia on the Tigris mint.
(32 mm, 16.91 g, 1h).
Freeman & Sear.
Antiochos I, the son of Seleukos I came to the throne at age 44, having already been ruler of the Eastern satrapies from ca. 294 BC. Little is known of the detail of Antiochos’ reign other than the fact that he was victorious over Galatian invaders of Asia Minor in 273 BC, which earned him the title of “Soter“(Saviour). He was the first of his line to place his own portrait on his coinage. He also introduced the Apollo on omphalos reverse that became the most recognizable symbol of the Seleukid dynasty. n.igma
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Elis, Olympia, 134th-143rd Olympiad, 244-208 BC, AR Drachm 31 viewsEagle flying right, with both wings above its body, grasping hare with talons and tearing at it with beak.
F-A either side of thunderbolt with wings below and volutes above.
Schwabacher NumChron 1939 Group III; BCD Olympia 243 (same dies); HGC 5, 509 (S); Seltman pl. VIII/34. Struck from a worn and rusty obverse die.
(18 mm, 4.73 g, 12h).
Freeman & Sear.n.igma
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Kings of Macedon, Philip V, 221-179 BC, AR Tetradrachm – Corinth 220-217 BC31 viewsHead of Herakles right wearing lion skin headdress.
AΛEΞANΔPOY Zeus Aëtophoros seated left on a throne with a backrest topped by two Nikai, in left field Athena advancing left, shield over shoulder, holding spear on which is perched an owl, ΘE beneath throne.
Commerce (“Achaeus Hoard”), 2002 (CH 10.277) no.6 (this coin), pl. 17, no.6 (this coin); Troxell Peloponnesian Alexanders pl. XVII, 3 (same obverse die); Price 703 (same obverse die); Noe ANSNS 6, 60.
(27 mm, 16.83 g, 1h).
Jencek Historical Enterprise; ex Commerce (“Achaeus Hoard”), 2002 (CH 10.277).
The “Achaeus Hoard” from which this coin derives is an assemblage of 87 coins identified in commerce in 2002 as having come from the same hoard from an unknown find location inferred to possibly be in southwest Asia Minor that was buried around c. 204-203 BC.
Struck ca. 220-217 BC in Corinth, part of the Achaean League contribution to the maintenance of the army of Philip V of Macedon during the Social War. Obverse struck from a worn die.
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Argolis, Hermione, ca. 360-320/10 BC, AR Triobol 31 viewsWreathed head of Demeter Chthonia left.
EP monogram within wreath.
HGC 5, 745 (R2); Grandjean, Monnayage group I, emission 1A, D1/R2 (this coin cited = Coll. N. Davis169 (= Coll. Jameson 1259)); BCD Peloponnesos 1288 (same dies); SNG Copenhagen 136; Jameson 1259 (this coin); Dewing 1932 (same dies).
(15 mm, 2.84 g, 11h)
Classical Numismatic Group Mail Bid Auction 79, 17 September 2008, 295; ex- BCD Collection (not in LHS sale); ex- 'Continental' collection: Classical Numismatic Group XXIV, 9 December 1992, 255; ex- N. DAvis Collection; ex- Jameson Collection.
This triobol is the coin catalogued by Grandjean as D1/R2 Coll. N. Davis 169 (= Coll. Jameson 1259). It passed into the BCD Collection via CNG XXIV (1992) after the publication of Granjean's work in 1990. The Jameson collection was auctioned in Paris in the years 1913-1932.n.igma
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Sicily, Syracuse, Hiketas II, 287-278 BC, Æ 21 31 viewsWreathed head of Kore right; ΣYPA in right field.
Charioteer in biga galloping right, star above, Î X in exergue.
SNG ANS 763 var. (torch symbol on obverse; X in exergue of reverse).
(21 mm, 9.41 g, 5h).
LWHT Collection; Classical Numismatic Group electronic Auction 167, 27 June 2007, 37; from the Charles Gillet collection; ex-Stacks 23 May 1990, 262.n.igma
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Seleukid Kingdom, Seleukos I Nikator, 312-281 BC, AR Drachm - Susa 31 viewsHelmeted head of Seleukos right.
ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ ΣEΛEYKOY Nike standing right, holding in both hands a wreath that she places on trophy to right; H to lower left, AX in lower middle field.
Marest-Caffety AJN 28, Victory Coinage 2.5, 218 (this coin), dies A14/P13, Pl. 15, 218 (this coin); SC 174.5; HGC 9, 34; CSE 1024; ESM 418γ (this coin).
