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After his brother Demetrius was captured by the Parthians, Antiochus VII was made king. He married Demetrius' wife Cleopatra Thea. He defeated the usurper Tryphon at Dora and laid siege to Jerusalem in 134. According to Josephus, the Hasmonean king John Hyrcanus opened King David's sepulcher and removed three thousand talents, which he then paid Antiochus to spare the city. Sidetes then attacked the Parthians, supported by a body of Jews under Hyrcanus, and briefly took back Mesopotamia, Babylonia and Media before being ambushed and killed by Phraates II. His brother Demetrius II had by then been released, but the Seleucid realm was now restricted to Syria. Antiochus VII was the last Seleucid king of any stature.GY114602. Silver tetradrachm, Houghton-Lorber II 2061(1)s, Newell SMA 280, SNG Spaer 1852, HGC 9 1067d, VF, attractive style, bumps and scratches, uneven tone, rev. a little off center, weight 16.618 g, maximum diameter 31.2 mm, die axis 0o, Antioch (Antakya, Turkey) mint, 138 - 129 B.C.; obverse diademed head right, fillet border; reverse Athena standing slightly left, head left, right hand extended through inscription to border holding Nike, grounded shield in left hand, spear leaning on left arm, BAΣIΛEΩΣ / ANTIOXOY in two downward lines on right, EYEPΓETOY downward on left, ligate ΔI over Λ outer left, laurel wreath border; ex Aegean Numismatics (Mentor, OH); $300.00 (€282.00)
Thessaly, Greece, Thessalian League, Late 2nd - Mid 1st Century B.C.
The Thessalian League was a loose confederacy of city-states and tribes in the Thessalian valley in N. Greece. Philip II of Macedon took control of Thessaly in 344 B.C and it remained under Macedonia until the Roman victory in 197 B.C. The league was reestablished in 196 B.C. but had little autonomy after Thessaly became part of the province of Macedonia in 146 B.C.GS114603. Silver stater, BCD Thessaly II 843; HGC 4 210, VF, centered, toned, small edge splits/cracks, die wear, weight 5.984 g, maximum diameter 22.7 mm, die axis 0o, Larissa(?) mint, mid - late 1st century B.C.; obverse head of Zeus right, bearded, wearing oak wreath, ITAΛOY (Italos [magistrate]); reverse Athena Itonia striding right, hurling spear with right hand, shield on left arm; ΘEΣΣA/ΛΩN in two lines, starting upward on left, ending downward on right; N inner right below shield, ΔIO-KΛHΣ (Diokles [magistrate]) divided across upper field, ITAΛOΣ (Italos [magistrate]) in exergue; ex Sphinx Coins, ex BCD Collection (with his tag noting S.+Co., ex Thessaly, Nov. 97, SFr. 150.-); $350.00 (€329.00)
Thessalian League, Greece, Mid - Late 1st Century B.C.
The Thessalian League was a loose confederacy of city-states and tribes in the Thessalian valley in N. Greece. Philip II of Macedon took control of Thessaly in 344 B.C and it remained under Macedonia until the Roman victory in 197 B.C. The league was reestablished in 196 B.C. but had little autonomy after Thessaly became part of the province of Macedonia in 146 B.C.GS114604. Silver stater, BCD Thessaly II 846; SNG Cop 291; SNG Alpha Bank 288; De Luynes 1873; BMC Thessaly p. 2, 21, VF, toned, tight flan (as typical for the type), flow lines, struck with worn dies, weight 6.055 g, maximum diameter 22.3 mm, die axis 0o, Larissa(?) mint, mid - late 1st century B.C.; obverse head of Zeus right, wreathed in oak; reverse ΘEΣΣA/ΛΩN, Athena Itonia striding right, hurling spear with right hand, shield on left arm; ΘEΣΣA/ΛΩN in two lines, starting upward on left, ending downward on right; ΠOΛV-ΞENOY (Polyxenos [magistrate]) divided across upper field, EVKOΛOΣ (Eukolos [magistrate]) below; ex Sphinx Coins, ex BCD Collection (with his tag noting, ex Spring 97 hd. 4 kms SE of ancient Phalanna, cost SFr. 125.-); $220.00 (€206.80)
Augustus(?), 16 January 27 B.C. - 19 August 14 A.D.
