| Heritage World Coin Auctions > NYINC Signature Sale 3114 | Auction date: 16 January 2024 |
| Lot number: 33174 Price realized: 15,000 USD (Approx. 13,779 EUR) Note: Prices do not include buyer's fees. | |
| Lot description: Ancients PTOLEMAIC EGYPT. Ptolemy I Soter (305/4-282 BC). AR stater or tetradrachm (27mm, 17.09 gm, 11h). NGC AU★ 5/5 - 4/5, Fine Style. Attic standard, Alexandria, struck in the name of Alexander III the Great, ca. 312/11-306 BC, obverse die signed by the artist Δ. Diademed head of Alexander III right, wearing elephant headdress, mitra, and scaly aegis tied before neck; small Δ (artist's signature) to the right of the elephant's ear in the scales, dotted border / AΛEΞΑΝΔPOY, Athena advancing right, brandishing spear in right hand, shield on raised left arm; EY in inner right field, eagle standing right on thunderbolt to lower right, with closed wings. CPE 47. Svoronos 42. This Star and Fine Style piece stands as a phenomenal example, boasting attractive cabinet toning throughout its exquisite craftsmanship. Ex Heritage Auctions, Auction 3071 (7 January 2019), lot 33210. Of all the the successors of Alexander the Great, Ptolemy more than any other sought to associate himself with the dead conqueror. As Alexander's body was traveling through Syria on its way to Macedon in 321 BC, Ptolemy kidnapped it and brought it to Egypt, where he was then ruling as satrap. A magnificent tomb was set up at Alexandria to house Alexander's remains. The whole operation was a terrific public relations move on Ptolemy's part; he now ruled the richest province of Alexander's empire from a capital that bore his name and housed his remains. His early coinage bore Alexander's portrait, as does this example. After defeating Perdiccas the same year, Ptolemy was the strongest of Alexander's former generals and could have made a bid to control all the conquered territories, but he had the wisdom to be content with wealthy Egypt. He spent the last 25 years of his life building up his kingdom in Egypt, which would go on to become the most prosperous, stable, and long-lasting of the major Hellenistic kingdoms, surviving until the death of his distant descendant Cleopatra in 30 BC. https://coins.ha.com/itm/ancients/greek/ancients-ptolemaic-egypt-ptolemy-i-soter-305-4-282-bc-ar-stater-or-tetradrachm-27mm-1709-gm-11h-ngc-auand-9733-/a/3114-33174.s?type=DA-DMC-CoinArchives-WorldCoins-3114-01162024 HID02906262019 © 2023 Heritage Auctions | All Rights Reserved |  |
Match 1:
| Heritage World Coin Auctions > NYINC Signature Sale 3114 | Auction date: 16 January 2024 |
| Lot number: 33175 Price realized: 1,550 USD (Approx. 1,424 EUR) Note: Prices do not include buyer's fees. | |
| Lot description: Ancients PTOLEMAIC EGYPT. Ptolemy I Soter (305/4-282 BC). AR stater or tetradrachm (29mm, 15.50 gm, 1h). NGC Choice XF 5/5 - 2/5, punch mark, overstruck. First Reduced Standard, Alexandria, plain series, struck in the name of Alexander III the Great, ca. 306-300 BC, obverse die signed by the artist Δ. Diademed head of Alexander III right, wearing elephant headdress, mitra, and scaly aegis tied before neck; small Δ (artist's signature) to the right of the elephant's ear in the scales, dotted border / AΛEΞΑΝΔPOY, Athena advancing right, brandishing spear in right hand, shield on raised left arm; HP monogram in inner right field, Corinthian helmet right above eagle standing right on thunderbolt to lower right, with closed wings. CPE 65. Svoronos 170. A remarkable piece, so boldly struck that it has obliterated the undertype, enveloped in complete toning with areas enjoining an obsidian hue. https://coins.ha.com/itm/ancients/greek/ancients-ptolemaic-egypt-ptolemy-i-soter-305-4-282-bc-ar-stater-or-tetradrachm-29mm-1550-gm-1h-ngc-choice-x/a/3114-33175.s?type=DA-DMC-CoinArchives-WorldCoins-3114-01162024 HID02906262019 © 2023 Heritage Auctions | All Rights Reserved |  |
