Auction 126 - Session 4
Date: 2024-05-28 00:00:00
Lots: 318
Total starting: $ 0.00
Total realized: $ 0.00 (+0.00%)
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Classical Numismatic Group, LLC - Auction 126 - Session 4 . 1011
Isaac I Comnenus. 1057-1059. AV Histamenon Nomisma (25mm, 4.38 g, 6h). Constantinople mint. Christ Pantokrator enthroned facing on suppedion, nimbate, raising hand in benediction and holding Gospels / Isaac standing facing, wearing military attire, holding drawn sword and resting hand on scabbard. DOC 2; Füeg II 2.B.x var. (rev. legend break); SB 1843. Toned and lustrous, slightly unusual edge. Near EF. From the Family of Constantine Collection, assembled with guidance by Roland Michel, Geneva.
Classical Numismatic Group, LLC - Auction 126 - Session 4 . 1012
Constantine X Ducas. 1059-1067. AV Histamenon Nomisma (24.5mm, 4.39 g, 6h). Constantinople mint. Christ Pantokrator enthroned facing, nimbate, raising hand in benediction and holding Gospels / Constantine standing facing on suppedion, wearing crown and loros, holding labarum and globus cruciger. DOC 1a; Füeg II 1.A; SB 1847. Toned and lustrous, slightly ragged edge. Near EF. From the Family of Constantine Collection, assembled with guidance by Roland Michel, Geneva.
Classical Numismatic Group, LLC - Auction 126 - Session 4 . 1013
Romanus IV Diogenes, with Eudocia, Michael VII, Constantius, and Andronicus. 1068-1071. AV Histamenon Nomisma (27.5mm, 4.46 g, 6h). Constantinople mint. Michael standing facing, holding labarum and akakia, between Constantius and Andronicus, both holding globus cruciger and akakia; all wearing loros and standing on double linear and pelleted base / Christ standing facing on suppedion, crowning Romanus to right and Eudocia to left, both wearing loros and holding globus cruciger. DOC 2; SB 1861. Toned and lustrous, minor doubling on obverse, light scratches at periphery. Good VF. From the Family of Constantine Collection, assembled with guidance by Roland Michel, Geneva.
Classical Numismatic Group, LLC - Auction 126 - Session 4 . 1014
Romanus IV Diogenes. 1068-1071. AV Tetarteron Nomisma (26.5mm, 4.04 g, 6h). Constantinople mint. Facing bust of the Theotokos, holding medallion containing nimbate facing bust of the Holy Infant / Crowned facing half-length figures of Romanus and Eudocia, both wearing loros and holding globus surmounted by jeweled long cross between them. DOC 3; SB 1862. Attractively toned, trace reverse die rust. Good VF. From the Family of Constantine Collection, assembled with guidance by Roland Michel, Geneva. Ex Leu 77 (11 May 2000), lot 897; Peus 268 (24 April 1968), lot 419.
Classical Numismatic Group, LLC - Auction 126 - Session 4 . 1015
Eudocia, with Michael VII and Constantius. 1071. AV Histamenon Nomisma (25mm, 4.43 g, 6h). Constantinople mint. Christ Pantokrator enthroned facing on suppedion, nimbate, raising hand in benediction and holding Gospels / Crowned facing figures of Eudocia, holding jeweled scepter, standing facing on suppedion, flanked by her sons Michael, to left, holding globus cruciger and akakia, and Constantius, to right, holding akakia and globus cruciger, all wearing loros. DOC 1; Füeg II 1.x.2; SB 1857. Toned and lustrous, slightly ragged flan. Near EF. From the Family of Constantine Collection, assembled with guidance by Roland Michel, Geneva. Ex Dr. Anton C. R. Dreesmann Collection (Part II, Spink 144, 13 July 2000), lot 690.
Classical Numismatic Group, LLC - Auction 126 - Session 4 . 1016
Andronicus I Comnenus. 1183-1185. AV Hyperpyron (30mm, 4.39 g, 6h). Constantinople mint. The Theotokos enthroned facing, holding facing bust of the Holy Infant on lap / Andronicus standing facing, wearing loros, holding labarum and globus cruciger, being crowned by Christ, nimbate, holding Gospels. DOC 1; SB 1983. Lustrous. Good VF. From the Family of Constantine Collection, assembled with guidance by Roland Michel, Geneva. Ex Gorny & Mosch 122 (10 March 2003), lot 2385.
