Donna's first Aureus, with published provenance to 1938 and also to 1910

I said a while back that if I ever actually spent the amount of money necessary to buy an aureus in nice condition, given the number of fake examples out there (as well as genuine but formerly-holed and expertly-repaired specimens), it would have to be one with a decent provenance. And with a somewhat interesting reverse, given the number that simply show a deity "standing there." I think this one qualifies on all counts: the coin has an older documented provenance than any other coin I own, with the exception of my one siliqua from the 1887 East Harptree hoard.

Vespasian AV Aureus, 75 AD (Cos VI), Rome Mint. Obv. Laureate head right, IMP CAESAR - VESPASIANVS AVG [counter-clockwise from 5:00] / Rev. Victory holding palm branch in left hand and wreath in outstretched right hand, standing left on cista mystica flanked by two coiled serpents with heads pointing upwards*, PON MAX - TR P COS VI [clockwise from 8:00]. Two small edge dents/cuts on obverse at 3:00 and 6:00 (possibly from old jewelry mount). 19 mm., 7.22 g. RIC II-1 Vespasian 775 (2007 ed.), old RIC II Vespasian 82 (1926 ed.), BMCRE 168, Cohen 370, Sear RCV I 2254 (ill. p. 431). Purchased from George Matev, Arete Coins, Seattle, WA, Dec. 2021 [arr. Jan. 2022]; ex. Triskeles Auctions Sale 21, Lot 392, 29 Sep. 2017 **; ex. Ars Classica XVIII (“COLLECTION TRÈS IMPORTANTE MONNAIES ROMAINES FORMÊE PAR UN DIPLOMATE ÉTRANGER DEPUIS LONGTEMPS DÉCÉDÉ” [Collection of Vicomte de Sartiges]), Lot 144 [ill. Pl. 6], 10 Oct. 1938, l'Hôtel Schweizerhof, Lucerne, Switzerland (Experts Dr. Jacob Hirsch & M. Lucien Naville); ex. Collection of Louis, Vicomte de Sartiges (1859-1924), acquired before 1924. [See https://www.cointalk.com/threads/do...8-and-also-to-1910.391624/page-4#post-8155687 for a revised description of the coin, to reflect information provided to me in this thread.]***



*See Sear RCV I at p. 431: “The reverse type is inspired by the triumviral cistophoric coinage of Provincial Asia” (citing Sear RCV I 1512-1513, issued by Mark Antony). See also similar reverse on silver quinarius issued by Octavian, RIC I 276, Sear RCV I 1568.

** There was no mention of this coin's previous provenance in the 2017 Triskeles auction. George Matev of Arete Coins informed me that he discovered the 1938 Ars Classica XVIII provenance by submitting a photo of the coin to EX-NVMIS.

***See Provenance Glossary, p. 14, Numismatica Ars Classica Auction 91 Catalogue, 23 May 2016, Zurich, Switzerland:



And here's the entry for Jacob Hirsch, one of the two "experts" for the 1938 sale together with Lucien Naville:



Here is the cover page of the catalogue for the 1938 auction -- at the same time that I bought the coin, I bought an original copy of the catalogue from Kirk Davis, even though it's available online at the WUSTL Numismatic Portal -- together with the portion of Plate 6 illustrating the coin as Lot 144, and the catalogue's description of the coin, citing Cohen 370 (with a notation showing that it sold for 160 Swiss Francs -- equal in 1938, if I'm calculating correctly, to not much more than the value at the time of an ounce of gold, namely about $35!):







And here are the "Conditions of Sale":



I believe that my coin is unquestionably the same specimen as the one sold in the 1938 Ars Classica auction as Lot 144. One can even see, if one looks closely at the illustration, the small edge cuts on the obverse at 3:00 and 6:00. So apparently they already existed in 1938.

The reason that the provenance of this coin actually dates back further than its publication and sale in 1938 -- at least to 1924, and perhaps as far back as a 1910 publication -- is that the collection of the Roman coins of the Vicomte de Sartiges, sold in 1938, had been preserved intact since his death in 1924, and had been privately published in Paris in 1910 in a fully illustrated edition with an undated later supplement. Here is the catalog entry in one library:

Author Sartiges, Vicomte de
Title Collection du vicomte de Sartiges. Séries grecque et romaine, en 1910, ainsi que les acquisitions depuis cette date
Published Paris, D.A. Longuet [19--?] [The book was originally published in 1910 with 43 plates, and was apparently later republished in an undated edition, with a supplement containing five additional plates encompassing the coins the Vicomte subsequently acquired, presumably between 1910 and his death in 1924.]

