Obolos 27 Is Online

Obolos 27 is online now and will close on the 19th of March 2023, starting at 14:00 CET live on the Nomos website. This time the sale includes 944 lots, ranging from Celtic to modern coins and seals.

As so often, Obolos is only the vanguard of something much bigger: the Nomos auction(s!), scheduled for 21st-22nd of May 2023!

Lot 25 (Starting Price: 500 CHF): Homer called Hera βοῶπις, or “ox-eyed”. Thus, the tradition that he was a blind bard must be correct. He certainly has never laid eyes on Hera Lakinia, as seen on this beautiful Nomos from Kroton in Southern Italy, our lot 25 in Obolos 27! The dies are of a wonderful classical style and date this coin to 400-325 BC. The cutter took the inspiration to produce a facing portrait from Kimon’s Arethusa. Herakles on the reverse is also depicted in his prime, but this time he is only the supporting act.

Lot 137 (Starting Price: 500 CHF): This Tetradrachm of king Demetrios I Poliorketes of Macedon was minted in Ephesos, circa 301-295 BC. The scene of Nike on a prow on the obverse is very similar to that of the Victory of Samothrace, now in the Louvre. Some scholars even believe that statue inspired the coin, but it is now thought that the statue is later, and was erected by Antigonos Gonatas in the 250s BC. However, to quote Giordano Bruno: Se non è vero, è molto ben trovato (“even if it is not true, it [the story] is a very good fabrication”)!

Lot 494 (Starting Price: 150 CHF): This lovely Assarion bronze coin from Mopsos in Cilicia, struck during the reign of Marcus Aurelius, enchants us with a charming and well-struck depiction of the Three Graces. While these three women are encountered on coins quite regularly, one hardly ever comes across types with Zeus on the obverse, especially in this quality. Surely, Zeus would have agreed to being linked to the Three Graces in this way.

Live bidding will be exclusively available in the Nomos auction catalog.

For further information, visit the Nomos website.