Classical Numismatic Group, LLC - Auction 126 - Session 4 . 1017
Andronicus I Comnenus. 1183-1185. EL Aspron Trachy Nomisma (31mm, 4.36 g, 6h). Constantinople mint. The Theotokos, orans, standing facing on suppedion; facing head of the Holy Infant on breast / Andronicus standing facing, wearing crown and chlamys, holding labarum and akakia, being crowned by Christ, nimbate, holding Gospels. DOC 2a; SB 1984. Attractively toned and lustrous, a couple of flan cracks. EF. Well struck. From the Family of Constantine Collection, assembled with guidance by Roland Michel, Geneva.
Classical Numismatic Group, LLC - Auction 126 - Session 4 . 1018
Isaac Comnenus. Usurper in Cyprus, 1185-1191. BI Trachy (30.5mm, 4.60 g, 7h). Nicosia mint(?). Struck 1187-circa 1191. Facing bust of Christ Emmanuel, nimbate, holding scroll / Crowned facing figure of Isaac, holding cruciform scepter and akakia; manus Dei to upper right. DOC 3; SB 1992. Dark brown-green patina with some red, thin flan crack, minor weakness. Good VF. Nice detail for issue. From the Family of Constantine Collection, assembled with guidance by Roland Michel, Geneva. Purchased from Numisart.
Classical Numismatic Group, LLC - Auction 126 - Session 4 . 1019
Theodore Comnenus-Ducas. As emperor of Thessalonica, 1227-1230. AR Aspron Trachy Nomisma (28.5mm, 2.76 g, 6h). Thessalonica mint. Christ Pantokrator enthroned facing, nimbate, raising hand in benediction and holding Gospels / Facing figures of Theodore, wearing crown and loros, and St. Demetrius, holding sword over shoulder, holding long staff with triangle and cross in circle between them. DOC 1b-c var. (no sigla); SB 2158. Toned with some luster, some weakness, scratch on reverse. Good VF. From the Family of Constantine Collection, assembled with guidance by Roland Michel, Geneva.
Classical Numismatic Group, LLC - Auction 126 - Session 4 . 1020
Theodore I Comnenus-Lascaris. Emperor of Nicaea, 1208-1222. EL Aspron Trachy Nomisma (31mm, 3.17 g, 6h). Nicaea mint. Struck 1208-circa 1212. Christ Pantokrator enthroned facing, nimbate, holding Gospels / Facing figures of Theodore, wearing crown and loros, and St. Theodore, both holding sheathed sword and staff surmounted by star between them. DOC 2; SB 2064 (Magnesia). Attractively toned, a couple of flan cracks, minor surface metal flaws, light scratch on reverse, some faint hairline scratches. EF. From the Family of Constantine Collection, assembled with guidance by Roland Michel, Geneva. Ex Hauck & Aufhäuser 16 (16 October 2001), lot 527; Sternberg VI (25 November 1976), lot 1041.
Classical Numismatic Group, LLC - Auction 126 - Session 4 . 1021
John III Ducas (Vatatzes). Emperor of Nicaea, 1222-1254. AV Hyperpyron (26mm, 4.33 g, 6h). Magnesia mint. Struck 1232-circa 1254. Christ Pantokrator enthroned facing; sigla: – | (four pellets) / Crowned facing figure of John, wearing loros, holding labarum and akakia, being crowned by the Theotokos, standing facing to right. DOC (9f); SB 2073. Toned, flan crack, graffito. VF. From the Family of Constantine Collection, assembled with guidance by Roland Michel, Geneva.
