| Hess-Divo AG > Auction 341 | Auction date: 13 December 2023 |
| Lot number: 33 Price realized: 1,600 CHF (Approx. 1,826 USD / 1,693 EUR) Note: Prices do not include buyer's fees. | |
| Lot description: AEOLIS. MYSIA. MYRINA. Tetradrachm, about 160-140 BC. AR 16.66 g. Laureate head of Apollo r., hair falling down neck in three thick curls. Rev. MYPINAIΩN Apollo, wearing himation, standing r., holding patera in his r. hand, filleted laurel branch in his l. hand; at his feet, omphalos and amphora, in field l., monogram; all within laurel wreath. Sacks, Museum Notes 38, issue 29; SNG v. Aulock 1665. Large flan. Nice style. Extremely fine Provenance: Auction Dr. B. Peus Nachf., Frankfurt am Main 433 (2022), 1240. Estimate: 1000 CHF |  |
Match 1:
| Hess-Divo AG > Auction 341 | Auction date: 13 December 2023 |
| Lot number: 49 Price realized: 750 CHF (Approx. 856 USD / 794 EUR) Note: Prices do not include buyer's fees. | |
| Lot description: COINS OF THE ROMAN REPUBLIC. L. Piso L.F. Frugi. Denarius, about 90 BC. AR 3.94 g. Laureate head of Apollo r., hair falling down in four locks; in field l., numeral X Rev. L.PISO.FRVGI Youthful, naked horseman galloping r., holding reins with his r. hand, shouldering palm branch with his l. hand; above, numeral XI, below, monogram RM (Roma ?). Cr. 340/1; Syd. 661. Nice old toning. Extremely fine Provenance: From an old Swiss Collection started in the 19th century. Estimate: 450 CHF |  |
Match 2:
| Hess-Divo AG > Auction 341 | Auction date: 13 December 2023 |
| Lot number: 50 Price realized: 260 CHF (Approx. 297 USD / 275 EUR) Note: Prices do not include buyer's fees. | |
| Lot description: COINS OF THE ROMAN REPUBLIC. Denarius, about 90 BC. AR 4.03 g. Laureate head of Apollo r. between F - E. Rev. L.PISO.FRVGI Naked, youthful horseman galloping r., holding reins with his r. hand, with his l. hand palm branch over his shoulder; above O (?). Cr. 340/1; Syd. 665. Nice old toning. Extremely fine Provenance: From an old Swiss Collection started in the 19th century. Estimate: 250 CHF |  |
Match 3:
| Hess-Divo AG > Auction 341 | Auction date: 13 December 2023 |
| Lot number: 15 Price realized: Unsold | |
| Lot description: THRACE. MARONEIA. Tetradrachm, about 2nd-1st c. BC. AR 25.63 g. Head of Dionysos r., crowned with ivy, hair in a chignon in the back of the head. Rev. ΔIONYΣOY - ΣΩTHPOΣ / MARΩNITΩN Youthful, nude Dionysos standing facing, head turned l., chlamys over l. arm, holding bunch of grapes in his lowered r. hand, two short spears in his l. hand; at his feet, two monograms. BMC 129, 63; Schönert-Geiss, M. 198, 1265 (same dies). Lightly toned. Large flan. Extremely fine. Estimate: 600 CHF |  |
Match 4:
| Numismatica Ars Classica > Auction 146 | Auction date: 8 May 2024 |
| Lot number: 2085 Price realized: To Be Posted | |
| Lot description: Naxos. Tetradrachm, circa 415, AR 25 mm, 16.49 g. Bearded head of Dionysus r., hair bound with stephane adorned with ivy-wreath. Rev. NAΞION Bearded, naked Silenus, with pointed ears, ruffled hair and long tail, squatting on rock, facing; r. leg raised and l. folded to the side. He turns l. towards cantharus in his r. hand, while holding thyrsos in his l. In l. field, ivy plant creeps upwards, behind which his long tail is visible. Rizzo pl. XXXVIII, 19 (these dies). SNG Copenhagen 493 (these dies). Kent-Hirmer pl. 3, 8-9. SNG Lockett 843 (these dies). SNG ANS 524 (these dies). AMB 386 (this obverse die). Cahn, Naxos 103. Very rare and a pleasant specimen of this fascinating issue. A magnificent portrait of early Classical style well-centred on a full flan. Light tone and good very fine Ex Leu 36, 1985, 54; Sternberg XX, 1988, 