Goldberg Coins and Collectibles

Sale 125

The New York Int'l Sale

Bactria

Lot	Photo	Description	Bidding
Lot 138		Baktria, Pre-Seleukid period. Sophytes. Silver Drachm (3.30 g), ca. 305-294 BC. Uncertain mint in the Oxus region. Male head (Sophytes?) right, wearing laureate Attic helmet. Reverse: ΣΩΦYTOY, Cockerel standing right; behind, caduceus. Bopearachchi 3A; SNG ANS 21. Rare. With beautiful toning. Extremely Fine. Estimated Value $1,000 - UP Peter Corcoran Collection, Ex Leu 83 (6 May 2002), 428. View details	Realized $1,740
Lot 139		Baktrian Kingdom. Diodotos I. Silver Tetradrachm (16.39 g), ca. 255-235 BC. Mint A (near Ai Khanoum). Diademed head right of Diodotos I right. Reverse: BAΣIΛEΩΣ ANTIOΧOY, Zeus Bremetes advancing left, wielding aegis and thunderbolt; to inner left, monogram above eagle standing left. Holt Series A, Group 6, Bopearachchi 2E; SNG ANS 77. Rare. Some porosity on the reverse noted. Very Fine. Estimated Value $500 - UP Peter Corcoran Collection, Ex William and Louise Fielder Collection (CNG 67, 22 September 2004), 1005. View details	Realized $2,340
Lot 140		Baktrian Kingdom. Euthydemos I. Silver Tetradrachm (16.16 g), ca. 230-200 BC. Mint A (near Aï Khanoum), ca. 215-210 BC. Diademed head of Euthydemos I right, with elderly features. Reverse: BAΣIΛEΩΣ EYΘYΔHMOY, Herakles seated left on rock, holding club set on knee; below, PK monogram. Bopearachchi 12A; Kritt B17; SNG ANS 141. Fantastic portrait struck in high relief. Lightly toned. Extremely Fine / Very Fine. Estimated Value $2,000 - UP This is the earliest of a series of remarkable portrait coins that raises Bactrian coinage to the highest level of Hellenistic numismatic artistry. It depicts the king as an old man, with the weary Hercules resting from his labors as the reverse. Peter Corcoran Collection, Ex CNG XXXIII (15 March 1995), 464. View details	Realized $4,320
Lot 141		Baktrian Kingdom. Euthydemos I. Silver Tetradrachm (16.46 g), ca. 230-200 BC. Mint A (near Aï Khanoum), ca. 215-210 BC. Diademed head of Euthydemos I right. Reverse: BAΣIΛΣΩΣ (sic) EYΘYΔHM[OY], Herakles seated left on rock, holding club set on rocks. Bopearachchi 5A; SNG ANS -. Untoned. Some porosity scattered around. About Extremely Fine. Estimated Value $500 - UP Peter Corcoran Collection, Ex Freeman & Sear 5 (14 May 1999), 302. View details	Realized $2,640
Lot 142		Baktrian Kingdom. Demetrios I. Silver Tetradrachm (16.97 g.), ca. 200-185 BC. Diademed and draped bust of Demetrios I right, wearing elephant's skin headdress. Reverse: BAΣIΛEΩΣ ΔHMHTPIOY, Herakles standing facing, crowning himself with wreath, holding club and lion's skin; in left field, monogram. Bopearachchi 1F; SNG ANS 190. Rare. Excellent detail and dies of fine style. Untoned. Choice Very Fine. Estimated Value $2,000 - UP It is interesting to note that Demetrius wears an elephant-skin headdress as conqueror of India, very likely with direct allusion to Alexander the Great. Note that his Hercules is ttanding and crowining himself. According to W.W. Tarn, The Greeks in Bactria and India, 3rd ed., p. 90, tells us that Euthydemus introduced a new state-form, in which provinces were ruled by sub-kings, members of the royal family who possessed the right of coinage, instead of by satraps. Some of the following rulers were apparently sub-kings to Demetrius. Peter Corcoran Collection, Private purchase from Palladium Numismatics 5/94. View details	Realized $3,240
Lot 143		Baktrian Kingdom. Agathokles. Silver Tetradrachm (16.74 g), ca. 185-170 BC. Diademed and draped bust of Agathokles right. Reverse: BAΣIΛEΩΣ AΓAΘOKΛEOYΣ, Zeus standing facing, holding Hekate and scepter; Hekate holds torch in each hand; monogram to inner left. Bopearachchi 1D; SNG ANS 230. Boldly struck in very high relief. Fine style portraiture. Some minor areas of oxidation on the reverse. Lightly toned. Extremely Fine. Estimated Value $1,000 - UP Peter Corcoran Collection, Purchased from Edward Waddell online auction, October 2007. View details	Realized $3,000