This type has traditionally been attributed to Pergamum, c. 27 - 20 B.C. More recently, it has been suggested that it was struck at Samos, c. 21 - 20 B.C., when the city was Augustus' headquarters during his visit to the East. That all being said, David Sear has voiced skepticism to an Eastern origin in SRCV I (2000) where he writes, "the usual attribution of this issue to an 'eastern' mint is not supported either by the style of the engraving or by the evidence of provenance." In BMCRE I (1923), Harold Mattingly notes that specimens of the aureii of the same exact type (RIC I2 539) have been found at Ambenay (in France) and Xanten (in Germany).
The identity of the imperial portrait has been a matter of debate for many generations, a scholarly tug of war between an idealized depiction of Augustus and his adopted grandson, Gaius Caesar. While many nowadays prefer the former identification (note, for instance, the oak wreath), David Sear favors Gaius in SRCV I, seeing in the coin designs the "well established" connection to the Ludi Saeculares celebrations of 17 B.C., during which "year saw the birth of Gaius' younger brother, Lucius, and the adoption of both by Augustus." In 2012, a Canadian auction house sold a fascinating specimen overstruck on an earlier denarius bearing remnants of a "T R POT" legend and the suggestion of a head on the overtype's obverse. The cataloger(s) tentatively suggested the host coin was a Licinius Stolo denarius from the Rome mint (RIC I2 343), another coin with ties to the Ludi Saeculares in 17 B.C. However, in the present cataloger's view, traces of the undertype's thick edge beading may suggest a different denarius issue.
Lastly, the old description of the candelabrum being "surmounted by a crescent," noted as early as 1910 (in BMCRR II) and which is still widely cited today, was likely an incorrect interpretation of a partially visible patera.RS114560. Silver denarius, RIC I2 540, BMCRE I 684-685, BnF I3 1013-1016, RSC I 2 (Caius Caesar), SRCV I 1749 (same, $1,440 VF), Cohen I 2 (same, 30 Fr.), aVF, retoned, light scratches, banker's marks on obv., slightly off-centered, weight 3.448 g, maximum diameter 18.8 mm, die axis 180o, possibly eastern (Pergamum or Samos?) mint, c. 17 B.C.; obverse bare head of youthful Augustus(?) right, CA-ES-AR counterclockwise below, all within an oak wreath; reverse candelabrum, ornamented with rams' heads, all within a floral wreath entwined with two bucrania and three paterae, AVG-VST• across field; ex CNG e-auction 540 (15 Jun 2023), lot 397; ex Kalevala Collection; ex Baldwin's auction 48, (24 Sep 2020), lot 594; ex T. Hardaker Collection; ex CNG e-auction 277 (11 Apr 2012), lot 210; $500.00 (€470.00)
Trajan, 25 January 98 - 8 or 9 August 117 A.D., Koinon of Lycia
| Lycia, on the southern coast of Anatolia, was first recorded in the Late Bronze Age records of ancient Egypt and the Hittite Empire. Lycia was totally Hellenized under the Macedonians. The Lycian language disappeared from inscriptions and coinage. On defeating Antiochus III in 188 the Romans gave Lycia to Rhodes for 20 years, taking it back in 168 B.C. The Romans allowed home rule under the Lycian League, a federation with republican principles, which later influenced the framers of the United States Constitution. In 43 A.D. Claudius dissolved the league and made Lycia a Roman province. It was an eparchy of Byzantine Empire. A substantial Christian Greek community lived in Lycia until the 1920s when they were forced to migrate to Greece following the Greco-Turkish War. |  |
Judean Kingdom, Herod the Great, 37 - 4 B.C.
Herod's most famous and ambitious project was his magnificent expansion of the Second Temple in Jerusalem in 20 - 19 B.C. Although work on out-buildings continued another eighty years, the new Temple was finished in a year and a half. To comply with religious law, Herod employed 1,000 priests as masons and carpenters. The temple was destroyed in 70 A.D. Today, only the four retaining walls of the Temple Mount remain standing, including the Western Wall.JD114807. Bronze prutah, cf. Hendin 6219; Sofaer 30; SNG ANS 206; BMC Palestine p. 224, 44; HGC 10 662, aF, highlighting earthen deposits, rev. edge beveled, ragged sprue cuts, weight 1.361 g, maximum diameter 13.0 mm, Jerusalem mint, 21 - 12 B.C.; obverse HPW BACI (or similar, completely obscure, Greek abbreviation: of King Herod), anchor; reverse two cornucopias splayed outward, adorned with ribbons, caduceus between horns, pellets above; $90.00 (€84.60)
Judaea, Pontius Pilate, Roman Prefect Under Tiberius, 26 - 36 A.D.
