The coins of Alexander III the Great of Macedonia
Few historical figures have spurred people’s imagination like Alexander, King of the Macedonians. Up to the present day, his coins range amongst those every coin collector likes to add to his collection. Fortunately, these pieces come in great numbers, so that every collector can afford at least one specimen!
A Weight from the Empire of the Seleucids
A huge elephant is depicted on the weight that was auctioned off on 18th December 2013 in auction sale Gorny & Mosch 218 – Ancient Art. It is of interest not just to the art lover but to everyone concerned with ancient metrology. After all, both the shekel and the drachm is based on the mine, i.e. the unit represented by this weight.
Under the eyes of Artemis
The upcoming sale of Numismatica Genevensis SA on November 30, 2010 offers a unique gold stater struck by the citizens of Abydos. Here’s the story behind...
A cownapper as royal role model
On 10 March 2014, an octodrachm of the Edones tribe will be auctioned off at Gorny & Mosch featuring on its obverse Hermes who, after just being born, stole the cattle from Apollo. One wonders why King Getas chose that scene to be depicted on his coins.
Big price for an emergency coin
The city of Syracuse issued a marvelous gold coin during its war against the Carthaginians. A perfect specimen of this emission sold for 66.700 Euro during the last auction sale of Gorny & Mosch...
The Punic Goddess
On Friday, March 13, 2015, Künker auctions off a Siculo-Punic coin with an enigmatic depiction: on the obverse we see a beautiful woman with a Phrygian cap. Is it Dido? Is it Tanit? Or is it perhaps a completely different goddess?
And this is where Aristotle was wrong…
Aristotle, in his work on the structure of the Tarentine government, likewise described the coins of the city. He remarked that they depicted Taras, son of Poseidon, riding a dolphin. Was he right? Or is there another, more possible, option?
Sicilian Mosaic Part 10: Rescue by the Mother City of Corinth
After the murder of Dion, the ruler of Syracuse, his followers looked for help in Corinth, where the founding settlers of Syracuse had come from many centuries ago. And Timoleon in fact succeeded in stabilizing the Syracusan region.
80,000 Euros for a work of two Sicilian die cutters
For an impressive amount of money some extraordinary Greek coins were auctioned at Gorny & Mosch’s, Giessener Münzhandlung on October 10. One of them is a remarkable tetradrachm from Syracuse whose story you will read here…
Sicilian Mosaic Part 11: The classical coinage of Syracuse
Syracusan coins are among the most beautiful strikings of antiquity. Have a look at a few examples in the following.