| Leu Numismatik AG > Web Auction 29 | Auction date: 24 February 2024 |
| Lot number: 1521 Price realized: 180 CHF (Approx. 204 USD / 189 EUR) Note: Prices do not include buyer's fees. | Show similar lots on CoinArchives Find similar lots in upcoming auctions on  |
| Lot description: EGYPT. Alexandria. Antoninus Pius, 138-161. Obol (Bronze, 19 mm, 4.21 g, 12 h), RY 8 = 144/5. ΑΥΤ K T ΑΙΛ ΑΔΡΙ ΑΝΤⲰΝΙΝΟC Laureate head of Antoninus Pius to right. Rev. L H Sphinx reclining right. Dattari (Savio) 3085. Emmett 1781.8. K&G 35.296. RPC IV.4 909. Extremely rare and with an interesting reverse. Some roughness, otherwise, very fine. Ex Astarte E-Auction 2, 9 December 2023, 257, Naville E-Auction 71, 13 February 2022, 224 and reportedly from the collection of G. M. Staffieri. While many Alexandrian coins adhered to Greco-Roman motives, the coinage was also suffused with typical Egyptian elements, such as local deities, canopi, or temples. One of the most impressive reverse types in this regard is no doubt the sphinx. While the winged sphinx was no novelty due to her role in Greek tragedy, or even as an iconographic element on coins, the sphinx on our coin is decidedly more Egyptian in outlook (and male, unlike the Greek sphinx), immediately bringing to mind the Great Sphinx of Giza. Whether the latter is actually depicted is uncertain - the nearby Great Pyramids were never featured on Alexandrian coins and sphinxes were relatively ubiquitous in Egypt (the dromos connecting the temples of Karnak and Luxor, for instance, was lined with smaller sphinxes). Still, the wonderful appearance of the sphinx on Alexandrian coins shows Rome's appreciation, perhaps even admiration, of Ancient Egypt's monumental art. Starting price: 50 CHF |  |
