GORNY & MOSCH AUCTION SALES 224-226

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V17 2014 INDEX E-SYLUM ARCHIVE

The E-Sylum: Volume 17, Number 36, August 31, 2014, Article 25

Now here's another whopper press release for three upcoming Gorny & Mosch sales. -Editor

Be it an ox hide ingot, a unique silver medallion of Trajan, the largest collection of religious amulets and medals the market has ever seen or a nicely assorted collection of numisnautics: Gorny & Mosch has spectacular offers for its October sale.

Make sure to keep the week from 13 to 17 October, 2014, free! For there will be something spectacular at Gorny & Mosch’s agenda. Auction sale #224 offers magnificent rarities dating from ancient times, including sensations like a silver medallion of Trajan. In auction sale #225 the collector of ancient coins who is either not willing or not able to spend a fortune finds something to his liking. And apart from single highlights, there are two very special collections on offer in auction sale 226: The Jaggi Collection ‘Pledges of Divine Protection’ and the ‘Collection of a Numisnautic’.

Auction sale 224 – High-quality ancient coins
They are the icons of pre-monetary money, these copper ingots in the shape of an animal hide, made after 1600 B. C. With one of these pieces the auction sale kicks off on 13 October, 2014. The object with its weight of 26.6kg is estimated at 25,000 euros.

And that is only the beginning. It is really hard to take one’s pick here from the rarities included in the ample offer. But how about the posthumous gold stater of the Macedonian king Philip II, whose obverse depiction is often interpreted as a portrait of Alexander (126, EF, estimate: 5,000 euros), or the double stater of Alexander the Great, minted during his lifetime at Aigai (139, EF, estimate: 15,000 euros). Another suitable candidate would be the stater of the Delphic Amphictiony, a perfect example of the issue that was used to finance the building of the new Temple of Apollo after the fire (177A, about EF, estimate: 30,000 euros). Next is a comprehensive series of more than 20 Athenian owls, including some gorgeous pieces dating from archaic times (185-188, all good VF, estimate: from 1,000 to 2,500 euros). Another highlight is the archaizing stater from Knossos that depicts the Minotaur on its obverse and the maze on its reverse (220A, VF, estimate: 30,000 euros). Be it an electrum stater from Lampsakos (227, EF, estimate: 12,000 euros), a tetradrachm from Rhodes (252, EF, estimate: 15,000 euros) or an extraordinarily well preserved tetradrachm of Seleucus I (276, EF, estimate: 15,000 euros) – the admirer of Greek coins has pretty much to choose from. Naturally, this also holds true for the ones who love more exotic things. A case in point is the tetradrachm of Baydad from the 3rd cent. B. C. (309, VF, estimate: 5,500 euros).

The Roman Republic likewise is well represented by rarities and many splendidly preserved specimens. The unchallenged highlight of this section is the famous denarius of M. Iunius Brutus, celebrating the assassination of Caesar with its depiction of daggers and the liberty cap (413, good VF, estimate: 35,000 euros).

This takes us right to the coinage of Roman imperial times where there are even more rarities to be found. A small series of aurei of Tiberius (446-450, EF and Proof, estimate: 3,000 to 7,500 euros) is followed up by two aurei of Otho, the first being extremely fine with lustre (470, estimate: 50,000 euros), the other one very fine (471, estimate: 15,000 euros), as well as an aureus of Vitellius (473, VF-EF, estimate: 15,000 euros).

The gem of this auction sale is a unique medallion of Trajan depicting an adventus scene on the reverse. The marvelous piece was minted to be distributed on the occasion of the return of Trajan from the campaigns against the Dacians (511, about EF, estimate: 150,000 euros). Only a third of that estimate is the sum that a collector is expected to pay which intends to enrich his collection by the extremely fine bronze medallion of Antoninus Pius, minted with a slightly elevated edge and graced by Apollo as Citharede.

