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| Numismatica Ars Classica > Auction 164 | Auction date: 26 May 2026 |
| Lot number: 10 Price realized: 4,750 CHF (Approx. 6,021 USD / 5,194 EUR) Note: Prices do not include buyer's fees. | |
| Lot description: C. Caecilius Metellus Caprarius. Denarius 125, AR 17 mm, 3.94 g. Head of Roma r., wearing Phrygian helmet; below chin, * and behind, ROMA. Rev. Jupiter, crowned by Victory, in biga of elephants l., holding thunderbolt in l. hand and reins in r.; in exergue, C·METELLVS. Babelon Caecilia 14. Sydenham 485. RBW 1085. Crawford 269/1. In exceptional condition for the issue. Good extremely fine Ex M&M Numismatics III, 2000, 269; Tkalec 9 May 2005, 125 and NAC 143, 2024, Dioscuri, 98 sales. Moneyer probably the consul of 113 B.C. The elephants recall the victory of L. Caecilius Metellus, Cos. 251, over Hasdrubal at Panormus in 250 and the capture of Hasdrubal's elephants. Estimate: 2500 CHF |  |
Match 1:
| Numismatica Ars Classica > February Sale 2026 | Auction date: 28 February 2026 |
| Lot number: 115 Price realized: 6,500 CHF (Approx. 8,401 USD / 7,120 EUR) Note: Prices do not include buyer's fees. | |
| Lot description: Kingdom of Macedonia, Alexander III, 336 – 323 and posthumous issues Stater, Amphipolis circa 330-320, AV, 17 mm, 8.6 g. Head of Athena r., wearing Corinthian helmet decorated with snake. Rev. ΑΛΕΞΑΝΔΡΟΥ Nike standing l. holding wreath in r. hand and stylis in l.; in l. field, trident head. Price 172. Struck in high relief and of excellent style. Minor marks on edge, otherwise extremely fine / good extremely fine Ex Schulman 243, 1966, 1135 and Künker 288, 2017, 122 sales. From the Paul Tinchant (1893-1981) collection. Estimate: 1500 CHF |  |
Match 2:
| Numismatica Ars Classica > Auction 164 | Auction date: 26 May 2026 |
| Lot number: 13 Price realized: 650 CHF (Approx. 824 USD / 711 EUR) Note: Prices do not include buyer's fees. | |
| Lot description: L. Iulius Caesar. Denarius 103, AR 17 mm, 3.95 g. Helmeted head of Mars l.; above visor, • L (retrograde) and behind, CAESAR. Rev. Venus in biga of Cupids l.; above, L and below, lyre. In exergue, L·IVLI·L·F. Babelon Julia 4. Sydenham 593a. RBW –. Crawford 320/1. Lovely iridescent tone, a very light scratch on obverse, otherwise about extremely fine Ex NAC 7, 1994, 570 and CNG e-349, 2015, 351 sales. Privately purchased from Numismatics Fine Art. The moneyer is presumably L. Julius Caesar, Cos. 90 B.C. The reverse type alludes to the descent of the Iulii from Venus by way of Aeneas. Estimate: 500 CHF |  |
Match 3:
| Numismatica Ars Classica > Auction 165 | Auction date: 26 May 2026 |
| Lot number: 229 Price realized: 48,000 CHF (Approx. 60,844 USD / 52,484 EUR) Note: Prices do not include buyer's fees. | |
| Lot description: Antigonus II Gonatas, 277 – 239 Stater, Pella circa 272, AV 18 mm, 8.59 g. Head of Athena r., wearing Corinthian helmet decorated with coiled snake . Rev. BAΣIΛEΩΣ – ANTIΓONOY Nike standing to l., holding stylis in l. hand and aplustre in r.; below in the l. inner field, wreath. AMNG III, 1-2 and pl. 32, 21. De Luynes 1689 (these dies). Hunterian 1 (Antigonus I). R.W. Mathisen, Antigonus Gonatas and the Silver Coinages of Macedonia circa 280-270 B.C., ANSMN 26, 1981, pl. 21, 35. Extremely rare, less than ten specimens recorded. A very interesting and historically important issue, almost invisible marks, otherwise about extremely fine Ex Sotheby's 21-22 June 1990, Hunt (1926-2014), 390; New York XXVII, 2012, Prospero (1910-2001), 314 and NAC 116, 2019, 80 sales. This rare stater features the widely popular types of Athena and Nike first introduced for the gold coinage of Alexander the Great, but with two notable alterations. The legend does not name the long-dead