| Classical Numismatic Group > Electronic Auction 574 | Auction date: 6 November 2024 |
| Lot number: 225 Price realized: 200 USD (Approx. 183 EUR) Note: Prices do not include buyer's fees. | |
| Lot description: TROAS, Ilium. temp. Severan Era. circa AD 193-235. Æ Semis (15mm, 2.07 g, 6h). Bust of Athena right wearing crested Corinthian helmet and aegis / Aeneas advancing right, head left, leading Ascanius by the hand, and holding Anchises on his hip. Bellinger T120; SNG Copenhagen 371-2. Earthen green patina. VF. Ex Leu Numismatik Web Auction 27 (9 September 2023), lot 1223. The city of Ilium was founded by the emperor Augustus on the site of the legendary city of Troy. According to Vergil (Aeneid, Book 2), Aeneas, the son of the goddess Venus and the Trojan Anchises, fled with some remnants of the city's inhabitants as it fell to the Greeks, taking with him his son, Ascanius, his elderly father, Anchises, and the Palladium, or ancient sacred statue of Athena. The Trojans eventually made their way west to resettle in Italy. There they intermarried with the local inhabitants and founded the town of Lavinium, and thereby became the nucleus of the future Roman people. One of the descendants of Aeneas' son Ascanius (known now as Iulus) was Rhea Silvia. Impregnated by the god Mars, she gave birth to the twins, Romulus and Remus. Exposed by their great-uncle, Amulius, the twins were suckled by a she-wolf, but they were eventually rescued. Romulus later founded the city of Rome, and consequently the image of the she-wolf and the twins became the symbol of that city. The mythological depictions on this coin reinforce the importance of Ilium, not only as the seedbed of the future Roman people, but also as the mother city of the future caput mundi. Estimate: 100 USD |  |
Match 1:
| Classical Numismatic Group > Electronic Auction 571 | Auction date: 25 September 2024 |
| Lot number: 443 Price realized: 500 USD (Approx. 448 EUR) Note: Prices do not include buyer's fees. | |
| Lot description: TROAS, Ilium. temp. Severan Era. circa AD 193-235. Æ Quadrans (15mm, 1.93 g, 6h). Helmeted bust of Athena right, wearing aegis / Zeus, in the form of an eagle, facing, head right, spreading his wings, abducting nude Ganymede wearing Phrygian cap, running right with hands raised. Bellinger T211. Dark green-brown patina, light roughness, earthen highlights. VF. Very rare. Ganymede was the son of Tros, the founder of Troy. A youth of great beauty, he was abducted by Zeus while the young man was tending his flocks on Mt. Ida. Carried to Olympus either by an eagle, or Zeus himself in aquiline form, Ganymede served as the god's cupbearer in place of Hebe, as well as his eromenos. To compensate Tros for the loss of his son, Zeus provided him with a pair of horses so swift that they could cross over water, and were the ancestors of the horses for which the Trojans were renowned. Estimate: 200 USD |  |
Match 2:
| Classical Numismatic Group > Electronic Auction 571 | Auction date: 25 September 2024 |
| Lot number: 430 Price realized: 650 USD (Approx. 582 EUR) Note: Prices do not include buyer's fees. | |
| Lot description: ATTICA, Athens. temp. Gallienus. AD 253-268. Æ (21mm, 6.22 g, 6h). Draped bust of Athena right, wearing crested Corinthian helmet / Theseus standing right, raising the rock at Troezen; sword and sandles of Aegeus between his feet. Kroll 371 var. (sword and sandles not visible); RPC X Online 59867 var. (same); Svoronos, Monnaies pl. 95, 35 (same obv. die, rev. die unlisted); BMC –. Dark green-brown patina, light roughness. Near VF. None of the coins plated in Svoronos show the sword and sandles, nor does the one specimen in Kroll. Only the Kroll plate coin recorded in RPC. Very rare. Ex Classical Numismatic Group Electronic Auction 239 (25 August 2010), lot 291. The great Athenian hero Theseus had two fathers as his mother; Aethra of Troezen, was doubly impregnated by Aegeus, husband of Aethra and king of Athens, and Poseidon, god of the sea. Aegeus left Aethra in Troezen to raise Theseus, but before departing for Athens the king placed his sword and sandals beneath an enormous stone. Upon reaching maturity, Theseus was to attempt to roll away the stone and, if successful, would become heir to his father. The half-divine Theseus easily accomplished this task and began his adventurous journey to Athens. Estimate: 200 USD |  |
Match 3:
| Classical Numismatic Group > Triton XXVIII | Auction date: 14 January 2025 |
| Lot number: 38 Price realized: 4,750 USD (Approx. 4,659 EUR) Note: Prices do not include buyer's fees. | |
