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| Astarte S.A. > Auction 26 | Auction date: 9 April 2026 |
| Lot number: 317 Price realized: 19,000 CHF (Approx. 24,093 USD / 20,602 EUR) Note: Prices do not include buyer's fees. | |
| Lot description: Antinous, favourite of Hadrian. Medallion or 8 Assaria (Bronze, 38.54 mm, 37.98 g), Bithynia, Nicomedia, circa 134. HRΩC - ANTINOOC, Bare head right. Rev. H ΜΗΤΡΟΠΟΛΙC NIKO - MEΔEIA, Bull with crescent moon on flank standing right. SNG von Aulock 7102 = RPC 1093.4 (this coin). Blum, p. 45,1 = Waddington, Recueil Général, p. 522,45, and pl. 90,6. R. Pudill, Antinoos, pp. 26-30, M18. Typical brownish patina from an old collection context. Lovely portrait. Very Fine. Extremely Rare, possibly the finest recorded specimen. From the Hans von Aulock Collection, published in his Sylloge Nummorum Graecorum (Berlin, 1957-1968). Ex Roma Numismatics 19, 26 Mars 2020, lot 662; Classical Numismatic Group, Triton VII, 12 June 2004, lot 723; Classical Numismatic Group, Triton IV, 5 December 2000, lot 358; Münzen und Medaillen (B) 52, 19-20 June 1975, lot 643. Antinous was a Greek youth from Claudiopolis in Bithynia, renowned for his exceptional beauty. In AD 128 he joined Emperor Hadrian's personal entourage during a journey through the Greek East of the Roman Empire, visiting the Eleusinian Mysteries, the Oracle of Delphi, and the principal cities and sanctuaries of Asia Minor and Egypt. In October 130, during the festival of Osiris, Antinous drowned under enigmatic circumstances. Hadrian was deeply shaken by his death and had him elevated to divine status, leading to his worship across both the Greek East and the Latin West. Against this background of mystery cults and ideas of death and rebirth, the reverse type depicting a bull marked on its flank with a crescent moon is most likely connected with the taurobolium, a rite involving the sacrifice of a bull. From the mid-second century AD onward, this ritual was practiced in association with the cult of the great Anatolian mother goddess Cybele, her consort Attis, and the Phrygian lunar god Mēn-divinities tied to Eastern concepts of mystery, renewal, and the afterlife. Starting price: 6000 CHF |  |
Match 1:
| Leu Numismatik AG > Web Auction 42 | Auction date: 27 June 2026 |
| Lot number: 1153 Price realized: 1,500 CHF (Approx. 1,854 USD / 1,627 EUR) Note: Prices do not include buyer's fees. | |
| Lot description: PISIDIA. Codrula. Antoninus Pius, 138-161. Diassarion (Bronze, 26 mm, 10.50 g, 6 h), circa 147-161. ΑYΤO ΚΑΙϹΑΡ ΑΝΤΩΝEΙΝOϹ Laureate head of Antoninus Pius to right. Rev. ΚΟΔΡΟYΛ-ЄƱΝ / A TΠΡ (?) Helena of Sparta, veiled, standing facing between her brothers, Kastor and Polydeukes (the Dioskouroi), each wearing pileus surmounted by star and holding spear and bridle of horse; horses turning away from each other and raising one fore-hoof. RPC IV.3 online 7306 (same dies). Von Aulock, Pisidien I, 969-970 (same dies). Very rare and of great interest. Minor deposits and the obverse struck slightly off center, otherwise, about very fine. Ex Leu Web Auction 33, 16 March 2025, 1721 and previously from a European collection, formed before 2005. The extremely rare coinage of the small Pisidian city of Codrula is remarkable for several reasons. Not only does it only begin under Antoninus Pius, with the example at hand, but it also stands out for the repeated reuse of the same reverse dies over several decades under different emperors. For instance, a reverse die depicting the bust of Zeus Kotanes in a temple was used under Caracalla, Elagabalus, Severus Alexander, Maximinus I, Valerian I with Valerian II, and Gallienus with Salonina. Another die featuring Tyche appears on coins minted under Julia Domna, Caracalla, Severus Alexander, Valerian I with Valerian II, and Gallienus with Salonina. Similarly, a depiction of Dionysus was employed under Commodus, Julia Domna, Elagabalus, Julia Mamaea, and Tranquillina. This raises intriguing