Classical Numismatic Group, LLC - Triton XXVIII – Sessions 1-4 . 453 Numistats ref: 672943
No match
Roman Provincial
Category
MYSIA, Pergamum. Gallienus. AD 253-268. Æ (36mm, 23.50 g, 6h). Sextus Claudius Silanus, magistrate. AYT • K • Π ΛIKI • ΓAΛΛIHNOC, laureate, draped, and cuirassed bust right, seen from behind / ЄΠ CЄΞ KΛ CЄIΛIANOY ΠЄPΓAMHN/ΩN ΠPΩTΩN Γ N/ЄΩKOP, wreath with OΛ/YMΠ/IΛ in three lines, flanked by two prize crowns, each containing a palm frond; all set on prize table seen in perspective; below, two purses and whips with vase between them; in upper field, A. Weisser 2533; RPC X Online 62141.3 (this coin); SNG BN 2299 (same dies). Dark brown patina with light earthen deposits, slight roughness, die shift on reverse. Near EF. Extremely rare, only three recorded in RPC.
From the collection of Major Anthony F. Milavic, USMC (Ret.). Ex Leu 48 (10 May 1989), lot 406.
By the mid second century BC, Pergamum had become the most important center of sport and physical education in the Hellenistic east. Its Nikephoria games, held every three years, had nearly the prestige and appeal of great Panhellenic games, including the Olympics, upon which they were modeled. By the second century AD, the Olympic name had even been “franchised,” in a manner still poorly understood, for use at sporting contests far removed from the original quadrennial festival still held at the ancestral home of Olympia. The contests at Pergamum now honored the Roman emperors and bore the name Olympic, as attested by the reverse of this remarkable medallion, which shows the prizes awarded to the victors in the various athletic, equestrian and artistic contests, all arrayed on and around a table. The laurel wreath enclosing the name “Olympia” was likely for the winner of the premier event of the games, possibly the “stadion” foot race. The A in the upper field of this coin commemorates Pergamum as the first city to be honored as the first thrice neokorate. Description
From the collection of Major Anthony F. Milavic, USMC (Ret.). Ex Leu 48 (10 May 1989), lot 406.
By the mid second century BC, Pergamum had become the most important center of sport and physical education in the Hellenistic east. Its Nikephoria games, held every three years, had nearly the prestige and appeal of great Panhellenic games, including the Olympics, upon which they were modeled. By the second century AD, the Olympic name had even been “franchised,” in a manner still poorly understood, for use at sporting contests far removed from the original quadrennial festival still held at the ancestral home of Olympia. The contests at Pergamum now honored the Roman emperors and bore the name Olympic, as attested by the reverse of this remarkable medallion, which shows the prizes awarded to the victors in the various athletic, equestrian and artistic contests, all arrayed on and around a table. The laurel wreath enclosing the name “Olympia” was likely for the winner of the premier event of the games, possibly the “stadion” foot race. The A in the upper field of this coin commemorates Pergamum as the first city to be honored as the first thrice neokorate. Description
Near EF
Grade
1150.5 EUR
Starting
1917.5 EUR
Estimate
EUR
Realized