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Home ▸ Catalog ▸ |Themes & Provenance| ▸ |Gods, Olympians| ▸ |Athena or Minerva||View Options:   | | | Athena was the virgin goddess of wisdom, crafts, and battle strategy. Her symbols are the olive tree and the owl. She is the daughter of Zeus, according to some traditions by Metis. |
LT113400. Silver Lot, Lot of 7 Athens pi-style imitative drachms, cf. Gitler & Tal IX.1D, F - aVF, toned, some corrosion and porosity, uncertain Gaza or Samaria mint, early 4th century - 333 B.C; obverse helmeted head of Athena right, with profile eye, olive leaves and pi-style floral ornament on crested helmet, large round earring; reverse owl standing right, head facing, olive spray and crescent upper left, AΘE downward on right, all within incuse square; ex CNG mail bid auction 84 (5 May 2010), lot 737 (realized $2000 plus fees); ex Dr. Patrick H.C. Tan Collection;
Athens, Attica, Greece, c. 454 - 404 B.C., Old Style Tetradrachm
The old-style tetradrachm of Athens is famous for its almond shaped eye, archaic smile, and charming owl reverse. Around 480 B.C. a wreath of olive leaves and a decorative scroll were added to Athena's helmet. On the reverse, a crescent moon was added.
During the period 449 - 413 B.C. huge quantities of tetradrachms were minted to finance grandiose building projects such as the Parthenon and to cover the costs of the Peloponnesian War.GS113614. Silver tetradrachm, SNG Cop 31, SNG Munchen 49, Kroll 8, Dewing 1611, Gulbenkian 519, HGC 4 1597, SGCV I 2526, VF, well centered, light toning, oval flan, flow lines, scrapes, weight 16.946 g, maximum diameter 25.0 mm, die axis 270o, Athens mint, c. 454 - 404 B.C.; obverse head of Athena right, almond shaped eye, crested helmet with olive leaves and floral scroll, wire necklace, round earring, hair in parallel curves; reverse owl standing right, head facing, erect in posture, olive sprig and crescent left, AΘΕ downward on right, all within incuse square; ex Tarshish (J. Zaddok & Sons, Jerusalem, Israel);
Domitian, 13 September 81 - 18 September 96 A.D.
| In 94 A.D., Domitian rebuilt and rededicated the Curia Julia, the meeting place of the Roman Senate, which had burned down in 64. Construction began in 44 B.C. but was interrupted by Caesar's assassination at the Theater of Pompey where the Senate had been meeting temporarily while the work was completed. The project was eventually finished by Augustus in 29 B.C. The Curia Julia is one of only a handful of Roman structures to survive to the modern day mostly intact, due to its conversion into the basilica of Sant'Adriano al Foro in the 7th century. |  |
Cappadocian Kingdom, Ariarathes VII, c. 138 - 129 B.C.; In the Name of the Seleukid King, Antiochus VII, 138 - 129 B.C.
Oliver Hoover, in Coins of the Seleucid Empire from the Collection of Arthur Houghton, attributes this type to the Cappadocian Kingdom, c. 130 - 80 B.C. The symbols were used on Cappadocian royal coinage, the coins are found in Cappadocian hoards and a tetradrachm naming the Cappadocian King Ariarathes VII Philometor (116 - 99 B.C.) bears the obverse portrait of Antiochus VII. He notes they may have been struck to pay foreign (Syrian?) mercenaries who preferred the types of Antiochus VII.SL113679. Silver tetradrachm, Houghton-Lorber II 2144.4, SNG Spaer 1862, Newell SMA 288, HGC 9 1068, NGC Ch XF, strike 4/5, surface 5/5 (3598726-018), weight 16.69 g, maximum diameter 28.5 mm, die axis 0o, obverse diademed head of the Seleukid King Antiochos VII right, fillet border; reverse BAΣIΛEΩΣ ANTIOXOY EYEPΓETOY, Athena standing left, Nike in right, spear and shield in left, ligate ΔI / A left, small Δ inner right, Nike extends wreath into laurel wreath border; ex Stacks Bower auction (22-25 Aug 2023), lot 53174; NGC| Lookup;
Nero, 13 October 54 - 9 June 68 A.D. (or Otho or Galba?), Mallus, Cilicia
In "An intriguing new coin from Mallus, Cilicia" (2008), Jyrki Muona, based on a high grade specimen with an excellent portrait, identified the head on this type as Otho. He noted the portrait is influenced by the style of the Antioch mint. Indeed the portrait on that specimen looks very much like the portraits of Otho from Antioch. RPC I attributes the type to Nero but notes, "The portrait does not look much like Nero, but the date seems clear. Could it possibly be a coin of Galba?" We are following RPC I, listing it as Nero, but noting the other possibilities.RP112383. Bronze AE 25, RPC Online I 4024 (3 spec.), SNG Levante 1269, aVF, dark green patina with traces of red, cleaning scratches, minor flan flaws on rev. edge, weight 9.678 g, maximum diameter 25.4 mm, die axis 0o, Mallus (near Karatas, Turkey) mint, 67 - 68 A.D.; obverse ...CEBACTOC..., laureate head right; reverse MAΛΛΩTΩN, Athena Magarsis standing facing, spear vertical in right hand, star above each arm, EΛP (year 135) outer left; ex CNG e-auction 538 (10 May 2023), lot 413; very rare;
Julia Mamaea Augusta, 222 - 235 A.D., Synnada, Phrygia
Synnada (Suhut, Turkey today) was of considerable importance as a station on the road from Apameia to the north and east. Synnada was celebrated throughout the Roman Empire for its precious Synnadic marble, a light color marble interspersed with purple spots and veins. From quarries on Mount Persis in neighboring Docimeium, it was conveyed through Synnada to Ephesus, from which it was shipped over sea to Italy.RP111944. Bronze diassarion, RPC Online VI T5767 (4 spec.), SNG Cop -, SNGvA -, BMC Phrygia -, Lindgren -, Choice VF/F, dark patina, earthen encrustation, porosity, weight 4.451 g, maximum diameter 23.7 mm, Synnada (Suhut, Turkey) mint, c. 222 - 235 A.D.; obverse IOYΛIA MAMEA C, draped bust right; reverse CYNNAΔEΩN, Athena standing facing, head right, wearing crested helmet, spear in right hand, left hand on hip, shield at feet on right; Coin Archives records only two specimens of the type at auction in the last two decades; very rare;
Seleukid Kingdom, Antiochus II Theos, 261 - 246 B.C.
