Ancient Gold

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Lot 4903    Session 16 (9.30am Friday)    Ancient Gold

Estimate $1,400
Bid at live.noble.com.au
SOLD $1,200

THRACE, Kingdom of, Coson, (c.42 B.C.), gold stater, (8.434 grams), Northern Greece mint, obv. three togate figures advancing to left, the first and third carrying an axe over left shoulder, KO**SWN* in exergue, Brutus's monogram to left, rev. eagle standing to left on sceptre, holding wreath in one claw, (S.1733, BMC 2, Winkler 1-3). Extremely fine and virtually as struck, rare.

Ex Noble Numismatics Sale 63 (lot 3397). The Coson coinage was struck around 42 B.C., when Brutus, the exiled assassin of Julius Caesar, was raising troops in northern Greece in preparation for the final confrontation with Caesar's heirs Mark Antony and Octavian. Brutus had his own travelling mint, but this coinage was evidently a gift from an allied Dacian king from the lower Danube region. The king's name, Coson, appears on the coin and Brutus' name is reduced to a monogram which appears on some issues, including this example. Coson's coin type makes sense in terms of Roman propraganda. The eagle trampling a sceptre and the wreath symbolizes the anti-monarchical sentiments that prompted Caesar's assassination. The obverse type showing a Roman magistrate with his attendants, is copied from the coinage struck by Brutus himself in 54 B.C. It depicts an ancestor of Brutus who overthrew the Tarquin kings and founded the Roman Republic, serving as its first chief magistrate. This design thus serves to emphasize Brutus' attachment to the Republican traditions. See Winkler J., 'Consideratii despre moneda 'Koson',' Etudes et Recherches d'Histore Ancienne Vol.23, No.2 (1972), pp. 173-199.

Estimate / sale price does not include buyer's premium (currently 22% including GST) which is added to hammer price. All bids are executed on the understanding that the Terms & Conditions of sale have been read and accepted. For information on grading and estimates please refer to the Buying at Auction advice.

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Adjacent lots

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  • Lot 4902  

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  • Lot 4903   This lot

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    Estimate $1,400

  • Lot 4904  

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  • Lot 4905  

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