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Attica, Athens AR Tetradrachm (16.9g, 24mm, 2h). Circa 454 – 404 BCE.

Obverse: Head of Athena right, wearing crested Attic helmet ornamented with three laurel leaves and vine scroll.

Reverse: AΘE. Owl standing right, head facing; olive sprig and crescent moon behind, all within incuse square.

References: Sear GCV 2526; HGC 4, 1597; SNG Copenhagen 31-40; Kroll 8.

Provenance: Jackson & Jacobs Family Collection, purchased with my mother & father circa Aug. 1986 (to 1988?) at a Paris coin shop on la Rue Vivienne. (I could try to guess which, based on photos and trying to remember, but there are so many it’s hard to be sure. Back then we didn’t know how important it would become to record provenance. Just for fun, try: https://www.google.com/search?q=La+Rue+Vivienne+numismatique.)

Although both of my parents would take me to the coin shops while traveling (and to museums and bookstores and everywhere else), it was really my father who “collected” along with me. I’m sure my mother enjoyed it, and she still appreciates Greek coins (or seems to), but only my father was interested in building a coin collection and library.

Numis. Notes: Attractive, fine style Athena w/ subtle smile, well-centered on a compact flan (rev. slightly off-center). Nicely toned. Punch mark & scuff on reverse.

Categories: Greek Coins

Tags: #Animals #Classic #Greek #Historic #J & J Family Collection #Large #Showcase #Silver

Corinth, Corinthia. AR Stater (8.52g, 21mm, 9h). Struck circa 345 – 305 BCE

Video of this coin available here

Obverse: Pegasos flying right, Ϙ symbol below.

Reverse: Head of Athena left, wearing Corinthian helmet. Γ below chin, dove within wreath.

References: Ravel 1029; Calciati Pegasi 419; BCD Corinth 110; SNG Lockett 2094.

Provenance: Ex Prof. Samuel-Jean Pozzi (1846-1918) Collection, sold at Naville et Cie (Lucerne, 14 March 1921), Catalogue de Monnaies Grecques Antiques Provenant de la Collection de feu le Prof. S. Pozzi, Lot 1688 (Hammer, Sfr 17). Published in Boutin’s 1979 catalog of the collection, No. 3756.

Privately purchased from Anthony “Tony” Tumonis at Halden Birt’s Glass Shoppe Coins (Tucson, AZ, circa 1991-2).

Notes: One of the scarcer reverse dies for this type but, in my view, an especially expressive and lifelike Athena. Dark old cabinet tone. Well centered. Among the favorites of collection.

Hist. Notes: Dr. Samuel-Jean Pozzi (1846-1918) was a celebrated French gynecologist whose life was cut short when a disgruntled patient murdered him. He had been assembling one of the world’s finest private collections of Greek coins for 25 years.

The Pozzi Collection was cataloged for the first sale by Naville et Cie in 1921. During the early 20th century “golden age” of ancient coin catalogs, the Pozzi catalog set the standard, illustrating every lot and providing weights to 0.01g — a level of completeness previously unthinkable. For decades, it was a standard reference for Greek coinage by scholars, dealers, and collectors.

Alan S. Walker described it as “very possibly the best known and most famous auction catalogue of Greek coins ever produced” (2008, AJN, p. 604). For this reason, as Harlan J. Berk commented, “The Pozzi pedigree is one of the most revered in numismatics” (Berk 2004, BBS 190).

Bibliographic: Further references for the Pozzi Sale: Clain-Stefanelli 1988*; Daehn 2084; Grierson, p. 296; Kroh, p 11 (four stars); Spring 471, “Most important sales of ancient Greek coins.” References for the Boutin (1979) catalog: Clain-Stefanelli 1932*; Daehn 2031.

Album: All Coins

Categories: Greek Coins

Tags: #Animals #Classic #Greek #J & J Family Collection #Pedigreed #Showcase #Silver