| Schulman b.v. > Auction 378 | Auction date: 28 March 2024 |
| Lot number: 23 Price realized: 220 EUR (Approx. 238 USD) Note: Prices do not include buyer's fees. | |
| Lot description: Ancient - GREEK COINS AR Didrachm 394–304 BC, ASIA MINOR, RHODOS Head of Helios three-quarter face to right. Rev. within incuse square rose between bunch of grapes hanging from stalk attached and bud, POΔION above, E - Y under grape bunch to the lower left.Ashton 158; HGC 6, 1435.6.74 g. High-relief portrait Very fine Estimate: 200 EUR |  |
Match 1:
| Astarte S.A. > Web Auction 4 | Auction date: 7 April 2024 |
| Lot number: 83 Price realized: 50 CHF (Approx. 55 USD / 51 EUR) Note: Prices do not include buyer's fees. | |
| Lot description: ISLANDS OFF CARIA. Rhodos. Circa 88-85 BC. Hemidrachm (Silver, 12.68 mm, 1.27 g). 'Plinthophoric' series, struck under the magistrate Dexagoras. Radiate head of Helios 3/4 facing to right. Rev. Rose with buds; above, ΔΕΧΑΓΟΡΑΣ; on the sides, P O; below to left, rose with bud to right and bunch of grapes to left within incuse square. Jenkins, "Rhodian Plinthophoroi", 1989, 39. HGC 6, 1462. BMC Caria 299. Toned. Very Fine. Starting price: 50 CHF |  |
Match 2:
| Classical Numismatic Group > Triton XXVII | Auction date: 9 January 2024 |
| Lot number: 294 Price realized: 1,400 USD (Approx. 1,282 EUR) Note: Prices do not include buyer's fees. | |
| Lot description: ISLANDS off CARIA, Rhodos. Rhodes. Circa 305-275 BC. AR Didrachm (20mm, 6.74 g, 12h). Head of Helios facing slightly right / Rose with bud to right; POΔION above, E and grape bunch on tendril to left. Ashton 157; Ashton, Colossus, Series 2, pl. XVI, 28; HN Online 681; HGC 6, 1435; SNG Keckman 449–50. Toned, patch of find patina, slightly off center. Near EF. Ex Kölner Münzkabinett 115 (29 October 2021), lot 81; Peus 277 (25 October 1971), lot 124. Estimate: 750 USD |  |
Match 3:
| Eid Mar Auctions GmbH > Auction 2 | Auction date: 10 February 2024 |
| Lot number: 224 Price realized: Unsold | |
| Lot description: Greek Islands off Caria, Rhodos. Rhodes. Circa 400-350 BC. AR Hemidrachm (11 mm, 1.81 g.). Head of Helios facing, head turned slightly to right. Rev. ΡΟ[ΔΙOΝ] Rose with drooping bud to right, bunch of grepes below,all within incuse square. HGC 6, 1446. Very Fine. Rarer earlier issue with fine classic style of the portrait Estimate: 50 EUR Starting price: 40 EUR |  |
Match 4:
| Classical Numismatic Group > Triton XXVII | Auction date: 9 January 2024 |
| Lot number: 293 Price realized: 27,500 USD (Approx. 25,187 EUR) Note: Prices do not include buyer's fees. | |
| Lot description: ISLANDS off CARIA, Rhodos. Rhodes. Circa 408/7-404 BC. AR Tetradrachm (22.5mm, 15.35 g, 12h). Head of Helios facing slightly right / Rose in profile, with bud to right; POΔION above; to left, sphinx seated left; all within incuse square. Hecatomnus 35a (A23/P30) = Bérend, Tétradrachmes 28 (this coin, illustrated in Bérend); Ashton 4; SNG Keckman –; Karl –; SNG von Aulock –; SNG Copenhagen –; BMC 11; HGC 6, 1417. Iridescent tone, traces of die rust. Good VF. Well centered and in high relief. Very rare issue, one of only 16 examples noted by Ashton (in Hecatomnus). Ex Peus 401 (3 November 2010), lot 388; Triton VIII (11 January 2005), lot 477; Leu 72 (12 May 1998), lot 275; Numismatica Ars Classica 9 (16 April 1996), lot 344; 1971 Marmaris Hoard (IGCH 1209). The polis of Rhodes was created out of a synoecism of the cities of Ialysos, Kamiros, and Lindos in 408/7 BC, and immediately began to issue a series of coinage that endured until the Roman era. The rose was chosen as the perennial reverse type, a punning allusion to the city's name. The obverse type was usually the head of Helios, the patron deity of the new polis, but occasionally the nymph Rhodos appeared. Until the end of the Rhodian series, these types adorned the coins, with a few exceptional issues that featured novel designs. The Chian standard was employed, although after a reduction in the late 340s, the standard is commonly called 'Rhodian.' The first issue of Rhodian coinage was a brief, yet large issue of tetradrachms, that stand among the finest pieces of Classical Greek art. On the obverse, the head of Helios is displayed in a nearly frontal position. Such facing head coins were not novel by this time, but the boldness of the design and the particularly high relief of the dies sets the Rhodian coinage apart from all others. Moreover, this facing head type was the standard obverse type for most of the Rhodian issues. The tetradrachm was the primary