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

Wow, @DonnaML, that's brilliant. --No, metaphorically, just to start with.
Not to mention your amazing command of your sources --and, on the opposite side, of the market, with its more nefarious dimensions. If I had a hat to take off, you'd own it.
...It's like, Yes, if, however hypothetically, I was looking for an aureus, I wouldn't blink at doing your level of research. You are Just That Good.

 

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Beautiful coin Donna, I admire that greatly. You should be very proud of coin and provenance.

I also have a coin from the Vicomte de Sartiges collection. From what I can ascertain, he must have purchased it in 1908 from the Consul Weber collection (Hirsch XXI, 16 Nov 1908). After that it ended up in the Charles Gillet collection.

I showed this recently in my top 5 list for last year, but will show it again.

 

Gorgeous aureus @DonnaML What a fantastic way to kick off 2022!! Your coin has tremendous eye appeal and its provenance cannot be beat! I recall you said a few weeks ago that you had an aureus en route, and that it was your first aureus. So I was naturally curious as to what kind of aureus you acquired. You did not disappoint and you certainly did better than I did on my first aureus—mine was a VG Nero with no provenance. Congrats!

Unfortunately, I do not have any coins with a comparable provenance, but hopefully the January auctions will rectify that.

 

Beautiful coin ! Vespasian portrait is expressive and the revers is really interesting. Congratulations !

 

Donna/ I am really happy for you, and I guarantee you will never regret spending that $$$ on a beautifull piece of art and history. I also know it will be the first of many to come. Congrats on a fine acquisition

Here is one of mine to compliment your gorgeous Vespasian.

 

Absolutely beautiful coin Donna, you really nailed it with this one, can you still afford to eat though....

 

Congratulations. What a gorgeous coin!!!

 

Wow that's incredible!

Amazing pickup Donna!

 

An outstanding addition Donna. Fantastic provenance too.

I have two provenances that go back over 100 years



IMP CAES VESPASIAN AVG COS VIII PP
Laureate head of Vespasian right

SC
Eagle standing facing on globe, head right, wings spread

Lugdunum mint

77-78 AD

8.77g


RIC 1237 (C3); Sear 2362

From the collection of Gordon Wyatt Goldfinch (1895-1918) of Elfindale Road, London.
With hand written old ticket citing #209 collection number.
Ex-Artancient Ltd.

Private Goldfinch was a passionate collector of Imperial Roman coinage. His personal catalog of coins dates to August 1910 when he was just 15 years of age. Goldfinch volunteered for service in 1914 with the 2nd London Field Ambulance, Royal Army Medical Corps. He died in service on March 28th, 1918 at the age of 23.



IMP CAES DOMIT AVG GERM COS XI CENS POT P P
Laureate head right with Aegis

SC
Mars advancing left with Victory and trophy

Rome, 85 AD

13.67g

RIC 387 (C)

Holed in antiquity and plugged in the late 19th century?

Ex-Manfred Olding 2019 n 184; Ex-Sammlung Heynen 1976;Ex-Paul Schürer (1890-1976); Ex-Fritz Reusing (1874-1956)

Comes with old tag probably from Heynen or Schürer. Olding tag incorrectly attributed to RIC 420 (different ending to legend)

Reusing was a German portrait painter of the early 20th Century whose portraits included Richard Strauss, Igor Strawinsky, Max Planck, and Albert Einstein. After Reusing's death his nephew Paul Schürer inherited and curated the collection. Heynen was a friend of Reusing's, and at an earlier date had evidently sold or exchanged or given a substantial number of coins to Reusing, this being one of those coins!

 

That's a stunning aureus, Donna. You're right about the reverse. If you are going to have one coin of this type, try to locate one with an interesting reverse, something out of the ordinary. Your coin is very well struck and in a really nice state of preservation.

Is the reverse referring to Vespasian's victory in the East?

I do have some Celtic coins with Lanz catalog provenance. Here's one of them:

Celts in Eastern Europe AR Tetradrachm. Leierblume Type. Circa 3rd century BC. Celticised, laureate head right with torque-form ear / Stylised horse prancing to left; lyre-form flower above; wheel below, two conjoined semicircles before. Göbl, OTA pl. 18, 212/4 (rev. same die); Lanz 522 (this coin). 10.91g, 23mm, 2h.

