Provenance & Plate Coins III: Roman Provincial

(Photo credit: CNG.) Collection Hist.:
– BCD Collection [CNG EA 325, “Coinage of the Thessalian League…” (23 Apr 2014), 29];
– Peter J. Merani (1936-2020) Collection [CNG EA 490: NVMMIS HISTORIAM DISCENS, Part 2 (21 Apr 2021), 65].
Published: Burrer 1.1 (A1/R1), this coin illustrated on pl. 9: Friedrich Burrer (1993), Münzprägung und Geschichte des Thessalischen Bundes in der Römischen Kaiserzeit bis auf Hadrian (31 v. Chr. – 138 n. Chr.);
– RPC Online I 1439, ex. 25 (this coin illustrated online);
– RPC Supplement I (1998), p. 20 (this coin cited as Burrer, 1.1) &Consolidated Supplement I-III (2015), p. 78 (same).

Notes (substantive): An important type that flattered the Philhellene Nero and commemorated his tour of the Greek Games, c. 66/7, in which he famously competed (and, of course, won). Of greater consequence (had it not been reversed by Vespasian), Nero announced the liberation of Achaea (see, e.g., Levy 1984 [Nickle Papers]; Burnett 1984; Papaefthymiou 2005; Manders & Slootjes 2015.)

Multiple mints produced similar “laudatory” coins depicting Nero as Apollo playing lyre or other ludic scenes (Levy 1989). (Suetonius described the similar Roman Imperial brass coins in the same terms.) Coins of Epirus, Nicopolis went so far as to label the figure “Nero-Apollo” (ΝΕΡΩΝΙ ΑΠΟΛΛΩΝΙ; RPC 1371; Burnett 1984: 84-5).

Thessaly, Koinon (Thessalian League), Nero AE Diassarion (22mm, 6.88g), Aristion, Strategos, c. 66-8 CE. Nero radiate / Taurokathapsia scene.

(Photo credit: CNG.) Collection Hist.:
– BCD Collection [CNG EA 325, “Coinage of the Thessalian League…” (23 Apr 2014), 45].
Publication: RPC 1440.7 (this coin illustrated online).

The connection between Nero and Apollo was strengthened by depicting both figures with radiate crowns across the two contemporary Thessalian bronzes above: on the first reverse, Apollo; on the second, Nero’s obverse bust. The second reverse depicts a scene from the Taurokathapsia (Thessalian event combining bull-fighting with horse-leaping), performed by legendary Hero Thessalos. (One doubts Nero managed to compete in that one!)

Notes (biblio): I bought one copy of Burrer (hardcover) from the Bibliothek Lanz sales by G. Hirsch in 2022. Three years later, a softcover Burrer from BCD’s own library was auctioned, and I was fortunate enough to win it. Unfortunately, the condition was too nice for this particular volume to have served very heavily as a working copy. It was, however, a “cover copy” photographed for BCD Web Sale #1’s digital cover art, published in The E-Sylum 28 (29): Article 2! (The far right spine; also: Petit Mionnet, 2nd left, is mine. Higher resolution: Flickr.)

(Photo credit: CNG.) Collection/Publication Hist.:
– Peter J. Merani (1936-2020) Collection [CNG EA 490, NVMMIS HISTORIAM DISCENS, Part 2 (21 Apr 2021), 70];
– BCD Peloponnesos II 2782 = BCD Collection [CNG 81.2 (20 May 2009), 2782];
– Frank Kovacs Collection [acq. by BCD, Dec 1996];
– (prob.) Ex Jacob Hirsch Estate [Kovacs tag indicating acq. “Ex Bank Leu, Zurich, Old Stock,” which phrase usually denoted “Old Stock of Jacob Hirsch” (d. 1955)]

See also: RPC 1256. Although RPC (1992: p. 260) lists 18 specimens from the BCD collection (one 11.55g), this cannot be one of them, as BCD acquired it in 1996, after the initial publication (which is referenced on the Kovacs ticket).

Provenance note: If the Kovacs ticket looks similar to many Lindgren Collection envelopes, that’s because most of Lindgren’s envelopes were in Kovacs’s hand. (The Grimenothyrae envelope shown below is in Kovacs’s neat hand w/ Lindgren’s rather sloppy notes. In fact, the vast majority of such envelopes that I’ve encountered were Lindgren’s. But apparently not this one.)

(Click imges to enlarge. Or see larger-yet image on Imgur.)

Substantive Notes: Issued for Colonia Augusta Achaica Patrensis, the veterans colony for Legio X Fretensis and Legio XII Fulminata. Coins were struck at Patrae from Augustus through Caracalla, always with Latin legends and Imperial portraits.
Only one other coin on this page has legends in Latin rather than Greek, the Nero/Agrippina Drachm from Caesarea (whose types are published not only in RPC, but RIC and BMCRE). Despite the Imperial style (legends, imagery, denomination) of the Patraean bronzes, its type is not listed in RIC or BMCRE.

(Photo credit: Naumann.) Collection Hist.:
– Francis Jarman (1948-) Collection: Mints of the Roman Empire [Naumann 100 (6 Mar 2021), 1215];
– BCD Collection [NAC 55 (8 Oct 2010), 157 (part)];
– Findspot, “West of Exarchos” (n.d.).
Published: BCD Lokris-Phokis 157.5;
– RPC I Online 1342, ex. 14 (this coin illustrated online);
– RPC Consolidated Supplement I-III (2015), p. 71 (this coin cited);
– Humphris & Delbridge (2014), The Coinage of the Opountian Lokrians (London: RNS), p. 218, “unidentified dies” (this coin cited, but mercifully not illustrated!).