Perhaps needless to say, I would very much love to know if my coin is mentioned and/or illustrated somewhere in the first 43 plates of the de Sartiges Collection book. If that were the case, I would know that de Sartiges acquired the coin sometime before 1910. If it's included in one of the five supplemental plates, then presumably the Vicomte acquired it sometime between 1910 and his death in 1924.

Unfortunately, according to WorldCat, the book is held in only seven libraries in the USA -- none of them in or near New York City:

Williams College
Sawyer Library

Harvard University
Harvard Library

Smithsonian Institution Libraries
Smithsonian Libraries

University of Cincinnati - Main Campus
Langsam Library [John Miller Burnam Classics Library]

University of California Los Angeles
Southern Regional Library Facility

University of California, Los Angeles

Stanford University Libraries

It's also held by Oxford University in the UK, as well as by four libraries in Paris and one in Strasbourg.

Fortunately, however, our own @Voulgaroktonou, as some of you may know, just happens to work at the Classics Library at the U. of Cincinnati! I was able to contact Mike, and he has very kindly offered to retrieve the book and check the plates for me once the library -- unfortunately closed at present because of the current pandemic situation -- reopens in late January.

My fingers remain crossed, and if Mike is able to find my aureus in the published de Sartiges collection, I will post about it here.

But I am extremely happy with the coin, regardless of whether its published provenance ends up being 1910, 1910-1924, or 1938. Whatever the case, I think it's beautiful, despite not being in "perfect" condition. And no, I have no plans to send it in to be slabbed!

Please post your own aurei that you particularly like, or any other coin with a documented provenance that makes you happy with its age!

 

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Wow! That's jaw-dropping, @DonnaML! Even without the provenance, it's a very desirable coin.

The oldest, well-documented and illustrated provenance I have is this one. It was formerly owned by Clarence Bement (1843-1923):


Julia Domna, AD 193-217
Roman orichalcum dupondius; 10.61 gm, 24.2 mm
Rome, issue 6, AD 195
Obv: IVLIA DOMNA AVG, bare-headed and draped bust, right.
Rev: FECVNDITAS, Fecunditas enthroned right, nursing one child, second child stands before her.
Refs: RIC 844; BMCRE 494; Cohen 43; Hill 126; RCV 6639
Notes: Ex Ars Classica VIII, 1924, Bement Collection, lot 1184. Die-match to BMCRE-494, pl. 21.4.

It appears in Ars Classica VIII, 1924, Bement Collection, lot 1184. Here's the listing from that auction:

 

Thats an absolutely amazing coin, congratulations! The provenance makes it all the more attractive.
No aureus to share, nor such a well provenanced coin. But hey, Im still young , so who knows what the future will bring me

 

WOW, Donna! What a marvelous coin!!

 

No aurei for me (yet?) but I have several with interesting or old provenance.


EGYPT. Ptolemy III
285-246 BCE
AE48 mm, 91.8 gm
Obv: laureate head of Zeus Ammon right
Rev: eagle standing left on thunderbolt looking right, wings partly spread, E monogram between eagle's legs
Ref: Sear 7782, Svoronos 446
ex Professor James Eaton Collection (1834-1897)


EGYPT, Alexandria. Domitian. Regnal year 10, CE 90/91. Æ diobol (25mm, 10.86 g, 12h). AVT KAICAP ΔΟ ΜΙΤ CEB ΓΕΡΜ, laureate head right / Agathodaemon serpent, wearing the skhent crown (emblematic of upper and lower Egypt), on horseback galloping left; L I (date) below. Köln –; Dattari (Savio) –; K&G 24.109; RPC II 2585; SNG Copenhagen 214; Emmett 277.10 (R5).
Ex Giovanni Maria Staffieri Collection
Ex West Coast/Lloyd Beauchaine Collection (Classical Numismatic Group 41, 19 March 1997), lot 1110
Classical Numismatic Review Vol. XVI, No. 1 (January 1991), lot 316
Numismatic Fine Arts Fall Mail Bid Sale (18 October 1990), lot 2365.
Appearances:
Staffieri, Alexandria In Nummis 39 (this coin)
Obverse illustrated in Emmett as the header for the Domitian section, p. 24 (this coin); fully illustrated in Emmett, p. 26 (this coin, discussing the unusual reverse).


