| Leu Numismatik AG > Web Auction 28 | Auction date: 9 December 2023 |
| Lot number: 1600 Price realized: 1,700 CHF (Approx. 1,932 USD / 1,795 EUR) Note: Prices do not include buyer's fees. | |
| Lot description: KINGS OF ARMENIA MINOR. Aristobulus, 54-71/2. Oktachalkon (Bronze, 25 mm, 14.40 g), with Nero (54-68). Chalcis (?), RY 13 = 66/7. BACIΛEΩC APICTOBOYΛOY ET IΓ Diademed and draped bust of Aristobulus to left. Rev. NEPΩ/NI KΛAY/ΔIΩ KAIΣA/PI / ΣEBAΣTΩ / ΓEPMANI/KΩ within laurel wreath. Kovacs 299. RPC I 3839 corr. (date). A well struck example with a clear portrait. Repatinated and with a small flan fault on the reverse, otherwise, very fine. From a European collection, formed before 2005. Aristobulus is certainly among the most fascinating of the numerous 1st-century Roman client kings. Born the son of Herod of Chalcis and the great-grandson of Herod the Great, and appointed by Nero as King of Armenia Minor in 54, his life is closely intertwined with Roman, Jewish and Armenian history. He is, however, best known for marrying the infamous Jewish princess Salome in 34. Starting price: 500 CHF |  |
Match 1:
| Leu Numismatik AG > Web Auction 29 | Auction date: 24 February 2024 |
| Lot number: 976 Price realized: 800 CHF (Approx. 908 USD / 839 EUR) Note: Prices do not include buyer's fees. | |
| Lot description: KINGS OF ARMENIA MINOR. Aristobulus, 54-71/2. Oktachalkon (Bronze, 25 mm, 11.78 g, 11 h), with Titus (69-81), Chalcis (?), RY 17 = 70/1. [BACIΛEΩC APICTOBOYΛO]Y ET IZ Diademed and draped bust of Aristobulus to left; on neck, countermark: monogram. Rev. TITΩ / OYECΠA/CIANΩ AY/TOKPATO/PI CEBAC/TΩ within laurel wreath. Kovacs 301. RPC II 1692. For countermark, Kovacs p. 79, 24. Very rare and unusually attractive, with a bold portrait and a lovely dark patina. Very fine. Ex Leu Web Auction 24, 3-6 December 2022, 1561 and from the collection of an Armenian businessman, Leu Web Auction 20, 16-18 July 2022, 1463, ex Leu Web Auction 14, 12-13 December 2020, 556. Starting price: 250 CHF |  |
Match 2:
| Classical Numismatic Group > Triton XXVII | Auction date: 9 January 2024 |
| Lot number: 481 Price realized: 15,000 USD (Approx. 13,739 EUR) Note: Prices do not include buyer's fees. | |
| Lot description: KINGS of ARMENIA MINOR. Aristoboulos, with Salome. AD 54-92. Æ (21.5mm, 7.89 g, 12h). Dated RY 13 (AD 66/7). BACIΛEΩC APICTOBOYΛOY ET IΓ, diademed and draped bust of Aristoboulos left / BACIΛIC CHC CAΛOMHC, diademed and draped bust of Salome left. Kovacs 300; Meshorer 365 corr. (date); Hendin 1257a; RPC I 3840 corr. (same). Dark red-brown and green patina, light scratch on reverse. Good VF. Clear and complete legends and date. Salome is described in the Gospels (Matthew 14 and Mark 6) only as the daughter of Herodias, who asked Herod Antipas for the head of John the Baptist in return for his daughter's risqué dance for the king. Salome's name is supplied by Josephus in Antiquities 18.5, where he also informs us that she grew up to marry her great-uncle Philip the Tetrarch and, after Philip's death, her cousin Aristoboulos, who is featured on the obverse of this coin and with whom Salome had three sons. Aristoboulos was the son of Herod V of Chalkis and great grandson of Herod I, and was appointed king of Armenia Minor in the first year of Nero's reign. The present issue was struck in AD 66/7 (year 13 of Aristoboulos's reign), the first year of the Jewish war and around 40 years since the execution of John the Baptist, which has been tentatively dated to some time between AD 25 and 29. Hendin (5th ed., p. 275) suggests that Aristoboulos struck this issue for propagandistic and political purposes, in the first year of the war, as a show of loyalty to Rome and his patron Nero. When RPC was published, citing three known examples of this type, the date was off the flan on two pieces and the one example with partial date had been tentatively read as date Α or Η (RPC p. 570). Frank Kovacs subsequently discovered an example with a clear date 13 (Hendin p. 275, pl. 24, same obverse die as the present coin), and Kovacs's opinion was that other reported dates were most likely mis-readings of that date. The publication of additional specimens has since confirmed Kovacs' opinion, and it is now clear that all coins of this type are dated year 13. Estimate: 10000 USD |  |