Notes: The editors of RPC doubt whether this ex. is correctly identified. I could see the obv. remnants as Hades from RPC 1341, but since the Howgego 620 countermark appears only (& nearly always) on RPC 1342, I think BCD must be right. His notes: “poor … (but unique?),” the latter in reference to the pair of countermarks (“ΛΟ in circular incuse” [Howgego 620] + “helmeted head of Athena r.”).

(Photo credit: CJJ.) Collection Hist.:
– H.C. Lindgren Collection (unpublished, see note) [Antioch Associates BBS 42 (15 Nov 2002), 72 (reduced from $135 to $90 on list of “Discounted Prices on Unsold Coins,” postmarked 9 Jan 2003)];
– Heather Howard Collection of Elagabalus;
– George Spradling [Agora 38 (8 Nov 2015), 74];
– Joe Winnett Collection [kerux, Tantalus 16683 (26 Jun 2006)];
– Zumbly Coll. [Minotaur Coins (14 Jul 2023), Archived].
Published: HHJ Nicopolis 8.26.34.2 (this coin, editions from 2015-; see also HHJ 2014 Addenda III, #149);
– RPC VI 1197 (Temp.) ex. 1 (this coin) & primary illustration (last checked: 8 Sep 2024).
Digital “Plate Coin”: Wildwinds (Elagabalus / Moesia, Niko. pages);
– Coinproject 38-074 (after Agora 38, Spradling) [archived page];
– aeqvitas.net: Elagabalus 125 (H. Howard, formerly aeqvitas.com) [archived Elagabalus Page & photo]

Notes: Then unpublished, this coin was among those intended for Henry Clay Lindgren’s 4th volume on Greek/RPC bronze, the cancelation of which was announced Oct 2001 in FPL 64 of his firm Antioch Associates, which thereafter sold the coins.
(Incidentally, my set of Antioch sales, of which BBS 42 is pictured above, is ex RBW library.)
See also: “Barbarians, Captives, and Enemies” page (this coin).

(Photo credit: CNG.) Sale Hist.:
– Classical Cash MBS 1 (Matt Kruezer, Boston, 13 May 1995), 1116 (“Possibly Macedonia…Apparently unpublished and probably important”);
– CNG 61 (25 Sep 2002), 1021;
– Conti Collection [CNG EA 524 (28 Sep 2022), Lot 311, corr. (provenance & publication)].
Published: RPC IV.1 (Temp.) 11165 (this coin illustrated, only specimen);
– Varbanov II 3145 (this coin illustrated from CNG 61, but edited);
– Nollé 54 (this coin illustrated on p. 161, after CNG 61, described as Bellerophon & Pegasos [see note below]), in: Johannes Nollé (2009), “Zu den Gründungstraditionen des Thrakischen Hadrianopolis (Edirne),” in Chiron 39: pp. 101-161.

See also: Wildwinds “digital plate coin” (corr., cited as Moushmov 2498) on pp. for Thrace, Hadrianopolis & Antoninus Pius.

Publication Note: Still the only specimen published anywhere since Kreuzer cataloged it in 1995. For a time, both CNG and RPC listed this as the second specimen, but on closer inspection I found that the Varbanov photo was edited from CNG’s, thus appearing to be a second specimen.

Description Note: While most references describe this & similar imagery as “one of the Dioscuri” holding horse, Nollé argues otherwise (p. 145, translated):
“Bellerophon is probably depicted on a medallion-like coin minted under Antoninus Pius, holding the captured Pegasus by the reins (Fig. 54) [citing Varbanov 3145 = CNG 61, 1021)]. Varbanov identifies the hero as Kastor, but there is no evidence for this identification, and certainly no explanation as to why he should appear on the coin without his brother Polydeukes.”
Much as I might personally prefer Bellerophon & Pegasos, other Antoninus Pius AEs from the mint (esp. RPC Temp. 10592 = CNT 5532) show typical imagery of Castor, as seen also on Greek (HNI 608) and Roman coinage (e.g. RIC 648 & 1578–1579 [M. Aurelius, for Commodus]). Perhaps the types are a nod to the Equites, whose patron was Castor (the “tamer of horses,” his brother the “goodly boxer” [Iliad 2.235 or Odyssey 11.300]).

(Photo credit: CNG.) Collection Hist.:
– Fedor Ivanovich (Theodor) Prowe (Moscow, 1872-1932) Collection [Part III, Egger XLVI (11 May 1914), 710 (4.76g, not ill.) (see Prowe-Brand note below)];
– Virgil M. Brand (1862-1926) Collection No. 73752 [consigned by heirs through Burdette Johnson to Seaby, 31 Jan 1935, marked sold on 4 Sep 1936 (presumably to F.J. Hansen)];
– Frants Johan Hansen (d. 1945) Collection [Seaby’s Coin & Medal Bulletin No. 456 (May 1956), No. B421 (no wt. or ill., corr.: “Vespasian Junior” & “Hanson”)];
– Thomas Ollive Mabbott (1898-1968) Collection [Part II, H. Schulman (27 Oct 1969), 4279 (illustrated, corr.: “Vespasian Junior”)];
– Malter Auction XXXIV (13 Dec 1986), 502 (corr.: “Vespasian Jr.”);
– Barry N. Rightman (1942-2025) Collection (CNG Triton XXIX [Online, 22 Jan 2026], 6013).

See Also: RPC II (Online), 967 (ex. 20, this coin illustrated, post-publication).
On the misidentification of Vespasian Junior, see comments below.

(See “Catalog Favorites” entry for my sets of Mabbott catalogs.)