| Lot description: LUCANIA, Thourioi. Circa 400-350 BC. AR Nomos (22mm, 7.78 g, 2h). Head of Athena right, wearing crested Attic helmet with neck guard, the bowl decorated with Skylla holding rudder in right hand and raising left hand to head, scanning / Bull butting right, head facing, on linear ground line; ΘOYPIΩN above; [in exergue, fish right]. HN Italy 1802; SNG ANS 1005; SNG ANS 991 (same dies); SNG Lloyd 473–4; Morgan 76 (this coin). Old collection tone with some iridescence, slight die wear on obverse. Good VF. Ex Hess-Leu [9] (2 April 1958), lot 22; J. Pierpont Morgan Collection (sold privately; not in H. Schulman or Stack's sales); Marquis Carlo Strozzi Collection (Sambon/Sangiorgi, 15 April 1907), lot 1098. In 446 BC, with the aid of Athens, the refugee population of the destroyed city of Sybaris returned to the location of their previous home, and founded a new city, giving it the name Thourioi. The new city quickly regained the prosperity enjoyed by its former incarnation, as evidenced by the extensive series of coins it issued over the following two centuries. Although its perennial rival had been Kroton, the new city grew close to its former enemy, and Tarentum as well. Good relations with the latter were probably responsible for the weakening of Thourioi's historical connection to Athens, and she turned to Sparta during the Peloponnesian War. Although supported by Tarentum, the city suffered at the hands of the Lucanians and Brettians during the 4th century. In need of a more robust ally, the Thourians turned to Rome in 285 BC. Unlike many cities in southern Italy, Thourioi's support of Rome was steadfast during both the time of Pyrrhos and Hannibal's invasion, even though the Thourians suffered heavily at the hands of the latter. The coinage of Thourioi was diverse in both its denominations and metals. The primary types were the head of Athena, probably due to the city's initial close relationship with Athens, and a standing or butting bull, which had been the civic type on the coins of Sybaris. Estimate: 2000 USD |  |
Match 4:
| Classical Numismatic Group > Electronic Auction 575 | Auction date: 20 November 2024 |
| Lot number: 300 Price realized: Unsold | |
| Lot description: LYDIA, Thyateira. Severan Era. Early 3rd century AD. Æ (19mm, 3.38 g, 6h). Helmeted bust of Athena right, wearing aegis, spear over left shoulder / Tyche standing facing, head left, wearing kalathos, holding rudder and cornucopia. Hochard 2705 (D250/R480); Kurth 88; SNG von Aulock 3206. Green patina with earthen green highlights. VF. Estimate: 100 USD |  |
Match 5:
| Classical Numismatic Group > Electronic Auction 571 | Auction date: 25 September 2024 |
| Lot number: 442 Price realized: 225 USD (Approx. 201 EUR) Note: Prices do not include buyer's fees. | |
| Lot description: TROAS, Ilium. temp. Flavian era. AD 79-96. Æ Semis (20.5mm, 3.88 g, 12h). Aeneas advancing right, head left, leading Ascanius by the hand, and holding Anchises on his hip / Helmeted bust of Athena wearing aegis left, holding serpent-entwined spear over shoulder. Bellinger T129; RPC II 895; SNG Copenhagen 368. Red and brown patina, some roughness, lamination flaw on obverse, some smoothing and details enhanced. Near VF. Ex Classical Numismatic Group Electronic Auction 170 (8 August 2007), lot 165; Classical Numismatic Group 51 (15 September 1999), lot 873. The city of Ilium was founded by the emperor Augustus on the site of the legendary city of Troy. According to Vergil (Aeneid, Book 2), Aeneas, the son of the goddess Venus and the Trojan Anchises, fled with some remnants of the city's inhabitants as it fell to the Greeks, taking with him his son, Ascanius, his elderly father, Anchises, and the Palladium, or ancient sacred statue of Athena. The Trojans eventually made their way west to resettle in Italy. There they intermarried with the local inhabitants and founded the town of Lavinium, and thereby became the nucleus of the future Roman people. One of the descendants of Aeneas' son Ascanius (known now as Iulus) was Rhea Silvia. Impregnated by the god Mars, she gave birth to the twins, Romulus and Remus. Exposed by their great-uncle, Amulius, the twins were suckled by a she-wolf, but they were eventually rescued. Romulus later founded the city of Rome, and consequently the image of the she-wolf and the twins became the symbol of that city. The mythological depictions on this coin reinforce the importance of Ilium, not only as the seedbed of the future Roman people, but also as the mother city of the future caput mundi. Estimate: 200 USD |  |