Good Very Fine. Very Rare.

From the Hermann Lanz Collection; this coin published in M. Kostial, Kelten im Osten - Gold und Silber der Kelten in Mittel- und Osteuropa - Sammlung Lanz (Staatlichen Münzsammlung München, 1997);
This coin exhibited by the Staatlichen Münzsammlung München at the 1997 International Numismatic Congress in Berlin; at the Berliner Bank also in 1997; also exhibited at the Luitpoldblock Palmengarten, Munich in 2003 (exhibition #93[reverse]);
Ex Numismatik Lanz München, Auction 54, 12 November 1990, lot 28.





My ancient with the oldest provenance, one that I purchased from Harlan Berk back in the early 1990s, goes back to the M&M Auction, 1946, lot 664. The coin does not have that catalog accompanying it, unfortunately, unlike your aureus.

Athens 520-480 BC
Tetradrachm
Seltman Group M ("Attic Mint")
Obverse: Athena facing right, hair in lines ending with dots (style V).
Reverse: Facing owl, well proportioned, ethnic to right, olive on stalk between two leaves to left facing downwards.
17.52 grams

 

Congratulations on a superb addition! That coin has everything going for it and the edge cut is a negligible distraction in my eyes. I've had this reverse variety on my wantlist for a while: it's a great type and one which I'm sure you'll cherish for a long time.

 

Thanks, @robinjojo. The coin was issued during Vespasian's Sixth consulate, so it apparently dates to 75 AD. The victories in the East were all at least four or five years earlier than that, right? So I don't think so, unless it's some sort of overall retrospective reference to his Eastern victories in general.

 

Provenance is interesting in that it adds an additional historical storyline to the coin. But, does it really say anything about authenticity? If it were fake, then provenance back to 1910 just means that it was faked before 1910.....No? And, if it had been part of multiple collections, then that just means that it was a good enough fake to have fooled multiple people....No?

Not to take anything away from your wonderful coin @DonnaML , I'd be tickled to death to have that one in my collection provenance or not! (And I'm not implying that it is fake, not that I'd have any idea how to tell such a thing)

 

An extraordinary Aureus @DonnaML! Congrats on your first and of many more to come

 

Wow, what a first aureus - a stunning coin, and the provenance is icing on the cake. It was certainly worth the wait and the search, eh? That's a beauty!

 

Vespasian thanks you for all the compliments to his aureus -- they mean a great deal, especially given the fantastic collections so many of you have -- and I thank you for posting all these wonderful coins with amazing provenances.

A few random facts about the Vicomte de Sartiges and his collection, probably of interest to few people other than me! First, 104 coins from the de Sartiges Collection are listed at acsearch as having been sold at auction since 2000. Of course there must be some duplication from repeated sales, but it's clear nonetheless that it's a well-remembered and valued provenance. Although the provenance for my coin was obviously lost somewhere along the way after 1938, given that it wasn't mentioned in the 2017 Triskeles sale. Without any provenance, the coin sold for about half of what I paid, which just goes to show how much an old provenance can increase the value of a coin, although I'm sure part of the difference is the general increase in prices over the last four years. And perhaps, without any provenance, the price in 2017 was depressed by the noticeable edge cut at 3:00 and the lesser one at 6:00, suggesting a possible history as jewelry. (Which doesn't bother me at all!) In any case, I'm sure mine isn't the only de Sartiges coin whose provenance has been forgotten and waits to be rediscovered. I've been able to find no trace of my coin at all between 1938 and 2017.

