| Leu Numismatik AG > Web Auction 29 | Auction date: 24 February 2024 |
| Lot number: 1200 Price realized: 340 CHF (Approx. 386 USD / 357 EUR) Note: Prices do not include buyer's fees. | |
| Lot description: KINGS OF MAURETANIA. Ptolemy, 24-40. Denarius (Silver, 13 mm, 1.80 g, 11 h), Caesarea, RY 20 = 39/40. [REX PTOL]EMAEV[S] Diademed head of Ptolemy to right. Rev. RA - XX (date) Club; all within wreath. Mazard -, cf. 430-5 (earlier dates). CNG E-Auction 103 (2016), 419. Extremely rare, one of a very few known examples. Porosity and light scratches, and the obverse struck somewhat off center, otherwise, very fine. From an American collection, ex Roma E-Auction 69, 16 March 2020, 239. Starting price: 75 CHF |  |
Match 1:
| Leu Numismatik AG > Auction 15 | Auction date: 1 June 2024 |
| Lot number: 124 Price realized: This lot is for sale in an upcoming auction - Bid on this lot  | |
| Lot description: KINGS OF CAPPADOCIA. Archelaos Philopatris Ktistes, 36 BC-AD 17. Drachm (Silver, 19 mm, 3.74 g, 1 h), RY 20 = 17/6 BC. Diademed head of Archelaos to right. Rev. ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ APXEΛΑΟΥ ΦΙΛΟΠΑΤΡΙΔΟΣ TOY ΚΤΙΣΤΟΥ Club; in field to right, K (date). BMC 1. DCA 464. RPC I 3601.10 (this coin). Simonetta, Coins, 1 corr. (reverse legend). Simonetta 1. SNG Copenhagen 165. Rare and undoubtedly among the finest known examples. A wonderful coin, beautifully toned and with a portrait of great sensitivity and beauty. Faint marks, otherwise, about extremely fine. Ex Auctiones AG 20, 8-9 November 1990, 464 and from the collection of Osman Nouri Bey, Cahn 60, 2 July 1928, 1021. The coinage of the longstanding Cappadocian monarch, Archealos Philopatris Ktistes, diverges significantly from that of his Ariobarzanid predecessors. Firstly, spanning his reign of fifty years, his coins consistently depict him as a youthful ruler - a deliberate emulation of his patron, Augustus, in Rome. Secondly, departing from the traditional depiction of a standing Athena on the reverse, Archealos opts for Herakleian imagery, notably featuring the hero's club on the drachms. Thirdly, his hemidrachms mark the debut of the Argaios, showcasing a schematic portrayal of the sacred mountain on the reverse, coupled with a portrait of Herakles on the obverse. Lastly, and perhaps most notably, Archealos adopts the titles 'Philopatris' ('lover of the fatherland') and 'Ktistes' ('founder'), departing once again from the conventions of his predecessors. Archelaos' choice of epithets reveals his political agenda. By adopting the titles 'Philopatris' and 'Ktistes,' he presents himself as the patriotic re-founder of the Cappadocian Kingdom, a fitting characterization for one of the most accomplished Roman client kings of his era. Upon ascending the throne, Archelaos clearly sought legitimacy not only through the support of the Roman superpower but also by aligning himself with local customs and the influential Cappadocian nobility. On the international stage, he strategically arranged the marriage of his daughter, Glaphyra, to Alexander, the son of Herod the Great, in 17 BC. This union resulted in three children: a daughter and two sons, Alexander and Tigranes, both of whom later ascended to the throne as Armenian kings (as Tigranes V and Tigranes VI). Tragically, Glaphyra's first husband, Alexander, was killed by Herod in 8/7 BC. Subsequently, she married Juba II of Mauretania, divorcing him in 4 AD to marry her first husband's half-brother, Herod Archelaos. However, Archelaos himself also met a tragic end. Despite his lengthy fifty-year reign, he was deposed and arrested by Tiberius in 14 AD, narrowly avoiding capital punishment due to alleged dementia. He spent his remaining years in exile and passed away in 17 AD at the age of eighty. Estimate: 5000 CHF |  |
Match 2:
| Nomos AG > obolos 31 | Auction date: 21 April 2024 |
| Lot number: 124 Price realized: 750 CHF (Approx. 822 USD / 772 EUR) Note: Prices do not include buyer's fees. | |
| Lot description: KINGS OF MACEDON. Perseus, 179-168 BC. Tetradrachm (Silver, 31.5 mm, 14.89 g, 11 h), reduced standard, Amphipolis, circa 171-168 BC. Diademed head of Perseus to right. Rev. ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ ΠΕΡΣΕΩΣ Eagle standing right on thunderbolt, wings displayed; above, monogram of NK; to right, monogram of AY; between legs, A; all within oak wreath; below, plow left. De Luca, Tetradrachms 302c (O63/R247, this coin). HGC 3, 1091. Mamroth, Perseus 20b. Light cabinet toning. Edge bumb and minor marks, otherwise, very fine. From a Swiss collection, ex CGB Live Auction, 8 September 2020, 24. Starting price: 750 CHF |  |
Match 3:
| Leu Numismatik AG > Web Auction 28 | Auction date: 9 December 2023 |
| Lot number: 3265 Price realized: 4,400 CHF (Approx. 5,002 USD / 4,645 EUR) Note: Prices do not include buyer's fees. | |