Classical Numismatic Group, LLC - Auction 126 - Session 4 . 1022
Michael VIII Palaeologus. As Emperor of Nicaea, 1258-1261. AR Trachy (25.5mm, 2.04 g, 6h). Magnesia mint. Struck 1259/1260. The Theotokos enthroned facing, holding head of Holy Infant on lap; sigla: B | B / Facing figures of Michael, wearing crown and loros, resting hand on chest, and St. Michael the Archangel, resting hand on hip, holding akakia between them. DOC 27 (line drawing); SB 2246. Toned, minor edge split, slightly bent and straightened. Good VF. Very rare. From the Family of Constantine Collection, assembled with guidance by Roland Michel, Geneva. Purchased from Numisart. Ex Sincona 37 (16 May 2017), 524; Gorny & Mosch 200 (10 October 2011), lot 3151.
Classical Numismatic Group, LLC - Auction 126 - Session 4 . 1023
John V Palaeologus, with Anna of Savoy (Regent). 1341-1391. AV Hyperpyron (24.5mm, 4.30 g, 6h). Constantinople mint. Struck 1341-1347. Crowned facing figures of Anna, holding trefoil scepter and placing hand on breast, and John, holding akakia and cruciform scepter, both wearing loros / Crowned figure of Andronicus III kneeling right, wearing loros, being blessed by Christ standing left; Christ nimbate and holding Gospels. DOC 942; LPC p. 116, 1; PCPC 190.1 (sigla 1; Andronicus III); SB 2466 (Andronicus III). Toned, flan cracks, surface metal flaws, graffiti. VF. From the Family of Constantine Collection, assembled with guidance by Roland Michel, Geneva.
Classical Numismatic Group, LLC - Auction 126 - Session 4 . 1024
John V Palaeologus, with Anna of Savoy (Regent). 1341-1391. AR Basilikon (20.5mm, 1.15 g, 12h). Constantinople mint. Struck 1341-1347. Christ Pantokrator enthroned facing, nimbate, raising hand in benediction and holding Gospels / Crowned facing figures of Anna, holding trefoil scepter and placing hand on breast, and John, holding akakia and cruciform scepter, both wearing loros. DOC Class IV (966–1178); LBC 847; LPC p. 132, 2; PCPC 277; SB 2503; S. Bendall, "A Hoard of Silver Basilika of Andronicus III and John V" in CH III, 3-23. Toned, deposits. Good VF. From the Family of Constantine Collection, assembled with guidance by Roland Michel, Geneva.
Classical Numismatic Group, LLC - Auction 126 - Session 4 . 1025
John VI Cantacuzene. Second reign, 1353-1354. AR Basilikon (16mm, 0.72 g, 6h). Didymoteichon(?) mint. Christ Pantokrator enthroned facing, nimbate, raising hand in benediction and holding Gospels / St. Demetrius, nimbate, holding small cross to chest, standing slightly right, extending hand to John, wearing crown and loros, standing facing. DOC 1206; A. Veglery & A. Millas, "The silver coinage of John VI Cantacuzenus (1353-1354)" in NumCirc LXXX.9 (September 1972), 4 (this coin); LBC –; LPC p. 150, 3; PCPC (303); SB 2542. Attractively toned with some iridescence. VF. Very rare. From the Family of Constantine Collection, assembled with guidance by Roland Michel, Geneva. Ex Leu 97 (10 May 2006), lot 329 (hammer CHF 3800); N. C. Georges Collection (cited in the 1972 Numismatic Circular).
Classical Numismatic Group, LLC - Auction 126 - Session 4 . 1026
Andronicus IV Palaeologus. Usurper, 1376-1379. AR Basilikon (13.5mm, 0.57 g, 8h). Uncertain mint. Christ Pantokrator enthroned facing, nimbate, raising hand in benediction and holding Gospels / Crowned facing figure of Andronicus, wearing loros, holding patriarchal cruciform scepter. DOC – (but cf. pp. 208-9 for issue); LBC 890; LPC p. 152, 2; PCPC 325.1; SB 2545. Toned, find patina, some weakness. VF. Extremely rare. From the Family of Constantine Collection, assembled with guidance by Roland Michel, Geneva. Ex Leu 97 (10 May 2006), lot 348.
