Roma Numismatics Ltd > E-Sale 117Auction date: 22 February 2024
Lot number: 439

Price realized: 190 GBP   (Approx. 240 USD / 222 EUR)   Note: Prices do not include buyer's fees.
Lot description:


Nabataea, Rabbel II, with Shaqilat, AR Sela' - "Drachm". Petra mint, dated RY 2 = AD 71/2. Laureate head of Rabbel to right; date at end of legend to left / Veiled and draped bust of Shaqilat to right. CN 216; Meshorer, Nabataea, 143; DCA 984. 4.03g, 14mm, 12h.

Very Fine. Rare.

Estimate: 50 GBP

Match 1:
Roma Numismatics Ltd > E-Sale 116Auction date: 18 January 2024
Lot number: 406

Price realized: 50 GBP   (Approx. 63 USD / 58 EUR)   Note: Prices do not include buyer's fees.
Lot description:


Nabataea, Rabbel II, with Gamilat, AR Drachm. Petra, uncertain date, but circa AD 70/1-105/6. Laureate head of Rabbel to right; [date at end of legend to left] / Veiled and draped bust of Gamilat to right. Cf. CN 230-4; cf. Meshorer, Nabataea 151-4; DCA 985. 3.48g, 12mm, 12h.

Very Fine.

Estimate: 75 GBP

Match 2:
Roma Numismatics Ltd > E-Sale 117Auction date: 22 February 2024
Lot number: 439

Price realized: 190 GBP   (Approx. 240 USD / 222 EUR)   Note: Prices do not include buyer's fees.
Lot description:


Nabataea, Rabbel II, with Shaqilat, AR Sela' - "Drachm". Petra mint, dated RY 2 = AD 71/2. Laureate head of Rabbel to right; date at end of legend to left / Veiled and draped bust of Shaqilat to right. CN 216; Meshorer, Nabataea, 143; DCA 984. 4.03g, 14mm, 12h.

Very Fine. Rare.

Estimate: 50 GBP

Match 3:
Roma Numismatics Ltd > E-Sale 117Auction date: 22 February 2024
Lot number: 435

Price realized: 220 GBP   (Approx. 277 USD / 257 EUR)   Note: Prices do not include buyer's fees.
Lot description:


Nabataea, Malichos II, with Shaqilat AR Drachm. Petra, dated RY 24 = AD 63/4. Laureate and draped bust of Malichos to right; date at end of legend to left / Veiled and draped bust of Shaqilat to right. CN 210; Meshorer, Nabataea -, cf. 139 (dated RY 23); DCA 983. 4.00g, 14mm, 12h.

Very Fine. Very Rare; only one other example on CoinArchives and not listed by Meshorer.

Estimate: 75 GBP

Match 4:
Roma Numismatics Ltd > E-Sale 116Auction date: 18 January 2024
Lot number: 405

Price realized: 110 GBP   (Approx. 139 USD / 128 EUR)   Note: Prices do not include buyer's fees.
Lot description:


Nabataea, Malichos II, with Shaqilat AR Drachm. Petra, dated RY 23 = AD 62/3. Laureate and draped bust of Malichos to right; date at end of legend to left / Veiled and draped bust of Shaqilat to right. CN 209; Meshorer, Nabataea 139; DCA 983. 4.10g, 14mm, 12h.

Good Very Fine.

Estimate: 75 GBP

Match 5:
Classical Numismatic Group > Auction 126Auction date: 28 May 2024
Lot number: 550

Price realized: This lot is for sale in an upcoming auction - Bid on this lot
Lot description:


EGYPT, Alexandria. Gordian II. AD 238. Potin Tetradrachm (22mm, 12.52 g, 11h). Dated RY 1 (AD 238). Laureate, draped, and cuirassed bust right, seen from behind / Zeus seated left, holding patera in right hand, long scepter in left; at feet left, eagle standing left, head right; L A (date) in upper left field. Köln –; Dattari (Savio) 4669; K&G 69.8; RPC VII.2 3649.3 (this coin); Emmett 3360.1. Dark brown patina, light porosity, small scratch on reverse. VF. Extremely rare.

From the Dr. Thomas E. Beniak Collection. Ex Kerry K. Wetterstrom Collection (Classical Numismatic Auctions IV, 21 September 1988), lot 316.

A note from the consignor: Most collectors of Roman coinage do not start with Roman Egypt. They are more likely to begin with Roman Imperial coinage, especially denarii. Upon delving into the coinage of Alexandria, in particular billon tetradrachms, one soon becomes aware of significant differences in the relative rarity of rulers. These differences can even extend to very closely related issues. Such is the case of the joint (father and son) emperors of 238 A.D. Gordian I and II.


The Gordians have the dubious distinction of being the most ephemeral Roman Emperors in history, their royal tenure lasting a mere 22 days. Despite this brevity, they managed to produce a surprisingly complete imperial coinage (denarii and sestertii) though less complete Alexandrian (billon tetradrachms but no bronze issues).


While all coinage of the Gordians is scarce, an unexpected discrepancy exists. The imperial issues of the Gordians tend to be of comparable rarity. This equivalence is in no way replicated in the billon tetradrachms for reasons unknown. In building my collection, I had the good fortune of obtaining the present specimen in 1988 (CNA IV sale). Try as I might, it was not until nearly thirty years later that I acquired my second and last Gordian II. Over the same time span, I acquired eleven Gordian I tetradrachms.



A brief statistical summary supports my collecting experience. Review of the past twenty years of CoinArchives lists less than ten specimens with perhaps eight times as many Gordian I coins. Finally, a survey of the major published Alexandrian collections shows the following:




Gordian I

Gordian III


Dattari
 
 9
 
 4


 Demetrio

 1
 
 0


 BMC

 8

 2


 Milne

 8

 0


 Köln

 8

 0


 Curtis

 8

 0



 TOTAL

 42

 6






These numbers are similar to the ratio found in RPC where Gordian I has 216 specimens compared to Gordian II's 38.

Estimate: 1500 USD

Match 6:
Roma Numismatics Ltd > Auction XXXAuction date: 21 March 2024
Lot number: 969

Price realized: 24 GBP   (Approx. 30 USD / 28 EUR)   Note: Prices do not include buyer's fees.
Lot description:


Ptolemaic Kingdom of Egypt, Kleopatra III and Ptolemy IX Soter II (Lathyros) Æ 27mm. Alexandria, dated RY 3 = 115/4 BC. Bearded head of Herakles to right, wearing lion skin; K behind / ΠΤΟΛΕΜΑΙΟΥ ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ, eagle with closed wings standing to left on thunderbolt; Ω over Σ to left, L Γ (date) to right. Svoronos 1190 (Ptolemy IV; uncertain mint in Cyprus); SNG Copenhagen 533 (Ptolemy V; uncertain mint in Phoenicia); DCA 35 (Ptolemy V). 16.24g, 27mm, 11h.

Near Very Fine.

From the Pavlos S. Pavlou Collection, collector's ticket included;
Acquired from Baldwin's, April 1998.

Estimate: 40 GBP