Sale brings back to the market rarities not seen since 1960s and 70s
Morton & Eden, the specialist London coin and medal auctioneers, are delighted to announce an important single-owner sale of ancient Greek coins of exceptional quality and rarity. The collection will be offered in London on Monday October 24 and is expected to realise a total of £1-1.5 million.
Being sold anonymously, the collection was formed over the last 50 years. It comprises 168 individual coins covering mainly the archaic and classical periods (6th to 4th centuries BC). Many significant examples were purchased in the 1960s and 70s which are only now being returned to the market having been previously unavailable to present-day collectors.
The owner of the collection has researched and recorded the provenance of each coin to be offered and details will be incorporated within the fully illustrated sale catalogue.
Highlights include:
- A Sicilian tetradrachm of Naxos, circa 460 BC, showing the head of Dionysus, God of Wine, and on the reverse, his companion, a silenus, seated drunkenly holding a wine cup to his lips. The design of this coin has been attributed to the Aitna Master and is considered to be a Greek masterpiece of early classical art. The present example has an unbroken provenance going back to an important auction at Hirsch in Munich in 1907. Estimate £100,000-150,000.
- A Sicilian tetradrachm of Syracuse, circa 465 BC by the Demareteion Master, formerly in the Gillet (Kunstfreund) collection sold in Zurich in 1974. Estimate £30,000-40,000.
- A Sicilian decadrachm of Syracuse by Kimon, circa 400 BC with an unusually fine head of the local water nymph Arethusa. Estimate £60,000-80,000.
A Cretan stater of Gortyna, circa 300 BC, depicting the Rape of Europa. In outstanding condition, this coin is the finer of only two examples known. It was purchased privately in 1965 and has never before been offered at auction. Estimate £60,000-80,000.
- A triple siglos from the island of Kos, circa 480 BC, showing a diskobolos in the act of hurling the discus. This coin is a masterpiece of late archaic Greek art and an issue associated with the Triopian Games which were held by the Dorian pentapolis of Kos, Knidos and the three principle cities of Rhodes in the early 5th century BC. Estimate £40,000-60,000.
- A magnificent tetradrachm of Rhodes, circa 400 BC, with a facing head of Helios the Sun God in high relief. This is considered to be one of the finest coins of Rhodes in existence. Estimate £40,000-60,000.
For further information, please contact specialist Tom Morton at Morton & Eden, telephone +44 (0)20 7493 5344 or [email protected].