Classical Numismatic Group, LLC - Auction 126 - Session 4 . 1027
Constantine XI Palaeologus (Dragases). 1448-1453. AR Eighth Stavraton (11.5mm, 0.59 g, 12h). Constantinople mint. Facing bust of Christ Pantokrator, nimbate, holding Gospels; sigla: • | • / Crowned facing bust of Constantine, wearing loros; •/K/• | •/C/• flanking. DOC 1789; Bendall, Coinage 135-54; SB –. Attractively toned with some iridescence. Good VF. Rare. From the Family of Constantine Collection, assembled with guidance by Roland Michel, Geneva. Ex Hauck & Aufhäuser 16 (16 October 2001), lot 526.Constantine XI, a member of the last Byzantine dynasty, the Palaeologan, was a heroic figure despite being fated to be the final Byzantine ruler. One of the younger sons of Emperor Manuel II, Constantine distinguished himself during the siege of Constantinople in 1422 during the last days of Manuel II's rule. After Manuel suffered a stroke and became incapable of governing, Constantine's older brother, future emperor John VIII, took the reins of the government on behalf of his father. However, John's first priority was to seek to rally support for the Byzantine state against the ascendant Ottomans. In pursuit of this objective, he embarked on a tour of Western Europe. In his stead, he left his younger brother Constantine as regent and granted him the title of despot. Constantine effectively administered what was left of the shrinking Byzantine State in his brother's absence, but John's quest to enlist western support for Byzantium was ultimately unsuccessful.Once John assumed the imperial mantle upon the death of Manuel II, Constantine was tasked with governing one of the few remaining possessions of the once-illustrious Byzantine Empire-the Depostate of Morea. Constantine again proved himself a capable ruler and administrator, using the limited resources he had at his disposal to recover Morea from the Franks who had occupied the Peloponnesos since the Fourth Crusade. Ultimately, Constantine's Morea encompassed the entire Peloponnesos and, along with Epirus, constituted the bulk of Byzantine possessions outside of Constantinople which was itself quickly shrinking into a city-state as more and more territory was lost to the Ottomans.When John died in 1448 without issue, Constantine was designated as his successor and called to assume the fateful position of emperor. Crowned at the citadel at Mystras, Constantine traveled from Morea to Constantinople in a hired Catalan galley-a succinct representation of how miserably Byzantine power had dwindled by the mid 15th century. The Byzantine fleet had been previously destroyed during the reign of John VI in a disastrous naval engagement in 1349 with the Genoese. All Constantine could do in his new station as emperor was prepare for the inevitable attack by the Ottomans. He worked to repair the city walls and recruit and muster as many soldiers as possible to mount his final defense of the city. As part of that effort, coins such as this rare example were minted to pay the mostly hired soldiers.The attack came in late May of 1453. Constantine himself manned the ramparts and fought valiantly during the city's final defense. He was ultimately killed upon the city walls and his corpse mutilated by the invaders. Thus ended the Byzantine Empire, an institution that lasted nearly a millennium and outlasted its parent Western Roman Empire by five centuries.
Classical Numismatic Group, LLC - Auction 126 - Session 4 . 1028
Andronicus I Gidon. Emperor of Trebizond, 1222-1235. AR Aspron Trachy (25.5mm, 2.68 g, 6h). The Theotokos standing slightly right on suppedion, orans / Christ Pantokrator standing facing on suppedion, raising hand in benediction and holding Gospels. DOC IV.2 1 (Anonymous Magnesian); Retowski –; S. Bendall, An Introduction to the Coinage of the Empire of Trebizond 2.2; SB 2148 (Uncertain Nicaea). Lightly toned, lustrous, minor die breaks, area of light scrapes. Near EF. Well struck. From the Family of Constantine Collection, assembled with guidance by Roland Michel, Geneva. Purchased from Numisart.