SICILY, Selinos.
Circa 410 BCE
AR litra, 11mm, 0.76 g, 1h
Obv: nymph seated left on rock, right hand raised above her head, extending her left hand to touch coiled serpent before her; selinon leaf above
Rev: man-faced bull standing right; ΣEΛINONTIOΣ above; in exergue, fish right
Ref: HGC 2, 1229; SNG ANS 711–2 var. (ethnic); SNG Ashmolean 1904–5; SNG Lloyd 1270 var. (same); Basel –; Dewing –; Rizzo pl. XXXIII, 6. Good VF, dark iridescent tone, some porosity. Rare.
ex MoneyMuseum, Zurich;
ex Leu 79 (31 October 2000), lot 404;
ex Athos Moretti collection, #482, unpublished manuscript.


KINGS OF BOSPORUS, Sauromates II
Bosporan Era 495 (CE 198/9)
EL stater, 19 mm, 7.72 gm, 12h
Obv: BACIΛЄωC CAVPOMATOV; diademed and draped bust of Sauromates right
Rev: laureate head of Septimius Severus right; pellet to right; ЄЧV (date) below
Ref: Frolova p. 177 and pl. XXXIII, 9-10 (same dies as illustrations); Anokhin 576a; MacDonald 506/2
ex Dr. Lawrence A. Adams collection
ex Buddy Ebsen Collection (Superior, 7 June 1987, lot 4114)

Not sure I loved Ebsen the man but I loved his character Jed Clampett

 

Wow Donna!
Most aurei I've seen are Late Roman. I haven't seen many earlier gold coins. That reverse with Victory and the snakes is not one I've seen before either. Beautiful!
Congratulations. You are starting 2022 off with a bang!

 

@Roman Collector, that's a wonderful coin and provenance. Interesting that it's also to an old Ars Classica sale. Perhaps their auctions were fully-illustrated earlier than the catalogs of many other auction companies? Did you find the provenance yourself, or buy the coin with the provenance known?

@TIF, those are wonderful provenances as well. Do you know how the provenance to the 19th-century Eaton collection was established?

Does anyone have any idea how EX-NUMIS finds provenances like mine? I can't imagine that they do it manually. Do they have an image search database and system that are comprehensive and precise enough to find something like this? The ones I've seen are singularly unimpressive when it comes to distinguishing one example of a coin type from another. They're lucky if the results they come up with are even the same type.

 

Thanks. If this coin isn't #1 on my 2022 list -- and doesn't remain my overall # 1 for as many years going forward as I continue to collect ancient coins -- I'll either be very surprised, or will have won a lottery!

 

Congratulations, Donna! Your coin is a stunner! Independent of the provenance, the coin is a standout for its centering, sharpness, and interesting reverse.

Your future aurei acquisitions will have a lot to live up to!

 

I look forward to seeing what you get with those lottery winnings

 

I bought it from HJB and its provenance was in the lot description.

 

Thanks

Professor Eaton accumulated coins until the 1890s and the collection passed to his son Hubert, [not sure about the next interval; Hubert died in 1966], and then to the Stacks auction in which I acquired the lot.

Eaton's bio from the Stacks catalog:

Professor James R. Eaton (1834-1897)

James Eaton was born the second son of Reverend George Washington Eaton, D.D., L.L.D., who was the president of Madison University (now called Colgate University) in Hamilton, New York. James graduated from Madison University and the Hamilton Theological Seminary and, though he was ordained as a Baptist minister, chose teaching as his profession. He became a professor of mathematics, natural science, ancient languages, and theology, and in 1868 he accepted a position at William Jewel College in Liberty, Missouri. He served as the head of the Department of Natural Sciences for 28 years.

By 1897, his increasing frailty convinced James that he should take a sabbatical, and it had been his lifelong dream to visit the Holy Land. He set sail from New York, but tragically suffered a heart attack shortly after arriving in Cairo. He died a few days later on March 20, 1897.

Professor Eaton was an enthusiastic collector, and in addition to his extensive cabinets of minerals and geological specimens, he spent 30 years collecting coins. He created many different sub-collections, including a complete collection of Biblical coins, a collection of the earliest gold, silver, and bronze Greek and Roman coins, a portrait collection, a collection of early American copper coins, and many others.

The last coin was integrated into this impressive collection back in the 1890s, meaning that this collection has been off the market for more than a century!

The coins eventually came into the possession of James’ son, Hubert Eaton, who was the one of the founders and presidents of Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale, California. Hubert periodically displayed the coins at the museum there, along with other family sculptures and art.