Most ex-Virgil M. Brand (VMB) ancient coins were sold at Sotheby’s, 1984-5 (estate of Jane Brand-Allen [1908-1981], VMB’s niece). Much earlier, however, VMB’s brothers had sold many thousands of his coins through Burdette Johnson (c. 1933-1947). Johnson, in turn, parceled out large groups to dealers (see Bowers 1983: p. 229/230 ff.).

H.A. Seaby received this coin and many others from Johnson in 1935, later writing: “I went to America for the first time. The principal object of the visit was to be one of the first to look at some of the Virgil M. Brand collection.” Seaby returned from Chicago “with some thousands of pounds worth of really exceptional English and Roman coins…”

Few RPCs merited individual descriptions in the Brand sale records (now American Numismatic Society archives), but this coin, misinterpreted as “Vespasian Jr.,” was itemized as #69 on the 31 Jan 1935 Johnson-Seaby invoice (above; another copy in Johnson archive). The coin is listed as a “Third Bronze” (“3 B.R.”), an old designation for a medium-small bronze (“First” being an Imperial Sestertius or comparably large Provincial AE).

The annotation in red ink is Seaby’s sale date (“9/4/36”), which corresponds to the September 4, 1936 record (below):

The 1936 description is nearly identical, but adds two important details: VMB’s “Serial Number” 73752 and “Cost” 1.60 (price paid by VMB, in USD). A professional bookkeeper, Brand individually recorded over 300,000 coins in ledgerbooks as he added them to his collection, 1889 to 1925.

In June 1914, the month after the Prowe-Egger III sale in Vienna, Brand listed 258 new coins from Egger (nos. 73,687 to 73,954) in the ledger. (See also Prowe-Brand note below). Crucially, the entry with serial number 73752 lists the same purchase price (1.60) as the 1936 sale record, confirming its identity across each link in the chain of custody:

Excerpts from V.M. Brand’s ledger, June 1914, naming dealer Egger (lower left, highlight), listing this coin’s price as 1.60 (lower right). Full page (73) ledger from ANS (VMB Archives) on Archive.org

Positively identifying this coin as the Prowe and Brand specimen required records written over 55 years by more than 5 different parties in 3 countries: May 1914 (Prowe-Egger catalog, Vienna), Jun 1914 (V.M. Brand ledger, Chicago), Sep 1936 (Brand-Johnson invoice, Chicago), May 1956 (Seaby Bulletin, London), and Oct 1969 (Schulman-Mabbott catalog, NY).

Notes on “Vespasian Jr.“: This coin represents a minor but interesting chapter in the 20th century history of Flavian coinage. Since at least 1700, Vaillant and others have recognized the type as Vespasian (Mionnet III [1808]: p. 4, 16, cf. 17; Mionnet Suppl. VI [1833]: p. 3, 11; likewise, Imhoof-Blumer [1897]: p. 276, 4 = SNG München 376). Briefly, SNG München (1991) & RPC II (1999: 697) lost the thread, suggesting, “The portrait is Titus… But this is very uncertain” (corrected on RPC Online).
Inexplicably, however, as Vagi (1999: p. 224) explained:
“Sometimes incorrectly attributed to Vespasian Junior are small bronzes struck at Aegae in Aeolis with the obverse inscription ΟΥΕϹΠΑϹΙΑΝΟϹ ΚΑΙϹΑΡ, meaning ‘Vespasian Caesar.’” Vagi attributed the confusion, in part, to inaccurate potraits early in Vespasian’s reign before the official imagio arrived.

Shown from my signed copy (click to enlarge):

Vespasian the Younger (born 88, died c. 95; alt. “Vespasian Minor” or “Vespasian II”) was a little-known but real historical figure, Domitian’s great nephew and heir, whom he adopted in 94/5 but promptly killed. He even had a few coins from Smyrna in 95 (RPC II, 1028-1030).
Prices realized at recent auctions give a clue to why dealers might have been so accepting, if only temporarily, for such an unfounded identification. This coin hammered for $300 in 1969, which, after inflation, would be over $2,500 in Jan 2026, when I won it with a $160 bid.
Vagi did not cite sources, but I can only imagine he had this coin in mind, the Mabbott catalog being a prominent reference then. I have only found this type so described in the various sales of the present example. (Astonishingly, the Mabbott catalog dated it correctly to “69-79 A.D.,” about 10 or 20 years before the birth of Vespasian Jr.!)

Notes, “Nemean Games”: In another interesting (but more understandable) misreading, these types were long considered issues celebrating the Nemean Games (“ΝΕΜΕ…”). As RPC Online notes, recently, more complete specimens have shown that “the translation given in RPC II (Nemean victor) is incorrect and the word should just be regarded as a name.”
The Nemean Games misreading was at least as old as the great Imhoof-Blumer’s 1897 ZfN article (repeated in Head’s 1911 Historia Numorum: p. 552). Curiously, he had the full legend, but read “ΑΠΟΛΛΩΝΙΟΥ ΝΕΜΕΟΝΕΙΚΟΥ” as “Apollonius, winner of the Nemean Games” (“der Titel des Apollonios, als Siegers in den Nemeischen Spielen“), rather than as “Apollonius, son of Nemeonikos.” (The father, Nemeonikos, was named a generation earlier on coins from Claudius’s reign, RPC II 2431A & B.)

(Photo credit: CNG.) Collection Hist.:
– John Richard-Brinsley Norton, 5th Baron Grantley (1855-1943) Collection [Glendining, Lord Grantley Part VI – Greek II (29 Jun 1944), 2309 (part of 50)];
– Richard Cyrill Lockett (1873-1950) Collection, Part XII [Glendining (23 Feb 1961), 2894 (part)];
– Cornelius Vermeule (1925-2008) Collection, sold for the benefit of the Boston Museum of Fine Arts [Triton III (30 Nov 1999), 1709 (part)];
– St. George Collection [CNG EA 550 (13 Nov 2023), 358; CNG EA 297 (27 Feb 2013), 172].
Published: RPC I 2681, ex. 30 (illustrated online).
See also: Recorded in Lockett Purchase Notebooks (BNS), Vol. 58 – Greek AE No. 20: p 18, r.