Susa mint, 300-295 BC.
(18 mm, 4.06 g, 10h).
Roma Numismatics, Feb. 2011; ex- CNG 47, 16 Sept. 98, 533; ex- Giessener 33, 3 June 1986, 217; ex- Naville X, 15-18 June 1925, 799.
VENERATION: The hole in this coin has been carefully placed so as not to damage the obverse image. Extension of the flan to accommodate the hole is evident in the distortion of the once circular dotted border of the reverse, plus a thinner than average metal thickness in this area of the coin, accompanied by hammer marks on the obverse. It appears that a slightly off center obverse coin was chosen for this purpose and the area of the flan outside the struck obverse design was flattened and extended to facilitate the placement of a hole in a manner that would not damage the obverse image. The hole appears to have been punched into the coin from both sides. This is shown by a ridge of metal on the inside of the circumference of hole marking the intersection of the two punches from both sides. The outermost edges of the hole show the most wear, consistent with suspension of the coin from leather band, or chain. The wear of the obverse and reverse of the coin is consistent with the coin being held and rubbed between the thumb and forefinger while on display, perhaps around the neck of the owner. With imagination it is easy conceive that this holed coin may have hung around the neck of a Macedonian veteran in one of the garrisons in Persis, testament to his loyalty to Seleukos, only to be fondly rubbed between thumb and forefinger in the pensive moments over a drink and conversation in off-duty hours.n.igma
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Argolis, Epidauros ca. 290/80-260 BC, AR Hemidrachm30 viewsLaureate head of Asklepios left.
EÎ monogram within wreath.
HGC 5, 722 (R1); Requier Monnayage Series 2 [1], 124 (this coin; dies D4/R4); BCD Peloponnesos 1232-33 (same dies); Winterhur 2221 (same dies).
Hoard patina - an uncleaned example from the Epidauros Hoard.
(19.3 mm, 2.38 g, 3h).
Requier, Pierre. Le monnayage d'Épidaure à la lumière d'un nouveau trésor. Revue Suisse de Numismatique, 72, 1993, p. 29-46.
ex- BCD Collection; ex-1979/80 Epidauros Hoard (CH VII, 69).
Until the discovery of the Epidauros hoard, the hemidrachms of Epidauros were exceedingly rare, a handful of examples being known. The Epidauros hoard brought an additional 145 examples to light. Most of the specimens found in the market in the last thirty years originated from the hoard, including the four examples in this collection. Alan Walker and BCD divided Requier’s catalogue into four series, versus the two originally detailed in the latter. The Requier Series number as quoted in the attribution reflects the subdivision of the Epidauros emissions by Alan Walker and BCD, while the bracketed number is the original series number of Requier. n.igma
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Kings of Macedonia, Alexander III The Great, 336-323 BC, AR Tetradrachm - Sidon 333/2 BC 30 viewsHead of young Herakles right in lion-skin headdress, paws tied at neck.
ΑΛΕΞΑΝΔΡOΥ Zeus Aëtophoros seated left, Phoenician date (letter Alaph) indicating Year 1 (333/2 BC) beneath throne, Phoenician letter Sadhe (the ethnic of Sidon) to left.
Price 3467; Newell Sidon 8, dies -/- (previously unrecorded die set).
The first Alexander tetradrachm emission from Sidon mint 333/2 BC from the first dies used at the mint.
Nominally struck under Abdalonymos 333/2 -312/1 BC.
(23 mm, 17.2 g, 12h).
ex- Munzen Sann.
This is an example of the first Alexander coinage struck at Sidon, dated to Year 1 of his Asian reign, the year in which he defeated the Persian King Darius at the battle of Issos, followed shortly thereafter by the surrender of Sidon. The obverse die from which this coin was struck was transferred to Tyre after the fall of the city and it was used to strike the first of Alexander's coinage in the city. This die transfer/linkage was unknown to Newell and has only come to light in a recently offered specimen from Tyre CNG eAuction 276 lot 92 (incorrectly attributed to Tarsos by CNG). n.igma
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Kings of Macedonia, Alexander III The Great, 336-323 BC, AR Tetradrachm – Sidon 333/2 BC 30 viewsHead of young Herakles right in lion skin headdress, paws tied at neck.
ΑΛΕΞΑΝΔΡOΥ Zeus Aëtophoros seated left, Aramaic letter Alaph indicating year 1 (333/2 BC) beneath throne, Phoenician letter Sadhe (the ethnic of Sidon) to left (off flan).