| Lot description: Cleopatra VII of Egypt, 51-30 BC, with Mark Antony. Denarius (Silver, 18 mm, 3.92 g, 12 h), Alexandria, autumn 34. CLEOPATRAE R[EGINAE•]REGVM•FILIORVM•REGVM Diademed and draped bust of Cleopatra to right; below, prow to right. Rev. ANTONI•ARMENIA•DEVICTA Bare head of Mark Antony to right; behind, Armenian tiara. Babelon (Antonia) 95. Crawford 543/1. CRI 345. RBW 1832. Sydenham 1210. Beautifully toned. Flan crack and some scratches, otherwise, very fine. From the T. Fribie Collection and the Korwin Collection, Classical Numismatic Group 103, 14 September 2016, 671. Cleopatra's and Mark Antony's Alexandrian portrait denarii were traditionally dated to 32 BC. However, their legends and iconography clearly connect them to Antony's campaign against Armenia in 34 BC and the subsequent infamous 'Donations of Alexandria'. Upon Antony's return from what was little more than a looting expedition to distract from his disastrous defeats against the Parthians, a great victory spectacle was organized in the Egyptian capital in which captives were paraded and donatives distributed. Most striking, however, was that the queen and the general distributed titles and kingdoms to themselves and their children, with Cleopatra being named Queen of Kings and Queen of Egypt and claiming Cyprus, Libya and central Syria for herself, Alexander Helios 'receiving' Armenia, Media and Parthia, his twin sister, Cleopatra Selene, Cyrenaica and Libya, and Ptolemy Philadelphus Syria, Phoenicia and Cilicia. These donations of what were, with the exception of Egypt proper, mostly either Roman provinces or unconquered lands (such as Media and Parthia) caused great outrage in Roman society. Worst of all was the proclamation of Julius Caesar's and Cleopatra's mutual son, Caesarion, as King of Kings, god, and divi filius ('son of god'), and his appointment as his father's sole legitimate heir. This was a direct challenge to Octavian's claim to power, which stemmed from his adoption by Julius Caesar and the loyalty of the dictator's legions, and would only accelerate the irreversible break between the two most powerful men of the Roman world. Starting price: 750 CHF |  |
Match 4:
| Leu Numismatik AG > Web Auction 28 | Auction date: 9 December 2023 |
| Lot number: 1861 Price realized: 55 CHF (Approx. 63 USD / 58 EUR) Note: Prices do not include buyer's fees. | |
| Lot description: KINGS OF MAURETANIA. Juba II, 25 BC-AD 24. AE (Bronze, 22 mm, 7.73 g), Caesarea, RY 46 = 21/2 AD. REX IVBA Diademed head of Juba II to right, with club over his left shoulder. Rev. R XLVI Elephant walking right with tower on its back. MAA 234. Mazard 276. SNG Copenhagen -. Extremely rare. A very unusual issue showing the elephant carrying a tower. Minor areas of weakness and with a flan fault on the reverse, otherwise, fine. From a British collection of Mauretanian coinage, formed over the past decade, Leu Web Auction 26, 8-13 July 2023, 1674. Starting price: 25 CHF |  |
Match 5:
| Leu Numismatik AG > Auction 15 | Auction date: 1 June 2024 |
| Lot number: 143 Price realized: This lot is for sale in an upcoming auction - Bid on this lot | |
| Lot description: SELEUKID KINGS. Tryphon, circa 142-138 BC. Tetradrachm (Silver, 31 mm, 16.23 g, 1 h), Antiochia on the Orontes. Diademed head of Tryphon to right. Rev. BAΣIΛEΩΣ / TPYΦΩNOΣ - AYTOKPATOPOΣ Spiked Macedonian (or Cretan?) helmet with cheek guards to left, adorned with wild goat's horn above visor; in inner left field, Π; all within oak wreath. CSE -. Roma 14 (2017), 318 (same obverse die). SC -, cf. 2031 (unlisted with Π, but cf. SC 2033i for Π on a drachm). SMA -. Of the highest rarity, apparently the second known example of this variety. A beautiful coin with a magnificent portrait. The reverse struck slightly off center, otherwise, nearly extremely fine. Ex Leu 10, 24 October 2021, 2211 and previously from a German collection, formed in the 1960s. The distinctive reverse type with a helmet was minted by Tryphon in two variants, once with and once without a surrounding oak wreath (see lot 142 above). The meaning of the oak wreath is unclear - is it a victory wreath commemorating a military success, or does the significance lean more towards the divine, reminiscent of the sacred oak tree of the Zeus sanctuary in Dodona? Iconographically, Tryphon's oak wreath is certainly an innovation in Seleukid coinage. As such, it fits into a series of innovations introduced by the usurper, who could not claim dynastic Seleukid legitimacy, particularly following the death of his protégé Antiochus VI. Consequently, he ventured iconographically down new paths, introducing the new title AYTOKPATOPOΣ as well as dating his reign by regnal years instead of the Seleukid era on coins from Ake-Ptolemais. Unsurprisingly, all of these innovations were immediately abandoned following the downfall of the usurper in 138 BC. Regarding the oak wreath, it should be noted that there are several precedents for it outside the Seleukid realm, especially in the slightly earlier coinage of the Macedonian king Perseus, as well as on some nearly contemporary stephanophoric tetradrachms of Western Asia Minor, such as those from Kyzikos, Aigai, and Herakleia on the Latmos. It appears highly probable that these examples significantly influenced the iconography of Tryphon's tetradrachms from Antioch, much like the Ptolemaic prototypes did for his coinage in Ake-Ptolemais. Estimate: 5000 CHF |  |
