| Astarte S.A. > Web Auction 4 | Auction date: 7 April 2024 |
| Lot number: 15 Price realized: 1,900 CHF (Approx. 2,100 USD / 1,932 EUR) Note: Prices do not include buyer's fees. | |
| Lot description: LUCANIA. Metapontum. Time of Alexander the Molossian, circa 334-330 BC. Tetrobol or Third Stater (Gold, 13.50 mm, 2.57 g), Achaian standard. Head of Hera to right, wearing stephane, pendant earring and necklace; her hair partially covered by stephane and falling down on her shoulders in curly locks. Rev. METAΠON Barley ear with six grains and leaf to right; above leaf, bird standing right with wings folded. Johnston G1 (same dies). HN Italy 1578. HGC 1, 1022. SNG ANS 395. SNG Lockett 406. Dewing 377 (same dies). Gillet 203 (same dies). Very Fine and very rare. As with many of the cities of Magna Graecia, the gold issues of Metapontum are typically associated with periods of abnormal military expenditure. The similarity of the head of Hera here to that on the issues of Tarentum during the time of Alexander the Molossian, and the exceptional appearance of Hera on an issue of Metapontum, suggest that this issue was struck when the city was allied with the Epirote king. From a Swiss collection formed before 2005. Starting price: 800 CHF |  |
Match 1:
| Astarte S.A. > Web Auction 2 | Auction date: 9 December 2023 |
| Lot number: 11 Price realized: 2,000 CHF (Approx. 2,274 USD / 2,111 EUR) Note: Prices do not include buyer's fees. | |
| Lot description: LUCANIA. Metapontum. Time of Alexander the Molossian, circa 334-330 BC. Tetrobol or Third Stater (Gold, 13.40 mm, 2.61 g), Achaian standard. Head of Hera to right, wearing stephane, pendant earring and necklace; her hair partially covered by stephane and falling down on her shoulders in curly locks. Rev. METAΠON Barley ear with six grains and leaf to right; above leaf, bird standing right with wings folded. Johnston G1. HN Italy 1578. HGC 1, 1022. SNG ANS 395. SNG Lockett 406. Dewing Coll. 377. Gillet Coll. 203. Very Fine and very rare. As with many of the cities of Magna Graecia, the gold issues of Metapontum are typically associated with periods of abnormal military expenditure. The similarity of the head of Hera here to that on the issues of Tarentum during the time of Alexander the Molossian, and the exceptional appearance of Hera on an issue of Metapontum, suggest that this issue was struck when the city was allied with the Epirote king. From a Swiss collection formed before 2005. Starting price: 1500 CHF |  |
Match 2:
| Astarte S.A. > Web Auction 4 | Auction date: 7 April 2024 |
| Lot number: 15 Price realized: 1,900 CHF (Approx. 2,100 USD / 1,932 EUR) Note: Prices do not include buyer's fees. | |
| Lot description: LUCANIA. Metapontum. Time of Alexander the Molossian, circa 334-330 BC. Tetrobol or Third Stater (Gold, 13.50 mm, 2.57 g), Achaian standard. Head of Hera to right, wearing stephane, pendant earring and necklace; her hair partially covered by stephane and falling down on her shoulders in curly locks. Rev. METAΠON Barley ear with six grains and leaf to right; above leaf, bird standing right with wings folded. Johnston G1 (same dies). HN Italy 1578. HGC 1, 1022. SNG ANS 395. SNG Lockett 406. Dewing 377 (same dies). Gillet 203 (same dies). Very Fine and very rare. As with many of the cities of Magna Graecia, the gold issues of Metapontum are typically associated with periods of abnormal military expenditure. The similarity of the head of Hera here to that on the issues of Tarentum during the time of Alexander the Molossian, and the exceptional appearance of Hera on an issue of Metapontum, suggest that this issue was struck when the city was allied with the Epirote king. From a Swiss collection formed before 2005. Starting price: 800 CHF | |
Match 3:
| Leu Numismatik AG > Web Auction 29 | Auction date: 24 February 2024 |