Also, although I spent considerably more on this coin than I've ever spent on a coin before (but not so much more than I've spent on other things I've collected, like certain antiquities), it's still a mere piker in that universe of 104 de Sartiges coins listed at acsearch, and probably lies towards the bottom of the list. Here are the top 15 highest sales prices from the list [I'm sorry, but it appears that copying and pasting the thumbnail photos from the list doesn't work; perhaps clicking on the link will serve the same purpose]:

https://www.acsearch.info/search.ht...de=1&fr=1&it=1&es=1&ot=1&currency=eur&order=3


DATE04.01.2012
HAMMER 463'682 EUR
THE NEW YORK SALE, AUCTION 27, LOT 271The Prospero Collection of Ancient Greek Coins. MACEDON. Amphipolis (366/5 B.C.), Silver Tetradrachm., 14.21g,. Head of Apollo facing, slightly inclined to right, wearing a laurel-wreath. Rev. AMΦ-IΠO-ΛIT-EΩN on a broad frame of a raised linear square enclosing a race-torch, a cicada on inner left, all within a broad shallow incuse square (Lorbe...

DATE22.10.2016
HAMMER 231'102 EUR
MAISON PALOMBO, AUCTION 15, LOT 6262-Macrin (217-218) Aureus - Antioche (217-218) Av. : Buste lauré et cuirassé de Macrin à droite. Rv. : La Félicité debout à gauche, tenant un caducée et une corne d’abondance. D'une insigne rareté et d'une qualité hors norme. Monnaie illustrant le Calico. Probablement le plus bel aureus connu pour Macrin. Provient du trésor de Karnak (1...

DATE08.01.2019
HAMMER 218'199 EUR
CLASSICAL NUMISMATIC GROUP, INC., TRITON XXII, LOT 130Greek SICILY, Naxos. Circa 461-430 BC. AR Drachm (19mm, 4.32 g, 7h). Bearded head of Dionysos right, wearing tainia decorated with an ivy branch / Silenos, nude and bearded, squatting half-left, holding kantharos in right hand and resting his left on his knee, tail behind; N-A-XI-ON around; all within shallow concave circular incuse. Cahn 55.1...

DATE12.12.2020
HAMMER 148'497 EUR
MAISON PALOMBO, AUCTION 19, LOT 85Roman Coins Auguste (27-14) - Cistophore - Pergame ou Ephèse ? (27-26). D'une qualité exceptionnelle - Magnifique patine médaillier. Le plus bel exemplaire connu, du meilleur style. Exemplaire de la collection du vicomte Louis de Sartiges (1859-1924) vente Naville XVIII du 10 octobre 1938, N° 37, et de la vente UBS 78 des 9-10 septembre 200...

DATE05.01.2016
HAMMER 158'105 EUR
CLASSICAL NUMISMATIC GROUP, INC., TRITON XIX, LOT 44SICILY, Naxos. Circa 461-430 BC. AR Drachm (19mm, 4.32 g, 7h). Bearded head of Dionysos right, wearing tainia decorated with an ivy branch / Silenos, nude and bearded, squatting half-left, holding kantharos in right hand and resting his left on his knee, tail behind; N-A-XI-ON around; all within shallow concave circular incuse. Cahn 55.1 (V40/R...

DATE08.10.2015
HAMMER 119'173 EUR
NUMISMATICA ARS CLASSICA NAC AG, AUCTION 86, LOT 130The Roman Empire Nero augustus, 54 – 68 Sestertius circa 64, Æ 24.76 g. NERO CLAVDIVS CAESAR AVG GERM P M TR P IMP P P Laureate bust r. with aegis. Rev. AVGV – STI / S POR OST C View of port of Ostia, at entrance pharos bearing a statue of Neptune, within harbour, seven ships, including one entering at top l. and one docked being unload...

DATE23.10.2021
HAMMER 112'519 EUR
LEU NUMISMATIK, AUCTION 8, LOT 297Roman Imperial Otho, 69. Aureus (Gold, 19 mm, 7.26 g, 7 h), Rome, 15 January-9 March 69. IMP OTHO CAESAR AVG TR P Bare head of Otho to right. Rev. SECVRITAS P R Securitas standing front, head to left, holding wreath in her right hand and long scepter in her left. BMC p. 366, † note. Calicó 529. Cohen 21. Mazzini pl. LXIV, 14 ( this coin ). RIC 9...

