| Heritage World Coin Auctions > CSNS Signature Sale 3115 | Auction date: 8 May 2024 |
| Lot number: 31018 Price realized: This lot is for sale in an upcoming auction - Bid on this lot  | Show similar lots on CoinArchives Find similar lots in upcoming auctions on  |
| Lot description: Ancients MACEDONIAN KINGDOM. Demetrius I Poliorcetes (306-283 BC). AR tetradrachm (25mm, 17.23 gm, 4h). NGC Choice MS 5/5 - 5/5. Amphipolis, 294-293 BC. Nike standing left on prow of galley left, blowing trumpet in right hand, stylis cradled in left arm / ΔΗΜΗΤΡΙΟΥ / ΒΑ-ΣΙΛΕ-ΩΣ, Poseidon, nude, advancing left, seen from behind, chlamys draped over outstretched left arm, brandishing trident in right hand; tripod in left field, Ξ above ME monogram in right field. Newell 94, pl. viii, 16. Handsomely detailed and struck on a watery flan with light toning throughout. Ex Economopoulos Numismatics, private sale with old dealer's tag included; Bob Guynn Collection. The most dashing of Alexander's successors, Demetrius I Poliorcetes was the son of the great Macedonian general Antigonus Monopthalmus ("one-eyed"), who served both Philip II and Alexander III the Great. After Alexander's death, Demetrius led armies in support of his father's claim to supreme power. He won an important naval victory in 306 BC at Salamis against the Ptolemaic fleet. He, along with his father, accepted the title Basileos ("king"), ending the fiction that the Diadochi were ruling a united government. In 305 BC, Demetrius subjected Rhodes to a monumental siege, employing the largest and most elaborate artillery engines and battle towers yet constructed. Ultimately unsuccessful, the siege still won him the epithet Poliorcetes ("besieger"), by which he is still known. He had more success ruling Macedon during 301-288 BC, but his extravagance and capricious nature eventually proved his undoing and he spent his waning years in comfortable Seleucid captivity. Still, the dynasty he established endured in Macedon until 168 BC. This dynamic tetradrachm type was struck at several mints in honor of the great naval victory over Ptolemy at Salamis, with the obverse image of Nike matching closely with the famous marble statue of the winged goddess found at Samothrace and now housed in the Louvre. The reverse image of Poseidon is rendered here in wonderful style, an undeniable masterpiece of anatomical relief sculpture in miniature. https://coins.ha.com/itm/ancients/greek/ancients-macedonian-kingdom-demetrius-i-poliorcetes-306-283-bc-ar-tetradrachm-25mm-1723-gm-4h-ngc-choice-ms/a/3115-31018.s?type=DA-DMC-CoinArchives-WorldCoins-3115-05082024 HID02906262019 © 2024 Heritage Auctions | All Rights Reserved Estimate: 6000-10000 USD |  |
