Ancient Art, Antiquities, Books, Natural History, Stamps & Coins

Female head (Arethusa?) facing, wearing triple-pendant earrings / Male head to left, wearing Corinthian helmet. SNG Levante 248; SNG BnF 477; SNG von Aulock -. 0.50gr, 11mm, 9h.

Good Very Fine.

Acquired on the European coin market. Property of a Kent, UK, gentleman.

Laureate head of Zeus to right; Σ behind / EΛAIOYΣΣΙΩN, Nike advancing to left, holding wreath and palm frond; ΔIΟ to left. SNG BnF 1131 var. (obv. control); SNG Levante 823 var. (same). 7.44gr, 21mm, 11h.

Good Very Fine. Rare variant.

Acquired on the European coin market. Property of a Kent, UK, gentleman.

Lion walking to left; head of ram to left above / Horse walking to left; star above, ankh to left. Destrooper pl. 10, 6; Zapiti & Michaelidou 27-8; Tziambazis 128 (Salamis, Evagoras II). 3.34gr, 17mm, 2h.

Very Fine. Very rare.

Ex Roma Numismatics Ltd., E-Sale 101, 13 October 2022, lot 511. Property of a Middlesex gentleman.

Shield adorned with wreath containing ['sa-pa'] in Cypriot / Head of lion to left; [MAPIEYΣ] below. Cf. Tziambazis Supp. 20 (no king named); Destrooper 16 (no king named); cf. Roma E-91, 496 corr. (Stasioikos II) and Roma E-74, 668 (Timarchos). 7.83gr, 21mm, 12h.

Near Very Fine. Very rare.

Ex Roma Numismatics Ltd., E-Sale 101, 13 October 2022, lot 515. Property of a Middlesex gentleman.

The two Roma Numismatics auction specimens listed both have clear letters on the obverse, one reading 'ti-pa' and the other 'sa-pa' for Timarchos and Stasioikos II.

Head of Athena to left, wearing crested Attic helmet / Prow of galley to left; ΣAΛ upwards to left. Tziambazis 130; BMC 74; Traité II, 1193. 2.51gr, 13mm, 3h.

Near Very Fine. Very rare.

Property of a North London, UK, gentleman.

Cuirassed and helmeted bust of Athena right; to right, owl / ΚΑΙΣΑ-ΡΕΙΑΣ, shield and spear; ΝΓ (date) below. RPC I, 3617; Ganschow 31. 3.80gr, 16mm, 3h.

Near Very Fine. Very rare; only four specimens cited in RPC Online.

Acquired on the European coin market. Property of a Kent, UK, gentleman.

Head to right, wearing bashlyk / Horse trotting to right; APIAPAMNOY and エ above; monogram behind. Simonetta -; Simonetta, Coins -; SNG Copenhagen -; Ganschow -; SNG von Aulock -; BMC-; HGC 7, -. 2.74gr, 17mm, 12h.

Very Fine. Exceedingly Rare; unpublished and apparently unique variant.

Acquired on the European coin market. Property of a Kent, UK, gentleman.

Head to left, wearing four-pointed tiara / BAΣΙΛEΩΣ MEΓAΛOY TIΓPANOY ΦΙΛΕΛΛHNOC, Nike standing to right, holding wreath; M-A across fields. Kovacs 67. 3.52gr, 19mm, 1h.

Near Very Fine. Rare.

Acquired on the European coin market. Property of a Kent, UK, gentleman.

Head of Tigranes II to left, wearing four-pointed tiara decorated with star and tied with diadem; to left, c/m: APK within rectangular incuse / BAΣΙΛEΩΣ MEΓAΛOY TIΓPANOY, tree; in inner left and right fields, I ς (date). Kovacs 64. 3.83gr, 17mm, 7h.

Very Fine.

Acquired on the European coin market. Property of a Kent, UK, gentleman.

Draped female bust to left / Draped bust of Mithradates to left, bearded and wearing upright bashlyk tied with a diadem; before, monogram of AP; behind, 'q' in Aramaic. Kovacs 30 corr. (legend not noted). 1.49gr, 11mm, 6h.

Near Very Fine.

Acquired on the European coin market. Property of a Kent, UK, gentleman.

Bust to left, wearing bashlyk; uncertain countermark / [BAΣΙΛΕΩΣ ΜΙΘΡΙΔΑΤ ΦΙΛO], club within wreath. Kovacs 36. 4.30gr, 18mm, 9h.

Near Very Fine.

Acquired on the European coin market. Property of a Kent, UK, gentleman.

Male head to right, wearing laureate and crested Attic helmet / AN-TI, bull butting to right. Cf. SC 354 (Apollo; perhaps Antioch on the Orontes); Roma Numismatics, e-Sale 112, 529 (hammer: 850 GBP); otherwise unpublished. 1.66gr, 12mm, 1h.

Near Very Fine. Exceedingly Rare; the third known example and of considerable numismatic importance.

Acquired on the European coin market. Property of a Kent, UK, gentleman.

The closest example to our coin is this of SC 354 (=SNG Spaer 216). Although the obverse is described as Apollo, it is nevertheless very worn. Upon closer examination one could see that the two coins share the same type. According to SC 354 note 'The Kritt specimen shows an apparent helmet crest behind Apollo's head, perhaps evidence for overstriking on an earlier variety featuring Athena'. SC's suggestion of Antioch as a possible mint is repeated from SNG Spaer. The reverse is similar to those from Seleukeia ad Tigrim but the fabric is quite different (cf. Brian Kritt, From Aï Khanoum to Samarqand. Seleucid Coins in Central Asia, pl. 8). Our coin is more reminiscent of western mints, but the identification of a specific mint is still impracticable. The most interesting feature, however, is the mysterious face depicted on the obverse, whose parallel example cannot be found in the references.