DATE07.11.2016
HAMMER 80'000 EUR
AUKTIONSHAUS H. D. RAUCH GMBH, AUCTION 102, LOT 127ImperiIMPERIUM ROMANUM Plautilla (202-205/211) Publia Fulvia Plautilla als Kaiserin : Plautilla Augusta Geburtsdatum unbekannt. Gestorben Februar 211 n. Chr. (D) Aureus (7,36g), Roma, 205 n. Chr. ( anno 958 ab urbe condita ). Av.: PLAVTILLA - AVGVSTA, bloße Büste mit Drapierung von vorne gesehen n.r. Rv.: DIANA - LV-CIFERA, Diana...

DATE07.11.2016
HAMMER 80'000 EUR
AUKTIONSHAUS H. D. RAUCH GMBH, AUCTION 102, LOT 121IMPERIUM ROMANUM Iulia Domna (193-217) Iulia Domna als Kaiserin : Iulia Domna Augusta Geboren Oktober/Dezember 170 n. Chr. in Emesa. Gestorben April 217 n. Chr. in Antiochia. (D) Aureus (7,09g), Roma, 201 n. Chr. ( anno 954 ab urbe condita ). Av.: IVLIA - AVGVSTA, bloße Büste mit Drapierung von vorne gesehen n.r. Rv.: AETERNIT IM...

DATE21.03.2007
HAMMER 64'766 EUR
NUMISMATICA ARS CLASSICA NAC AG, AUCTION 38, LOT 238The Roman Empire Fausta, wife of Constantine I No.: 238 Estimate: CHF 80000 d=19 mm Solidus, Nicomedia 324-325, AV 4.48 g. FLAV MAX – FAVSTA AVG Draped bust r., wearing pearl necklace. Rev. SALVS REI – PVBLICAE Fausta, draped and veiled, standing facing, head l., holding two children in her arms; in exergue, SMNB. RIC 78. C 5...

DATE09.01.2018
HAMMER 62'874 EUR
CLASSICAL NUMISMATIC GROUP, INC., TRITON XXI, LOT 681Roman Republican The Triumvirs. Octavian, Divus Julius Caesar, and Agrippa. 38 BC. AR Denarius (19mm, 4.14 g, 7h). Military mint traveling with Agrippa in Gaul or Octavian in Italy. Wreathed head of the deified Julius Caesar right, facing bare head of Octavian left; DIVOS IVLIVS upward to left, DIVI F downward to right / M · AGRIPPA · COS/DESI...

DATE16.05.2001
HAMMER 81'897 EUR
LEU NUMISMATIK AG (1991-2007), AUCTION 81, LOT 89Sicily Naxos Estimate: CHF 30'000.00 Drachm (Silver, 4.35 g 7), c. 460. Bearded head of Dionysos to right, wearing ivy wreath, and with his hair tied in a krobylos at the back; border of dots cut through by the beard, the krobylos and the wreath tips. Rev. Nude, and bearded Silenos squatting, facing, turning his head to the left toward...

DATE05.01.2016
HAMMER 55'802 EUR
CLASSICAL NUMISMATIC GROUP, INC., TRITON XIX, LOT 682Petronius Maximus. Usurper, AD 455. AV Solidus (21mm, 4.46 g, 6h). Rome mint. D N PETRONIVS MA-XIMVS P F AVC, pearl-diademed, draped, and cuirassed bust right / VICTORI A AVCC, Petronius standing facing, holding long cross in right hand and Victory set on globe in left, right foot on human-headed serpent; R-M//COMOB. RIC X 2201; Depeyrot 48/1; ...

DATE20.05.2015
HAMMER 43'346 EUR
NUMISMATICA ARS CLASSICA NAC AG, AUCTION 84, LOT 597Greek Coins Kingdom of Macedonia, Philip II, 359 – 336 and posthumous issues Stater, Amphipolis circa 323-315, AV 8.59 g. Laureate head of Apollo r. Rev. Prancing biga r., driven by charioteer holding kentron and reins; below horses, cantharus . In exergue, FILIPPOU. de Sartiges 194 (this coin). Gulbenkian 837 (these dies). Le Rider 25...

DATE30.11.2021
HAMMER 42'225 EUR
NOMOS, AUCTION 23, LOT 27Greek SICILY. Syracuse. Deinomenid Tyranny, 485-466 BC. Tetradrachm (Silver, 25 mm, 17.35 g, 3 h), struck under Gelon I, c. 480. Charioteer driving quadriga walking to right, holding goad in his right hand and the reins in his left; above, Nike flying right to crown the horses. Rev. ΣVR-ΑΚ-ΟΣΙ-ΟΝ Diademed head of Arethusa to left, her hair bou...