Pontius Pilate is chiefly known for the part he played in the trial and crucifixion of Jesus. Scholars disagree on the date of this type. If the "S" is actually a retrograde (backward) "Z," the date is year 17 or 30 A.D. If the "S" is actually the Greek letter stigma, the date is year 16 or 29 A.D.JD114819. Bronze prutah, Hendin 6371a; Meshorer TJC 333b; Sofaer 41; BMC Palestine p. 259, 74; RPC I 4968 var. (LIZ), aF, rev. weak, rough sprue cuts resulting in an irregular flan with two flat sides, weight 1.268 g, maximum diameter 14.7 mm, die axis 0o, Jerusalem mint, 29 or 30 A.D.; obverse TIBEPIOY KAICAPOC (of Tiberius Caesar), lituus (augural wand); reverse LIς (year 16) or LIZ (Z retrograde, year 17) within wreath; $100.00 (€94.00)
Judean Kingdom, Alexander Jannaeus (Yehonatan), 104 - 76 B.C.
The prutah was equal in value to 1/2 a Roman quadrans. -- Talmud Jerus., Kedushin 58d, written c. 200 A.D.JD114837. Bronze prutah, Hendin 6181, Meshorer TJC P, Meshorer AJC E, Sofaer 274 ff., HGC 10 638, F, near full inscription, highlighting earthen deposits, light corrosion, rev. edge beveled, weight 2.178 g, maximum diameter 13.6 mm, die axis 0o, Jerusalem mint, 103 - 76 B.C.; obverse classical style Paleo-Hebrew inscription: Yehonatan the High Priest and the Council of the Jews, within wreath; reverse two cornucopias splayed outward, adorned with ribbons, pomegranate or poppy between the horns; $90.00 (€84.60)
Herod Archelaus, Ethnarch of Samaria, Judea, and Idumea, 4 B.C. - 6 A.D.
The cornucopia was a hollow animal horn used as a container. One of the most popular religious symbols of the ancient world, the cornucopia is also know as the "horn of plenty."JD114858. Bronze prutah, Meshorer TJC 68d, Sofaer 61, Hendin 6223 (S), RPC Online I 4912, F, near centered, earthen encrusted, obv. edge beveled, squared by sprue cuts, weight 1.324 g, maximum diameter 14.1 mm, die axis 180o, Jerusalem mint, 4 B.C. - 6 A.D.; obverse HPWΔ (Greek: of Herod), anchor; reverse two cornucopias splayed outward, adorned with ribbons, caduceus between horns, EΘN (Greek abbreviation: Ethnarch) counterclockwise from lower right with N between the horns; scarce; $90.00 (€84.60)
Gordian III, 29 July 238 - 25 February 244 A.D., Irenopolis, Cilicia
Irenopolis or Eirenopolis or Eirenoupolis, known briefly as Neronias in honor of the Roman emperor Nero, was in northeastern Cilicia, not far from the Calycadnus river, on the site of modern Düzici, Osmaniye province, Turkey, at the mouth of the Darb al-'Ain pass. It was probably founded by Antiochus IV of Commagene. Coins of the city show that Asclepius and Hygeia were worshiped there, probably connected with the natural spring of the area. The city is mentioned by Hierocles, Nicephore, and Calliste. Christianity first came to the area in the 1st century; the mountain pass location made it an early candidate for missionaries. The city came under Muslim rule following the Battle of Manzikert in 1071.RP114912. Bronze AE 31, RPC VII.2 Online 3221A (2 spec.; #1 = this coin), Isegrim -, Karbach Eirenopolis -, aF, green patina, highlighting light earthen deposits, both sides off-centered, weight 9.683 g, maximum diameter 30.8 mm, die axis 180o, Irenopolis (Düzici, Turkey) mint, 242/243 A.D.; obverse AY K M ANTW ΓOPΔIANOC, radiate, draped and cuirassed bust right, seen from behind; reverse EIPHNOΠO-ΛEITWN, Dionysos standing mostly left, wreathed in ivy(?), otherwise nude, cantharus in right hand, upright thyrsus in left, panther standing left at feet with head turned back and upwards in anticipation, ET (Greek abbreviation: ETOYC - "of year") in left field, BϘP (192, obscured) in exergue; zero sales of this type listed on Coin Archives in the last two decade; one of two known, listed on RPC Online; ex Pandora Numismatics auction 2 (27 Aug 2023), lot 415 (sold unattributed); extremely rare; $160.00 (€150.40)
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