The first installment of the Historical Scholar Collection was featured in its own catalog in our recent Chicago World & Ancient Coins Platinum Session, and the first of our four Showcase auctions was offered last month.
Now, Heritage is offering selections from Part II of the Historical Scholar Collection showcase auctions. This auction is open for bidding now, with a concluding live session scheduled for October 23 at 8 PM Central Time.
The collector behind the Historical Scholar cabinet had three goals while curating his collection, that, at times, complemented each other and at other times were completely independent. The first was to do a deep dive into specific issues. Another goal was to seek out pieces with specific historical significance. The final purpose of the collection was to showcase the incredible artistry of the ancient engravers through high-grade examples of some of the most beautiful types. Much like the previous auction, this installment features a fantastic and varied selection of mostly Greek and Roman ancient coins, with particular strengths in seldom seen and well-struck bronze issues of Imperial Rome, along with a handful of Lydian and Ionian fractional staters and some scarcer Byzantine and Celtic types.
One interesting coin featured in this auction is lot 98177, a lifetime portrait issue denarius of Julius Caesar. Bearing the legend “DICT PERPETVO” (“Dictator in Perpetuity”), this issue is considered by historians as the coins that killed Caesar. Around a month after this legend was minted, Julius Caesar was assassinated by the Senate in the Theater of Pompey.
Some of the other fascinating coins in this auction include:
- Ptolemaic Egypt. Ptolemy VI Philometor, Second Reign (180-145 BC). AR stater or tetradrachm. NGC AU 5/5 – 3/5. Alexandria, ca. 169-145 BC
- Roman Republic: L. Roscius Fabatus (64/59 BC). AR serratus denarius. NGC Choice MSstar 4/5 – 5/5. Rome.
- Roman Republic: Cleopatra VII of Egypt and Marc Antony, as Rulers of the East (37-30 BC). AR denarius. NGC Choice VF 3/5 – 3/5. Alexandria, 34-32 BC.
- Roman Imperial: Marcus Agrippa, lieutenant of Augustus (died 12 BC). AE as. NGC Choice XFstar 5/5 – 3/5, Fine Style. Posthumous issue, Rome, AD 37-41. [ CoinWeek Editor: Learn more about Marcus Agrippa and his coins.]
- Roman Imperial: Tiberius (AD 14-37). AV aureus. NGC XF 4/5 – 2/5, ex-jewelry, scuffs. Lugdunum, ca. AD 14-17
- Roman Imperial: Otho (January-April AD 69). AR denarius. NGC Choice XF 3/5 – 4/5. Rome
- Silk Road Region. Ca. 5th-8th centuries AD. AV tremissis. XF. Indian, Chinese, or Turkish issue imitating a gold solidus of Anastasius I.
- Byzantine: Justinian II, First Reign (AD 685-695). AV solidus. NGC Choice AU 4/5 – 3/5, clipped. Constantinople, 1st officina, AD 692-695