322; NAC 23, 2002, 1103 and Manhattan 2, 2011, 16 sales. From the Peter Guber collection. Founded in 736 BC by colonists from Euboian Chalkis, Naxos was one of the oldest Greek settlements on Sicily. As time progressed, Sicily came to be home to many Chalkidian and Dorian Greek colonies, which often came into conflict with one another. Thus, when the Athenians determined that an assault on Dorian Syracuse could be a key to victory in the Peloponnesian War (431-404 BC) the Naxians lent their enthusiastic support. Upon their arrival in 415 BC, the Naxians furnished the Athenians with supplies and the use of their city as a base for prosecuting the war against Syracuse. They remained staunch supporters of the Athenian cause through the Syracusan campaign until the defeat and massacre of the Athenian fleet at the Assinaro River (413 BC) brought it to a horrific end. This particular Naxian issue was probably struck at the beginning of the disastrous campaign and is very highly regarded in the Sicilian series for the quality of its artistry. The exceptionally well-preserved Hirsch specimen in the collection of the Royal Library of Belgium has been described and published as "the Coin of Coins". The types follow established models in the coinage of Naxos, but are now infused with the dynamism of a high classical style, throwing off the stiffer archaic-influenced style of earlier issues. The head of Dionysos is more naturalistic and human, whereas his visage on earlier issues tended to include elements familiar from the masks of Greek tragedy. The squatting Silenos, however, is a skilfully executed masterpiece of Greek numismatic art. Estimate: 50000 CHF |  |
Match 5:
| Numismatica Ars Classica > Auction 146 | Auction date: 8 May 2024 |
| Lot number: 2071 Price realized: To Be Posted | |
| Lot description: Catana. Tetradrachm work of the "Maestro della Foglia" circa 430, AR 29 mm, 17.45 g. Prancing biga driven r. by charioteer, holding kentron and reins; above, Nike flying r. to crown horses. Rev. KATANAION Laureate head of Apollo r.; in l. field, Selinon leaf. Rizzo pl. XII, 11 (these dies). Jameson 541 (these dies). Gulbenkian 185 (these dies). Gillet 392 (these dies). SNG ANS 1256 (these dies). Very rare and in exceptional condition for the issue, undoubtedly the finest specimen in private hands. A portrait of enchanting beauty, work of a skilled master-engraver, struck on a very broad flan. Lovely light iridescent tone and extremely fine Ex Leu 42, 1987, 92 and Triton XVIII, 2015, 358 sales. This beautiful tetradrachm is the work of the "Maestro della foglia", dubbed thus for his habit of 'signing' his work with a special type of leaf instead of the usual initials or name: on the left side of the reverse of this coin we find an apion leaf next to the neatly designed head of Apollo, wearing a laurel crown in his hair. Apart from guaranteeing the authenticity (sphragis) of the master engraver, the apion leaf motif (an apion crown was also first prize for winners of the games of Nemea in Argolis), is coherent with the image of Apollo as discoverer of the healing effects of plants, a quality which the god shared with Esculapius, according to the great Pythagoras, as Pliny the Elder informs us (Naturalis Historia XXV, 13). On other coins with greater mythological coherence, the Maestro's signature is represented by a laurel leaf. Cf. Plin., Nat. hist. XII 3: "Some species of trees are particularly protected as each of them is dedicated to one divinity such as the Mediterranean oak to Jupiter, the laurel to Apollo, the olive to Minerva, the myrtle to Venus and the poplar to Hercules". Estimate: 75000 CHF |  |
