Goldberg Coins and Collectibles

Sale 125

The New York Int'l Sale

Ancient Egypt

Lot	Photo	Description	Bidding
Lot 153		Ptolemaic Kingdom. Ptolemy I Soter. Silver Tetradrachm (16.96 g), as Satrap, 323-305 BC. Memphis or Alexandria, ca. 317 BC. Diademed head of the deified Alexander the Great right, wearing elephant's skin headdress. Reverse: AΛEΞANΔPOY, Zeus seated left, holding eagle and scepter; thunderbolt in left field, below throne. Svoronos 12; Zervos issue B-VII; cf. SNG Copenhagen 11. Rare. Struck in high relief and lightly toned. Rare. This tetradrachm issued as Satrap on the heavy Attic weight, is considered the finest portraiture of Alexander the Great in the Ptolemaic series. About Very Fine. Estimated Value $1,000 - UP This coin is historically important because it marks the beginning of the shift by Alexander's successors away from the inherited stock of coin types used by Alexander and Philip II, his father. Ptolemy, then satrap of Egypt, substituted for the young Hercules used by Alexander, a portrait of Alexander himself. Otto Morkholm, Early Hellenistic Coinage, pp. 63-4, attributes it to the year 321. He observes that: "The relatively high relief of the coin types serves to underline its sculptural qualities." This feature is absent in the more mundane, flatter style relief issues which followed. Ptolemy had Alexander depicted wearing a diadem under an elephant headdress, because he was conqueror of India; also with the divine attributes of the horn of Ammon, the aegis of Zeus, and two snakes around his neck. Peter Corcoran Collection, Ex NFA XXVI (14 August 1991), 117. View details	Realized $6,600
Lot 154		Ptolemaic Kingdom. Ptolemy II Philadelphos. Silver Tetradrachm (14.08 g), 285-246 BC. Tyre, RY 32 (254 BC). Diademed head of Ptolemy I right, aegis tied at neck. Reverse: BAΣIΛEΩΣ ΠTOΛEMAIOY, eagle standing left; to left, monogram of Tyre above club; in right field, ΛB above monogram; between legs, Θ. Svoronos 644; SNG Copenhagen 482-3. Well struck in high relief, slightly off-center not affecting the portrait. Lightly toned. Nearly Extremely Fine. Estimated Value $350 - UP Peter Corcoran Collection, Ex Berk 112 (13 January 2000), 303. View details	Realized $1,440
Lot 155		Ptolemaic Kingdom. Arsinöe II, wife of Ptolemy II. Silver Tetradrachm (13.81 g), died 270 BC. Alexandria, under Ptolemy II, 261/0-253/2 BC. Veiled, diademed and draped bust of Arsinöe II right. Reverse: APΣIN OHΣ ΦIΛAΔEΛΦOY, Eagle standing left on thunderbolt. Troxell grp. 2, p. 43, pl. 5, 7-8; Svoronos 421; SNG Berry 1473 (this coin). Rare. Some areas of porosity on the reverse. Lightly toned. Very Fine. Estimated Value $500 - UP Peter Corcoran Collection, Ex NAC F (17 April 1996), 1299; Ex Burton Y. Berry Collection. View details	Realized $3,000
Lot 156		Ptolemaic Kingdom. Ptolemy III Euergetes. Silver Tetradrachm (14.03 g), 246-222 BC. Thracian mint, probably Ainos. Diademed head of Ptolemy III right, aegis tied at neck. Reverse: BAΣIΛEΩΣ ΠTOΛEMAIOY, eagle standing left on thunderbolt; to left, herm; in right field, monogram. Cf. Svoronos 932 (monogram); cf. BMC 86. Very Rare. Some scattered old scratches. Lightly toned. Very Fine. Estimated Value $2,500 - UP Peter Corcoran Collection, Ex UBS 47 (14 September 1999), 125. View details	Realized $11,100
Lot 157		Ptolemaic Kingdom. Berenike II, wife of Ptolemy III. Silver Didrachm (6.45 g), ca. 244/3-221 BC. Uncertain mint in Cyrenaica. Diademed and draped bust of Berenike II right. Reverse: BAΣIΛIΣΣHΣ BEPENIKHΣ, upright club; in left field, monogram; in right field, trident head; all within wreath. Svoronos 318 (Berenike I); Caltabiano, Berenice, pl. I, 3 (Berenike II); SNG Copenhagen 429 (Berenike I). Very Rare. Rough surfaces. Very Fine. Estimated Value $350 - UP Peter Corcoran Collection, Ex CNG 81 (20 May 2009), 645. View details	Realized $960