That of course is not yet the end of the sale’s rarities. Let us only have one concluding look at an aureus of Trajanus Decius (652, Proof, estimate: 10,000 euros) and its counterpart in its ancient setting (653, EF, estimate: 8,000 euros).

Auction sale 225 – Ancient coins and multiple lots
Strictly speaking, this preview focusing on the most expensive items is not appropriate since one does not have to have lots of money to acquire some attractive pieces as an addition to one’s collection. If you find that hard to believe, please browse through auction sale catalog #225. It includes, with estimates that are not that high, artistically and historically interesting coins that were produced by cities that are difficult to locate even for the expert. A case in point is the trihemiobol from the Thessalian city of Kierion that depicts the nymph Arne on the reverse giving prophecies with astragals (1393, about EF, estimate: 500 euros).

A small series of Armenian coins no doubt will attract fans for it entails some rarities, too, like a bronze chalkos of Tigranes IV, struck in Artashat in A. D. 2 (1689, VF, estimate: 500 euros).

The admirers of Roman coins dating from the 3rd century surely will make the small series of very rare legionary antoniniani of Gallienus raise their rather modest estimates (2300-2315, VF and VF-EF, estimate: 100 to 150 euros). The same holds true for the coins of Postumus which likewise include one or another very rare and quite well preserved specimen, like an antoninianus from Trier with the portrait of the emperor to the left, in heroic nudity with both the club and the lionskin of Hercules (2365, about EF, estimate: 500 euros).

And of course there are the multiple lots that should not go unnoticed here and which virtually enjoy cult status with Gorny & Mosch. The catalog comprises 160 numbers that are highly likely to attract much interest.

Auction sale 226 – Medieval and modern times
The auction sale “Medieval and modern times” starts with a collection that is unparalleled on the market so far. Werner Jaggi used to collect everything related to the Catholic faith. He assembled a huge collection of religious art. A small part of this were numismatic testimonies of religious customs as it found expression in pendants, crosses, coined amulets and medals. These objects are intriguing not only to the one interested in art history. The local collector, too, discovers items he never knew before. They bear witness to a time when reason was not the universal standard. The stories they tell sound unbelievable to the modern ear, e.g. the one of the rich peasant who only fulfilled his vow when his hen had laid an egg on whose shell he believed to see Virgin Mary with an aureole. The cloister of Maria Stern, which derived its name from this story, attracted people from far and wide. The egg still is part of the coat of arms of the Bavarian city of Odelzhausen where the cloister of Odelzhausen used to be located. Two lots of the collection are devoted to this legend (3189 and 3190, both VF, 150 resp. 100 euros). Apart from that, Werner Jaggi collected religious and papal medals, so that the connoisseur can choose from an ample range of offers, including examples from the Renaissance, like a rare medallion of Hans Reinhardt the Elder that depicts the Apokalyptic Christ on the obverse and God the Father with the lamb surrounded by the 24 Elders on the reverse (3369, extremely fine original cast, estimate: 2,500 euros).

Part II of the auction sale offers the Collection of a Numisnautic, hence coins and medals depicting nautical subjects such as ships, lighthouses, harbors etc. The items available for sale cover a Greek galley (3692, medal on the 70th birthday of State Chancellor Hardenberg 1820, EF-Proof, estimate: 300 euros), a cargo ship on a rhinegoldducat (3686, Bavaria 1846, EF/Proof, estimate: 2,000 euros) as well as a paddleboat of the Industrial Revolution (3777, bronze medal 1843, EF-Mint State, estimate: 150 euros).

The collector was not afraid to buy expensive coins for his collection, too. This is why it includes great rarities like a schiffsthaler of William VI of Hesse-Kassel from 1655 (3730, EF-Proof, estimate: 8,000 euros), an extremely rare Mainz konventionsthaler from 1795 (3736, Proof, estimate: 15,000 euros) or a large medal by Sebastian Dadler from 1644 on the Danish naval victory at Fehmarn and the declaration of maturity of Christina, Queen of Sweden (3832, VF, estimate: 5,000 euros). These are just a few examples. Every special collector can find something to his liking because the estimates start as low as the mean two-digit range and can be as high as something in the five-digit range.