Notes: This coin and several others in my collection connect all three of the old collections of Grantley, Lockett, and Vermeule, a pathway through which numerous Greek & RPC bronzes flowed.
Unfortunately, for different reasons, none of those very significant collections of Greek/RPC bronzes were thoroughly documented or well-illustrated (or at all, in Grantley’s case) and many of their provenances have been lost.
(Although not this coin, many of Grantley’s AEs also came from the 1936 Sotheby Mavrojani sale, yet another extraordinary collection that was only minimally recorded. See, e.g., my Syracuse Pyrrhus AE, one of several that connect all four collections.)

(Photo credit: Berk.) Collection Hist.:
– David MacDonald (1943-2025) Collection [HJB 233 (30 Oct 2025), 542];
– Thomas Ollive Mabbott (1898-1968) Collection [Part I, H. Schulman (6 Jun 1969), 1690];
– Osman Noury Bey Collection [Cahn 71 (1931), 830 (plate 30)].

Publication History:
– RPC VI (Temp.) 5371, ex. 5 (this coin illustrated online);
– Macdonald 143 (O192/R371), ex. e (this coin cited on p. 116), in: David MacDonald (1992), The Coinage of Aphrodisias (London: RNS, No. 23);
– Howgego 765, c.3 (this coin cited on p. 266), in: Christopher Howgego (1985), Greek Imperial Countermarks (London: RNS, No. 17);
– Brunk 434 (this coin, cited on p. 2532 as “M-1690”), in: Gregory Brunk (Dec. 1974), “The Ancient Countermarks (Part II),” The Numismatist 87.12: pp. 2530-44;
– Forrest SS06, Fig. 2a (this reverse illustrated [w/ legend in error] in line-drawing after Mabbott 1690 on p. 289), in: Bob Forrest (1996), “Strange Shores VI: The Mabbott Sale Cataloge,” Numismatics International Bulletin vol. 31, no. 12: pp. 286-298.

Biblio Note, Cahn 71 (above): Unusually for a pre-War European catalog (and unique among Cahn catalogs), the photographs were taken directly from the coins rather than from plaster casts. It must have been a concession to the “rustic” surface quality of Bey’s Greek & RPC bronzes. (While American dealers used coin photos from the late 19th century, European dealers used cast photos until the mid-20th cent. See, e.g., Fanning 2020: p. 15.)

Biblio Note (Forrest, below): Bob Forrest illustrated this reverse (“lot 1690 = Fig. 2a”) in part six of his “Strange Shores” series, which focused on Mabbott’s “legendary” sale & cataloger, Hanz Holzer, also a famous parapsychologist.
(Ten-part series in NI Bulletin [Jun 1996-Oct 1997]. Thirteen years later, in NI Bulletin 44.11 [Nov 2009], he illustrated another coin of mine re: Molnar’s “Star of Bethlehem”! Articles on his website.)

Contrary to rumors that Holzer used parapsychology to research the coins, Forrest found the “bulk of the Mabbott catalogue is like any other conventional coin catalogue. But there are occasional touches where Holzer the parapsychologist and student of witchcraft shows through,” including his discussion of my coin (Lot 1690), which he associates with Hekate’s “witchcraft cult.” (The rev. is probably a sacred tree connected to Adonis, Aphrodite’s lover.)

Above: Mabbott Nos. 1690 (this coin) & 1699 (next coin: Salonina) are in my collection, both ex MacDonald. On his handwritten tag (below), MacDonald recorded buying it from C. Blom, who announced in his FPL 47 (Aug 1969) that he’d bought >800 Mabbott Greek coins at the June sale. Most seem to have been sold privately or unlabeled in his future FPLs. The Salonina was probably Blom FPL 56 (Dec 1970), 452. (Incidentally, my Blom FPLs are ex RBW Lib.)
(These and many other important provenances weren’t noted in the Berk catalog. Nor did the 1969 Mabbott sale mention the prior collection histories for my pair. However, MacDonald’s 1992 book recorded them in admirable detail, a clear sign of a careful die-study.)

See Also: A. Johnston (1985), “Aphrodisias Reconsidered,” Numismatic Chronicle 155: pp. 43-100 (criticizing McDonald, incl. discussion of countermark, this coin among known examples tabulated on p. 76: Table 6);
– F. Delrieux (2008), Les Monnaies … de l’Harpasos en Carie (p. 90, note 12 cites Howgego 765c, of which this coin is the 3^rd ex.).

Notes (Countermark): Johnston’s (among others’) harsh criticism & RPC’s corrections notwithstanding, MacDonald’s 1992 book has been the primary reference for coins of Aphrodisias for >30 years (superseding his 1976 book & later articles).
Beyond dating & sequence, one point of contention was the interpretation of “denominational countermarks,” incl. this one. MacDonald had proposed since 1976 that the “B” signaled to double the original denomination. Both Howgego (1985: 266-7) & Johnston (1985: esp. 75-85) argued instead that the “B” may have equated these coins to Gallienus’s bronze Diassaria (?) from Tabae w/ “B” on the obv. die. (See also Johnston [2007], Greek Imperial Denominations, ca 200-275: p. 45 & note 91 [PDF from RNS].)
Cf. Jones (1963), “Numismatic Riddle” (p. 338, arguing as Howgego) & JP Callu (1969), La Politique Monetaire… (esp. pp. 74-84, MacDonald’s source).

