Greek Silver & Bronze Coins

Lot 4137    SESSION 16 (9.30AM FRIDAY 29TH JULY)    Greek Silver & Bronze Coins

Estimate $600
Bid at live.noble.com.au
SOLD $360

SICILY, Aitna Area, Mercenaries from Adranon, (c.344-336 B.C.), AE drachm, 30mm, (26.11 g), obv. laureate head of Apollo left, rev. lyre with seven strings, (S.1015, CNS III 2 st 4/5 = Virzi 512 (This Coin); SNG Morcom 873; SNG ANS 1153, HGC 2, 42). Fine, very rare, with green and black patina; overstruck on a Syracuse AE drachm, obv. Athena, rev. dolphins flanking sea star (CNS II 62).

Ex CNG eSale 116, June 15, 2005 (lot 56), coming from the Tony Hardy Collection, previously from Numismatica Ars Classica, Auction I (19 May 1999), (lot 1137), and from the Tom Virzi Collection, (No.512), with ticket.
No examples have come to auction since the sale of this coin in 2005!
Tom Virzi (died New York age 92 in March 1974), collected 2238 bronze coins of Greater Greece (Italy) and Sicily (depicted on plates as plaster casts) in his very rare set of plates. Virzi was assistant for some years to the pre-eminent dealer Jacob Hirsch in Munich for the latter years of the 19th century. Bank Leu sold parts of his collection in Zurich in 1973, others were sold by various dealers over the years. Gary Davies (Magnetic Island Qld), has a record of this collection that indicates that it was bought by Abe Kosoff and Sol Kaplan c.1950s-1960s for US$30,000. Joel Malter started handling Kosoff's ancient coins in the early 1960s to 1970s and sold the collection to Joel Malter for US$100,000. He kept a few and sold a few in his early auctions. Joel Malter informed Gary that he sold the collection to Leu for US$110,000. Malloy or (John Aiello) bought a few lower grade items and sold them by Malloy auctions.
This collection was the largest and best ever formed on the bronzes from Greek Italy and Sicily.