We have arrived at the third, general, part of the sale as yet another field where the expert discovers a great number of rarities, of which we can only present a selected few here. From Germany comes a ducat of Frederick, King in Prussia, from 1701 (4258, EF, estimate: 15,000 euros), a 1/4 portugalöser of 2 1/2 ducats from Hamburg with no date (4282, EF, estimate: 20,000 euros) and a thaler no date of Georg Christian, Regent of East Frisia, 1660-1665 (4307, about EF, estimate: 15,000 euros).

There is one distinct element which is omnipresent in this catalog and this is medals. The connoisseur is faced with a broad spectrum including a small series of modern art medals designed by the Finnish artist Kauko Räsänen. Admirers of phaleristics will get the opportunity to acquire orders. A highlight to the aficionado is without a doubt the Bavarian Military Merit Order 2nd Class with Crown and Swords, in addition the breast star of the order plus the awarding documents.

Let us conclude this preview with some rare pieces from abroad, like an augustalis of Frederick II of Sicily (4723, EF, estimate: 10,000 euros), a 100 perpera piece from Montenegro, minted in Vienna in 1910 (4779, EF-Proof, estimate: 15,000 euros) and an extremely rare set comprising three Hungarian gold coins, minted in 1966 on the 400th anniversary of the death of the military leader Zrinyi (4866, PP, estimate: 12,000 euros).

All catalogs can be viewed on the internet at http://www.gmcoinart.de/online_katalog and ordered at Gorny & Mosch, Giessener Münzhandlung, Maximiliansplatz 20, D-80333 Munich, phone +49 / (0)89 / 24 22 643-0, telefax +49 / (0)89 / 22 85 513.

Lot 1: PRE-MONETARY MONEY. Ingot in the shape of an ox hide, c. 1600-1000 B. C. (72 x 39.5cm). 26.66kg. Green patina, scratches on obv., one edge is cracked. Estimate: 25,000,- euros

Lot 126: PHILIPP II, 359-336 (Macedonia). Stater, 323-317/6, Magnesia. Extremely fine. Estimate: 5,000,- euros

Lot 139: ALEXANDER III, 336-323 (Macedonia). Distater, 336-323, Aigai. Very rare. Extremely fine. Estimate: 15,000,- euros

Lot 177A: DELPHIC AMPHICTIONY (Phocis). Stater, around 346 B. C. Very rare. About extremely fine. Estimate: 30,000,- euros

Lot 187: ATHENS (Attica). Tetradrachm, 500-483. Good very fine. Estimate: 2,000,- euros

Lot 220A: KNOSSOS (Crete). Stater, c. 425-360. Very rare. Very fine. Estimate: 30,000,- euros

Lot 252: RHODES (Carian Islands). Tetradrachm, c. 404-385. Extremely fine. Estimate: 15,000,- euros

Lot 276: SELEUCUS I, 312-281 (Syria). Tetradrachm, after 305/4, Susa. Rare. Extremely fine. Estimate: 15,000,- euros

Lot 309: BAYDAD (Persis). Tetradrachm, 3rd cent. B. C. Rare. Very fine. Estimate: 5,500,- euros

Lot 413: M. IUNIUS BRUTUS. Denarius with L. Plaetorius Cestianus, 43-42. Very rare. Estimate: 35,000,- euros

Lot 470: OTHO, 69. Aureus. RIC 11. Very rare. Extremely fine with lustre. Estimate: 50,000,- euros

Lot 473: VITELLIUS, 69. Aureus. RIC 89. From Mazzini Collection 1957-1958, Milan, p. 180, pl. LXIV. Rare. Very fine to extremely fine. Estimate: 15,000,- euros