Alexander, but rather the reigning Antigonid king of Macedon, Antigonos II Gonatas, and replaces the wreath normally held by Nike with an aphlaston. This stater type is sometimes associated with payments made to Galatian (Celtic) mercenaries during Antigonos II's drawn-out struggle with Pyrrhos of Epeiros for the Macedonian kingdom following the latter's return from Italy in 274 BC. Although Antigonos II strongly opposed the entry of Pyrrhos' forces into Macedon at the Aoos River, Pyrrhos defeated him. The mercenaries in the employ of the Macedonian king then promptly changed sides and joined Pyrrhos. Antigonos II was forced to cede the heartland of the Macedonian kingdom to Pyrrhos, but retained the Macedonian coast and continued to claim the royal title. Two years later Pyrrhos was killed while campaigning against Argos, leaving Antigonos II to assume power over the entirety of Macedon. It is a testament to the king's character that when the head of Pyrrhos was brought to him he is said to have reacted angrily to the death of such a worthy foe and ordered a proper funeral for the Epeirote king. While the financing of the conflict against Pyrrhos may lie behind this stater issue, the replacement of the wreath with an aphlaston in Nike's hand tends to suggest a naval context. In this case it seems rather more probable that this stater type was produced in the aftermath of one of Antigonos II's victories against the Ptolemaic fleet. The most likely candidates are the Battle of Kos (variously dated between 258 and 254 BC), which was celebrated by the dedication of the king's flagship to Apollo at Delos, and the Battle of Andros (c. 246/5 BC), which almost completely shattered Ptolemaic naval power in the Aegean. Estimate: 25000 CHF |  |
Match 4:
| Numismatica Ars Classica > February Sale 2026 | Auction date: 28 February 2026 |
| Lot number: 146 Price realized: 225 CHF (Approx. 291 USD / 246 EUR) Note: Prices do not include buyer's fees. | |
| Lot description: Thrace, Odessus Tetradrachm in name and types of Alexander III circa 120-100, AR, 29 mm, 16.41 g. Head of Heracles r., wearing lion skin headdress. Rev. ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ / ΑΛΕΞΑΝΔΡΟΥ Zeus seated l., holding eagle in r. hand and sceptre in l.; in l. field, ΑΓΑ and in exergue, ΟΔΗ. Price 1186. de Callatay, Guerres Mithridatiques, Group 2. Old cabinet tone and about extremely fine Ex Roma Numismatics sale XVIII, 2019, 277. From the William Stancomb collection. Estimate: 200 CHF |  |
Match 5:
| Numismatica Ars Classica > Auction 165 | Auction date: 26 May 2026 |
| Lot number: 413 Price realized: 13,000 CHF (Approx. 16,479 USD / 14,214 EUR) Note: Prices do not include buyer's fees. | |
| Lot description: Egypt under Persian administration. Sabaces, circa 340 – 330 Tetradrachm circa 340-330, AR 25 mm, 17.15 g. Head of Athena r., wearing crested Corinthian helmet, earring and necklace. Rev. swik in Aramaic characters Owl standing r., head facing; behind, crescent and olive spray; in r. field, crescent above thunderbolt. Nicollet-Pierre, Essay Thompson pl. 26, 16 11. SNG Copenhagen 4. BMC 265 (these dies). van Alfen, The "Owls" from the 1989 Syria Hoard, with a review of Pre-Macedonian coinage in Egypt, AJN 14, 2002, Type I, 13c (this coin). Very rare and in exceptional condition for the issue. Struck on excellent metal and with a lovely iridescent tone, two banker's marks on reverse, otherwise good very fine Ex Münzen & Medaillen 19, 1959, 431; Schweizerische kreditstalt Fixed Price List 27, 1978, 72; Münzen & Medaillen Deutschland GMBH 2, 1998, 121; NGSA 4, 2006, 116 and Triton XXII, 2019, 398 sales. Privately purchased from Freeman & Sear in 2009. From the collection of a Northern California Gentleman. Estimate: 6000 CHF |  |