Classical Numismatic Group, LLC - Auction 126 - Session 4 . 1029
Umayyad Caliphate. temp. 'Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan to 'Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz. AH 65-101 / AD 685-720. AV Solidus (16mm, 4.35 g, 6h). North Africa (Carthage) mint. Struck circa AH 79-90 (AD 698-710). NON ЄST dS NIS IPSЄ SOL CS ЄT NON ABЄII, crowned and draped Byzantine-style older and younger facing busts (modeled on Heraclius and Heraclius Constantine) / [...]NOΔNCI SIb ЄbNCIPIAS OΔЄI, modified cross potent, surmounted by globus and set on two steps. SICA 1 –; AGC I 9 (this coin illustrated); cf. Walker, Arab-Byzantine p. 55, HSA 1 and 145 (AV Semissis); cf. Album 115 (for similar issue with horizontal bar on steps). Iridescent toning, deposits in devices. Good VF. Unique. From the Family of Constantine Collection, assembled with guidance by Roland Michel, Geneva. Ex Triton VI (13 January 2003) lot 1189; Dr. Anton C. R. Dreesmann Collection (Part II, Spink 144, 13 July 2000), lot 846, purchased from J. Schulman, 14 November 1967.The Muslim conquest of North Africa began during the caliphate of Mu'awiya (AH 41-60 / AD 661-680). Qayrawan, the capital of the new Umayyad province of Ifriqiya, was founded by the general 'Uqba b. Nafi' in AH 50 (AD 670). The Arab conquest, however, was met with determined resistance, from the Berbers as well as Byzantine forces, and the great city of Carthage remained a Byzantine stronghold in North Africa for a quarter of a century. It was only in AH 76 (AD 695) that the city first fell to the Arabs when the inhabitants surrendered to the besieging forces of Hassan b. al-Nu'man. While many of the wealthier inhabitants fled to Italy, Greece and Spain, the rest of the city's population offered no resistance and Hassan occupied Carthage without much bloodshed. Judging his position secure, Hassan constructed chains across the city's harbor to deter the Byzantines from launching a counter-attack by sea, and then departed with most of his troops to meet the threat of the Berbers to the west.Hassan's faith in these chains proved misplaced. The Byzantine emperor Leontius sent a strong naval force under John the Patrician to retake Carthage. John equipped his largest ships with specially reinforced hulls, allowing him to smash through the chains and land safely in the city's harbor. Outnumbered, the Arab garrison was no match for John's Sicilian and Gothic troops. John quickly retook the city, and the defenders withdrew to Qayrawan. But the Byzantines were hopelessly slow to support John's initial success, so that Hassan reappeared before the walls of Carthage with a fresh army before John's reinforcements had even left the port of Constantinople. Now it was John's turn to find himself helpless in the face of a far superior force, and he had little option but to withdraw. The Byzantine army held the walls long enough to allow a hasty but relatively orderly retreat; Hassan reoccupied Carthage in AH 79 (AD 698). Fearing the consequences of having to report their failure to Leontius, John's troops mutinied, killing John and proclaiming one of their number, Apsimar, as emperor. Apsimar's forces entered Constantinople later in AD 698, deposing and mutilating Leontius, and leaving Apsimar to rule as Tiberius III. It is possible to trace the course of these momentous events in the coinage record. The Byzantine mint at Carthage was evidently still active in AH 76, since Carthaginian solidi are known dated to the tenth year of the reign of Justinian II (MIB 18b), so when the city first surrendered to Hassan b. al-Nu'man the Arabs would have taken control of an operational Byzantine mint for solidi. This in itself would have been a highly significant development, because there had been no active gold mint in any of the Byzantine provinces which the Arabs had previously conquered, leaving them dependent on imported solidi to maintain coinage stocks. Thus once Carthage was securely in Muslim hands after the defeat of John in AH 79, the victorious Arabs began to strike gold coins of their own there, including the unique piece offered here. Although 'Abd al-Malik b. Marwan had introduced reformed, purely Islamic dinars at Damascus in AH 77 (AD 696/7), the Arabs continued to strike gold which copied earlier Byzantine types, recognizing the need to produce coins which would have been acceptable to the local population. Interestingly, they chose to copy an issue of Heraclius (AD 610-641) rather than the most recent