Lot 511: TRAJAN, 98-117. Medallion, 106-107, Rome. Obv. IMP CAES NERVAE TRAIANO AVG GER DAC P M TR P COS V P P laureate bust and aegis on l. shoulder r. Rev. ADVENTVS AVG / SPQR OPTIMO PRINCIPI Trajan in military garments riding with lance r., female deity (Felicitas?) with cornucopia and caduceus(?) in front, helmeted, naked Mars with lance and round shield behind, two soldiers in the background. RIC -. C. 1var. Strack 118var. BMC 257var. MIR 259var. Mittag p. 138 Tra 6. In Swiss private collection since the 1970s, acquired by the actual owner in 1984. Unique specimen. Light toning, tiny scratches on both obverse and reverse, about extremely fine. Estimate: 150,000,- euros

Lot 542: ANTONINUS PIUS, 138-161. Medallion, Rome. Obv. ANTONINVS PIVS PP Draped laureate bust r. Rev. TR POT COS II Apollo wearing long, flowing garment of a citharede, walking r., holding cithara in left hand and a plectrum in the right. Tripod in the background, altar r. with laurel branch on top. Gnecchi – (cf. 46, pl. 48.5). Extremely fine splendid specimen with the most gorgeous green patina. Estimate: 50,000,- euros

Lot 652: TRAIANUS DECIUS, 249-251. Aureus. RIC 28. Rare. Proof. Estimate: 10,000,- euros

Lot 684: GALERIA VALERIA, 308-311. Aureus, 308, Siscia. RIC 196. Very rare. Extremely fine to Proof. Estimate: 15,000,- Euro

Lot 1393: KIERION (Thessaly). Trihemiobol, c. 400-344. About extremely fine. Estimate: 500,- euros

Lot 1511: NICOMEDES II, c. 149-120 (Bithynia). Tetradrachm, 144/3. Unpublished year. Extremely rare. Very fine. Estimate: 250,- euros

Lot 1689: TIGRANES IV, 10/6-5 B. C. AE Chalkos, A. D. 2, Artashat Mint. Very rare. Very fine. Estimate: 500,- euros

Lot 2313: GALLIENUS, 260-268. Antoninian, 260-261, Mediolanum. Very fine. Estimate: 120,- euros

Lot 2365: POSTUMUS, 259-269. Antoninian, 268, Augusta Treverorum. Very rare. About extremely fine. Estimate: 500,- euros

Lot 3011: JAGGI COLLECTION. St. Benedict. Religious medal, cast silver, upright oval, Rome, 18th cent. 44 x 41mm. Very fine. Estimate: 100,- euros

Lot 3189: JAGGI COLLECTION. Taxa, Cloister of Maria Stern. Religious medal, cast silver, upright oval, by P. H. M. Müller (Augsburg), 17th/18th cent. 38 x 33mm. Very fine. Estimate: 150,- euros

Lot 3369: JAGGI COLLECTION. Gilded and mounted presentation medallion 1539, signed HR (Hans Reinhard the Elder). Extremely rare. Antique gold plated, extremely fine original cast. Estimate: 2,500,- euros

Lot 3371: JAGGI COLLECTION. Offering box for the mission to the Gentiles, end of 19th/early 20th cent. Mechanical system intact. Very fine. Estimate: 50,- euros

Lot 3444: JAGGI COLLECTION. Clement IX, 1667-1669. Cast bronze medal 1669, unsigned (G. F. Travani?) on the Bernini project of the apsis of Santa Maria Maggiore. Very rare. Original cast from that era, good very fine. Estimate: 500,- euros

Lot 3730: COLLECTION OF A NUMISNAUTIC. Hesse-Kassel. William VI, 1637-1663. Schiffsthaler 1655. Very rare. Extremely fine to Proof. Estimate: 8,000,- euros