(Photo credit: Berk.) Collection Hist.:
– David MacDonald (1943-2025) Collection [HJB 233 (30 Oct 2025), 565; bt. Christian Blom prob. FPL 56 (Dec 1970-Jan 1971), No. 452 for $15];
– Thomas Ollive Mabbott (1898-1968) Collection [Part I, H. Schulman (6 Jun 1969), 1699];
– Sir Hermann Weber (1823-1918) Collestion [dispersed by Spink, 1920s];
– P. Greenspan (London) [1901, among many Asia Minor AEs sold to Weber];
– (perhaps) Bunbury [Part II, Sotheby (12 Jul 1896), 429 (conceivably the 9th coin of 11), bt. London dealer Ready] (see Bunbury note below).
Published: RPC X (Temp.) 60140, ex. 13 (this coin illustrated online);
– Weber 6415 (this coin illustrated) in: L. Forrer, The Weber Collection: Greek Coins, vol. III, p. 352 & Pl. 227 (1925-6, London: Spink);
– Macdonald 235 (O288b/R586), ex. m (this coin cited on p. 153), in: David MacDonald (1992), The Coinage of Aphrodisias (London: RNS, No. 23).

Above: The Berk catalog did not mention that this coin was ex Weber Collection, though they recognized their BBS 223, Lot 533 as Weber 6397. I noticed several others that were ex Weber but were either sold by the time I noticed, or out of my budget. For anyone else who bought MacDonald Aphrodisias coins, I highly recommend checking. (Several are noted in his book.)

See Also: Plant (1979), Greek Coin Types and Their Identification, No. 336 (this coin prob. model for line drawing).

As I’ve noted elsewhere (see, e.g., Nysa AE below), when Richard Plant (1928-2020) didn’t own a coin type, he usually used the Weber plates for models to illustrate his classic 1979 book. For this image, he probably cleaned up the rev. centering, but remained relatively faithful to the obv. bead border. (I especially appreciate that he indicated Hermes’s winged shoes with a short line on the left ankle!)

Mabbott Nos. 1699 (this coin) & 1690 (previous coin: Demos, also my collection), photographed w/ my hardcover edition of Mabbott ex Milavic Lib. Schulman produced such excessive numbers of Mabbott I (Greek) & II (Roman) catalogs that, although essential references, they’re hard to sell today for $10. At some point Durst bound together excess copies in red gilt boards. Like new when I got it, the binding promptly broke w/ gentle use. Were it not for the provenance, I’d feel I vastly overpaid at $15 + 20%. (See also “Catalog Favorites” entry, assigned such for provenance value not production quality! My softcover copies are ex Aiello & Wenninger.)

(Photo credit: CJJ.) Collection Hist.:
– Alfred J. Lawson (Smyrna, 1838-1921) Collection;
– Sir Hermann Weber (1823-1918) [acq. 1891 ex Lawson ; coll. dispersed by Spink, 1920s];
– Sammlung J.P. Righetti [Part IV, Münzen & Medaillen GmbH (21 Oct 2004), 796];
– Dr. Hugh Preston Collection [Noble 135 (9 Apr 2024), 4181].
Published: RPC IV.2 (Temp) 1471, ex. 7 (this coin illustrated online);
– GRPC Lydia 121 (this coin illustrated) in: Dane Kurth (2020), Greek and Roman Provincial Coins — Lydia (vol 3);
– Weber 6868 (this coin illustrated) in: L. Forrer, The Weber Collection: Greek Coins, vol. III, p. 448 & Pl. 243 (1925-6, London: Spink);
– Preston (2008), p. 105 Fig. 12 (this coin illustrated) in: Hugh Preston (2008), “Images in the Roman World,” Journal of Australian Numismatic Association vol. 19: pp. 93-109.

See also: Plant (1979) Greek Coin Types and Their Identification, No. 1586 (this coin prob. model for line drawing) [for coins absent from his collection, R. Plant used Weber; see my post].

(Photo credit: Jacquier.) Collection Hist.:
– Henry Clay Lindgren (1914-2005) Collection;
– Marcel Burstein Collection [Peus 366 (25 Oct 2000), 745, pl. 39];
– Michel Thys (Slg. Flussgötter-Darstellungen) [Jacquier 52 (15 Sep 2023), 588].
Published: RPC IV, 2 (Temp) 2502, ex. 6 (this coin illustrated online);
– Lindgren I A831A (this coin illustrated), in: Lindgren & Kovacs (1985), Ancient Bronze Coinage of Asia Minor and the Levant.

(Photo credit: Noble.) Collection Hist.:
– Richard Cyrill Lockett (1873-1950) Collection [Glendining, Lockett XII – Greek IV (21 Feb 1961), 2927 (Pl. 31, ill.)];
– acq. by Lockett from Lincoln (multi-generational London coin dealer, prob. F.W. Lincoln, Jr. [d. 1929]);
– Cornelius Vermeule (1925-2008) Collection, sold for the benefit of the Boston Museum of Fine Arts [Triton III (30 Nov 1999), 1668 (part)].
See also: Catalog Favorites: Lockett & my Hidrieus Tetradrachm also illustrated in Lockett XII.

(Photo credit: CJJ.) Collection Hist.:
– Henry Clay Lindgren (1914-2005) Collection, w/ envelope (see Envelope Note below) [Antioch Associates BBS 17 (13 Oct 1998), 69 (unsold at $150) = BBS 22 (19 May 1999), 73 (discounted $125, as indicated in Lindgren’s hand)];
– Michel Burstein [privately sold, not in Peus 366];
– Garth Drewry (1928-) [CNG EA 127 (23 Nov 2005), 101];
– Noble Numismatics Auction 129 (29 Mar 2022), 3271, var. tickets.
Publication History: Lindgren I 955 (this coin ill.), in: H.C. Lingdren & Frank Kovacs (1985), Ancient Bronze Coins of Asia Minor and the Levant (San Mateo: Chrysopylon);
– Phrygiens II 340 (this coin), in: Hans von Aulock (1987), Münzen und Städte Phrygiens, Teil 2 (Tübingen: Wasmuth);
– RPC III 2482, ex. 17 (this coin).