Price 3467 (same dies as 3467c); Newell Sidon 8, dies II/γ. The first Alexander tetradrachm emission from
Sidon mint 333/2 BC.
Nominally struck under Abdalonymos 333/2 -312/11 BC.
(24 mm, 16.39 g, 12h).
This coin is from the first emission of the mint at Sidon struck immediately after the city surrendered to Alexander the Great in December 333. This is a certainty, because it is the dated to Year 1 of Alexander’s conquest of the Persian dominion, the only coinage in his realm to be so dated. Year 1 of Alexander’s reign over the Old Persian Empire followed the defeat of the Persian King Darius at the Battle of Issos in November 333 BC. The Macedonian year commenced in October of our calendar year. Thus the Phoenician date (letter Alaph) of year 1 on this coin represents the period from Alexander’s appearance in the city in late 333 BC until October 332 BC.
Newell and Price catalogued eleven examples of this coin emission from two obverse and three reverse dies. To this can be added the previously unrecorded dies of the previous coin. The obverse die from which this coin was struck, together with the engraver of the die, were transferred to the city of Tyre immediately on conquest of the latter to commence the production of Alexander’s coinage in that city. The following coin is an example of next obverse die engraved at Tyre by the same engraver. The depiction of Herakles by this engraver is very distinctive, to the extent that his handiwork, as documented by Newell, can be used to track the further movement of the engraver from Tyre to the city of Tarsos in 329 BC.n.igma
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Seleukid Kingdom, Seleukos I Nikator, 312-281 BC, AR Tetradrachm - Seleukeia on the Tigris 30 viewsHead of Herakles right wearing lion skin headdress.
ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ ΣEΛEYKOY Zeus Nikephoros seated left, NO in left field.
SC 119.3(a); HGC 9, 16f; ESM 23 (same dies A27-P79); CSE 937 (this coin); CSE 2, 58 (AHNS 1047).
Seleukeia on the Tigris mint ca. 300-296 BC.
(25 mm, 16.91 g, 12h).
ex-William K. Raymond Collection; ex- Arthur Houghton Collection.
Some time in the last five years of the fourth century BC the mint at Seleukeia on the Tigris opened to issue coinage in the name of Seleukos. Initial issues maintained the Zeus Aëtophoros (eagle) reverse image. However, shortly thereafter, the Zeus Nikephoros (Nike) image was introduced in parallel with the Aëtophoros image. The Nikephoros reverse was a direct allusion to Seleukos victory over Antigonos at Ipsos in 301 BC. This is one of three known examples of SC 119.3(a). The others are ESM 23 in the Danish national collection Copenhagen and CSE 2, 58 (AHNS 1047). Seleucid Coins lists another from the Tricala 1979 hoard (CH IX, 000) in the Athens Numismatic Museum, but this is in fact an example of ESM 24 (Zeus Aëtophoros) that was incorrectly catalogued as ESM 23 by Oeconomides - refer Oeconomides Pl. 66, 109. All noted examples are from the same obverse die. The obverse of this coin is a die match to that of a Zeus Aëtophoros issue with identical NO primary control which is now found in the Berlin collection (ESM 24; Newell Pl V, 4).
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Seleukid Kingdom, Seleukos I Nikator, 312-281 BC, AR Tetradrachm - Sardis 282-281 BC 30 viewsHead of Herakles right wearing lion-skin headdress.
ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ ΣEΛEYKOY Zeus Nikephoros seated left, EP monogram to left, AΣ beneath throne.
SC 3.3a; HGC 9, 16a; Miller & Hoover AJN 22 (2010), 41 (this coin illustrated on plate 14) dies A1/P7; Nelson "Seleucus I" Hoard (CH 10.265) 726-732 (this coin); WSM 1352 α, A1/ P7.
Seleukos’ military mint at Sardis 282-281 BC.
(25 mm, 17.12 g, 12h).
ex- Commerce "Seleucus I" Hoard (CH 10.265).
This coin was struck in 282 BC following the fall of the city of Sardis to Seleukos, during the preliminaries of the campaign that delivered the decisive victory over Lysimachos at Korupedion, in the late summer of 281 BC. Six months later Seleukos was assassinated aged seventy-seven years.
Struck from the first obverse and seventh reverse die in the series, this coin is interpreted by Miller and Hoover (The Sardes Mint under Seleucus I Nicator) to have originated from a military mint operation associated with Seleukos army. The obverse bears a striking resemblance to the last die used at Seleukeia in Pieria, to the extent that both dies were almost certainly engraved by the same hand. This led Miller and Hoover to propose that …Stylistic affinities between the first die of Sardes and the last of Seleucia in Pieria raise the possibility that the equipment and personnel of the latter may have been moved to Sardes to serve as a supplemental military mint.
