Auction 87 - Ancient Coins

Gordian I (238), Sestertius, Rome, March - April AD 238; AE (g 19,48; mm 30; h 11); IMP CAES M ANT GORDIANVS AFR AVG, laureate, draped and cuirassed bust r., Rv. VICTORIA AVGG, Victory advancing l., holding wreath and palm branch; in field, S - C. RIC 12; C 14.
Very rare. Expressive portrait and attractive natural pale green patina, good extremely fine. [Ex Freeman & Sear, Manhattan Sale III, January 2012, lot 191]

Gordian II (238), Denarius, Rome, March - April AD 238; AR (g 3,56; mm 20; h 6); IMP M ANT GORDIANVS AFR AVG, laureate, draped and cuirassed bust r., Rv. VICTO - RIA AVGG, Victory advancing l., holding palm branch and wreath. RIC 2; C 12.
Very rare. Lustrous and struck on a large flan: good extremely fine.

Gordian II (238), Sestertius, Rome, March - April AD 238; AE (g 18,68; mm 32; h 12); IMP CAES M ANT GORDIANVS AFR AVG, laureate and draped bust r, Rv. ROMAE AETERNAE, Roma seated l. on shield, holding Victory and leaning on sceptre; in ex. S C. RIC 5; C 9.
Rare. Expressive portrait struck on a large flan, beautiful green tone, good extremely fine.

Balbinus (238), Sestertius, Rome, April - June AD 238; AE (g 20,72; mm 31; h 12); IMP CAES D CAEL BALBINVS AVG, laureate, draped and cuirassed bust r., Rv. CONCORDIA AVGG, Concordia seated l., holding patera and double cornucopiae; in ex. S C. RIC 22; C 4.
Rare. An expressive portrait struck on a very large flan; green brownish tone, somewhat smoothed otherwise extremely fine.

Pupienus (238), Sestertius, Rome, April - June AD 238; AE (g 19,91; mm 30; h 12); IMP CAES M CLOD PVPIENVS AVG, laureate, draped and cuirassed bust r., Rv. PAX - PVBLICA, Pax seated l., holding branch and sceptre; in ex. S C. RIC 22a; C 23.
Rare. Stylish portrait and green tone; somewhat smoothed, otherwise extremely fine.

Gordian III (238-244), Aureus, Rome, AD 240; AV (g 5,06; mm 20; h 6); IMP CAES GORDIANVS PIVS AVG, laureate, draped and cuirassed bust r., Rv. LIBERALITAS AVG II, Liberalitas standing facing, head l., holding abacus and double cornucopiae. RIC 58 var (one cornucopia); C -; Calicó 3204 var (same).
Scarce. Large flan, good extremely fine.

Gordian III (238-244), Sestertius, Rome, AD 240; AE (g 21,87; mm 32; h 1); IMP GORDIANVS PIVS FEL AVG, laureate, draped and cuirassed bust r., Rv. P M TR P III COS P P, Gordian seated l. on sella curulis, holding globe and parazonium; in ex. S C. RIC 294a; C 231.
Lovely chocolate patina with a particularly bold and attractive portrait. Minor marks, otherwise extremely fine.

Gordian III (238-244), Sestertius, Rome, AD 241-243; AE (g 20,61; mm 32; h 12); IMP GORDIANVS PIVS FEL AVG, laureate, draped and cuirassed bust r., Rv. LAETITIA AVG N, Laetitia standing l., holding wreath and leaning on anchor; in field, S - C. RIC 300a; C 122.
Expressive and detailed portrait; green-brownish patina, extremely fine.

Gordian III (238-244), Sestertius, Rome, AD 241-243; AE (g 20,34; mm 30; h 12); IMP GORDIANVS PIVS FEL AVG, laureate and draped bust r., Rv. LIBERALITAS AVG IIII, Libertalias standing l., holding abacus and double cornucopiae; in field, S - C. RIC 316a; C 148.
Lovely portrait, brownish patina, about extremely fine / good very fine.

Gordian III (238-244), Dupondius, Rome, AD 241-243; AE (g 10,94; mm 26; h 12); IMP GORDIANVS PIVS FEL AVG, radiate, draped and cuirassed bust r., Rv. PAX - AETERNA, Pax advancing l., holding branch and sceptre. RIC 319c; C 171.
Emerald green patina, good extremely fine. [Ex Classical Numismatic Group, Triton V, January 2002, lot 2080; from the George His Collection of coins of Gordian III; ex Sternberg XIX, 18-19 November 1987, lot 776]

Gordian III (238-244), Quinarius, Rome, AD 243-244; AR (g 1,91; mm 15; h 7); IMP GORDIANVS PIVS FEL AVG, laureate, draped and cuirassed bust r., Rv. FELICIT TEMP, Felicitas standing l., holding long caduceus and cornucopiae. RIC 167; C 81.
Very rare. Lustrous and good extremely fine.