Antiochus II Theos was the son of Antiochus I and Princess Stratonice, the daughter of Demetrius Poliorcetes. He inherited a state of war with Egypt and while he was thus occupied, his satraps in Parthia and Bactria declared independence. To make peace with Egypt and to seal the treaty, Antiochus repudiated his wife Laodice I, exiled her to Ephesus, and married Ptolemy II's daughter Berenice. Antiochus later left Berenice and their infant son Antiochus, to live again with Laodice. Laodice poisoned him, had Berenice and her infant son murdered, and proclaimed her son Seleucus II as king.GY99608. Bronze AE 17, Houghton-Lorber I 592, Newell ESM 196, HGC 9 268 (R2), VF, dark green patina with highlighting earthen deposits, weight 3.964 g, maximum diameter 17.1 mm, die axis 0o, Seleukeia on the Tigris (south of Baghdad, Iraq) mint, c. 250 - 246 B.C.; obverse helmeted and draped bust of Athena slightly left, wearing triple crested helmet; reverse Apollo seated right on omphalos, holding kithara on lap with right hand, tall tripod lebes behind on left, BAΣIΛEΩΣ downward on right, ANTIOXOY downward on left, monograms (controls) outer left and outer right; ex CNG e-auction 513 (6 Apr 2022), lot 178; this coin is the only specimen of this type recorded on Coin Archives in the last two decades; very rare;
Koinon of Macedonia, Reign of Gordian III, 238 - 244 A.D., Portrait of Alexander the Great
For the Alexander commemorative series issued by the Koinon of Macedonia, AMNG is by far the best reference listing over 500 different varieties on 100 pages - an absolutely bewildering study. With few plate images and listing many minor variations, it is a challenge to use for anyone who does not speak German. Varbanov only lists coins of the Koinon with portraits of the emperor on the obverse.RP113315. Bronze AE 26, cf. AMNG III 622; BMC Macedonia p. 24, 116; SNG Cop 1369, SNG Hunterian 742; SNG Bar 502; et al. (similar, but different rev leg arrangements, etc.), VF, very nice green patina, center dimples, weak legends, a few pits,, weight 12.783 g, maximum diameter 26.4 mm, die axis 180o, Beroea (Verria, Greece) mint, 238 - 244 A.D.; obverse AΛEΞANΔPOY, diademed head of Alexander the Great right; reverse KOINON MAKEΔONΩN B NEΩ, Athena seated left, helmeted, Nike holding wreath in Athena's right hand, resting left hand on shield behind, rear leg of chair in the form of a lion's leg; ex FORVM (2015); unpublished variety(?);
Domitian, 13 September 81 - 18 September 96 A.D.
In 89 A.D. the Gospel of Matthew was published in Syria or Phoenicia by a converted Jewish scholar.RS113095. Silver denarius, RIC II-1 667, RSC II 252, BMCRE II 151, BnF III 145, Hunter I 59, SRCV I -, VF, porous, a little rough, weight 3.194 g, maximum diameter 17.8 mm, die axis 180o, Rome mint, 14 Sep 88 - 13 Sep 89 A.D.; obverse IMP CAES DOMIT AVG GERM P M TR P VIII, laureate head right; reverse IMP XIX COS XIIII CENS P P P, Minerva advancing right, draped, wearing helmet with crest and aegis, brandishing javelin in right hand, round shield on left arm;
Nabataean Kingdom, Anonymous Issue, c. 272 - 72 B.C.
There has been much debate over the dating of this bronze type, imitative of the gold staters of Alexander. Great variation in style suggests a long period of striking and they are often overstruck on coins of Ptolemy I - III. They were most likely struck at the desert citadel of Petra before Aretas III lost Damascus to Tigranes II in 72 B.C., and then transferred his royal mint to Petra.GB110809. Bronze AE 18, Barkay CN 1, Meshorer Nabataea 1; Huth 44; HGC 10, 671, gF, green patina, highlighting earthen deposits, obv. edge beveled, central dimples, weight 3.911 g, maximum diameter 17.8 mm, die axis 90o, Petra (Jordan) mint, c. 272 - 72 B.C.; obverse helmeted head of Athena right; reverse Nike advancing left, wreath in extended right hand, Λ in left field; scarce;
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