questions about how coin production in Codrula was organized. Given the small and sporadic nature of these emissions, it is unlikely that Codrula maintained a permanent mint. It seems more plausible that the dies were stored in a local sanctuary and brought out only when needed, possibly to be sent along with orders to larger, external mints for the production of local currency. Alternatively, these coins may have been struck by itinerant mints operating on commission. The coin at hand is particularly fascinating for two additional reasons. Its reverse depicts a veiled female figure standing between the Dioscuri, a figure typically identified as a moon goddess. This interpretation originates from an earlier analysis by Imhoof-Blumer, who identified a bust on a coin minted under Marcus Aurelius as female, noting crescent-shaped ornaments on the shoulders. His view was later supported by Aulock (983) and RPC (IV.3 online 7315). However, the figure has also occasionally been referred to as 'Helena' without further explanation. This attribution can be traced back to Louis Robert, who, in his detailed study (Documents d'Asie Mineure, BCH 107 [1983], pp. 498–599, esp. 553–579), analyzed similar reliefs from Asia Minor and identified the figure as Helena of Sparta. According to one tradition, she was the sister of the Dioskouroi, Kastor and Polydeukes (Pollux). However, the interpretation of the figure as a moon goddess is clearly flawed. The coin, known from only one specimen, depicts the same type as later issues beginning under Caracalla, where the figure is explicitly identified as ΔΙΟϹ ΚΟΤΑΝΟΥϹ-the male Zeus Kotanes. With the moon goddess excluded from Codrula's coinage, there is little doubt that the reverse of our coin indeed depicts Helena of Sparta standing between her brothers, Kastor and Polydeukes. Another intriguing detail is the inscription A TΠΡ above the three figures, the meaning of which remains unresolved. The most plausible explanation is that it refers to a magistrate name or honorary title associated with the city, though similar inscriptions do not appear on later coins from Codrula. Even with Louis Robert's compelling resolution of the mystery surrounding the female figure, this coin thus remains an enigmatic and captivating artifact from Codrula's history. This lot cannot be shipped to a US address. Starting price: 100 CHF |  |
Match 2:
| Leu Numismatik AG > Web Auction 42 | Auction date: 27 June 2026 |
| Lot number: 1160 Price realized: 2,200 CHF (Approx. 2,719 USD / 2,386 EUR) Note: Prices do not include buyer's fees. | |
| Lot description: CILICIA. Tarsus. Antinoüs, died 130. Medallion (Bronze, 39 mm, 25.53 g, 12 h). ANTINOOC HPΩC Bare head of Antinoüs to left. Rev. ΑΔΡΙΑΝΗϹ ΤΑΡϹΟΥ ΜΗΤΡΟΠΟΛΕΩϹ ΝΕΩΚΟΡΟΥ Antinoüs as river god Kydnos, crowned with sedge, reclining left and leaning left arm on urn, holding small tree in his right hand and reed in his left; below, ΚΥΔΝΟC. BMC 156. Blum p. 53, 12. RPC III online 3296 corr. (reverse description). Very rare. Minor traces of corrosion and some weakness, otherwise, about very fine. Born circa 110-112, Antinoüs, Hadrian's favorite, met the emperor in the early 120s and accompanied him on his journey through Greece, Asia, and Egypt in 128-130. His premature death in the Nile in October 130 soon became surrounded by legends. Although it may have been an accident, rumors circulated that Antinoüs had committed sacrificial suicide, believing that this would prolong the life of his patron, or that he had been murdered by Hadrian's jealous wife, Sabina. Grieving over the loss of his beloved companion, the emperor ordered the foundation of the eponymous city of Antinoopolis at the site of his death and had him deified, establishing him as a hero with his own priesthood. The wide appeal of this cult, which quickly spread throughout the Greek East, is attested not only by numerous statues – more than a hundred survive – and honorary games, but also by the substantial