Lot 158		Ptolemaic Kingdom. Ptolemy V Epiphanes. Silver Tetradrachm (13.87 g), 205-180 BC. Byblos (?). Diademed and draped bust of Ptolemy IV right. Reverse: BAΣIΛEΩΣ ΠTOΛEMAIOY, eagle standing left on thunderbolt; to left, B; between eagle's legs, NI. Svoronos -; O. Mørkholm, "Portrait Coinage of Ptolemy V," Essays Thompson pl. 24. 13 (same dies). Very Rare. Boldly struck in high relief. An old mark in the right obverse field is noted. Toned. About Extremely Fine. Estimated Value $2,500 - UP Peter Corcoran Collection, Ex Gorny & Mosch (11 October 2004), 1741. View details	Realized $11,100
Lot 159		Ptolemaic Kingdom. Ptolemy V Epiphanes. Silver Tetradrachm (14.10 g), 205-180 BC. Fifth Syrian War issue. Uncertain Phoenician mint, ca. 202-199 BC. Diademed and draped bust of Ptolemy V right. Reverse: BAΣIΛEΩΣ ΠTOΛEMAIOY, eagle standing left on thunderbolt; to left, monogram. Svoronos 1258; SNG Copenhagen -. Light mottled toning. Extremely Fine. Estimated Value $500 - UP Peter Corcoran Collection, Purchased privately from Tom Cederlind in June, 1991. View details	Realized $8,100
Lot 160		Ancient Egypt. Ptolemy IX Soter, and Cleopatra III, 117-81 BC. Silver Tetradrachm (13.36 g). Struck at Alexandria, dated year 14 (103 BC). Diademed bust with aegis facing r. Reverse: BAΣIΛEΩΣ ΠTOΛEMAIOY Eagle standing l. on thunderbolt; in l. field, LIΔΠ. Svoronos 1674; SNG Copenhagen 363. Lustrous surfaces. Superb Extremely Fine. Estimated Value $400 - UP Ex Ars Classica (NAC) 9-24-28, #116; Ex Ira & Larry Goldberg sale 69, 2012, #3213. View details	Realized $1,860
Lot 161		Zeugitania, Carthage. Gold Stater (9.23 g), ca. 350-320 BC. Head of Tanit left, wreathed with grain ears, wearing triple-pendant earring and necklace with eight drop-pendants. Reverse: Horse standing right on ground line; before forelegs, trefoils of pellets. Jenkins & Lewis grp. Iiih (uncertain dies); MAA 12. Boldly struck in high relief. Elegant style and slight shadows of double-sriking on both sides. Fully lustrous and superb quality. Mint State. Estimated Value $7,500 - UP The obverse type of this gold coin reflects the strong influence that years of war against Syracuse for control of Sicily had on the money of Carthage. The female head clearly copies that of Persephone on fourth-century tetradrachms of Syracuse although on this gold coin struck at Carthage the image almost certainly was not understood as Greek Persephone, but rather as the Punic goddess Tanit. She was the patron deity of Carthage alongside her consort Ba'al Hammon and has been suspected of having a cult that involved child sacrifice, although this is disputed. The horse on the reverse is almost as ubiquitous on Carthaginian and Siculo-Punic coinage as the head of Tanit-Persephone on the obverse, but its meaning is somewhat less certain. It may be a somewhat generic symbol of military might, perhaps referencing the agile Numidian cavalry frequently employed by the Carthaginians. On the other hand, it has also been suggested that the horse, which sometimes appears with a solar disk, may have served as a symbol of Ba'al Hammon. View details	Realized $18,600
Lot 162		Zeugitania, Carthage. Electrum Stater (7.45 g), ca. 290-270 BC. Head of Tanit left, wreathed with grain ears, wearing triple-pendant earring and necklace with nine drop-pendants. Reverse: Horse standing right on ground line; above the groundline below horse's belly, pellet. Jenkins & Lewis grp. VII; MAA 13. Plenty of underlying luster present. Superb Extremely Fine. Estimated Value $3,500 - UP View details	Realized $8,100
Lot 163		Zeugitania, Carthage. Electrum Stater (7.46 g), ca. 290-270 BC. Head of Tanit left, wreathed with grain ears, wearing triple-pendant earring and necklace with nine drop-pendants. Reverse: Horse standing right on ground line; above the groundline below horse's belly, pellet. Jenkins & Lewis grp. VII; MAA 13. Well struck and perfectly centered. Lustrous surfaces. Superb Extremely Fine. Estimated Value $3,500 - UP View details	Realized $4,800