See also: = AsiaMinorCoins 3158 [Archived] (this coin illustrated online).

Envelope Note: Typical of the Lindgren collection, the envelope is written in two different hands: first by Frank Kovacs (after 1987, citing Phrygiens II); the note citing the coin as “L+K 955 (Plate Coin)” is in Lindgren’s (messy) hand (as are the condition & prices). For a non-Lindgren (I think) Kovacs tag, see the Achaean Claudius above. Biblio Note: For my sets of autographed Lindgren books (this vol. ex-libris Kelly J Krizan) & Antioch Assoc. catalogs (ex RBW Library), see “Catalog Favorites” entry.

(Photo credit: CJJ.) Collection Hist.:
– Thomas Ollive Mabbott (1898-1968) Collection [Part I, H. Schulman (6 Jun 1969), 2045];
– “Morris Collection” / Phil Peck [Part IV, Heritage 61160 (10 May 2020), 97068];
– Ex NGC 4884253014, w/ tag (removed from encapsulation, c. 2020-3);
– CNG EA 543 (2 Aug 2023), 319 (cataloged by TM).
Published: Pisidiens II 29 (this coin cited on page 23) in: Hans von Aulock (1979), Münzen und Städte Pisidiens, Teil II (Tübingen: Wasmuth);
– RPC V.5 (Temp.) 74842 (this coin illustrated online, after Heritage sale).

Notes: As it happens, my Mabbott I: Greek copy (shown above, ex John Aiello) has the name & phone number of this coin’s previous owner (Phil Peck) written on the cover! Might Aiello (one of Peck’s coin dealers) have bought this coin for him at the sale?
Peck was then Assoc. Curator at Chase Money Museum (c. 1965-1977). Also written inside: the phone number of a Chase Bank Vice President, philanthropist & AIA Trustee. Perhaps Aiello was acting as agent for Chase and/or Peck? Maybe just recruiting new clients? (More: Catalog Favorites: Mabbott.)
(My Aulock Pisidiens set & hardcover Mabbott sales are ex Milavic Library.)

(Photo credit: Leu WA 23.) Collection Hist.:
– Rainer Postel (Hamburg, 1941-) [before 1977];
– Henry Clay Lindgren (1914-2005) Collection [published 1985];
– Slg. Gerhard Plankenhorn (1941-), w/ ticket [Gorny & Mosch 126 (14 Oct 2003), 1906 ; acq. Schenk-Behrens 72 (?) (Essen, 6 Dec 1996), 454]
– Dr. Peter Vogl (1949-) [Naumann 56 (6 Aug 2017), 406].
Published: Lindgren I 1264 (this coin illustrated), in: H.C. Lingdren & Frank Kovacs (1985), Ancient Bronze Coins of Asia Minor and the Levant (San Mateo: Chrysopylon);
– Pisidiens I 445 (this coin), in: Hans von Aulock (1977), Münzen und Städte Pisidiens, Teil I (Tübingen: Wasmuth).

Notes: Interestingly, I was also briefly in possession of the collector tags for a second example, also from the Vogl Collection, which was mixed up from the preceding lot at Leu WA 23, where I bought mine. Vogl’s other one was ex Franke Collection, who got it from Münz Auktion Essen (2007); Vogl had acquired mine from the Plankenhorn Collection, previously Lindgren and Postel, also with a Münz Auktion Essen sale (1996)!
I love all the ways ancient coins from Asia Minor can still cross paths, separate and circulate further, then come back together on a different continent in another decade, only to separate once more. How long before they meet again?
(Tags returned to the correct owner. This happens enough that I keep a list.)

(Photo credit: CNG.) Collection Hist.:
– “Crescent Collection” [CNG EA 486 (24 Feb 2021), 332 ; acq. Freeman & Sear 2009];
– Mid-2005 Aegeae Hoard, Inv. # 4.3.6 (Lorber-Michaels 2007).
Published:
– L&M 117 (O7/R19, this coin illustrated) in: Catharine Lorber & David Michaels (2007), “Silver Coinage of Aegeae in the Reign of Hadrian,” Quaderni Ticinesi v. 37: p. 224 & 234, pl. IV;
– Haymann Pl. 37, O6/R12, corr. (this coin illustrated) in: (2014), “The Hadrianic Silver Coinage of Aegeae (Cilicia),” American Journal of Numismatics 26: pp. 143-186 + 20 pl.
See also: RPC III 3343, ex. 8 (this coin illustrated online);
– Haymann 48b (possibly this coin?) in: (2014) Untersuchungen zur Geschichte und Identitätskonstruktion von Aigeai im römischen Kilikien (Bonn: Verlag Habelt).

Notes: I suspect the Haymann 2014 AJN plates were scrambled in editing (at least for this coin, which I can’t find in his catalog & whose die nos. seem incorrect); I’ve found no errata.
Apparently the lightest known Hadrian Aegeae Tetradrachm. (The usual weight is ~13.3g.) Nonetheless, fully struck w/ complete legends. Also, the only ex. of its rev. die.