Lot 144		Baktrian Kingdom. Agathokles. Silver Tetradrachm (15.05 g), ca. 185-170 BC. Commemorative issue struck for Diodotos I in the name of Antiochos II. [A]NTIOX[OY] NIKATOPOΣ, Diademed head of Diodotos I right. Reverse: BAΣIΛEYONTOΣ AΓAΘOKΛEOYΣ ΔIKAIOY, Zeus Bremetes standing left, seen from behind, extending arm covered by aegis, and brandishing thunderbolt; to left, wreath above eagle standing left; in inner right field, monogram. Bopearachchi 13A; cf. SNG ANS 258 (control). Very Rare. Uniform dark patina. Very Fine. Estimated Value $1,000 - UP This tetradrachm belongs to Agathokles' so-called "pedigree" series - a series of coins replicating the types of previous Greco-Baktrian rulers as a means of evoking legitimacy for himself as part of a long line of kings. Unfortunately, due to the paucity of textual evidence for the reign of Agathokles (and the Greco-Baktrian kings in general) it is now impossible to know whether he actually claimed descent from the kings in the "pedigree" series through some convoluted family tree or he merely referred to them as legitimate predecessors in the same manner that the emperor Trajan later did when he "restored" the types of some of his Julio-Claudian predecessors.Here Agathokles has copied tetradrachm types of Diodotos I, the rebel Seleukid satrap of Baktria who established the independent Baktrian kingdom. Indeed, the engraver has not only copied the basic types, but also the wreath and monogram controls of the reverse. However, he seems to have used two different models: an issue struck while Diodotos I was still an official of the Seleukid kingdom and after his usurpation of the royal title. The former carries the portrait of Antiochos II on the obverse and thundering Zeus on the reverse while the latter features the same reverse type but depicts Diodotos I on the obverse. On this "pedigree" issue, the portrait seems more like that of Diodotos I, is labeled in Greek as "Antiochos Nikator," apparently referring to Antiochos II. This has been seen as problematic because Antiochos' cult title was actually Soter, not Nikator, and has led to great speculation that Antiochos Nikator might have been an otherwise unknown member of the Diodotid dynasty or that the portrait is really that of Euthydemos I and the label refers to Antiochos III. In reality the disconnect between the label and portrait probably should not be pressed too far - another issue in the "pedigree" series features the head of Herakles taken from the ubiquitous tetradrachms of Alexander the Great with a label identifying it as "Alexander, son of Philip." Peter Corcoran Collection, Ex CNG 72 (14 June 2006), 1031. View details	Realized $2,880
Lot 145		Baktrian Kingdom. Euthydemos II. Silver Drachm (4.03 g), ca. 185-180 BC. Diademed and draped bust of Euthydemos II right. Reverse: BAΣIΛEΩΣ EYΘYΔHMOY, Herakles standing facing, crowning himself with wreath, holding club and lion's skin; in left field, monogram. Bopearachchi 2C; SNG ANS -. Lightly toned and struck in high relief. Choice Very Fine. Estimated Value $400 - UP Peter Corcoran Collection, Ex MMAG 79 (28 February 1994), 422. View details	Realized $960
Lot 146		Baktrian Kingdom. Antimachos I. Silver Tetradrachm (16.79 g.), ca. 174-165 BC. Diademed and draped bust of Antimachos I right, wearing kausia. Reverse: BAΣIΛEΩΣ ANTIMAXOY, Poseidon standing facing, holding trident and palm; in right field, NO monogram. Bopearachchi 1D; SNG ANS 276-7. Rare. Fabulous portrait! Some minor porosity here and there. Superb Extremely Fine. Estimated Value $1,500 - UP Peter Corcoran Collection, Purchased privately from Frank Kovacs, July 1998. View details	Realized $2,280