 

I LOVE IT! I love that it's not late Roman gold. I love that it's Vespasian. I love the reverse. And a helluva provenance ta boot!
A very well deserved...

 

What a lovely chunk of gold!

 

Very nice, @DonnaML , congrats! Gold is wonderful to have and hold.

 

Great addition, Donna. Wow! What a beautiful aureus! Very nice portrait with an unusual reverse design.

I think your aureus will display very nicely with your solidus.

My Antoninus Pius aureus also has a snake-related theme.

Antoninus Pius (AD 138-161). AV aureus.
Rome, 157-158 AD.
17mm, 6.90 gm, 6h.
Obv: ANTONINVS AVG-PIVS P P IMP II, laureate head of Antoninus Pius right.
Rev: TR POT XXICOS IIII, Salus standing facing, head right, feeding out of patera in left hand serpent held in her arms.
RIC III 279a. Calicó 1684.

 

What a great coin and with an excellent provenance!! Congratulations Donna!

 

..why not go for the gold....well done Donna!

 

Oooooooooooooooooooo

 

Beautiful coin @DonnaML . Congratulations.

No aurei for me yet but here are a few provenances I really like.


Egypt, Alexandria
Antoninus Pius
BI Tetradrachm, Alexandria mint, RY 11 = AD 147/8.
Dia.: 24 mm
Wt.: 13.81 g
Obv.: ANTωNEINOC CEB EYCEB, Laureate bust right
Rev.: L ENΔEKATOV, Elpis standing left, lifting hem of skirt and holding flower
Ref.: Dattari-Savio pl. 111, 8160 (this coin illustrated); Emmett 1383.11; RPC Online IV temp #13607 (this coin cited).
Ex Robert L. Grover Collection of Roman-Egyptian Coinage, previously held by the Art Institute of Chicago (1981.511); ex Giovanni Dattari Collection (1853-1923); Ex zumbly Collection


Roman Republican
Q. Cassius Longinus, moneyer
AR Denarius, Rome mint, struck 55 BC
Dia.: 20.2 mm
Wt.: 3.95g
Obv.: Head of Libertas right, wearing hair collected into a knot, decorated with jewels, and falling down neck, and wearing single-drop earring and necklace of pendants; LIBERT upward to left, Q • CASSIVS downward to right.
Rev.: Temple of Vesta, circular, surmounted by figure holding scepter and patera, flanked by antefixes; curule chair within; urn to left, tabella (voting tablet) [inscribed AC (Absolvo Condemno)] to right.
Ref.: Crawford 428/2; Sydenham 918
Ex Prof Dr Hildebrecht Hommel Collection, acquired from Hirsch, Auction 63 (July 1969), lot 2454; Ex Dr. Busso Peus Nachf., Auction 422 (April 26, 2018), lot 424 (part of); Ex Kölner Münzkabinet Auction 109, Lot 360 (November 16, 2018); Ex Minotaur Coins


Roman Empire
Philip I the Arab (AD 244-249)
AR Antoninianus, Rome mint, struck ca. AD 245
Dia.: 23 mm
Wt.: 4.36 g
Obv.: IMP M IVL PHILIPPVS AVG; Radiate, draped and cuirassed bust right
Rev.: ADVENTVS AVGG; Philip on horseback left, raising right hand and holding spear
Ref.: RIC IV 26b
Ex arnoldoe Collection; Ex David Kallai (ca. 1908-1924); Ex AMCC 2, lot 194 (Nov. 9, 2019)


Roman Empire
Severus Alexander
AR Denarius, Antioch mint, struck ca. AD 222-235
Dia.: 18 mm
Wt.: 3.35 g
Obv.: IMP C AVR ALEXAND AVG; Laureate, draped and cuirassed bust right
Rev.: PROVID DEORVM; Providentia standing left, holding wand over globe and sceptre
Ref.: RIC 294
Ex arnoldoe Collection, Ex Otto Helbing Nachfolger 86, Lot 1585 (Nov. 25, 1942)


Roman Empire
Julian II, AD 360-363
AR Siliqua, Lugdunum mint, struck ca. AD 360-361
Wt.: 2.23 g
Dia.: 18 mm
Obv.: FL CL IVLIA NVS P P AVG, pearl-diademed, draped, and cuirassed bust right
Rev.: VICTORIA DD NN AVG, Victory advancing left, holding wreath and palm frond
Ref.: LVG. RIC VIII 212; Lyon 259; RSC 58†c, IRBCH 1424
Ex Harptree Hoard (1887)