A selection of modern coins from all over the world forms the backdrop for a small and precious nucleus of ancient issues from the Greek and Roman world.
From Magna Graecia the drachmas, didrachms and tetradrachms, especially Sicule and Siculo-Punic, bring to mind the period of great splendor and importance of the Magna Graecia cities. The small masterpieces that characterize these coinages and that punctually identify cities and cultures are fascinating and of valuable historical value: the rooster of Himera, the horse with palm omnipresent in Punic coins, the decorated trident of Lipara. Or again, the elegant profile of Arethusa, the river nymph whose waters flow on the islet of Ortigia, the heart of ancient Syracuse, and protagonist in many of the greatest masterpieces of ancient coin production.
The leitmotif of the auction also unravels from Greece, which leads us to some specimens of rare beauty from the imperial era: the emperor Hadrian, who was so fascinated by Greek culture, is depicted on the obverse of the beautiful aureus – lot 23 – and is accompanied on the reverse by a Hercules with a club in a delightful distylus temple. The coin, of extreme rarity, is presented with the expertise of Moruzzi, which clearly underlines the characteristics and historicity of the specimen:

The coin is extremely rare, as it is not present in the medal collections of the main Italian and European collections [...] The type of the reverse of this rare coin seems to have a personal reference, the Hercules of Gades, patron saint of Spain, the province in which the families of Trajan and Hadrian had settled generations earlier. His mother, Domitia Paulina, came from Gades, a rich city, which was certainly the oldest city in Spain and considered by many to be the oldest Phoenician settlement in the west. Although the precise meaning of the type is not known, it may refer to the dedication of a temple of Hercules of Gades on the banks of the Tiber.

Other aurei from the Roman imperial coinage accompany the aforementioned top lot of the auction, with coinages of Vespasian, Constantine and Theodosius. The auction then concludes, passing through Byzantine and Islamic coinages, with modern specimens that close the auction on December 13th.

ADDRESS
Rome / Via Quattro Novembre, 114
(get direction)

For all enquires:
numismatica@finarte.it
+39 06 6791107

IMPORTANT NOTICES
Ancient coins (lots 1 – 28) cannot be exported from Italy
The Buyer's Premium calculated on the hammer price is 22%

Gran Bretagna, Elizabeth II, (1952-2022) - Lotto di 3 Sterline

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