Today's Roma wins

I'm not sure if I want to jump for joy or cry after today's Roma auction. On the one hand, it went very well. On the other hand, it went a bit too well...

I wound up bidding on seven coins. Five of those were key coins in my "Philip II, Alexander III, and the Era of the Diadochi" series. Two others just seemed kind of cool, so I couldn't resist. Because I didn't want to get up at 5 AM, and because I didn't want to stress with any bidding wars, I just put what I felt were 'competitive' bids for each the night before.

I won all five of the 'series' coins, and lost the two I just thought were cool. However, I didn't really think I'd win all those coins, and all of the winning bids were close to or at my max. It's a good thing, but I'll probably need to cool it.

Here are two I didn't expect to win.

I've gone for a Balakros several times and lost. I'm not really sure which is the obverse and reverse here (auctions themselves can't seem to decide), but what really drew me to it was the centering and sharpness of the portrait. IMHO, this is the quintessential Persian coin, even though it was likely minted after Alexander's conquest. The other side is off-center but still nice. I won this at my max, and was surprised it didn't go higher.



Pixodaros tried to marry his daughter to Philip III. When Alexander found out, he offered himself instead, until Philip II put an end to it.
His coins can go into the stratosphere price-wise depending on the quality. I felt this one has a nice balance of being rough enough to not go too high, but still beautiful.

I also picked up two more tets.


My attribution for this one may be a bit shaky, but I'm keeping it. My understanding is Antigenes, the captain of the Silver Shields, received the satrapy of Susa right after Alexander's death. Since this coin is attributed to 322-320 BCE Susa, it would seem to be attributed to him - though I've never seen anyone do it. Well, this is my Antigenes coin...


I probably got a bit too carried away with this one. It's attributed to Archon, Dokimos, or Seleukos I. The Archon and Dokimos attributes were what I cared about most. I like that the coin's in great condition (good very fine according to Roma). Realistically, I should have picked up a less expensive copy though, but this should still look great in my collection.

The fifth coin is a surprise. All I'll say is it's one that made me go "hmmm..." and therefore it'll receive its own post when it arrives.

Please post your own recent wins (Roma or other)...

 

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Interesting graffiti on the last one. Almost looks like a Swastika

 

It is not a swastika, it is the Phoenician letter mim (= M).

 

Yes, this was probably part of a treasure haul by the Nazis. Luckily, Indiana Jones stopped them, though he'd probably be upset to know that it's not in a museum...

Realistically, the swastika was in use as a symbol of good luck around Hellenistic times. That being said, I don't think it is one since it lacks the two bottom horizontal lines. I'm guessing it's either a banker's mark or more likely some either accidental or intentional mark after it was found.

 

I love it, my kind of humor lol

 

That would be awesome if true, but this is what I see for the Phoenician alphabet.

That doesn't look like an M.

Of course, if it is a Phoenician M, then that would increase the value significantly to me. The coin was minted in Babylon between 323-317 BCE (at least according to Price). The nearest Phoenician cities AFAIK were Sidon, Tyre, and Byblos. A phoenician mark would imply that the coin reached modern day Lebanon, where it was likely taken by boat somewhere. Presumably it would have been part of some large payment, since the coin's condition implies it didn't change hands too often.

 

Nice pickups, @kirispupis

I guess it would be a joyful thing to win five coins in one auction. I usually win 2-3 max, since the competition these days are pretty tough.

 

I am 100% sure it is a Phoenician mem. Phoenician script has been in use for more than 1000 years from North Africa to Babylonia to write different Aramaic dialects. There have been many different styles of mems, like there are different ways to draw Greek or Latin letters.
This mem that looks a little like a swastika is, for ex., typical of the Philistian coast from the 4th c. BC. You find it on pseudo-Athenian coins minted there, on Athena's cheek or in the right field on the reverse. This mem was from the 2nd c. BC to the 3rd c. AD the mint-mark of Gaza, and you will find it on the reverse of nearly EVERY coin of Gaza, from Demetrius II to Elagabalus!

Not my coins of course ! this is just a few examples.

And if you are interested in your coin's story, where it has been, it is possible, very possible, that it comes from Gaza. A very big hoard of thousands of Alexander coins has been found in Gaza in 2017, mostly tets but also didrachms and decadrachms, and Roma auctioned a great number of coins that some think they must have been from this hoard. But that's the problem with the market : you can never know the provenance of coins...

 

That's an impressive haul, @kirispupis!

Some of your coins were on my 'watchlist' as well, but I didn't bid on them as I had my eyes set on one or two other coins. I had great fun, though (and blew my coin budget for two or three months in the process). To my own surprise, I won a coin I've always admired from afar but never thought I'd be able to afford, a Demetrios Poliorketes tetradrachm. (I still really can't afford it, to say that my budget is blown is an understatement). I'd be happy to share it here, but I want to have it in hand first.

I did pick up a snack or two. Shipping was paid for, right?

Here's a Seleukos drachm from Seleukeia:
(still looking for that elusive Babylonian Seleukos double shekel with anchor...)





PS I agree with @GinoLR. The graffito on your Babylon might as well be an Aramaic 'M'. It's not far off. An example: Mazaios struck coins in his own name in Babylon in the early '20s (331-328) with Aramaic legends. So the graffito can well have gotten on the coin locally.


Double shekel, Mazaios, Babylon. Reverse.
The first letter to the right is 'M' for MZDY.