(Photo credit: CNG.) Collection Hist.:
– Henry Clay Lindgren (1914-2005) Collection;
– MDA Collection [CNG EA 510 (23 Feb 2022), 419].
Published: Lindgren & Kovacs (1985): Lindgren I 2192, corr. (this coin illustrated, described as Caesarea Paneas, Caligula on p. 116; and “corrected” to Irenopolis in Errata on p. 187);
– Lindgren (1993): Lindgren III 773 (this coin illustrated & corrected on p. 43, also in Errata Supplement, p. ii);
– Ziegler, R. (1993), Kaiser, Heer und Stadtisches Geld…: Ziegler 73.3 (this coin cited on p. 227);
– RPC II 1750, ex. 4 (this coin illustrated online, cited in print vol.);
– RPC Supplement I (1998), p. 50 & RPC Consolidated Supplement I-III (2015), p. 180, 5456: “Delete…” (this coin referenced in detail).

Notes: One of my favorite “object biographies” for the repeated errors of attribution in this coin’s initial publications! A perfect illustration of how rapidly our knowledge of previously unknown types was moving in the 1980s & 1990s.
(Incidentally, shown above is my autographed set of three Lindgren volumes. The first two are ex libris Kelly J. Krizan. I also have unsigned copies of Lindgren III [not shown] & Ziegler [below] from the Milavic library. It’s always preferable to have provenance-books to go with one’s provenance-coins, but nothing can be more satisfying than looking up one’s “plate coins” in autographed copies.)

Interestingly, Ziegler published a 2-pp. review of Lindgren & Kovacs in 1987 in which he noted many errors, especially for Anazarbos, but did not mention this particular coin until his 1993 book. Nonetheless, he concluded that, “despite the shortcomings” Lindgren’s work provided “a great service” to studies of antiquity (“trotz der genannten Mängel — ein großer Dienst erwiesen“).

(Photo credit: CNG.) Collection Hist.:
– Hans von Aulock (1906-1980) Collection;
– Edoardo Levante (1932-2007) Collection;
– CNG EA 504 (17 Nov 2021), 204.
Selected Publications: RPC IV.3 4976 (Temp), ex. 6 (this coin illustrated);
– SNG von Aulock 5572 (this coin illustrated);
– SNG Levante 1586 (this coin illustrated);
– Robert 27, pl. XXVI.77 (this coin illustrated), in: Robert (1964), La Déesse de Hiérapolis Castabala (Cilicie);
– Howgego GIC 686 (this coin cited, Robert 77);
– Brunk (this coin, cited on p. 2540 as “VA-5572”), in: Gregory Brunk (Dec. 1974), “The Ancient Countermarks (Part II),” The Numismatist 87.12: pp. 2530-44.
– Et al. (many others cite or illustrate this coin after Levante, von Aulock, and Robert; full list on file).

Notes: My copy of SNG Levante is ex BCD Library. As BCD mentioned in its sale listing (Kolbe & Fanning 169, Lot 445), Hans von Aulock was Edoardo Levante’s mentor & encouraged him to specialize in Cilicia. By my count, approximately 25% of Levante’s collection came from von Aulock’s.

(Photo credit: CNG.) Collection Hist.:
– Edoardo Levante (1932-2007) Collection [CNG EA 123 (28 Sep 2005), 330 (corr., weight)];
– Peter J. Merani (1936-2020) Collection [CNG EA 490, NVMMIS HISTORIAM DISCENS, Part II (21 Apr 2021), lot 109 (corr. weight)].
Publication History:
– SNG Levante 777 (this coin illustrated);
– S. Küçükoğlu (2015), No. 2.28 (this coin illustrated on p. 378, after SNG Levante), in: Dağlık Kilikia Bölgesi (Kilikia Trakheia) kültleri [The cults of rough Cilicia] (Dissertation: Istanbul University; to PDF);
– F. Erhan (2014) Dissertation: Antik Çağ Kilikia Sikkelerinde Dinsel Tasvirler, p. 45 (this coin cited).
See Also: RPC VIII 70283 (Temp), ex. 5 (this coin illustrated online, heaviest spec. recorded);
AsiaMinorCoins 2739 (this coin).

Notes: My copy of SNG Levante ex BCD Library.
CNG produced a hardcover volume combining Parts 1-3 of the Merani Collection (from which I have four coins). Though only 25 copies were printed, it’s reportedly still in stock as of Jan 2026, so I’m one of the very few people who wanted a copy of Nummis Historiam Discens (shown below).

(Photo credit: CNG.) Collection & Selected Sale Hist.:
– (prob.) 1906 Caesarea Hoard (Noe 1937: 179) [dispersed by Indjoudjian Frères, Paris & Istanbul];
– Franz Trau Jr. (1881-1931) [Hess/Gilhofer & Ranschburg, (22 May 1935), 394];
– Walter Niggeler (1878-1964) [Leu/Münzen & Medaillen AG, Slg. Niggeler, Part II (21 Oct 1966), 659];
– Peter J. Merani (1936-2020) Collection [CNG Triton XXIV (19 Jan 2021), 139; video on YouTube];
Four additional sales not naming consignors.

Selected Publication History:
– RPC I 3637, ex. 5 (this coin illustrated online, cited in print vol. on p. 556);
– RPC Supplement II (2006) p.56 & Consolidated Supplement (2015), 3637.5 (this coin cited);
– CNR 16, p. 136, no. 73 (this coin illustrated), in: A. Banti & L. Simonetti (1978), Corpus Nummorum Romanorum, Vol XVI: Da Messalina a Nerone;
– Trau 394 (this coin ill.) in: Attic Books (1976) reprint, Hess/Gilhofer & Ranschburg, Sammlung Franz Trau: Münzen der römischen Kaiser;
– Howgego 850i (6^th coin cited);
– Sydenham-Malloy 79a (this coin, citing “Niggeler Sale #659,” on p. 142 in Malloy’s 1978 Supplement);
– Burns Fig. 4.23 (this coin illustrated on p. 83) in: Jasper Burns (2007), Great Women of Imperial Rome (Routledge) [my “association copy” is signed & inscribed to someone from the acknowledgements list];
– Wildwinds “digital plate coin,” Caesarea & Nero pp.