Match 3:
| Astarte S.A. > Web Auction 2 | Auction date: 9 December 2023 |
| Lot number: 151 Price realized: Unsold | |
| Lot description: KINGS OF ARMENIA MINOR. Aristobulus, 54-71/2. Oktachalkon (Bronze, 26,65 mm, 13,08 g), with Nero (54-68). Chalcis (?), RY 13 = 66/7. BACIΛEΩC APICTOBOYΛOY ET IΓ Diademed and draped bust of Aristobulus to left. Rev. NEPΩ/NI KΛAY/ΔIΩ KAIΣA/PI / ΣEBAΣTΩ / ΓEPMANI/KΩ within laurel wreath. Kovacs 299. RPC I 3839 corr. (date). Very rare. Some deposits, otherwise, Nearly Very Fine. Starting price: 500 CHF |  |
Match 4:
| Heritage World Coin Auctions > CSNS Signature Sale 3115 | Auction date: 8 May 2024 |
| Lot number: 32169 Price realized: 575 USD (Approx. 535 EUR) Note: Prices do not include buyer's fees. | |
| Lot description: Ancients ARMENIAN KINGDOM. Kings of Armenia Minor. Aristobulus (AD 54-92). AE (26mm, 11.08 gm, 11h). NGC VF 4/5 - 3/5, repatinated. Nicopolis ad Lycum, or Chalkis, dated Regnal Year 13 (AD 66/7). BACIΛEΩC APICTOBOYΛOY, diademed, draped bust of Aristobulus left, seen from front; ET•IΓ• (date) below / NEPΩ/NI•KΛAY / ΔIΩ•KAICA/PI CEBACTΩ / ΓEPMANI/KΩ, legend in six lines within wreath. Meshorer 366. GBC 6, 6285. Gorgeous example with a clear portrait and lettering. A loyal client king of Rome, Aristobulus supported the general Gnaeus Domitius Corbulo in the Roman-Parthian War of AD 58-63. He received a portion of Greater Armenia as reward, and in AD 73 supplied troops to the governor of Syria, Lucius Caesennius Paetus, who had persuaded Vespasian that Antiochus IV of Commagene was planning to revolt and side with Vologases I of Parthia. Aristobulus' decision to strike dated coins in only two years of his reign - years 13 (AD 66/7) and 17 (AD 70/1) - is significant as they mark the beginning and end of the First Jewish-Roman War respectively, honoring first Nero, then Titus, probably representing a public reaffirmation of Aristobulus' loyalty to his Roman patrons. https://coins.ha.com/itm/ancients/greek/ancients-armenian-kingdom-kings-of-armenia-minor-aristobulus-ad-54-92-ae-26mm-1108-gm-11h-ngc-vf-4-5-3-5/a/3115-32169.s?type=DA-DMC-CoinArchives-WorldCoins-3115-05082024 HID02906262019 © 2024 Heritage Auctions | All Rights Reserved |  |
Match 5:
| Leu Numismatik AG > Web Auction 29 | Auction date: 24 February 2024 |
| Lot number: 977 Price realized: 360 CHF (Approx. 409 USD / 378 EUR) Note: Prices do not include buyer's fees. | |
| Lot description: KINGS OF ARMENIA MINOR. Aristobulus, with Salome, 54-92. Tetrachalkon (Bronze, 22 mm, 6.87 g, 12 h), Chalcis (?), RY 13 = 66/7. BACIΛEΩC APICTOBOYΛOY ET IΓ Diademed and draped bust of Aristobulus to left. Rev. [BACI]ΛIC-CHC [CAΛOMHC] Diademed and draped bust of Salome to left. Hendin 1257a. Kovacs 300. Meshorer 365 corr. (date). RPC I 3840. Rare. Somewhat smoothed and with some deposits, otherwise, fine. Ex Leu Web Auction 25, 11 March 2023, 1002 and previously from a European collection, formed before 2005. The infamous Jewish princess Salome was the daughter of Herodes II and Herodias, a son and a granddaughter of Herodes 'the Great'. Her reputation as a devious seductress comes from Mark (6:21-28) and Matthew (14:6-11), who describe how Salome performed a captivating erotic dance for Herod Antipas. As a reward, her thrilled stepfather promised her to fulfill any wish she may utter: 'Whatever you ask me for, I will give it to you, up to half my kingdom'. Salome consulted with her mother, Herodias, who told her to ask for the head of John the Baptist, as he had criticized her own divorce from Herodes II and her subsequent marriage to Herod Antipas. The tetrarch had previously refused to execute the preacher, but when the teenage girl now demanded his head as a reward for her dance, Herod complied and had one of his bodyguards bring John's head on a platter. A few years later, Salome married Aristobulus, the son of Herod of Chalcis, who was appointed King of Armenia Minor in 54 by Nero. The present coin is one of just very few known examples to show the king on the obverse and his queen, Salome, on the reverse. It may have been struck in Aristobulus' capital Nicopolis-ad-Lycum, although it has been suggested that the actual mint may have been Antioch (Kovacs) or, more convincingly, Chalcis (RPC). Starting price: 100 CHF |  |