 

Wow! I definitely had my eye on that coin. I already have a demetrios tet (the self portrait one with Poseidon), so I didn't bid on this one. I'm glad that you picked it up. He definitely has the most interesting coinage of the diadochi, though. I already have a rare bronze of his too, which is technically against my rules.

The Seleukos drachma is beautiful. I've often referred to this series as a "time machine", because it actually displays a scene that one could have witnessed back then.

This would make a lot more sense. As I understand, Aramaic was the lingua-franca of the Persian empire. I do already have a Mazaios stater (though the lettering is worn) and a Sabakes tet, whose image I still need to upload.

Of course, if this is an aramaic 'M', my next question would be: why would someone mark it so? Were they just testing that it's actually silver, or was it a way to differentiate one set of coins from another?

 

Phoenician/Aramaic graffiti on the reverse of Alexanders are quite common. This is one of my coins, a drachm with an aleph graffito on the reverse.
I don't think there is a widely accepted explanation. But it is common.

 

I wanted either the Demetrios or the Ptolemaios as satrap. I would have been happy with either one. It's by far my most expensive coin yet, but I'm over the moon with it...I got it at my absolute max, but I don't think I overpaid.
Guess we're both happy and broke...

I love that Balakros!

Graffiti is quite common, especially on tets. Counting? Marking ownership? Who knows? I just checked, but I don't think the 'M' is an Aramaic numeral.

A Lysimachos with a 'Π' graffito on the reverse:

 

I couldn't resist researching this more, and found this article. Interestingly, it attributes the Aramaic graffiti on Alexanders in the Demanhur Hoard to Egyptian Jews. Even more intriguing, they mention a graffito of an Aramaic 'm' in the exact place where mine is.

That being said, when I look at the Aramaic, I'm inclined to agree with you that the 'm' is not Aramaic, but Phoenician.

I looked further, and found this article. He postulates that these were marks of ownership and suggests the owners were mercenaries. Given the potential for money to get mixed up (perhaps intentionally), it made sense for each soldier to mark his coins.

So, my coin may not have travelled to Phoenicia, but may have been owned by a Phoenician mercenary who fought in one of the many wars of the Diadochi.

 

Great additions! I did not place any bids on this auction. I have some megabids on upcoming Sincona event/ plus pay for recent Num. Genevensis/ Coin Cabinet/ Frankfurter auction coins

 

..yeah, i think he might have been lQQking at the control mark by the knee of the deity on the reverse.. kool coins man!

 

About the origin and purpose of these graffiti... Thanks for the links. The theory of André Lemaire and Josette Elayi is that they were - perhaps - made by mercenaries. Why not? But were they made in Babylonia, in Phoenicia, in Philistia, in Egypt? To know this, one should have to look for these graffiti among coins with a known origin. For example among the coins of the 1973 Iraq hoard, which was found near Babylon, and compare with coins of the Demanhur hoard, and other hoards of Alexander coins found in Israel or Syria, or the Meydancikkale hoard from Turkey (a bit later, it's ptolemaic).
Have you seen my suggestion about where your coin may have been found? I think Gaza is a serious possibility... (and the other Alexander too).

 

This is a good idea, but are there any online sources with good enough images from these hoards that I could tell? I would imagine the photos from the 1973 Iraq hoard to suck...

This is a distinct possibility. It does seem, though, that the two Alexanders have different origins. Roma states that the Susa tet is from a German dealer, while the Babylon tet is from a UK dealer.

From what I've read, tets did travel. It wouldn't be outrageous for a tet minted in Babylon to be found in Gaza. It does seem a bit strange, though, that someone would mark it with the symbol of Gaza. After all, I don't go around marking my silver dollars from Seattle. However, it would make sense for someone to mark a tet with an initial to differentiate it from everyone else's.

The babylon tet with the graffito is in pretty good condition, so I'm guessing that it only traveled around a few years before being lost. That being said, I really have no idea how these coins age.

One intriguing idea is the Battle of Gaza between Ptolemy+Seleukos and Demetrios was in 312 BCE. This coin was supposedly minted between 323-317, so it seems plausible that a 5-11 year old coin could look like this. Even more interesting, is that Peithon participated and died in this battle. He was satrap of Babylon, and presumably brought soldiers from there.

So, the story of this coin may be a mercenary, originally from Phoenicia, who travelled with the wars over to Babylon. There, he was hired by Peithon and travelled with him to the Battle of Gaza, where he met the same fate.

 

"From the inventory of a German dealer", "From the inventory of a UK dealer" : typical Roma pedigree...

 

I picked up a few lots, here is one of them, not my norm


Malta, Order of the Knights of St John. Emanuel de Rohan AR Tari. 1777. EMANUEL DE ROHAN M (both N's inverted), crowned arms / ✠ DI HOSPI ET S SEP HIER (date), T 1 between crosses, within wreath. Rastelli 64; KM 307.2. 0.93g, 18mm, 6h.

Very Fine.

From The Vitangelo Collection

And this great group lot of Islamic Dirhems

 

I didn't bid on today's ROMA.

However, I picked up this Seleukid tetradrachm last month.

Seleukid Kings, Demetrios I. 162-155/4 BC.
AR Tetradrachm (30mm, 16.73g, 1h). Antioch.
Obv: Diademed head r. within wreath.
Rev: Tyche, l., holding baton and cornucopia; winged Tritoness supporting throne, monogram in exergue.
SC 1638.2a; HGC 9, 795f.
Bertolami, Oct 2021.