BALDWIN'S PROSPERO COLLECTION OF GREEK COINAGE SALE

Baldwin's are delighted to announce the sale of one of the finest and most desirable collections of ancient Greek coins to be offered at public auction in the last two decades. The multi-million pound Prospero Collection contains over 600 coins from the Archaic, Classical and Hellenistic Greek periods and includes some of the rarest and most historically important examples of Greek coinage. Offering a unique window into a world of epic history and a wonderland of Greek mythology, this collection is sure to inspire collectors from all walks of the art and antiques world.

The collection was formed over several decades by a collector with a passion for the arts and a discerning taste for outstanding examples of the most beautiful and famous ancient Greek coins. Like the character of Prospero in Shakespeare's The Tempest, an underlying preoccupation for the magical and mythical can be seen throughout the collection. It has not been added to in the past 20 years and remains complete and untouched, with many of the coins having pedigrees dating back to collections dispersed in the early 20th century.

The artistic beauty of ancient Greek coins has never been equalled by any other civilization and The Prospero Collection contains masterpieces from the 6th – 3rd century BC, all of the very highest Archaic and Classical artistry, created by the most famous artists and engravers of the time. Greek gods and goddesses bustle with each other and compete with mythical creatures and Greek heroes to be represented on these sublime miniature works of art. Within the collection the coins of ancient Sicily, particularly those produced at Syracuse, represent the very pinnacle of the die-engravers art.

There are examples of the Dekadrachm of Syracuse, among the largest and most famous of all ancient Greek coins, including a signed example, struck from the very first pair of dies engraved by the artist Kimon. The famous ‘Demareteion' Dekadrachm, considered to be one of the most beautiful creations of fifth century B.C. numismatic art, is also represented. The artist who created this coin is considered to be one of the greatest master-engravers of the Archaic and Classical periods.

For more information, see:

By really trying! Come to this Numismatic Theatre presentation at the ANA World's Fair of Money in Chicago, Friday, August 19, 2011. Whitman publisher Dennis Tucker talks about how to go from unpublished amateur writer to honest-to-goodness capital-A "Author." 10 a.m. in Room #3.

Wayne Homren, Editor

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