Match 2:
| Heritage World Coin Auctions > NYINC Signature Sale 3113 | Auction date: 8 January 2024 |
| Lot number: 31041 Price realized: 17,000 USD (Approx. 15,497 EUR) Note: Prices do not include buyer's fees. | |
| Lot description: Ancients PTOLEMAIC EGYPT. Ptolemy IV Philopater (222-205/4 BC). AR stater or tetradrachm (26mm, 14.08 gm, 12h). NGC Choice AU 5/5 - 3/5, Fine Style. Alexandria, ca. 217-215/0 BC. Jugate, draped busts right of Serapis, laureate with miniature atef crown above forehead, and Isis, crowned with grain and miniature horned disc above forehead; dotted border / ΠTOΛEMAIOY-BAΣIΛEΩΣ, eagle standing left on thunderbolt, head right, wings closed, double cornucopia bound with royal diadem over right wing; I between legs. CPE 893. Svoronos -. Landvatter Group 5, 74a (O23/R64). Extremely rare, Landvatter notes only four examples (noted above, plus one in the BN). Bold and Brilliant surfaces with bright high points and deep silhouette toning. Ex Classical Numismatic Group, Auction 108 (16 May 2018), lot 392; Palombo, Sale 15 (22 October 2016), lot 25; Dr. W. Schink Collection (Spink Zürich 20, 6 October 1986), lot 409; Hess-Leu 36 (17 April 1968), lot 285; Ars Classica X (15 June 1925), lot 1629; 1922 Delta Hoard (IGCH 1690). https://coins.ha.com/itm/ancients/greek/ancients-ptolemaic-egypt-ptolemy-iv-philopater-222-205-4-bc-ar-stater-or-tetradrachm-26mm-1408-gm-12h-ngc-c/a/3113-31041.s?type=DA-DMC-CoinArchives-WorldCoins-3113-01082024 HID02906262019 © 2023 Heritage Auctions | All Rights Reserved Estimate: 10000-15000 USD |  |
Match 3:
| Heritage World Coin Auctions > NYINC Signature Sale 3114 | Auction date: 16 January 2024 |
| Lot number: 33176 Price realized: 1,900 USD (Approx. 1,745 EUR) Note: Prices do not include buyer's fees. | |
| Lot description: Ancients PTOLEMAIC EGYPT. Ptolemy IV Philopater (222-205/4 BC). AR stater or tetradrachm (26mm, 13.78 gm, 12h). NGC Choice XF 5/5 - 2/5, Fine Style. Uncertain mint, perhaps Syria or Phoenicia, ca. 217-215/0 BC. Jugate draped busts right of Serapis, laureate with miniature atef crown above forehead, and Isis, crowned with grain and miniature horned disc above forehead; dotted border / ΠTOΛEMAIOY-BAΣIΛEΩΣ, eagle standing left on thunderbolt, head right, wings closed, double cornucopia bound with royal diadem over right wing; ME in left field, HP monogram in right field. CPE 910. Svoronos 1136a. Two exceptionally attractive high-relief portraits with medium cabinet toning. Despite the surface grade of 2, this coin has overall satiny surfaces with a few spots of brightness and the look of the coin is akin to aged stone. It's quite appealing in hand. Ex Heritage Auctions, Auction 3101 (27 August 2022), lot 35158. According to Lorber in CPE, p. 439, "these two monograms do not occur together on other coins. HP appears on an issue of Ioppe (no. 913) and ME appears at Ptolemais under Ptolemy III, perhaps suggesting an origin in Syria or Phoenicia." https://coins.ha.com/itm/ancients/greek/ancients-ptolemaic-egypt-ptolemy-iv-philopater-222-205-4-bc-ar-stater-or-tetradrachm-26mm-1378-gm-12h-ngc-c/a/3114-33176.s?type=DA-DMC-CoinArchives-WorldCoins-3114-01162024 HID02906262019 © 2023 Heritage Auctions | All Rights Reserved |  |
Match 4:
| Heritage World Coin Auctions > NYINC Signature Sale 3113 | Auction date: 8 January 2024 |
| Lot number: 31036 Price realized: 20,000 USD (Approx. 18,232 EUR) Note: Prices do not include buyer's fees. | |
