| Numismatica Ars Classica > Auction 158 | Auction date: 5 November 2025 |
| Lot number: 75 Price realized: 75,000 CHF (Approx. 92,684 USD / 80,654 EUR) Note: Prices do not include buyer's fees. | Show similar lots on CoinArchives Find similar lots in upcoming auctions on  |
| Lot description: Lysimachus, 323 – 281 and posthumous issues Tetradrachm, Lampsacus circa 297-281, AR 32 mm, 17.17 g. Diademed head of deified Alexander III r., with horns of Ammon. Rev. ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ / ΛΥΣΙΜΑΧΟΥ Athena seated l., holding Nike with wreath, and resting arm on shield decorated with a gorgoneion; in outer l. field, herm and in inner l. field, monogram. SNG Berry 429. SNG France 2552. Thompson, Essays Robinson 59. Zhuyuetang 108 (this coin). A portrait of enchanting beauty perfectly struck and centred on a very broad flan and with a superb iridescent tone. Possibly the finest tetradrachm of Lysimachus in private hands. Virtually as struck and Fdc Ex Busso-Peus 337, 1993, 115 and Leu 83, 2002, 147 (illustrated on the front cover page) sales. Before the Battle of Ipsus in 301 BC, Lysimachus seems only to have issued bronzes and small silver coins (tetrobols or 1/5th tetradrachms) with the resurrected types of Philip II. Furthermore, most of these coins, which bear the first two letters of Lysimachus' name, appear to have been struck on his behalf by his benefactor and ally, the Macedonian King Cassander. The defeat of Antigonus Monopthalmus and his son Demetrius Poliorcetes at the epic battle meant their vast territories were divided among the victors, Lysimachus, Cassander and Seleucus I. Lysimachus received the western part of Asia Minor, and retained his traditional realm in Thrace. Many cities within his acquired lands had established active mints, thus providing a springboard for Lysimachus to coin on a large scale. Thompson lists twenty mints in her study of the lifetime coinage of Lysimachus, and others may have existed. Initially, he adopted the types of Alexander, which had been dutifully struck by Antigonus and were popular in commerce. The earliest of his issues bore both the types and inscription of Alexander, but they usually can be distinguished by the symbol of the forepart of a springing lion. In the next phase, the types were still of Alexander, but the inscriptions were devoted to Lysimachus. The final step was the introduction of a new type, unique to Lysimachus, yet still indebted to the legacy of Alexander. It shows on its obverse a portrait of the deified Alexander, wearing a royal diadem and the horn of Zeus-Ammon. The reverse shows Athena enthroned, holding a figure of Nike, who crowns Lysimachus' name. These coins were issued in great quantity, with the gold stater often referred to as a chrysous ('golden'), with the idea that it was a stater being understood. It seems clear enough why he chose to portray Alexander, but the explanation for Athena is less obvious. Price suggested that Athena and Nike were borrowed from the gold staters of Alexander, which portrayed Athena on the obverse and a standing Nike on the reverse; he also reasoned that Nike crowning Lysimachus' name was a reference to the triumph at Ipsus. Estimate: 25000 CHF |  |