(The Greek coins were sold at auction in 1924, and the Roman coins in 1938, both at Ars Classica auctions -- no relation, I believe, to the present NAC.)

Just imagine what the Vicomte's entire collection would sell for at auction today! For example, his collection included an Eid Mar denarius (Lot 24 in the 1938 auction, sold for 625 CHF), but it appears not to have changed hands in the last 20 years, at least not at auction, and/or not identified with that provenance.

As for Louis, Vicomte de Sartiges himself -- son of Eugene, Comte de Sartiges (1809-1892), the French Minister to the USA in 1852 -- I've been unable to find a photograph. But it's no surprise that during his career as a diplomat (in which he followed in his father's footsteps) he served as Secretary to the French embassy in Washington, D.C.: not only was his father a diplomat who had served in the USA, but his mother was an American. The family is mentioned in a book entitled My First Years as a Frenchwoman, by Mary King Waddington, at p. 66 (see http://www.dominiopublico.gov.br/download/texto/gu010003.pdf):

"We . . . were able to get a few interesting people [to a dinner] . . ., Comte et Comtesse de Sartiges, and one or two deputies--bien-pensants. Sartiges was formerly French ambassador in Rome to the Vatican, and a very clever diplomatist. He was very autocratic, did exactly what he liked. I remember quite well some of his small dances at the embassy. The invitations were from ten
to twelve, and at twelve precisely the musicians stopped playing--no
matter who was dancing, the ball was over. His wife was an American,
from Boston, Miss Thorndike [Anna Dodge Thorndike, 1827-1915], who always retained the simple, natural manner of the well-born American. Their son, the Vicomte de Sartiges, has followed in his father's footsteps, and is one of the most serious and intelligent of the young diplomatists."

In addition, the Vicomte de Sartiges typified a rather obscure sociological phenomenon in France in the late 19th century, prior to the Dreyfus Affair: he was one of a number of aristocratic Frenchmen who married the daughters of wealthy Jewish businessmen. So obviously he was no anti-Semite! (Yes, that matters to me.) Perhaps that explains the family's long association with Jacob Hirsch.

Thus, the Vicomte's first wife (whom he married on 26 Feb. 1886 in Paris and who died at the age of 29 in 1893 in Monaco) was Louise Hortense Goldschmidt, from Frankfurt, one of the three daughters of Leopold Benedict Hayum Goldschmidt and Regine Goldschimdt b. Bischoffsheim. All three daughters married French aristocrats. For anyone interested, there is a French-language article discussing this phenomenon at length, including with respect to the three Goldschmidt daughters, by Cyril Grange, entitled "Les alliances de l'aristocratie avec les familles de financiers juifs à Paris, 1840-1940 : déterminants socio-démographiques et débat religieux," Histoire, économie & société 2014/4 (33e année), at pp. 75-93 (available at https://www.cairn.info/revue-histoire-economie-et-societe-2014-4-page-75.htm).

 

I'm sure others can explain far better and more articulately than I can the flaws in your proposition. But it seems to me that in essence, just because you (and, in many cases, I) can't tell from examining an ancient coin whether it's a fake, doesn't mean that the same thing is true of highly experienced and reputable collectors and dealers. And the older the provenance, the more experienced eyes -- such as, in this case, Jacob Hirsch, Lucien Naville, and at least a couple of other auction houses and dealers -- have scrutinized a coin and authenticated it.

Furthermore, fake ancient coins have always existed back to ancient times, but I think it's fair to say in general that fake coins -- or coins that may be genuine but have been extensively and undetectably repaired -- weren't nearly as skillfully done 80 or 100 years ago. Nor were professional countefeiters as pervasive, whether in Bulgaria or Russia or Ukraine or anywhere else. So again, the older the provenance, the easier it probably is for an experienced eye to detect a fake.