| Lot description: Ancients PTOLEMAIC EGYPT. Arsinöe II Philadelphus (277-270/268 BC). AV mnaieion or octodrachm (27mm, 27.75 gm, 12h). NGC XF 5/5 - 4/5, Fine Style. Posthumous issue of Alexandria, under Ptolemy II, ca. 253/2 BC. Veiled head of deified Arsinöe II right, wearing diademed stephane and horn of Ammon, scepter surmounted by lotus over left shoulder; Θ in left field, dotted border / APΣINOHΣ-ΦIΛAΔEΛΦOY, double cornucopia bound with fillet, containing pyramidal cakes, pomegranates, and other fruits, grape cluster hanging from the rim of each horn; dotted border. CPE 388. Svoronos 460. Delicate, Fine Style artistry displayed on a bright flan with flashes of reflective luster. Ex Numismatica Ars Classica, Auction 54 (24 March 2010), lot 141. Gold mnaieions were first struck under the enlightened Ptolemy II (282-246 BC), who built the famous Library of Alexandria and towering Pharos lighthouse. In 279 BC, he married his sister, the beautiful and ambitious Arsinöe II, in the manner of the old Egyptian pharaohs. The sibling marriage scandalized Greek society, which gave Arsinöe the nickname Philadelphus, or "brother-lover." Arsinöe embraced the term, making it part of her royal title, and she proudly placed it on her coinage. Arsinöe's regal profile, veiled and crowned with a jeweled coronet, graces the obverse of most Ptolemaic gold octodrachms. The double-cornucopia on the reverse symbolized both Egypt's abundance and the joint rule of Ptolemy and Arsinöe. Gold coins bearing Arsinöe's portrait continued to be struck for centuries after her death in ca. 270/68 BC. https://coins.ha.com/itm/ancients/greek/ancients-ptolemaic-egypt-arsinoe-ii-philadelphus-277-270-268-bc-av-mnaieion-or-octodrachm-27mm-2775-gm-12h-/a/3113-31036.s?type=DA-DMC-CoinArchives-WorldCoins-3113-01082024 HID02906262019 © 2023 Heritage Auctions | All Rights Reserved Estimate: 15000-20000 USD |  |
Match 5:
| Heritage World Coin Auctions > NYINC Signature Sale 3113 | Auction date: 8 January 2024 |
| Lot number: 30057 Price realized: 32,000 USD (Approx. 29,171 EUR) Note: Prices do not include buyer's fees. | |
| Lot description: Ancients PTOLEMAIC EGYPT. Arsinöe II Philadelphus (277-270/268 BC). AV mnaieion or octodrachm (29mm, 27.62 gm, 11h). NGC MS 5/5 - 4/5, brushed. Posthumous issue of Alexandria, under Ptolemy VI-VIII, after 193/2 BC. Veiled head of deified Arsinöe II right, wearing diademed stephane and horn of Ammon, scepter surmounted by lotus over left shoulder; K in left field, dotted border / APΣINOHΣ-ΦIΛAΔEΛΦOY, double cornucopia bound with fillet, containing pyramidal cakes, pomegranates, and other fruits, grape cluster hanging from the rim of each horn; dotted border. Svoronos 1498-1499. SNG Copenhagen 321-322. Stunningly well-struck from mountainously high-relief dies on a fully lustrous flan. This coin will make even non-collectors stop to admire the size and beauty of this ostentatious denomination. From the Wetmore Collection of Gold and Electrum. Ex Classical Numismatic Group, private sale (15 January 2009), Nomos 89; Arthur J. Frank Collection; Abe Kosoff, Fixed Price List (1965), lot 87; Furthman Collection; Bauer Collection. It has been speculated that the later K-type mnaieions issued during the reigns of Ptolemy VI through VIII feature a disguised portrait of Cleopatra II, who was the sister and later wife of both brothers. If such is the case, the K behind the head could refer to Kleopatra (on the original issues of Ptolemy II-III, from which the later issues were copied, the K was one of several letters used to designate obverse dies). Certainly the portrait on these later issues bears little resemblance to the face of Arsinoë II found on the gold pieces minted closer to her lifetime. Whether or not these pieces do bear portraits of concurrent figures, it is a historical fact that the strongest of the later Ptolemaic rulers invariably were women, including the last of the line, Cleopatra VII. https://coins.ha.com/itm/ancients/greek/ancients-ptolemaic-egypt-arsinoe-ii-philadelphus-277-270-268-bc-av-mnaieion-or-octodrachm-29mm-2762-gm-11h-/a/3113-30057.s?type=DA-DMC-CoinArchives-WorldCoins-3113-01082024 HID02906262019 © 2023 Heritage Auctions | All Rights Reserved Estimate: 25000-35000 USD |  |
