COINS OF THE TIGRIS AND EUPHRATES VALLEY

“Tyrants of the Tigris & Euphrates” exhibit showcases nearly 2,600 years of numismatic history at June 2018 Long Beach Expo

The second public display of a portion of the extensive numismatic treasures in the recently revealed Tyrant Collection (www.TheTyrantCollection.com) will include outstanding examples from the origins of coinage including a rare example of the world’s first gold coin. “The Tyrants of the Tigris & Euphrates” exhibit will be at the June 14-16, 2018 Long Beach Coin, Currency, Stamp & Sports Collectible Expo (www.LongBeachExpo).

The exhibition will showcase more than 350 important ancient to modern coins of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers valley including rulers of the Mesopotamia region from Cyrus the Great in 546 B.C. through Saddam Hussein in 2003. Many of the coins in the $10 million dollar display are the finest known of their kind.

The owner of The Tyrant Collection wants to remain anonymous while he shares the collection’s coins with the public for their educational value through a multi-year series of displays at the Long Beach Expo. The owner has assembled an unprecedented private collection of coins of tyrants of every age and every major civilization. Each section of the far-reaching collection is named after the principal water source of the civilization.

The second exhibition in the series will focus on coins from well-known early civilizations, such as the Lydians, Ionians, Parthians and Ottomans, as well as lesser known coin-issuing empires and tribes, such as the Abbasids and Ilkhans.

“The inaugural Tyrant Collection exhibition of English coins, ‘Tyrants of the Thames,’ this past February was a tremendous success and we heard many compliments from collectors, dealers and the general public,” said Ira Goldberg, President of Goldberg Coins and Collectibles, Inc. (www.GoldbergCoins.com) in Los Angeles, California.

“This next display will feature nearly 2,600 years of superb condition coins from Ionia, Persia, Turkey and Western Asia. In Greek, Mesopotamia means ‘(land) between the rivers.’ Mesopotamia is the land between the two great rivers, the Tigris and the Euphrates. Mesopotamia spawned the earliest civilization, which included writing, mathematics, metal working, the wheel, and spectacular wealth,” explained Goldberg who provided guidance in assembling The Tyrant Collection.

“The Tyrants of Mesopotamia is the longest collectible series of coins. Quite a challenge!,” he added.

Highlights of “The Tyrants of the Tigris & Euphrates” exhibition will include:

• Ionia, Ephesus Phanes electrum Stater, circa 625-600 B.C., one of the earliest recorded coins to bear both a type and inscription. It is one of only five known and one of the most historic of all ancient coins.

• King Kroisos gold Stater prototype, Sardes mint, circa 564-539 B.C., one of only about two dozen known of the world’s first coin struck in gold. The Kroisos type coinage is one of the most recognizable of all ancient Greek kings of Lydia coinage, and this example was formerly in the Zurich Money Museum Collection.

• Darius gold Daric, circa 500-485 B.C., Kings of Persia. A magnificent, exceptionally well struck example of the rare Type III variety (with two pellets behind the beard) struck during the period of the Ionian Revolt.

• Mazaios Stater, Satrap of Cilicia, circa 361-334 B.C. depicting King Artaxerxes III on one side and a lion on the other. Formerly in the Eduardo Levante Collection.

• Antiochos gold Stater, Seleukid Empire, circa 280-271 B.C., an apparently unique variety of the exceedingly rare issue depicting a bridled horse head to right, with braided, horn-like forelock.

• Mysia, Pergamum gold Stater struck during the reign of Alexander the Great, circa 334-332 B.C. with less than 20 examples known.

• Parthian Kingdom Tetradrachm of Mithradates I, circa 164-132 B.C. depicting a magnificent Hellenistic portrait of the king.

• Kings of Parthia, Tetradrachm depicting King Phraatakes on one side and Queen Musa on the other, Seleukeia on the Tigris mint, circa 2 B.C.-5 A.D.

• Sasanian Kingdom, Khusru II gold Dinar, 590-628 A.D. A magnificent example, formerly in the Sunrise Collection, with King Khusru II depicted on one side and Anahit, the goddess of fertility, healing, wisdom and water, on the other side.

• Sasanian kings, Azarmidokht silver Drachm, 631 AD, an extremely rare coin depicting King Husrav (Khosrau) II, and formerly in the William B. Warden, Jr. Collection. “The entire Tyrant Collection undoubtedly is the world’s most valuable rare coin collection in private hands, worth hundreds of millions of dollars,” said Goldberg. “These exhibits with different coins displayed at upcoming Long Beach Expos will be a once-in- a-lifetime opportunity for many collectors, dealers and the public to see in person some of the world’s most significant rare coins. Visitors to the June Long Beach Expo can receive a free, illustrated booklet about this latest, amazing exhibit.” The June 2018 Long Beach Expo will be held in the Long Beach, California Convention Center located at 100 S. Pine Ave. Additional information is available at www.LongBeachExpo.com.

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