CNG OFFERS PART 1 OF THE DR. LAWRENCE ADAMS GOLD COLLECTION

Classical Numismatic Group of Lancaster, Pennsylvania and London, England is proud to present Part I of the Dr. Lawrence A. Adams collection of gold coinage of the world from ancient to modern times, which is being sold as part of the firm’s 100th Mail Bid Sale. CNG 100 will close electronically on Wednesday, October 7, 2015; from 9 AM ET (U.S.). Part I of the Adams collection features 1223 lots with a pre-sale estimate of nearly $2,000,000.

CNG will offer the Adams collections of gold coinage in four different sales: two printed catalogs and two electronic (Internet) auctions. In addition to the material being offered as part of CNG 100, additional material from the Adams collection will be sold as part of Triton XIX, scheduled for January 5-6, 2016, and held in conjunction with the 44th annual New York International Numismatic Convention; Electronic Auction 361, closing on Wednesday, October 14, 2015 beginning at 10AM ET; and CNG Electronic Auction 366, closing on Wednesday, January 13, 2016 beginning at 10AM ET.

Dr. Adams formed his collection over the past 50 years, and the collection encompasses coins of the world from antiquity to the present day. Many of the ancient coins come from some of the most important sales of the last century, such as the Brand, Garrett, Jameson, and other collections.

Within the context of ancient and early medieval coinage, Dr. Adams focused on certain areas and this first sale will have strong offerings of Carthaginian, Macedonian, early electrum, Sasanian, Hunnic, Bosporan, branch mint Byzantine, Axumite, Visigothic, Beneventum, and Arab Byzantine coins of North Africa.

The world section offers a look at coins from Afghanistan to Zanzibar, with particular strengths in French, Italian, and the Low countries. The British section includes a selection of early thrymsas and Scottish coinage. Medal sections include an important offering of 19th century United States, and the sale is rounded off with a selection of modern Olympic pieces.

Selecting highlights from the 1200 plus coins on offer is difficult for such a diverse group of coins, but just a few of the individual highlights from the Adams Collection are:

Ancient Coinage

Pedigreed to 1889–Ex Jameson, Weber, and Moore

Lot 116–KYRENAICA, Kyrene. Circa 331-322 BC. AV Hemidrachm or Triobol (11mm, 2.14 g). Jason, magistrate. Three silphium plants arranged around central dot / Head of Athena left, wearing crested Corinthian helmet; [KY]P above, I[AΣ] behind. Naville 41l = Jameson 2138 = Weber 8440 (this coin); SNG Copenhagen –; BMC 134-5; Boston MFA 1330; Hunterian 10-1; de Luynes 3663; Pozzi 3277. Good VF, toned, edge marks from prior mount. Rare. Estimated at $3,000

From the collection of Dr. Lawrence A. Adams. Ex New York Sale IV (17 January 2002), lot 280; Robert Jameson Collection (Hess-Leu, 14 April 1954), lot 201; Sir Herman Weber Collection; W. Yorke Moore Collection (Sotheby, Wilkinson & Hodge, 1 March 1889), lot 563.

Pedigreed to Grand Duke Mikhailovich’s Collection

Lot 237–KINGS of BOSPORUS. Uncertain ruler. 9/8 BC-AD 9/10. AV Stater (20mm, 7.90 g, 11h). Dated Bosporan Era 307 (AD 10/11). Bare head of Augustus left / Bare head of Agrippa right; monogram to left, ZT (date) below. Frolova & Ireland § 10, p. 64 and pl. XLI, 1 = Bertier, Monetach 46 (this coin cited and illustrated, in both); Anokhin 288; MacDonald 265; RPC I 1879. Good VF, a number of scratches, a few edge marks from possible mounting, reverse struck somewhat off center. Estimated at $2,000

From the collection of Dr. Lawrence A. Adams. Ex V. Adda Collection (Christie’s, 9 October 1984), lot 235, for a hammer of £800; Grand Duke George Mikhailovich Collection.

The specimen illustrated in Frolova & Ireland matches this piece nearly perfectly, except for the continuation of the circular border on the reverse, which, in the plate, appears to terminate at the base of the ‘T’ in the date. This image was derived from the coin plated in Général A.L. Bertier’s article “О монетахъ властителей Боспора Киммерийкаго, опреде ляемыхъ монограммами,” in Записки Одесского общества истории и древностей XXIX (Proceedings of the Odessa Society for History and Antiquity), which is listed as being in the collection of Grand Duke Mikhailovich. Since plates at that time were generally produced from casts of the coins, it is highly likely that minor edge characteristics would not be reproduced from the cast, leaving a slight difference from the original piece. Given the overwhelming similarity in the position of the strike on each side, it is all but certain that this example pedigrees to the Russian noble, a first cousin of Emperor Aleksandr III.

