| Leu Numismatik AG > Web Auction 33 | Auction date: 15 March 2025 |
| Lot number: 1981 Price realized: 190 CHF (Approx. 215 USD / 197 EUR) Note: Prices do not include buyer's fees. | |
| Lot description: PHRYGIA. Eumeneia (as Fulvia). Fulvia, first wife of Mark Antony, circa 41-40 BC. Assarion (Bronze, 19 mm, 7.56 g, 12 h), Zmertorix, son of Philonides, magistrate. Winged bust of Fulvia as Nike to right. Rev. [Φ]OYΛOYIANΩ[Ν] - ZMEPTΟΡΙΓΟ[Σ] / ΦΙΛΩΝΙΔ[ΟY] Athena advancing left, holding spear in her right hand and shield in her left. BMC 20. RPC I 3139. Minor deposits and with a light scratch on the reverse, otherwise, very fine. From the collection of Roman Imperatorial coins of Martinus J. L. Janssen, from the Trausnitz Collection, Obolos 18, 21 February 2021, 528 and ex Künker 27, 30 September 1994, 428. Starting price: 50 CHF |  |
Match 1:
| Leu Numismatik AG > Web Auction 34 | Auction date: 5 July 2025 |
| Lot number: 1409 Price realized: 240 CHF (Approx. 302 USD / 257 EUR) Note: Prices do not include buyer's fees. | |
| Lot description: PHRYGIA. Eumeneia (as Fulvia). Fulvia, first wife of Mark Antony, circa 41-40 BC. Assarion (Bronze, 19 mm, 8.92 g, 12 h), Zmertorix, son of Philonides, magistrate. Winged bust of Fulvia as Nike to right. Rev. ΦOYΛOY[IANΩ[Ν] - ZMEPTΟΡΙΓ[ΟΣ] / ΦΙΛΩΝΙΔ[ΟY] Athena advancing left, holding spear in her right hand and shield in her left. BMC 20-1. RPC I 3139. The obverse struck slightly off center, otherwise, very fine. From the collection of the American Mathematician and member of the Rhode Island House of Representatives Rodney David Driver (1932-2022), formed from the 1960s through 1980s, privately acquired from Schulten. Starting price: 50 CHF |  |
Match 2:
| Leu Numismatik AG > Web Auction 34 | Auction date: 5 July 2025 |
| Lot number: 645 Price realized: 2,600 CHF (Approx. 3,277 USD / 2,782 EUR) Note: Prices do not include buyer's fees. | |
| Lot description: IONIA. Magnesia ad Maeandrum. Circa 130-120 BC. Stater (Gold, 19 mm, 8.44 g, 12 h), Euphemos, son of Pausanias, magistrate. Draped bust of Artemis to right, wearing stephane and pendant earring and with her quiver and bow over her shoulder. Rev. MAΓNHTΩN - EYΦHMOΣ / ΠAYΣANIOY Nike driving fast biga to right, holding whip in her right hand and reins in her left. Ellis-Evans, Magnesia, pp. 296-304 and fig. 2, A (same dies). Leu 1 (2017), 82 (same dies). Leu Web Auction 18 (2021), 1143 (same dies). Slightly bent. Struck from somewhat worn dies as usual and the obverse slightly off center, otherwise, good very fine. Ex Leu Web Auction 15, 27 February 2021, 430. Ellis-Evans' invaluable recent publication of the Magnesian wreathed tetradrachms and the recently surfaced Magnesian gold staters has closed an important gap in the treatment of the western Asia Minor civic precious metal coinage. Most importantly, she also shed light on a series of doubtful staters that emerged alongside the authentic ones. They can be differentiated from the genuine examples such as this one and the following coin by a number of subtle differences in the dies, most notably the appearance of a second line on Artemis' diadem, a slightly altered ending of her bow, and various minor details on the reverse. Starting price: 750 CHF |  |
Match 3:
| Leu Numismatik AG > Web Auction 34 | Auction date: 5 July 2025 |
| Lot number: 644 Price realized: 4,200 CHF (Approx. 5,293 USD / 4,494 EUR) Note: Prices do not include buyer's fees. | |
| Lot description: IONIA. Magnesia ad Maeandrum. Circa 130-120 BC. Stater (Gold, 18 mm, 8.38 g, 12 h), Euphemos, son of Pausanias, magistrate. Draped bust of Artemis to right, wearing stephane and pendant earring and with her quiver and bow over her shoulder. Rev. MAΓNHTΩ[N] - EYΦHMOΣ / ΠAYΣANI[OY] Nike driving fast biga to right, holding whip in her right hand and reins in her left. Ellis-Evans, Magnesia, pp. 296-304. Leu 1 (2017), 82 (same dies). Leu Web Auction 18 (2021), 1143 (same dies). Fresh and attractive. Struck from the usual somewhat worn obverse die, otherwise, good very fine. Ex Leu 11, 14 May 2022, 123 and previously from a European collection, formed before 2005. Ellis-Evans' invaluable recent publication of the Magnesian wreathed tetradrachms and the recently surfaced Magnesian gold staters has closed an important gap in the treatment of the western Asia Minor civic precious metal coinage. Most importantly, she also shed light on a series of doubtful staters that emerged alongside the authentic ones. They can be differentiated from the genuine examples such as this one and the following coin by a number of subtle differences in the dies, most notably the appearance of a second line on Artemis' diadem, a slightly altered ending of her bow, and various minor details on the reverse. Starting price: 750 CHF |  |
Match 4:
| Leu Numismatik AG > Auction 17 | Auction date: 31 May 2025 |
| Lot number: 164 Price realized: 12,000 CHF (Approx. 14,607 USD / 12,868 EUR) Note: Prices do not include buyer's fees. | |
