Classical Numismatics Discussion Members' Coin Collection Photo Gallery

Home > Members' Coin Collection Galleries > n.igma > Peloponnesos

Last comments - Peloponnesos

Arkadia, Arkadian League, Megalopolis, ca. 300-275 BC, Æ Dichalkon Laureate head of Zeus left.
League monogram APK above syrinx; AP-T[I] across upper field, ME to right, thunderbolt below.

HGC 5, 941; BCD Peloponnesos 1539.4.
Megalopolis mint.
Extremely rare, one of two known with the AP-TI/ME reverse mint controls.

(18 mm, 4.16 g, 12h).
CNG; ex- BCD collection; ex- A. H. Baldwin, May 1970.
2 commentsn.igma02/11/24 at 04:40n.igma: David - I sold this coin along with around 200 oth...

Arkadia, Arkadian League, Megalopolis, ca. 300-275 BC, Æ Dichalkon Laureate head of Zeus left.
League monogram APK above syrinx; AP-T[I] across upper field, ME to right, thunderbolt below.

HGC 5, 941; BCD Peloponnesos 1539.4.
Megalopolis mint.
Extremely rare, one of two known with the AP-TI/ME reverse mint controls.

(18 mm, 4.16 g, 12h).
CNG; ex- BCD collection; ex- A. H. Baldwin, May 1970.
2 commentsn.igma12/07/23 at 10:41David W2: Dear n.igma, is there a way to write you a PM conc...

Achaian League, Elis, ca. 50 BC, AR Hemidrachm Laureate 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).1 commentsn.igma05/31/20 at 11:45okidoki: very nice Very Happy

Kings of Macedon, Demetrios I Poliorketes, 306-283 BC, AR Tetradrachm - Corinth Head of Herakles right wearing lion skin headdress.
BAÎ£IÎ›EÎ©Î£ AÎ›EÎžANÎ”POY 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. 2 commentsn.igma10/18/19 at 10:26Anaximander: Impressive coin. Impressive scholarship.

Corinthia, Corinth, 415-387 BC, AR StaterPegasos 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 1987.1 commentsn.igma01/15/17 at 20:43Enodia: beautiful

Arkadia, Arkadian League, Megalopolis, ca. 330-275 BC, AR Triobol Laureate head of Zeus right.
Pan seated left on rock, holding lagobolon and raising hand; APK monogram to left, X to right.

HGC 5, 929 (S); BCD Peloponnesos 1526 (same dies); Dengate period I, issue 3, 13 (same obverse die).
A rare example of the first series issue, struck on the heavier Aeginitic weight standard.

(15 mm, 2.81 g, 10h)
CNG: ex- BCD Collection (not in LHS sale).1 commentsn.igma09/21/15 at 07:58Pharsalos: Lovely coin, very austere Zeus!

Argolis, Hermione, ca. 360-320/10 BC, AR Triobol Wreathed 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 1913-1932.1 commentsn.igma08/15/15 at 22:11Pharsalos: Beautiful style and lovely toning.

Messenia, Messene, ca. 35 BC, AR Hemidrachm Diademed head of Zeus right.
Tripod ME-Σ monogram, ΠΟ-ΛY-KΛ-HΣ (Polykles magistrate), within wreath.

HGC 5, 572; Grandjean 215a (D132/R182; this coin illustrated on pl. VIII); BCD Peloponnesos 753-755, SNG Copenhagen 507.

(15 mm, 2.31 g, 12h).
Classical Numismatic Group; from the BCD Collection (not in LHS sale); ex- Glendining, 21 June 1972, 2111 commentsn.igma12/21/14 at 02:52Robert L3: Outstanding coin.

Achaian League, Argos, ca. 195-188 BC, AR Hemidrachm Laureate head of Zeus left.
Wreath surrounding AX monogram; TK monogram above and wolf’s head below.

HGC 5, 714 (this coin) (R1); BCD Peloponnesos 1130 (this coin); Agrinion 302 (b) (same dies); Clerk 141.

(15 mm, 2.43 g, 6h).
Kirk Davis Classical Numismatics Catalogue 50, Fall 2006, 46; ex-BCD Collection: LHS Numismatics 96, 8 May 2006, 1130; ex-Coin Galleries Winter FPL 1981/82, 52.1 commentsn.igma12/14/14 at 11:25Robert L3: Nice strong portrait...great coin.

Argolis, Argos, 260s-250s BC, AR Triobol Forepart of wolf at bay to left, Θ above.
Large A with Δ-E above and eagle standing on harpa below; all within incuse square.

