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Lot 524
EGYPT, Alexandria. Antoninus Pius. AD 138-161. Æ Drachm (34mm, 25.39 g, 12h). Apollonopolites nome. Dated RY 8 (AD 144/5). VF.
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Live Auction
Triton XXVIII
Live bidding began Jan 14, 2025 at 9:00 AM EST
Description
EGYPT, Alexandria. Antoninus Pius. AD 138-161. Æ Drachm (34mm, 25.39 g, 12h). Apollonopolites nome. Dated RY 8 (AD 144/5). AYT K T AIΛ AΔP ANTωNЄINOC CЄB ЄVC, laureate head right / AΠOΛΛ ω NO ΠOΛIT, Horus-Behedeti/Apollo standing facing, head right, crowned with skhent, holding long scepter in right hand, hawk standing right, crowned with skhent, in extended left hand; L H (date) in lower field. Köln 3432; Dattari (Savio) 6203; K&G N4.6; RPC IV.4 774.9 (this coin); W&G III; Emmett 1823.8 (R3). Red-brown patina, light porosity, edge splits, patch of corrosion on obverse. VF. One of the finest known. Click here for a video presentation on this collection.
From the Dr. Thomas E. Beniak Collection, purchased from Frank L. Kovacs, 18 June 2001. Ex Classical Numismatic Auctions XIV (20 March 1991), lot 568; Henry Clay Lindgren Collection.
The Alexandrian nome series provides a fascinating glimpse into the religious worship and every day life in ancient Egypt. Nomes were administrative districts, either towns or small regions, which presented their own cultural identities on coins and local art. There were 55 coin-producing nomes, many with their own unique cult deities or sacred animals. For example, the Coptite nome always featured the Dorcas gazelle; being held by Sobek-geb (Kronos) on the larger denominations, or simply standing by itself on the smallest coin. Other motifs include more common Roman or Egyptian deities such as Athena or Hermanubis. Other Egyptian themes are also popular, such as the crocodile, hippopotamus, ibis, cynocephalus (a dog-headed baboon sacred to Thoth), and Canopic jars.
The first nomes coinage was issued by Domitian in his regnal year 11 (AD 91/2) and continued in certain years through Antoninus Pius and Marcus Aurelius, as Caesar, year 8 (AD 144/5). The largest production came under Hadrian’s year 11 (AD 126/7) with over 110 types recorded. The nomes coinage produced only bronze denominations, no tetradrachms, with the larger denominations being rarer. Alexandria’s economic system was closed to the Roman currency of the day, denarii and aurei were not allowed beyond the port. The nomes coinage mirrors the Roman provincial coinage of the rest of the empire. With the billon tetradrachms circulating for larger purchases, there was a need for smaller bronze coinage at a local level.
The final winners of all Triton XXVIII lots will be determined at the live public sale that will be held on 14-15 January 2025.
Triton XXVIII – Session Two – Lot 288–557 will be held Tuesday afternoon, 14 January 2025 beginning at 2:00 PM ET.
Winning bids are subject to a 22.5% buyer's fee for bids placed on this website and 25% for all others.
We recognize that our users may have various Internet Browsers and Operating Systems. We like our visitors to have the best possible experience when using our bidding platform. However, we do recognize that it is impossible to develop applications that work identically, efficiently and effectively on all web browsers. The CNG bidding platform supports the latest stable major version and stable previous version of Chrome and Firefox.
From the Dr. Thomas E. Beniak Collection, purchased from Frank L. Kovacs, 18 June 2001. Ex Classical Numismatic Auctions XIV (20 March 1991), lot 568; Henry Clay Lindgren Collection.
The Alexandrian nome series provides a fascinating glimpse into the religious worship and every day life in ancient Egypt. Nomes were administrative districts, either towns or small regions, which presented their own cultural identities on coins and local art. There were 55 coin-producing nomes, many with their own unique cult deities or sacred animals. For example, the Coptite nome always featured the Dorcas gazelle; being held by Sobek-geb (Kronos) on the larger denominations, or simply standing by itself on the smallest coin. Other motifs include more common Roman or Egyptian deities such as Athena or Hermanubis. Other Egyptian themes are also popular, such as the crocodile, hippopotamus, ibis, cynocephalus (a dog-headed baboon sacred to Thoth), and Canopic jars.
The first nomes coinage was issued by Domitian in his regnal year 11 (AD 91/2) and continued in certain years through Antoninus Pius and Marcus Aurelius, as Caesar, year 8 (AD 144/5). The largest production came under Hadrian’s year 11 (AD 126/7) with over 110 types recorded. The nomes coinage produced only bronze denominations, no tetradrachms, with the larger denominations being rarer. Alexandria’s economic system was closed to the Roman currency of the day, denarii and aurei were not allowed beyond the port. The nomes coinage mirrors the Roman provincial coinage of the rest of the empire. With the billon tetradrachms circulating for larger purchases, there was a need for smaller bronze coinage at a local level.
The final winners of all Triton XXVIII lots will be determined at the live public sale that will be held on 14-15 January 2025.
Triton XXVIII – Session Two – Lot 288–557 will be held Tuesday afternoon, 14 January 2025 beginning at 2:00 PM ET.
Winning bids are subject to a 22.5% buyer's fee for bids placed on this website and 25% for all others.
We recognize that our users may have various Internet Browsers and Operating Systems. We like our visitors to have the best possible experience when using our bidding platform. However, we do recognize that it is impossible to develop applications that work identically, efficiently and effectively on all web browsers. The CNG bidding platform supports the latest stable major version and stable previous version of Chrome and Firefox.