(Photo credit: Naville [ed.].) Collection Hist.:
– Rev. E. A. Sydenham (1873-1948) Collection [Hess (28 Apr 1936), 130 (illustrated on pl. 3 & descr. on p. 5 as Syd. 296 w/ identical weight)];
– “Mentor” Collection (George Muller) [Naville 87 (11 Feb 2024), 527 (prior prov. absent)];
– (prob., see note) Count Georg de Laval (Stockholm, 1883 – 1970) [Glendining’s, “The Property of a Nobleman” (18 Apr 1955), Lot 550B].
Selected Publications: RPC IV.4 (Temp) 6922, ex. 2 (this coin illustrated, also cited in “Reference”);
– Sydenham 296 (this coin cited & described), in: E.A. Sydenham (1933), The Coinage of Caesarea in Cappadocia (London: Spink & A.G. Malloy’s [1978] Attic Books edition), and previously in Spink Numismatic Circular XXXIX (Sep 1931), p. 386.

Secondary Citations (not ill.): Metcalf 118b (this coin cited on p. 127, “Ref: S. 296”), in: Metcalf, William E. (1996), The Silver Coinage of Cappadocia, Vespasian-Commodus (NY: ANS);
– SNG Righetti p. 120, No. 1772 (Sydenham 296 cited as type ref.).
See also: This coin grouped in avg. weight calculations by Louis C. West (1941) in his Gold and Silver Coins Standards in the Roman Empire, pp. 1-199 in NNM 94. See pp. 97 & 22 (Table D).

Note: G. Muller almost certainly acq. this coin ex Laval (among others), who acq. most (all?) of his Cappadocian RPC from the Sydenham sale. Of Laval’s nine illustrated, at least four were illustrated from the Sydenham sale (3) or book (1 more). No doubt many others were ill. in only one catalog or only described.

Biblio Notes: My copy of the Hess 1936 Sydenham-Trau Sale is ex BCD Library Duplicates (2019 listing w/ his comments), specially hardbound w/ original title mounted (also a duplicate ex S&S Library). My 1933 edition of Sydenham is ex ANS & David Bullowa (1912-1953) Libraries, with their bookplates & stamps. The expanded 1978 Malloy-Sydenham is ex Milavic Library. Metcalf, gift of my parents. See my 1955 Laval sale catalog (this coin = lot 550B) on the “Catalog Favorites” page.

(Photo credit: Künker/RPC.) Collection Hist.:
– Salton Collection, w/ hand-written tag & envelope [Mark Salton (1914-2005, born Max Schlessinger) & Lottie Salton (1924-2020, née Aronson) ; Künker 378 (21 Oct 2022), 6739];
– Salton-Schlessinger FLP 27 (Fall 1958), No. 133 (not illustrated).
Publication: RPC VI (Temp) 8177, ex. 23 (this coin as primary illustration).
Notes: The same Salton FPL (my copy is ex BCD Lib. Dupl.) also includes my Athens “New Style” Tetradrachm (ex Laval = Thompson 540d.3). More in Catalog Favorites.

(Photo credit: CNG.) Collection Hist.:
– Richard J. McAlee Collection [acq. Malloy 42 (22 Mar 1996), 360];
– Michel Prieur (1955-2014) Collection [CNG EA 453 (2 Oct 2019), 341];
– Terence Cheesman (1951-2024) Collection, as “Wild Rose Collection,” sold for the benefit of the American Numismatic Society [CNG EA 565 (3 Jul 2024), 439].

Publication: RPC IX 1626, ex. 5 (this coin);
– McAlee 1119a (this coin illustrated) in: Richard McAlee (2007), The Coins of Roman Antioch;
– Sancinito 47 (this coin cited, corr.: new obv. die) in: Jane Sancinito (2017) “The Antiochene Coinage of Trajan Decius (249-251 CE),” American Journal of Numismatics 29: 125-148;
– Prieur 537 (this coin on p. 74) in: Michel Prieur & Karen Prieur (2000), A Type Corpus of the Syro-Phoenician Tetradrachms and Their Fractions from 57 BC to AD 253.
– The Planchet v. 67, n. 1 (Jan 2020) “cover coin” (this coin illustrated on cover & p. 21) in: T. Cheesman, “The Last of the Tetradrachms.”

My copy of McAlee, signed by the author & inscribed to Jay Galst (1950-2020):

Notes: I don’t know if Prieur illustrates or only cites this coin on p. 74: “McAlee coll. = Malloy [XLII], 031996, 360”.

(Photo credit: CJJ.) Notes:
This coin has to be done differently because its publication history is so extensive. It is one of the most widely reproduced ancient coins in the world (if not the single most).

National newspapers (e.g., the New York Times) have printed tens of millions of copies of its photo (esp. the reverse). It has appeared in various documentaries & television programs totaling at least tens of millions of viewers over the past 20-25 years. Many books. And so on.

The coin itself is common, but its previous collector (from 1970-2023), Michael Molnar, credited this specimen with inspiring his theory about the “the Star of Bethlehem,” which was/is extremely popular among large non-numismatic audiences (for religion, astronomy/popular science, ancient history). He always used this coin for narrative purposes, as did others when presenting his theory. Molnar was a very successful popularizer: he posted high-resolution photographs on his website & made them free-to-reproduce (many newspapers did so) and made frequent media appearances, always showing this coin. Finally, being part of a holiday story, this coin is perennially relevant and published again every December.