solidi of Justinian II, probably to avoid the adverse political connotations of being seen to follow current Byzantine types; this preference for an older prototype is also seen on the Arab-Sasanian silver drachms struck in the Eastern Islamic territories, which usually bore the portrait of the long-dead Khusraw II rather than the last Sasanian ruler, Yazdigerd III. The new Arab solidi, which maintain the familiar 'globular' fabric of their Byzantine predecessors, were struck to the local Byzantine weight standard and issued in three denominations: solidus, semissis, and tremissis. They bear the familiar twin facing busts of Heraclius and Heraclius Constantine, largely unaltered except for the removal of all overtly Christian crosses, and a similarly 'de-Christianized' cross-on-steps on the reverse. The legends, written in abbreviated Latin rather than Arabic, are monotheistic rather than Islamic: the proclamation on the obverse of this coin that 'There is no God but God alone and He has no associate' would have been largely acceptable to Christians and Muslims alike. On virtually all surviving examples of this rare coinage, the modification of the cross-on-steps is used to indicate the denomination. Solidi and tremisses generally have the upper limb of the cross removed so that the shaft terminates in a T-bar, while semisses replace the cross with a globe. While there has been much scholarly debate over the symbolism of these changes, comparison with Byzantine prototypes suggests that the Arabs simply turned the Byzantine cross on each denomination upside-down, so that the base of the cross on the prototype became the top of the modified cross on the Arab adaptation. Thus the base of the cross potent on the tremisses becomes a T-bar set on a single step, the globe at the base of the cross potent on the semisses becomes a globe set atop a pole on two steps, and the cross-on-steps on the solidi also becomes a shaft surmounted by a T-bar set on three steps.The unique solidus offered here appears to be the only known solidus of this type which has a globe on top of the cross shaft instead of a T-bar. It does not fit with the system of denominations and types which the Arabs used for their Carthaginian coinage, and instead appears to look back to the modified cross-on-steps dinars with Arabic legends issued at Damascus before the introduction of the reformed gold coinage in AH 77 (AD 696/7). This in turn raises the tantalizing possibility that this unique piece might have been struck circa AH 76-77, during Hassan's first occupation of Carthage, and that Hassan simply followed current Damascus practice in striking solidi with a globe atop the cross-shaft on the reverse. It would only have been after the defeat and expulsion of John, when the Arabs had time to establish a structured denominational system for their Carthaginian gold coinage, that the decision would have been taken to use a T-bar instead of a globe on the solidi.
Classical Numismatic Group, LLC - Auction 126 - Session 4 . 1030
Umayyad Caliphate. temp. Suleiman ibn 'Abd al-Malik. AH 96-99 / AD 715-717. Pale AV Solidus – Dinar (4.28 g, 6h). North Africa (Carthage or Tripoli) mint. Dated AH 98 (AD 716/7). (retrograde S)Λ(retrograde D) FRT IN ΛFRK ΛN XCVIII, la ilah i/la Allah in Arabic in two lines / [...]SSISИISIИIИSI[...], muhammad r/sul Allah in Arabic in two lines. SICA 1 –; AGC I 34Ca; cf. Walker, Arab-Byzantine 185 and p. 79, P. 50; Album 121M. Toned, deposits, hairline flan crack. Good VF. Very rare. From the Family of Constantine Collection, assembled with guidance by Roland Michel, Geneva. Ex Gorny & Mosch 121 (10 March 2003), lot 545.
Classical Numismatic Group, LLC - Auction 126 - Session 4 . 1031
Umayyad Caliphate. temp. al-Walid I ibn 'Abd al-Malik. AH 86-96 / AD 705-715. Pale AV Solidus (14mm, 4.33 g, 9h). North African type. Spanish mint. Dated IY 12 and AH 94 (AD 712/3). IN N ∂NI N ∂(retrograde S) N ∂ N (retrograde S) ∂(retrograde S)τ(retrograde S)II(retrograde S) (sic), (retrograde S)IMIΛI(retrograde S); two macrons above / (retrograde S)L∂ FRT IN (retrograde S)PN ΔNN XC IIII, IN∂C XII across field; macrons above IN∂ and CX. SICA 1 –; AGC I –, but cf. 19; cf. Balaguer 32 = Walker, Arab-Byzantine, p. 75, B. 13 (for rev.); cf. Album 119.2. Attractive toning, deposits in devices, edge marks. Good VF. Extremely rare mule, combining a North Africa mint obverse with a Spanish reverse. From the Family of Constantine Collection, assembled with guidance by Roland Michel, Geneva.