denomination until the later 4th century, when the didrachm became preeminent. Both of these denominations were supplemented by a wide variety of fractions, in both silver and bronze, and the tetradrachm was also issued on occasion after the 4th century. Around 190 BC, the coinage system was completely reorganized, with the primary denomination being the drachm, struck on a standard called 'plinthophoric' for the square incuse around the reverse type (plinthos = brick or ingot). Gold coinage was issued on only very rare occasions, and not until the 2nd century BC. As noted by Ashton, the coinage was issued fairly regularly, with occasional spikes in production that correlate to either construction work (e.g. the building of the Colossus) or military necessity. As a primary trading center in the Mediterranean, it is not surprising that the bulk of the coinage of Rhodes appears to have been used for regular state expenditure, such as maintaining its fleet, paying mercenaries, making contributions to the Nesiotic League (revived by Rhodes circa 200 BC), paying state officials, and maintaining a system that cared for its needy citizens (Ashton, pp. 96-7). The massive amount of coinage struck by Rhodes is evidenced by the adoption of the Rhodian weight standard by many other cities in the Hellenistic period, as well as the large amounts of Rhodian coins found in hoards today. Estimate: 5000 USD |  |
Match 5:
| Numismatica Ars Classica > Auction 146 | Auction date: 8 May 2024 |
| Lot number: 2234 Price realized: This lot is for sale in an upcoming auction - Bid on this lot  | |
| Lot description: Rhodes. Hemistater circa 125-88, AV 13 mm, 3.38 g. Radiate head of Helios facing three-quarters r. Rev. P – O Rose with bud l.; above, APXINOΣ and in r. field, palm branch. Jenkins, Essays Kraay-Mørkholm, p. 110, 171. de Luynes 2727. HNO Online 1945 temp. Extremely rare and an issue of great fascination. Several edge marks, possibly traces of mounting, otherwise good very fine From a Distinguished Swiss collection. In the late second and early first centuries BC, Rhodes struck a regular silver coinage of light-weight drachms and hemidrachms that were distinguished from the city's earlier full-weight coinages by the use of an incuse square around the reverse type. Such coins were given the nickname plinthophoroi ("brick-bearers") because the incuse square looked to contemporary Greeks like an impression that might be made by a brick or tile. The reverse of this impressive gold stater clearly indicates that it too belongs to the plinthophoric coin series of Rhodes, but unlike the contemporary silver it is of full Attic weight. This is no accident, as the Attic weight standard had been established already as the international standard for gold coinage since the time of Alexander the Great. It is unclear whether the Attic standard has been used for this coinage merely due to convention or whether the present coin was struck to make a specific foreign payment. Unfortunately, while Hellenistic civic gold coins often reflect an emergency need that could not be covered by silver coinage, it is uncertain what precisely may have motivated the production of this issue. In the late second and early first centuries BC, the economic power of Rhodes was in decline, thanks to increasing Roman involvement in Asia Minor (the province of Asia was created in 129 BC, just shortly before the Rhodian gold series began) and the subtle Roman hostility that had previously led to the creation of Delos as a free port to harm Rhodian trade in 166 BC. Despite these actions detrimental to Rhodes as a trading powerhouse, the island state was considered a free Roman ally and welcomed Roman citizens and Italians fleeing the bloody Asiatic Vespers instigated by Mithridates VI of Pontus and even withstood a major siege to protect them in 88 BC. With the exception of the incuse square on the reverse-the hallmark of the plinthophoric coinage-the types of this stater are very traditional to Rhodes. The obverse depicts the facing head of Helios, who is said to have chosen the island for himself when it first rose from the sea. He named it in honour of the sea nymph Rhode, whom the sun-god married and lived with on the island. In the Hellenistic period, Rhodes was famous for a colossal statue of Helios at the entrance to its harbour, which was considered one of the Seven Wonders of the World. The obverse type depicts a rose (rhodos in Greek) as a punning reference to the name of the island city. Estimate: 10000 CHF |  |