Gordian III (238-244), Sestertius, Rome, AD 243-244; AE (g 18,76; mm 31; h 11); IMP GORDIANVS PIVS FEL AVG, laureate, draped and cuirassed bust r., Rv. FELICIT TEMPOR, Felicitas standing l., holding caduceus and cornucopiae; in field, S - C. RIC 328a; C 73.
Expressive portrait. Dark brown patina, about extremely fine - extremely fine.

Philip I (244-249), Sestertius, Rome, AD 244; AE (g 23,31; mm 30; h 6); IMP M IVL PHILIPPVS AVG, laureate, draped and cuirassed bust r., Rv. FIDES MILITVM, Fides standing l., holding signum in each hand.; in field, S - C. RIC 172a; C 59.
Vigorous, strong portrait; untouched attractive emerald patina, good extremely fine.

Philip I (244-249), Sestertius, Rome, AD 244-249; AE (g 22,87; mm 30; h 12); IMP M IVL PHILIPPVS AVG, laureate, draped and cuirassed bust r., Rv. ANNONA AVGG, Annona standing l., holding corn ears over modius and cornucopiae; in field, S - C. RIC 168a; C 26.
Green - brownish patina and about extremely fine.

Otacilia Severa, Sestertius struck under Philip I, Rome, AD 244-249; AE (g 17,52; mm 30; h 6); MARCIA OTACIL SEVERA AVG, diademed and draped bust r., Rv. PIETAS AVGVSTAE, Pietas standing l., raising hand and holding box of perfume; in field, S - C. RIC 208a; C 46.
Brownish patina, about extremely fine.

Philip II, as Caesar, Sestertius struck under Philip I, Rome, AD 244-246; AE (g 20,04; mm 30; h 12); M IVL PHILIPPVS CAES, draped bust r., Rv. PRINCIPI I - VVENT, Philip II standing l., holding spear and globe; in field, S - C. RIC 256; C 49.
Green tone; somewhat smoothed and tooled, otherwise good very fine - about extremely fine.

Philip II, as Caesar, As struck under Philip I, Rome, AD 244-246; AE (g 7,47; mm 25; h 12); M IVL PHILIPPVS CAES, draped bust r., Rv. PRINCIPI I - VVENT, Philip II standing l., holding spear and globe; in field, S - C. RIC 256b; C 50.
Green tone; somewhat smoothed and tooled, otherwise good very fine - about extremely fine.

Trajan Decius (249-251), Double Sestertius, Rome, AD 249-251; AE (g 38,15; mm 35; h 12); IMP C M Q TRAIANVS DECIVS AVG, radiate, draped and cuirassed bust r., Rv. FELICITAS SAECVLI, Felicitas standing l., holding long caduceus and cornucopiae. RIC 115c; C 40.
Centered on a very broad flan and with a remarkable portrait, green patina somewhat gently smoothed, die shift on reverse, anyway about extremely fine. [Ex Gorny & Mosch 169, October 2008, lot 395]

Trajan Decius (249-251), Sestertius, Rome, AD 249-250; AE (g 13,18; mm 27; h 1); IMP C M Q TRAIANVS DECIVS AVG, laureate and cuirassed bust r., Rv. D - A - C - I - A, Dacia standing front, head l., holding staff surmounted by ass's head; in field, S - C. RIC 112b; C 18.
Brownish patina with areas of green, about extremely fine.

Trebonianus Gallus (251-253), Sestertius, Rome, AD 251-253; AE (g 18,11; mm 29; h 12); IMP CAES C VIBIVS TREBONIANVS GALLVS AVG, laureate, draped and cuirassed bust r., Rv. VIRTVS - AVGG, Virtus standing l., resting hand on shield and holding spear reversed. RIC 126a; C 134.
Untouched green patina, extremely fine - good extremely fine.

Uncertain Germanic Tribe, Pseudo-Imperial Aureus struck north of the Danube with dies stolen from the mint of Alexandria Troas, after AD 262; AV (g 6,91; mm 19; h 3); Laureate, draped and cuirassed imperial bust l.; around, pseudo-legend, Rv. COL AVG / TRO, she-wolf standing r., suckling the twins Remus and Romulus. Cfr. SNG Copenhagen 161 (for the Alexandrian issue in bronze); Leu Numismatik AG, 4, 25 May 2019, lot 430 (for the second gold Barbaric -Alexandrian typology known).
Of the highest rarity, only 6 specimen known of the entire gold series. Holed, otherwise extremely fine.