| Lot description: KINGS OF BOSPOROS. Pharnakes, circa 63-46 BC. Stater (Gold, 19 mm, 8.13 g, 12 h), Pantikapaion, BE 245 = 53/2 BC. Diademed head of Pharnakes to right. Rev. BAΣIΛEΩΣ / ΒΑΣΙΛΕ-ΩΝ - ΜΕΓΑΛΟΥ / ΦΑΡΝΑΚΟΥ Apollo seated left on throne, holding branch in his extended right hand and resting his left arm on kithara set on ground; to left, tripod; in field to right, ΕΜΣ (date). Golenko & Karyszkowski: The Gold Coinage of King Pharnaces of the Bosporus, in: NC 1972, pl. 2, 3-4. HGC 7, 198. MacDonald 184/1. Very rare and in exceptional condition for the issue, with a wonderful Mithradatic portrait. Light doubling on the obverse and with small edge marks, otherwise, about extremely fine. From the Hestia Collection, acquired from Peus before 2000.Pharnakes (sometimes called Pharnakes II) was a son of King Mithridates VI of Pontos, one of Rome's greatest enemies. After his father's defeat in war against Pompey, he fled to Crimea and hatched desperate plans to march through the Balkans into Italy - much like Hannibal once did, coming from the West. However, his remaining loyal followers, led by none other than his own son Pharnakes, turned against him. As a result, Mithridates took his own life. Pompey acknowledged Pharnakes as ruler of the Bosporan Kingdom, installing him as a Roman client king. His fortunes changed, however, when he became entangled in the Roman civil war that erupted in 49 BC. Seizing the opportunity, he attempted to reclaim his father's kingdom by invading Asia Minor. After early victories, Pharnakes faced a swift response from Julius Caesar, who, having broken free from the siege of Alexandria, marched rapidly to confront him. On 21 May 47 BC, Caesar decisively crushed Pharnakes at the Battle of Zela. Following this swift victory, Caesar is said to have uttered the famous words: Veni, vidi, vici - 'I came, I saw, I conquered'. Estimate: 7500 CHF |  |
Match 5:
| Leu Numismatik AG > Web Auction 34 | Auction date: 5 July 2025 |
| Lot number: 758 Price realized: 7,500 CHF (Approx. 9,452 USD / 8,025 EUR) Note: Prices do not include buyer's fees. | |
| Lot description: KINGS OF CAPPADOCIA. Orophernes, circa 158-157 BC. Tetradrachm (Silver, 32 mm, 15.61 g, 12 h), Priene (?). Diademed head of Orophernes to right. Rev. ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ - ΟΡΟΦΕΡΝΟ[Υ] / [ΝΙΚΗ]ΦΟΡ[ΟΥ] Nike standing front, head to left, crowning the king's name with a wreath held in her right hand and holding palm in her left; in inner field to left, owl standing left on altar, head facing, above monogram. BMC 1. Gemini IV (2008), 211. Gulbenkian II 1018. HGC 7, 815. Lanz 158 (2014), 290. Mørkholm, Some Cappadocian problems, NC 1962, pl. XX, 3. Numismatica Ars Classica 106 (2018), 331. Simonetta, Coinage 1. Extremely rare and of great historical importance. Somewhat rough and minor traces of corrosion and numerous small scraches and with a graffito of 'B' on the reverse, otherwise, very fine. Ex Roma XXV, 22 September 2022, 459. The illegitimate son of Queen Antiochis - who thought herself barren - and her husband, Ariarathes IV Eusebes, Orophernes and his brother, also named Ariarathes, were sent away when Queen Antiochis conceived a legitimate son, the future legitimate king of Cappadocia, Ariarathes V. Orophernes was sent to the Ionian city of Priene while his brother, Ariarathes, was sent away to Rome. When the Seleukid king, Demetrios I, wishing for an alliance with Cappadocia, offered Ariarathes V a marriage alliance, he was refused by the Cappadocian king who wished not to offend the Romans (Demetrios, who escaped Rome with the help of the author Polybius, was not recognized by the Roman Senate who supported the usurper Timarchos, amongst others). In response, Demetrios supported Orophernes, who defeated Ariarathes V and thus became king in Cappadocia. Orophernes was a petty and rapacious ruler. He extorted a fortune of some 400 talents from his subjects, depositing it in Priene. Soon, however, Ariarathes V, with the support of Attalos II of Pergamon, reclaimed his throne, and once he was secure he demanded from Priene the 400 talents that Orophernes had stored there. The Prienians refused to return the funds, however, and Ariarathes and Attalos sacked the city. Not all of the silver was recovered, though. In 1870, six tetradrachms - only the second tetradrachm emission to date in Cappadocian history - of Orophernes were discovered beneath the pedestal of Athena Polias in the city. They were of incredible beauty, with a superb Hellenistic portrait of Orophernes and, on the reverse, the figure of Nike crowning the king's name, which derives from the coinage of Lysimachos where Nike, held by Athena, also crowns the king's name. It is thought that Priene may have been the mint for Orophernes' tetradrachms, although this is far from certain (Priene, at the time, was continuing to strike Alexander type coins, and not of particularly great style). Nonetheless, Orophernes employed die engravers of great ability as the coins are all incredibly handsome - such as the present coin with it's incredibly handsome portrait of Orophernes. Starting price: 5000 CHF |  |