Published in Dumbarton Oaks–Ex Garrett Collection

Lot 312–Leo III the "Isaurian", with Constantine V. 717-741. Pale AV Solidus (21mm, 4.27 g, 6h). Rome mint. Possibly dated IY 15 (731/2). D NO LЄ P A MVL, crowned and draped bust of Leo facing, holding globus cruciger and akakia / D NO CONTANTIN, crowned and draped bust of Constantine facing, holding globus cruciger and akakia; I to left, Є above star to right. DOC (72) (this coin, illustrated on pl. VI); SB 1533. Good VF, toned. Very rare. Estimated at $7500

From the collection of Dr. Lawrence A. Adams. Ex John Work Garrett Collection (Part II, Leu/Numismatic Fine Arts, 16 October 1984), lot 537 (purchased from Wayte Raymond, 23 October 1923).

The Roman solidi and tremisses of Leo III feature a series of letters/numerals in the field, presumably dates either in regnal or indictional years. Bellinger and Grierson arranged the coinage according to the sequential order of these markings but warned that the arrangement leaves certain issues stylistically out of place (DOC p. 88 and 237). Concluding that there was no satisfactory explanation for the letters/numerals, the entire series was assigned an overarching date of 721-741.

World Coinage

Lot 617–COLONIAL AFRICA, Portuguese. Mozambique. José I o Reformador (the Reformer). 1750-1777. AV 1000 Réis (15mm, 1.31 g, 11h). Lisboa (Lisbon) mint. Dated 1755. Crowned coat-of-arms / Voided cross within quatrefoil; lis at cusps, pellets in angles. Vaz MO.14; Gomez 05.01; KM 12; Friedberg 3. Near EF. Rare. Estimated at $2,000

From the collection of Dr. Lawrence A. Adams. Ex Sotheby’s (2 October 1986), lot 260.

Lot 706–GERMANY, Sachsen-Albertinische Linie (Kurfürstentum). Friedrich August II (August III von Polen). 1733-1763. AV Double Auguste d’Or – 10 Thalers (29mm, 13.30 g, 12h). Leipzig mint; Ernst Dietrich Croll, mintmaster. Dated 1756. Crowned, draped, and cuirassed bust right of Augustus III, wearing Order of the Golden Fleece / Crowned coat-of-arms within cartouche and palm frond to either side; E.–C. and 10•TH• below. KM 975; Friedberg 2857; Hutten-Czapski 2912. Good VF, lustrous, some hairlines and light scratches. Estimated at $2000

From the collection of Dr. Lawrence A. Adams. Ex Moreira Collection (Part 1, Superior, 31 May 1988), lot 213.

Lot 1088–SCOTLAND. James V. 1513-1542. AV Ducat – ‘Bonnet’ (22.5mm, 5.70 g, 4h). Third coinage. Bonnet type. Edinburgh mint; im: saltire. Dated 1540. X IΛCOBVS · 5 · DEI · GRΛ · R · SCOTOR 1540, mantled bust right, wearing bonnet; annulet to left / HONOR · REGIS · IVDICVM · DILIGIT, crowned coat-of-arms over cross fleurée. Burns 4 (fig. 754); SCBI 35 (Ashmolean & Hunterian) 905 (same rev. die); SCBC 5373. VF, toned, very light mark behind head. Handsome portrait. Rare. Estimated at $7500 From the collection of Dr. Lawrence A. Adams. Ex Rev. Arnold Mallinson Collection (Spink 39, 6 December 1984), 125; Glendining’s (23 January 1935), lot 61.

Printed catalogs for CNG 100 are now available. To order both catalogs (Adams Collection–Part I and the regular CNG 100 catalog), please visit www.cngcoins.com. The two catalogs are $75 postpaid to North American addresses, and $100 to the rest of the world. Payment may be made by U.S. $ check or Visa/MasterCard. Catalogues have been mailed to customers on CNG’s active mailing list. Prospective bidders may also view the virtual catalogs at CNG 100 Virtual Catalog and CNG 100 - Adams Collection Virtual Catalog. The sale can be viewed online at cngcoins.com, sixbid.com and numisbids.com.

In addition to the Internet & Mail Bid Sale, CNG will also feature over 1100 lots in their Electronic Auction 361 with nearly 700 lots from the Adams Collection, closing a week later on Wednesday, October 14, 2015, from 10AM ET (U.S.). Bidding for CNG Electronic Auction 361 will begin on October 1, 2015.

CNG is currently accepting consignments for future auctions sales. Please contact the firm for further details and consignment deadlines.

For further details and any additional information, please contact CNG, Inc. at:

Classical Numismatic Group, Inc.
P.O. Box 479
Lancaster, PA 17608-0479
Telephone: (717) 390-9194
Fax: (717) 390-9978
Email: cng@cngcoins.com

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