Lot 3736: COLLECTION OF A NUMISNAUTIC. Mainz, Archbishopric. Friedrich Karl Josef von Erthal, 1774-1802. Konventionsthaler 1795, Mainz. Ex Peus 404-405 (2011), lot 796. Extremely rare. Proof. Estimate: 15,000,- euros

Lot 3765: COLLECTION OF A NUMISNAUTIC. HRE. Leopold I, 1657-1705. Medal 1686 by J. Höhn on the capture of Buda. Very rare. Extremely fine. Estimate: 4,500,- euros

Lot 3798: COLLECTION OF A NUMISNAUTIC. Great Britain. Tin medal 1848 by T. Halliday on the Chinese junk “KEYING” sailing to England. Extremely fine to Proof. Estimate: 150,- euros

Lot 3828: COLLECTION OF A NUMISNAUTIC. Russia. Medal 1703 (1800) by an unknown engraver on the capture of two Swedish frigates by the Russian on 6 May. Rare. Mint state. Estimate: 150,- euros

Lot 3832: COLLECTION OF A NUMISNAUTIC. Sweden. Medallion 1644 by Sebastian Dadler on the Danish naval victory at Fehmarn and Christina’s declaration of maturity. Rare. Very fine. Estimate: 5,000,- euros

Lot 4230: BAMBERG, Bishopric. Friedrich Karl von Schönborn, 1729-1746. 10 gulden (= Carolin) 1735, Nürnberg (or Würzburg). Extremely rare. Trace of mounting, about extremely fine. Estimate: 5,000,- euros

Lot 4258: BRANDENBURG / PRUSSIA. Frederick III / I, 1688-1713. Ducat 1701 LCS, Berlin. Very rare. Extremely fine. Estimate: 15,000,- euros

Lot 4281: FULDA, Abbey. Bernhard Gustav, 1671-1677. Reichsthaler 1672. On his election as abbot. About Proof. Estimate: 5,000,- euros

Lot 4282: HAMBURG, city. 1/4 portugalöser of 2 1/2 ducats n. d. Extremely rare. Extremely fine. Estimate: 20,000,- euros

Lot 4292: LÜBECK, city. Thaler 1537. About extremely fine. Estimate: 4,500,- euros

Lot 4307: EAST FRISIA. Georg Christian, 1660-1665. Thaler n. d., Esens. Very rare. About extremely fine. Estimate: 15,000,- euros

Lot 4513: TURKEY. Abd al-Aziz, 1861-1876. Medal 1867 of Wyon on the visit of the Turkish sultan in London. Extremely rare. Extremely fine to Proof. Estimate: 1,000,- euros

Lot 4554: ORDERS AND DECORATIONS. Bavaria. Military Merit Order 2nd Class with Crown and Swords, in addition the breast star of the order. Extremely rare. Museum-like condition. Estimate: 15,000,- euros

Lot 4574: HRE. Ferdinand II, 1592-1618, as emperor 1619-1637. 3 ducats 1628 on the first stone laying of the Servite monastery in Prague commemorating the victory in the Battle of White Mountain. Ex Peus 179 (2004), 3607. 2nd specimen known to exist! Extremely fine. Estimate: 15,000,- Euro

Lot 4723: ITALY. Sicily. Frederick II, 1197/1220-1250. Augustalis n. y. (after 1231), Messina. Very rare. Extremely fine. Estimate: 10,000,- euros

Lot 4779: MONTENEGRO. Nicholas I, 1860-1918. 100 perpera 1910 by S. Schwartz, Vienna. Mintage: 300 specimens. Very rare. Extremely fine to Proof. Estimate: 15,000,- euros

Lot 4849: HUNGARY. Charles VI, 1711-1740. Ducat 1712 PH, Bratislava. 2nd specimen known to exist. Very fine / extremely fine. Estimate: 4,500,- euros

Wayne Homren, Editor