Details
LOT 3141
Kings of Bithynia, Nikomedes IV Philopator AR Tetradrachm. Dated 207 BE (91/0 BC). Nikomedeia mint.
Diademed head to right / ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ ΕΠΙΦΑΝΟΥΣ ΝΙΚΟΜΗΔΟΥ, Zeus standing to left, holding long sceptre with left hand and wreath with right; to inner left, eagle standing to left on thunderbolt above monogram of MHN and ZΣ (date). Callataÿ p. 62 (dies D173/R9); Dewing 2160 (same dies); Hermitage Sale II, lot 1133 (same dies); DCA2 499; HGC 7, 646 (92/1 BC). Good Very Fine. Toned, struck with worn obverse die.(16,72gr, 33mm, 12h.).
Provenance
From the private collection of a Canadian gentleman living in Essex, UK, formed since the 1920s-circa 1990.
Property of an Essex lady until the late 1990s; thence by descent.
From the private collection of an Essex gentleman since the late 1990s.
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LOT 3141
Kings of Bithynia, Nikomedes IV Philopator AR Tetradrachm.
Sold for (Inc. bp): £312
RELATED LOTS
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Seleukid Empire, Uncertain Ruler in the name of Antiochos I Soter(?) AE 12mm. 3rd century BC. Uncertain Western mint.
Sold for (Inc. bp): £143
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 SC 354 (Apollo; perhaps Antioch on the Orontes); Roma Numismatics, e-Sale 112, 529 (hammer: 850 GBP); otherwise unpublished. 1.56gr, 12mm, 10h.
Good Very Fine. Nice green patina. Exceedingly Rare; the second known example and of considerable numismatic importance.
Acquired at 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. -
Ionia, Ephesos AR Diobol. Circa 390-330 BC.
Sold for (Inc. bp): £39
Bee / Two stag's heads facing one another; ΕΦ above. SNG Kayhan 194-207; SNG Copenhagen 243. 0.95gr, 10mm, 1h.
Near Very Fine.
From the private collection of John Meredith, acquired since the 1990s; thence by descent. -
Seleukid Empire, Antiochos III(?) AE 9mm. Circa 222-187 BC.
Sold for (Inc. bp): £7
Laureate head of Apollo to right / ΑΝΤΙΟ[...], elephant standing to left (or right). Cf. SC 979; cf. HGC 9, 560. 1.11gr, 9mm, 3h.
Near Very Fine.
Property of a North London, UK, gentleman.
