![]() ![]() Since silver is a lighter metal, the gold issues - like the one offered here - were smaller in size and much more valuable.Ī Constans, as Augustus (AD 337-350). ![]() Gold staters were initially issued by Croesus on a "heavy" standard of about 10.7 grams, the same weight as the new silver stater denomination. The creation of separate gold and silver denominations ranging from a full stater down to 1/96th of a stater was a visionary move that had a major impact on the ancient economy. Among the most significant results was the introduction of a bimetallic coinage in gold and silver - first augmenting and then replacing electrum issues. ![]() NGC MS★ 5/5 – 5/5 (estimate: $100,000+) is an exceptionally well-struck example from the series that can be called the "world’s first major gold coinage." The Lydian kingdom and several Greek city states of Asia Minor previously had struck coins in electrum, a natural alloy of gold and silver, but the accession of Croesus to the Lydian throne, circa 561 BC, brought with it a revolution in the world economy. On the obverse, Kimon’s four-horse chariot races to the left at breakneck speed while the goddess Nike flies serenely above, reaching out with a laurel wreath to crown the victorious charioteer.Ī LYDIAN KINGDOM. Her hair is bound in an elaborate jeweled net and a wide hairband, or ampyx. Kimon’s decadrachm design, as exemplified by this impressive piece, features a highly individualized and realistic head of Arethusa, clearly modeled on a real-life Greco-Sicilian woman. NGC Choice XF★ 4/5 – 5/5, Fine Style (estimate: $150,000+) is part of the series of silver decadrachms by Kimon and Euainetos that were struck in considerable numbers, likely to pay the Greek mercenary soldiers who flooded Sicily to fight the expanding power of Carthage. 1 of the "100 Greatest Ancient Coins."Ī SICILY. In his account of the Roman civil wars of 49-31 BC, the Roman historian Dio Cassius wrote, "Brutus stamped upon the coins which were being minted his own likeness and a cap and two daggers, indicating by this and by the inscription that he and Cassius had liberated the fatherland." The EID MAR type was selected in a 2008 vote by top numismatists as No. In addition to the absence of a date and the reference to murder, it also is one of the very few specific coins to be mentioned by a classical author. "In addition, this magnificent coin has been a part of some of the most significant coin collections of the last century, including those of Peter Weller, Nelson Bunker Hunt and Sy Weintraub, which plays a significant part in the surging interest and demand." "It is the only Roman coin to mention a specific date and the only Roman coin to openly celebrate an act of murder. "The significance of this coin is impossible to overstate," says Cris Bierrenbach, Executive Vice President of International Numismatics at Heritage Auctions. ![]() NGC XF 5/5 – 4/5, Fine Style (estimate: $450,000+) is the only certified example ever to come to auction that has received a Fine Style designation from NGC. The Marcus Junius Brutus, Assassin of Caesar and Imperator (44-42 BC), with L. Marcus Junius Brutus, Assassin of Caesar AR denarius The moneyer may also have been a friend of Cicero as mentioned in Crawford.Įx: Münzen und Medaillen, Basel, Auction 52, June 19, 1975, lot 394.Įx: Bankhaus Aufhaüser, Munich, Auction 12, 1996, lot 359.One of the elite coins from the prestigious Hunt Collection, a coin considered the most historically important of all ancient coins, will find a new home when it is sold in Heritage Auctions’ CSNS World Coins Platinum and Signature® Auction May 3-5. The moneyer is probably a relative of the T.Didius, consul in 98 B.C., who restored the Villa Publica. Richardson Jr, A New Topographical Dictionary of Ancient Rome, pp. Generals returning to Rome were also housed in the Villa while they awaited a decision of the Senate if a triumph was to be declared. and was used for the levies of the army, inspection of arms, and still for the census. on the Campus Martius to be used for taking the census. The Villa Publica was originally built c.435 B.C. Lovely old collection toning and exceptionally complete. Banti, Fonteia 34/1(this coin illustrated). The Villa Publica with gates attached to the columns. Diademed and veiled head of Concordia to right some light die breaks in fields. ![]()
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