Lot 147		Baktrian Kingdom. Eukratides I. Silver Tetradrachm (16.96 g), ca. 171-145 BC. Diademed heroic bust of Eukratides I left, wearing crested helmet adorned with bull's horn and ear. Reverse: BAΣIΛEΩΣ MEΓAΛOY above, EYKPATIΔOY in exergue, the Dioskouroi, each holding palm branch and couched lance, on horses rearing right; in lower right field, monogram. Bopearachchi 8B; SNG ANS 485. Rare. Untoned. Fabulous high relief and wonderful style. Excellent metal. Extremely Fine. Estimated Value $3,000 - UP Eukratides I is notable as one of the very few Graeco-Baktrian and Indo-Greek kings for whom we have historical evidence outside of coins. He revolted against the reigning Demetrios II in ca. 171 BC, but soon found himself besieged by Demetrios at the head of a 60,000-strong army. According to Justin, through repeated sorties, Eukratides used his small force of 300 men to raise the siege and gain victory after four months. He then crossed the Hindu Kush, conquering parts of western India. Unfortunately, his dramatic reign came to a violent end when his son murdered him, reportedly coldly driving his chariot through his blood. The enduring popularity of Eukratides' Dioskouroi reverse type may be gauged by its continued use by several of his Indo-Greek successors, its imitation by non-Greek peoples in Sogdiana and Baktria, and its incorporation into the seal of the modern Da Afghanistan Bank (founded 1939). Peter Corcoran Collection, Ex Triton XXII (7 January 2019), 468. View details	Realized $6,600
Lot 148		Baktrian Kingdom. Eukratides I. Silver Tetradrachm (16.96 g), ca. 171-145 BC. Dynastic pedigree issue. BAΣIΛEYΣ MEΓAΣ above, EYKPATIΔHΣ in exergue, draped and cuirassed bust of Eukratides I right, wearing crested helmet adorned with bull's horn and ear. Reverse: HΛIOKΛEOYΣ above, KAI ΛAOΔIKHΣ in exergue, conjoined, draped busts of Heliokles and Laodike, wearing tainia, right; to left, monogram. Bopearachchi 15A; SNG ANS 526-7. Lightly toned and perfectly centered. Fine style. Nearly Extremely Fine. Estimated Value $1,500 - UP Peter Corcoran Collection, Ex CNG 75 (23 May 2007), 644; Gorny & Mosch 121 (10 March 2003), 1025. View details	Realized $5,280
Lot 149		Baktrian Kingdom. Eukratides I. Drachm (4.23 g), ca. 171-145 BC. Diademed, draped and cuirassed bust of Eukratides I right, wearing crested helmet adorned with bull's horn and ear. Reverse: BAΣIΛEΩΣ MEΓAΛOY above, EYKPATIΔOY in exergue, the Dioskouroi, each holding palm branch and couched lance, on horses rearing right; in left field, monogram. Bopearachchi 7A, SNG ANS -. Fine style and with a pleasing uniform light violet toned. Faint hairline scratches on both sides. Much rarer than the tetradrachm. Extremely Fine. Estimated Value $800 - UP View details	Realized $1,680
Lot 150		Baktrian Kingdom. Eukratides I. Silver Tetradrachm (16.91 g), ca. 171-145 BC. Diademed, draped and cuirassed bust of Eukratides I right, wearing crested helmet adorned with bull's horn and ear. Reverse: BAΣIΛEΩΣ MEΓAΛOY above, EYKPATIΔOY in exergue, the Dioskouroi, each holding palm branch and couched lance, on horses rearing right; in lower right field, monogram. Bopearachchi 6E; SNG ANS 465. Untoned and lustrous. Superb Extremely Fine. Estimated Value $500 - UP Peter Corcoran Collection, Ex CNG XXXII (7 December 1994), 1432. View details	Realized $1,380
Lot 151		Baktrian Kingdom. Eukratides I. Drachm (4.17 g), ca. 171-145 BC. Diademed, draped and cuirassed bust of Eukratides I right. Reverse: BAΣIΛEΩΣ MEΓAΛOY above, EYKPATIΔ[OY] in exergue, the Dioskouroi, each holding palm branch and couched lance, on horses rearing right; in left field, A; in lower right field, monogram. Bopearachchi 2D; SNG ANS -. Lightly toned. Very Fine. Estimated Value $250 - UP Peter Corcoran Collection, Ex Peus 345 (1 November 1995), 388. View details	Realized $252
Lot 152		Baktrian Kingdom. Heliokles I. Tetradrachm (16.68 g), ca. 145-130 BC. Diademed and draped bust of Heliokles I right. Reverse: BAΣIΛΩΣ ΔIKAIOY HΛOKΛEOYΣ, Zeus standing facing, holding thunderbolt and scepter; to left, monogram. Bopearachchi 1U; SNG ANS 642. Some minor roughness. Lightly toned. Very Fine. Estimated Value $300 - UP Peter Corcoran Collection, Ex Gorny 90 (12 October 1998), 525. View details	Realized $1,620