The Commerce ("Seleucus I") Hoard 2005 (CH 10.265), from which the coin originates, is believed to have been a part of Seleukos’ treasury at the time he was assassinated by Ptolemy Keraunos. The hoard was found in an undisclosed location in Asia Minor. Its composition is inferred from 1,721 coins in commerce in 2005-06, although the total hoard is believed to have consisted of more than 3,000 coins. The hoard closed around 281 BC at the time of the murder of Seleukos.
References:
Miller, R. P. and O. D. Hoover. 2010. The Sardes Mint under Seleucus I Nicator. American Journal of Numismatics Second Series, 22, 25-34.
Nelson, B. R. 2010 Commerce (“Seleucus I” Hoard) 2005 (CH 10.265). In CH 10, 73-104.
CH 10 = Hoover, O., A. Meadows and U. Wartenberg, eds. 2010. Coin hoards, Volume X: Greek Hoards. New York: Royal Numismatic Society/American Numismatic Society.
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Baktrian Kingdom, Euthydemos I, ca. 230-200 BC, AR Tetradrachm 30 viewsDiademed head of a relatively youthful Euthydemos right.
ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ EYΘYΔHMOY Herakles seated left on rock, resting club on pile of rocks, monogram in inner right field, letter A in exergue.
Bopearachchi Series 5C; SNG ANS 9, 137 (same reverse die); Kritt, A8; HGC 12, 40.
Mint “A” - Ai Khanoum ca. 225-220/215 BC.
(29 mm, 16.7 g, 12h).
CNG 782054; ex- Semon Lipcer Coll.; ex- CNG 63, May 2003, 923.
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Aegina, ca. 445-431 BC, AR Stater 29 viewsLand tortoise with segmented shell.
Large incuse square with heavy skew pattern in five compartments.
Millbank plate 2, 12; SNG Copenhagen 516; Sear 2600.
(20 mm, 12.16 g).
Classical Numismatic Group.
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Corinthia, Corinth, 415-387 BC, AR Stater29 viewsPegasos with curled wings facing left; koppa beneath.
Head of Athena wearing Corinthian helmet right; rose behind, dolphin above.
Sear 2628.
(21 mm, 8h).
Spink & Son Ltd, December 1987.n.igma
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Kings of Macedonia, Alexander III The Great, 336-323 BC, AR Tetradrachm - Tyre 332/1 BC 29 viewsHead of young Herakles right in lion-skin headdress, paws tied at neck.
ΑΛΕΞΑΝΔΡOΥ Zeus Aëtophoros seated left, M under throne.
Price 3240 (b) (Ake) same dies; Newell Ake Series I, 3 (plate V, 13 same dies IV/δ).
An early emission of Alexander’s coinage from the mint of Tyre 332-330 BC. For the reattribution of the Alexander series of Ake to the mint of Tyre, see A. Lemaire, “Le monnayage de Tyr et celui dit d’Akko dans la deuxième moitié du IV siècle avant J.-C.,” RN 1976, and G. Le Rider, Alexander the Great: Coinage, Finances, and Policy (Philadelphia: American Philosophical Society, 2007), pp. 125-34. Tyre mint 332/1 BC.
(23 mm, 17.15 g, 6h).
Harlan J Berk Buy or Bid Sale 175, May 2011, Lot 114 (incorrectly attributed to Babylon).
This is amongst the first coins issued from Tyre after the siege. It was probably struck in the months immediately following the fall of the city to Alexander. The people who handled it were probably participants in the bloody, protracted siege of Tyre and may then have accompanied Alexander on his expedition to Egypt before going on to fight at Gaugamela. Few Alexander tetradrachms can be so closely associated with the location and movements of the man.n.igma
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Seleukid Kingdom, Seleukos I Nikator, 312-281 BC, AR Tetradrachm - Susa 29 viewsHead of Herakles right wearing lion-skin headdress.
ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ AΛEΞANΔPOY (of King Alexander) Zeus Aëtophoros seated left, wreath above horned horse head in left field; Boeotian shield to right of wreath; BE above strut of throne.
SC 164.4(b); HGC 9, 10g; ESM 286; Price 3865 (same obv. die); Kritt ESMS S-10 Al.11 same dies A7/P2.
Susa Mint, 311-305 BC.
(25 mm, 16.96 g, 11h).
ex- William K. Raymond collection.