number of poleis that struck coins in Antinoüs' name. This coinage is of particular interest, as it provides evidence for local forms of worship of the new hero. At Kios, Antinoüs was equated with Pan (ΠANI ANTINOΩ); at Corinth, with Hermes and Bellerophon; at Ancyra and Nicopolis, he was praised as the deified Antinoüs (ANTINOOΣ ΘΕOΣ or ANTINOON ΘΕON); and in many cities, he was assimilated to Dionysos. At Tarsus, as also at Adramytium, Antinoüs was worshipped as a 'new Iakchos,' a daimonic figure associated with the Eleusinian Mysteries and carried in the Eleusinian processions. Hadrian and Antinoüs had both been initiated into the Mysteries during their visit to Greece in 128, and the identification of the deceased imperial favorite with a figure so closely linked to Eleusis is therefore hardly surprising. This lot cannot be shipped to a US address. Starting price: 750 CHF |  |
Match 3:
| Leu Numismatik AG > Auction 21 | Auction date: 30 May 2026 |
| Lot number: 170 Price realized: 100,000 CHF (Approx. 127,405 USD / 109,390 EUR) Note: Prices do not include buyer's fees. | |
| Lot description: KINGS OF PONTOS. Mithradates IV Philopator, circa 155-152/1 BC (?). Stater (Gold, 20 mm, 8.51 g, 12 h), Amisos or Sinope. Laureate head of Mithradates IV to right. Rev. BAΣIΛEΩΣ - MIΘPAΔATOY Hera standing facing, holding long scepter in her right hand and drapery in front of her belly with her left; to outer left, star-in-crescent (Pontic royal badge) above monogram; to outer right, two monograms. Alram 23 = F. De Callataÿ: The First Royal Coinages of Pontus (from Mithradates III to Mithradates V), in: J. M. Højte (ed.): Mithridates VI and the Pontic Kingdom. Aarhus 2009, p. 74-75, O1/R1 = HGC 7, 325 = G. Kleiner: Pontische Reichsmünzen, in: IstMitt 6 (1955), pl. 2, 12 = Mattingly pl. 56, 3 = C. Michels: Kulturtransfer und monarchischer "Philhellenismus". Göttingen 2009, p. 218, Abb. 24 = SNG von Aulock 4 (same obverse die). Of the greatest rarity, the second and by far the finest known stater of Mithradates IV. A tremendously important discovery, with a beautiful portrait struck in very high relief. Struck from somewhat worn dies with some die rust on the reverse, otherwise, good very fine. From the Appassionato Collection, ex Leu 13, 27 May 2023, 106, and previously from a German collection, formed in the 1960s. Few Hellenistic royal coinages are as elusive as the issues of the Pontic kings before Mithradates VI (circa 120-63 BC). In fact, in his 2009 article, de Callataÿ recorded fewer than 100 coins in total for the five kings and queens ruling in the century between the accession to power of Mithradates III in circa 220 BC, and that of his great-grandson, Mithradates VI, in circa 120 BC. This meagre numismatic evidence is supplemented by sparse historiographical sources and epigraphical records, leaving much of the early history of the kingdom in the dark, with scholars still arguing over the actual succession of kings and their datings. While we follow Christoph Michels' chronology here, the emergence of a new stater of Mithradates IV is of utmost importance under these circumstances, as it provides further evidence for a gold coinage that was hitherto only known from the unique, but battered and scratched von Aulock example. Mithradates IV was an unlikely successor to the throne, for he was King Pharnakes' (circa 196-155 BC) brother, not his son. He apparently assumed the diadem as his nephew, Mithradates, later King Mithradates V, was still a minor when his father passed away. We know little of the reign of the fourth Mithradates other than that he supported Attalos II in his war against the Bithynian King Prusias II, that he aligned himself with Rome, as can be deduced from his dedication on the Capitoline Hill (OGIS 375), and that he married his sister, Laodike. The king's coinage, on the other hand, is of great interest, as it employs some highly unusual iconography. In total, de Callataÿ recorded one stater