| Lot number: 763 Price realized: 2,400 CHF (Approx. 2,724 USD / 2,517 EUR) Note: Prices do not include buyer's fees. | |
| Lot description: DYNASTS OF LYCIA. Vekhssere I, circa 450-430 BC. Tetrobol or Third Stater (Silver, 14 mm, 2.88 g, 2 h), Xanthos. Head of Athena to right, wearing crested Attic helmet adorned with three olive leaves and palmette, round earring and pearl necklace. Rev. Laureate head of Apollo to right; to right, diskeles; all within incuse square. Müseler V, 10. Vismara I, Wekhssere, IX, 57 (this coin, D6/R5). Very rare. Beautifully toned and of fine style, with a delicate rendering of Apollo on the reverse. Struck from a slightly worn obverse die, otherwise, nearly extremely fine. Ex Tradart, 18 November 1993, 125 and Lanz 40, 25 May 1987, 327. Starting price: 250 CHF |  |
Match 4:
| Leu Numismatik AG > Web Auction 28 | Auction date: 9 December 2023 |
| Lot number: 511 Price realized: 420 CHF (Approx. 477 USD / 443 EUR) Note: Prices do not include buyer's fees. | |
| Lot description: LUCANIA. Metapontion. Circa 340-330 BC. Didrachm or Nomos (Silver, 21 mm, 7.86 g, 3 h), Ly..., magistrate. Head of Demeter to left, wearing wreath of grain ears, pendant earring and pearl necklace. Rev. ΜΕ-ΤΑ Ear of barley with leaf to right; to left, kerykeion above ΛY. HN Italy 1556. Johnston Class A, 1.10 (same dies). Well centered and struck in high relief. Minor die breaks, otherwise, good very fine. From a Belgian collection, ex Naville E-Auction 42, 22 July 2018, 18. Starting price: 200 CHF |  |
Match 5:
| Leu Numismatik AG > Auction 15 | Auction date: 1 June 2024 |
| Lot number: 97 Price realized: This lot is for sale in an upcoming auction - Bid on this lot  | |
| Lot description: IONIA. Ephesos. Circa 650-600 BC. Trite or 1/3 Stater (Electrum, 11 mm, 4.64 g), Lydo-Milesian standard. Bee viewed from above. Rev. Incuse punch composed of two incuse squares with irregular indentations, separated by low convex vertical line. BMC -. BMFA -. Karwiese II.1, Type 2, 6-8 (same dies). Linzalone -. Pozzi -. Rosen 257 (same dies). SNG Kayhan -. SNG von Aulock 1768 (same dies). Weidauer 29-32 (same dies). Struck from the usual somewhat worn dies, otherwise, very fine. From a European collection, formed before 2005. Given its archaic appearance and its occurrence in groups with older pieces, the dating of the early Ephesian bee series to the first half of the 6th century BC, as commonly found in the scientific literature and auction descriptions, is too late; it certainly also belongs to the 7th century BC. Furthermore, it was previously unnoticed by researchers that a complete series of tritai, characterized by an irregular rough convex structure on the obverse and previously attributed to an 'uncertain Ionian mint' (such as BMFA 1749, Rosen 253, and SNG von Aulock 7761), were minted using the same die pair as our bee. Over time, this die pair gradually wore down until the motif became unrecognizable, as evidenced by lots 98-105 below. If the attribution of the bees to Ephesos is correct, then the other tritai also belong there, where they would constitute some of the earliest civic coinage in history. Interestingly, none of these bees appear in the Artemision finds, raising the question of whether they truly originate from Ephesos. However, the absence of our type in the Artemision hoard has no significance for dating the coins to the 7th century BC, as both the fabric and style, as well as their occurrence alongside other undoubtedly archaic types like lots 90-96 above, clearly point to a very early production. Estimate: 1000 CHF |  |
Match 6:
| Roma Numismatics Ltd > Auction XXX | Auction date: 21 March 2024 |
| Lot number: 307 Price realized: 13,000 GBP (Approx. 16,468 USD / 15,162 EUR) Note: Prices do not include buyer's fees. | |