Obviously, provenance is also relevant to the separate issue of cultural patrimony, and a long provenance obviates the concern over some country claiming that a coin or artifact was illegally excavated and exported last week or last year or at any other time before the international treaties concerning the return of cultural patrimony became effective about 40 years ago..

If you were correct, and provenance meant nothing, then what would be the point of collecting ancient coins in the first place? They could all be fake for all anyone knows!

In short, a long provenance signifies far more than an interesting historical storyline, although that's certainly an appealing aspect.

 

Amazing coin, Donna! It definitely scores bonus points for a reverse type that is not just "someone standing there." I bought an aureus for the first time just last year, but it was a much humbler coin. At some point, I'd like to get one in higher grade and with an interesting reverse... something like your coin would more than fit the bill. The Vicomte de Sartiges pedigree is a wonderful provenance to have for it too.

The coin below is fairly common and tiny in size, but comes with an outsize pedigree. I'm proud to be its latest and least illustrious owner.

TROAS, Neandria
AR Obol. 0.60g, 8.5mm. Circa 4th century BC. SNG Copenhagen 446; SNG von Aulock 7628; Warren 1046 = BMFA 1633 (this coin illustrated). O: Laureate head of Apollo right. R: NEAN, Ram standing right.

Ex E.E. Clain-Stefanelli Collection
Elvira Eliza Clain-Stefanelli (1914-2001) was born in Romania, and during World War II, she and her husband Vladimir were sent by the Gestapo to Buchenwald concentration camp. They survived their 3-year imprisonment and when the war was over, moved to Italy, where they worked in the numismatic trade. In 1951, they moved to the United States, where their knowledge and passion for numismatics led to them becoming curators of National Numismatics Collection at the Smithsonian. They were also authors of numerous important reference works and together curated a vast personal collection of coins.

Ex Nelson Bunker Hunt Collection (Part IV, Sotheby's new York, 19 June 1991, lot 578 (part of)
Though the Hunt provenance was listed in the Naville sale that I acquired this coin from, I don't have this particular catalogue and haven't been able to confirm this provenance. Lot 578 appears to have been a group lot and probably not every coin in it was pictured. Possibly the catalogue may have indicated to the coin's prior provenance to the 1980 NFA VIII sale.

Ex Boston Museum of Fine Arts (NFA VIII, 1980, lot 218)

Noted in the NFA catalogue as being from the Warren and Greenwell collections. Listed and illustrated in Agnes Baldwin Brett's Catalogue of Greek Coins (1955) of the Boston Museum of Fine Arts as no. 1633. Edward Warren was a benefactor of the Museum and worked closely with it to establish its ancient coin cabinet.


Ex Edward P. Warren Collection
Edward Perry Warren (1860-1928) was an American antiquarian and art connoisseur from Boston who built a remarkable collection of art and antiquities. He most famously owned the Warren Cup, now in the possession of the British Museum. He also commissioned from Auguste Rodin the copy of The Kiss that is now on display at the Tate Gallery. In 1902, he acquired 1,016 ancient Greek coins including this one from Canon Greenwell, all of which were amongst the 1,769 coins listed in Kurt Regling's Griechischen Münzen Sammlung Warren (1906). While Brett's 1955 BMFA catalogue states the concordance of this coin (BMFA 1633) with one in the Regling catalog of Warren's collection (Warren 1046), it's unfortunately not one of those illustrated in the Regling plates, presumably because it's a type duplicate of Warren 1047, which was illustrated.


Ex Canon Greenwell Collection
William Greenwell (1820-1918) was a priest, archaeologist and collector from Durham, England. His large collection of British antiquities was acquired by J.P. Morgan, who then gifted it to the British Museum. His sizeable collection of Greek coins was sold to Edward Warren in 1902 and used in part to establish the coin cabinet of the Boston Museum of Fine Arts. He was the author of British Barrows (1877), The Electrum Coinage of Cyzicus (1887), and Rare Greek Coins (1893).

 

Great score with an awesome provenance. Would like a Bunker Hunt coin one day.

Just checked my Hunt catalogue, it isn't photographed, but it does mention the NFA and Boston provenance. It is coin five of six in the group. No question the Hunt provenance is legit.

 

Wow. Fantastic!