Citing from Leu Numismatik AG: "The story of this coin reads like an ancient thriller: It is the year 262, when the inhabitants of Alexandria Troas spot a fleet approaching the Dardanelles from the south. Alarm bells ring and cries of panic fill the streets: "The Goths are here, the Goths are here!". Thousands of Gothic plunderers land on the coast of the Troas, loaded with stolen riches from all over Greece and Asia Minor, and start besieging the wealthy city. Archaeological excavations have shown that the battle-hardened barbarians had no issues penetrating the city walls before they massacred the population and looted the temples and houses. Change of scene to Paris, 1881: the Bibliothèque Nationale acquires a holed Gallienus coin from Alexandria Troas featuring a local motive on the reverse (Lupa Romana) - but to everyone's astonishment, it is minted in gold. The unusual metal and the slightly blundered legends on the obverse lead the numismatists to conclude that this must be a rather curious barbaric imitation. What was it about these 'aurei' from a provincial mint, which was very active under Valerian I and Gallienus but only minted in bronze? It was not until 2017 that a solution to this riddle was proposed, when A. Bursche and K. Myzgin published two further holed 'aurei' of Gallienus from Alexandria Troas. They were able to show that the local provincial mint must have fallen into the hands of the Goths when the city was plundered in 262. When the barbarians returned to their homelands northwest of the Black Sea, they took the stolen coin dies back home with them and began to strike their own coins with the looted gold. The final evidence for their theory was provided in the Paris example, which was struck from a recut obverse die while the reverse corresponds to the provincial coinage from Alexandria Troas: it now became obvious that this was not a mere imitation, but that the coin was struck by the stolen dies from the provincial mint of Alexandria, and that a Gothic artist had, at some point, recut the obverse die due to heavy wear."

Uncertain Germanic Tribe, Pseudo-Imperial Quinarius, mid 3rd - early 4th centuries; AV (g 3,30; mm 19 x 15; h 6); Bare imperial head l.; around, pseudo-legend, Rv. Bear, upright, standing l., presenting basket (?) to male figure seated r., leaning his r. hand on ground and extending his l. toward the bear; around and in ex., pseudo-legend. Cfr. Leu Numismatik AG, 4, 25 May 2019, lot 823.
Of the highest rarity. With the original suspension loop attached, extremely fine.

Citing from Leu Numismatik AG: "What it represents is unclear: the reverse, which shows a bear presenting an uncertain object (a basket?) to a sitting male figure, is without parallels in ancient coinage and thus in all likelihood a genuinely German motive. Does it portray a local tale, in which a bear comes to the rescue of a human, or is it the artist's rendering of the epiphany of a German god in the form of a bear, much like Zeus used to appear in the guise of various animals in Greek mythology? We shall, unfortunately, never know, but it certainly is an astonishing and wonderful coin and of the greatest historical interest.”

Zenobia (Usurper, 267-272), Antoninianus, Antiochia, March-May AD 272; BI (g 2,86; mm 21; h 12); S ZENOBIA AVG, draped bust r. set on crescent, Rv. IVNO REGINA, Juno standing l., holding patera and scepter; at feet on l., peacock; on l. field, star. RIC 2 corr (no star); Carson, Q. Tic VII, 1978,4.
Extremely rare and among the finest specimens known. Traces of silvering, good extremely fine.

Citing from Classical Numismatic Group: "While a nominal ally of Rome, Odenathus, ruler of the wealthy eastern trade center of Palmyra and husband of Septimia Zenobia, took advantage of Rome's internal and external conflicts to expand his territories. The circumstances surrounding the assassination of Odenathus around 267 are uncertain, but we do know that Zenobia soon after took the title of Augusta and bestowed on her infant son Vaballathus the title of Augustus. Zenobia continued to expand the Palmyrene kingdom, seizing control of Egypt in 269 and, with it, the Roman grain supply. To further bolster her position, Zenobia claimed to be the descendent of such illustrious figures as Cleopatra VII of Egypt and legendary Queen Dido of Carthage. When Aurelian rose to the purple in 270, he pragmatically acquiesced to Zenobia and Vaballathus' rule in the east while he concerned himself with stabilizing the situation in the west. By 272, he was prepared to campaign against the usurpers. Palmyra was sacked, and both Zenobia and Vabalathus were captured as they tried to make their way to Persia. Zenobia was brought to Rome and paraded in Aurelian's triumph in 274. According to a later tradition, Aurelian, impressed by her beauty and dignity, later freed her and granted her a villa in Tibur, where she spent the rest of her life.”

Magnia Urbica, Antoninianus struck under Carinus, Ticinum, AD 283-285; AE (g 3,06; mm 25; h 6); MAGNA VRBICA AVG, diademed and draped bust r. set on crescent, Rv. VENVS CELEST, Venus standing l. holding apple and sceptre; in ex. SXXI. RIC 345; C 9.
Scarce. Large flan with traces of silvering: extremely fine - good extremely fine.