This coin is amongst the earliest issues of Seleukos I Nikator from the mint at Susa. With the addition of Seleukid symbols (in this example a horned horse head) it follows the preceding Susa wreath group struck in the interval 316-311 BC by Aspeisas, under the authority of Antigonos Monopthalmos.n.igma
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Baktrian Kingdom, Euthydemos I, ca. 230-200 BC, AR Tetradrachm 29 viewsDiademed head of an elderly Euthydemos right.
ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ EYΘYΔHMOY Herakles seated left on rock, resting club on thigh, PK monogram in inner right field.
SNG ANS 9, 141-142; Kritt B17; Mitchiner 94a; Qunduz 19-20; HGC 12, 43; Sear GCV 7516.
Mint “B” – Baktra ca. 206-200 BC.
(26 mm, 15.92 g, 12h).
Realms Ancient Coins; ex- CNG.
The coinage portraits of Euthydemos range from youthful to elderly, reflecting the thirty year duration of his reign, which is inferred to have ended as early as 200 BC by recent workers (Kritt), or as late as 190 BC by earlier workers (Mitchiner). This portrayal probably represents the king in his sixties or seventies, after the invasion of Baktria by Antiochos III. The late life portrayal of Euthydemos is considered to be amongst the finest Hellenistic numismatic art. It shows a world weary, perhaps dissolute figure, for who the exercise of power has become as much a burden as a benefit. The Euthydemos series extending from youth to late life is almost unique in it’s true to life representation of the physical process of aging; the vitality and optimism of youth gradually replaced by the weariness of age, all captured in the progression of the portraits of Euthydemos.
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Hanover, George III, 1760-1820, Cu Halfpenny, Tower (London) mint 1771 29 viewsGEORGIVS · III · REX · laureate and armoured bust right.
BRITAN NIA · Britannia seated left on globe, holding olive branch and long transverse sceptre, Union shield to lower right, 1771 in exergue.
Peck 898; SCBC 3774.
(28 mm, 9.88 g, 6h).
Classical Numismatic Group; ex- C. W. Pearson Collection.
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Zeugitana, Carthage, Second Punic War, struck ca. 210-205 BC, BI Tridrachm28 viewsHead of Tanit left, wreathed with corn, wearing necklace and triple drop pendant ear-ring.
Horse standing right, palm tree behind.
Lorber Group 4, 132 (same dies); MAA 44; SNG Copenhagen 190.
(25 mm, 9.78 g, 12h).
Harlan J Berk Limited Buy or Bid Sale 150, 127; ex- Commerce 1995 Hoard.n.igma
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Sikyonia, Sikyon, ca. 431-400 BC, AR Drachm28 viewsDove with raised wings alighting left, Σ below, E above tail feathers.
Dove flying with open wings left within olive wreath.
HGC 5, 206; BCD Peloponnesos 174 (same obv. die); BCD Peloponnesos 175 (same rev. die); BMC 26 ff.; SNG Cop. 34; Traité 764.
(18 mm, 5.63 g, 10h).
This coin was struck from the first obverse die used to strike Sikyon drachms at the start of the Peloponnesian War (431-404 BC) in which Sikyon allied with Sparta and others against the growing hegemony of Athens. The war was waged for a generation, exhausting the participants on both sides before Athens finally succumbed. Sikyon provided much of the coinage used by the Peloponnesian allies. Worn as it now is, this coin would have circulated through much of the period of the war, a tangible connection to this period of epic conflict.
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Phokis, Federal Coinage, 354-352 BC, AR Triobol - struck under Onymarchos28 viewsFrontal bull's head.
Laureate head of Apollo right, lyre behind, Φ – Ω below.
BCD Lokris/Phokis 295.2 (this coin); Williams - (O-/R216).
(14 mm, 2.75 g, 11h).
ex- BCD Collection: NAC 55 (8 October 2010) Lot 295.2.
The district of Phokis was centered on the ancient city of Delphi and its sacred precinct. This coin was struck from the silver appropriated from the Delphic Apollo Temple treasury by the Phokians during the Third Sacred War (356-346 BC). The sacred precinct at Delphi was seized by the Phokians and fortified at the start of the war. It is probable Onymarchos, the Phokian strategos of the time, struck this coinage within the sacred precinct and used it to pay for the ongoing war effort. Coins of this type are relatively rare despite the massive minting to fund the war effort. This results from to the fact that at war’s end the Lokrians collected all the Phokian coinage then in circulation and melted it down to make a massive silver hydria which was dedicated to Apollo at Delphi.n.igma
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