and fourteen tetradrachms in the name of Mithradates, five tetradrachms for the royal couple combined, and a doubtful stater and a unique tetradrachm in Laodike's name alone. The striking prominence of the Pontic queen in the royal self-representation is undoubtedly modelled on Ptolemaic and Seleukid prototypes, but it also emphasized the dynastic legitimacy of a king who perhaps feared not being accepted as the rightful heir to the throne. Another interesting aspect of Mithradates' coinage are the reverse types, which show Hera on his staters, Perseus on his tetradrachms, Zeus and Hera on the joint tetradrachms with his sister-wife, and Hera again on Laodike's unique tetradrachm. Clearly Zeus and his wife Hera aligned the royal couple with the world of the divine, whereas Perseus referred to the Persian ancestors of the dynasty. Laodike's prominence is further enhanced by the fact that it is Hera who appears on the reverse of Mithradates' staters, not Zeus (but see below on the question of their dating). Last but not least, Mithradates was also the first Pontic king to use epitheta on his coins, namely 'ΦΙΛΟΠΑΤΟΡΟΣ' and 'ΦΙΛΑΔΕΛΦΟΥ' ('father-loving' and 'sibling-loving'), following, once more, Ptolemaic and Seleukid role models and propagating the legitimacy of his rule. However, there is another aspect regarding the royal couple's coinage worth considering, and that is whether Mithradates' two gold staters and Laodike's unique tetradrachm were actually struck posthumously. This theory was first proposed by Kleiner, who argued that the king wearing a laurel wreath instead of a diadem, the universal Hellenistic royal headgear, on his then unique gold stater indicates that the coin was struck by his successor, Mithradates V, and that the same was true for Laodike's unique tetradrachm, which shows her veiled rather than diademed. Tempting as this proposition is, it is ultimately unprovable, and it begs the question why Mithradates V would honor his uncle, Mithradates IV, and his aunt, Laodike, but not his own father, Pharnakes I. What is certainly true, however, is that the auctioning of this piece not only offers collectors the exciting opportunity to acquire the second - and by far the finest - gold stater of Mithradates IV, it also provides valuable insights into a Hellenistic dynasty that is often underappreciated, with its earlier kings generally being overshadowed by the long and tumultuous reign of the ferocious campaigner, Mithradates VI, Rome's greatest enemy since Hannibal, for which we have far more extensive historiographical evidence. While still a relatively minor kingdom until the late 2nd century BC, Pontos not only retained a high level of autonomy throughout an age dominated by the much larger Ptolemaic, Seleukid and Roman Empires, it also provides a highly interesting case model of an Iranian dynasty tracing its origins back to the Persian Great King Darius I (522-486 BC), while also participating in the multifaceted political communication of the 'globalized' Hellenistic world stage. This lot cannot be shipped to a US address. Estimate: 50000 CHF |  |
Match 4:
| Nomos AG > obolos 42 | Auction date: 3 May 2026 |
| Lot number: 799 Price realized: 260 CHF (Approx. 332 USD / 283 EUR) Note: Prices do not include buyer's fees. | |
| Lot description: BITHYNIA. Nikomedia. Valerian I, with Gallienus and Valerian II, 253-260. (Bronze, 25 mm, 8.57 g, 1 h). ΑΥΤ ΟΥΑΛΕΡΙΑΝΟC ΓΑΛΛΗΝΟC ΟΥΑΛΕΡΙΑΝΟC KAICA CΕ/ΒΒΒ Confronted laureate, draped and cuirassed bust of Valerian to right and Gallienus to left; below, bare-headed, draped and cuirassed bust of Valerian II to right. Rev. ΝΙΚΟΜΗΔΕΩΝ / ΤΡΙC ΝΕΩΚΟ/ΡΩΝ three temples seen in perspective, all flanking an altar from which a serpent is coiled around; the furthest temple encloses standing statue of an emperor (or deity?) holding shield and spear. RPC X, ID 74697 (temporary). SNG von Aulock 859. Minor edge scraping, otherwise, very fine. Starting price: 50 CHF |  |