HGC 5, 670 (S); BMC 61; Mycenae pl. 24-25; SNG Copenhagen 42; BCD Peloponnesos 1109-1110.

(15 mm, 2.58 g, 1h).
Pars Coins.1 commentsn.igma12/14/14 at 08:41marandnumiz: superb example

Sikyonia, Sikyon, ca. 370-340 BC, AR Stater Chimaera left, head of Apollo below.
Dove flying left within wreath, A above and Î“ below tail feathers.

HGC 5, 194; BCD Peloponnesos 214; SNG Lockett-2329 (same obv. die), Grose-6252, pl. 219, 14, Traité-pl. CCXXI, 2.

(22 mm, 12.06 g, 3h)
Harlan J. Berk
1 commentsn.igma12/07/14 at 21:49Legatus: Great detail. Too bad for the test cut, but overa...

Kings of Macedon, Antigonos III Doson, 229-221 BC, AR Tetradrachm - Megalopolis, 225-223 BCHead of Herakles right wearing lion skin headdress.
AÎ›Î•ÎžANÎ”POY Zeus Aëtophoros seated left, TI above ME in left field, API beneath throne, syrinx to right.

Price 753 (same dies); HGC 5, 946 (R2) (same dies as plate coin); Troxell Peloponnesian Alexanders pl. XX, 5 (same dies); Noe -.
Megalopolis mint 225-223 BC.

(30 mm, 16.84 g, 12h).
Jencek Historical Enterprise.

This coin is from the fifth and final obverse die of the series (unknown to Noe but identified by Troxell).
The coinage was struck to pay the Macedonian mercenary forces of Antigonos III Doson opposing the Spartan King Kleomenes III. 1 commentsn.igma12/06/14 at 18:57Randygeki(h2): excellent example

Sikyonia, Sikyon, ca. 431-400 BC, AR DrachmDove with raised wings alighting left, Î£ 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.
1 commentsn.igma11/26/14 at 12:39shanxi: beautiful coin

Phliasia, Phlious, ca. 400-350 BC, Æ Chalkous Bull 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 2014.2 commentsn.igma11/23/14 at 04:08n.igma: Yes, it makes it all the more interesting. Not too...

Phliasia, Phlious, ca. 400-350 BC, Æ Chalkous Bull 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 2014.2 commentsn.igma11/23/14 at 03:48Enodia: a really cool coin type, but what a fascinating pr...

Elis, Olympia, 97th-100th Olympiad, 392-380 BC, AR Hemidrachm Head 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, 627.2 commentsn.igma11/19/14 at 10:12maridvnvm: A very nice coin indeed.

Elis, Olympia, 134th-143rd Olympiad, 244-208 BC, AR Drachm Eagle 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.1 commentsn.igma11/18/14 at 17:47Jay GT4: Beautiful piece

Argolis, Epidauros ca. 250-240 BC, AR HemidrachmLaureate head of Asklepios left; Θ re-cut over an effaced E behind.
EΠ monogram within wreath.

HGC 5, 729; Requier Monnayage Series 4 [2], 202 (this coin) dies D2/R3, weight recorded as 2.34 g on BCD tag = Requier 2, 202); BCD Peloponnesos 1243-44 (same dies); Dewing 1931 (same dies).

(16 mm, 2.35 g, 7h).

Struck from worn dies as are all examples of this the last civic hemidrachm issue of Epidauros.

CNG Classical Numismatic Review XXXIX, 1, Spring 2014, 976803 from the BCD Collection; ex-1979/80 Epidauros Hoard (CH VII, 69).

This emission was the last civic silver issue struck by Epidauros. It was struck on a reduced weight standard that was adopted throughout most of the Peloponnesos from around 250 BC. It utilized an obverse die from the preceding emission on which the Θ mint control (D2) was re-cut over the earlier E mint control (D1). In 243 BC the last of pro-Macedonian tyrants that had ruled Epidauros for the previous fifty years was forced to step aside by Aretos of Sikyon, the strategos of the Achaean League. This event probably bought to an end the civic silver issues of Epidauros, although bronze civic coinage continued down to ca. 200 BC. After this, a few Epidauran issues in silver and bronze, conforming to Achaean League standards, were made in the period leading up to the defeat of the League by Rome in 146 BC
1 commentsn.igma11/17/14 at 07:32marandnumiz: very nice!

Argolis, Epidauros ca. 290/80-260 BC, AR HemidrachmLaureate 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. 1 commentsn.igma10/29/14 at 09:16David Atherton: Utterly fantastic!

21 files on 1 page(s)