| Lot description: Baktria, Sophytes AR Tetradrachm. Uncertain mint in the Oxus region, circa 246/5-235 BC. Attic standard. Head of Seleukos(?) to right, wearing laurel wreathed Attic helmet decorated with spiral pattern on crest and eagle wings on cheek-guard; no letters on bust truncation / Cockerel standing to right; kerykeion behind, ΣΩΦYΤΟΥ to right. Jansari 70 var. (O1/R-), cf. 72 (O-/R1): an apparent hybrid of dies with a Sophytes(?) obv. and a reverse previously known with Athena obv.; cf. Bopearachchi, Sophytes Series 3A, pl. I, 1; for type cf. SNG ANS 21-23 (drachm); Mitchiner 29 (drachm); Whitehead NC 1943, pp. 64, 1 and pl. III, 7-8 (drachm). 16.72g, 28mm, 7h. Good Extremely Fine; a bold and expressive portrait engraved in the finest Hellenistic style. Extremely Rare. Ex Roma Numismatics Ltd., E-Live Auction 4, 29 November 2018, lot 452 (hammer: GBP 19,000); Ex 1960s Andragoras-Sophytes Group, present in Germany in 1975, subsequently exported to the USA. This portrait, which has all too often been simply assumed to be that of Sophytes himself, is eminently worthy of further scrutiny. It is the work of a highly talented individual, and depicts what should by any account be a great general, helmeted in Attic style and wearing the laurel wreath of a conqueror. Unfortunately the actions of Sophytes, whatever they might have been, were either not recorded or have long since been lost. We cannot therefore determine whether this individual may indeed have performed such deeds as to be worthy of commemoration in such a fashion. In examining the features of the individual depicted on this coin however, it becomes immediately apparent that there are distinct similarities with certain idealised portraits of Seleukos I. It is conceivable that we should see in this portrait not an image of the unknown ruler Sophytes, but an idealised image of the deified Seleukos, as can be found on the somewhat earlier coinage of Philetairos. Those images (cf. in particular Gulbenkian 966) have nearly identical features - in particular the heavy brow, aquiline nose, down-turned mouth and prominent chin. The historical sources offer us few clues as to the dating of Sophytes' rule. They tell us that Stasanor was satrap of Baktria until at least 316 BC, and that Seleukos reintegrated Baktria into his empire on his eastern anabasis in c. 305. An early date therefore seems highly unlikely. Turning to the evidence of the coin itself, numismatists have correctly observed that the obverse portrait is derived from the similar type of Seleukos on his trophy tetradrachms (SC 174), which should be dated to after c. 301 BC; the presence of the somewhat worn elephant-quadriga tetradrachm in the present group pushes the date even further to the right, and into the third century. Now, the presence of this type in this group along with coins of Andragoras indicates a considerably later date than previously supposed. We have already proposed with good reason that the coinage of Andragoras should be dated to c.246/5-239/8 BC and that given the patterns of wear that may be observed upon them, there is sufficient justification to argue for the dating of Sophytes' named coinage to c. 246/5-235, after Andragoras had begun coining but before Diodotos II would have been free to dispose of any lesser regional powers. This turbulent time period has already afforded us a plausible reason for the striking of Andragoras' coinage. It is possible that Sophytes too was prompted to look to the security of his own territory following the effective withdrawal of the central government's influence in that area. Diodotos I too struck his own coinage in Baktria, which while bearing his own portrait on the obverse nevertheless maintained the name 'Antiochos' on the reverse as a token symbol of loyalty. Does Sophytes coinage, with a distinctly 'local' reverse type, seek to achieve the same veneer of loyalty as that of Philetairos and Diodotos by placing the image of Seleukos I, the founder of the Seleukid empire, on his obverse? Estimate: 10000 GBP |  |
