Obolos 30 – The “Festive” Edition is Online

By Johannes Stelzhammer

At the risk of sounding like my own parents – Time flies! The major numismatic catalogue auctions have taken place, the migratory birds have left and are enjoying the southern sun (cunningly avoiding the weather we have to deal with!), and everybody is slowly preparing for the festive season and year-end.

Oh, wait! There is still one obligatory event to enter into your agenda before retiring to your drawing room with a glass of mulled wine and cookies: the 30th edition of our online auction. Obolos is online now and will close on Sunday, 17th of December, starting at 14:00 CET live on our webpage. This time the sale includes 836 lots, ranging from Celtic to modern coins and seals.

Of particular interest this time are some very pleasing coins from the Dr. Paul Peter Urone Collection. I hope you do enjoy the small selection we present here.

Lot 87: Sicily, Gela. Tetras, c. 420-405 BC. Sharply struck and with an attractive chocolate brown patina. Struck slightly off center, otherwise, extremely fine. Starting Price: 150 CHF.

Lot 87 (Starting Price: 150 CHF) – This bronze tetras, struck circa 420-405 BC by the Sicilian city of Gela, is a relatively common coin. However, the quality of this particular specimen, acquired by Dr. Urone from Münzen und Medaillen in 1994, is outstanding! Just look at the artful rendering of the hair of the local river god Gelas. You can virtually see the water flowing through it!

Lot 90: Sicily, Himera. Hemilitron, c. 425-409 BC. Exceptionally well struck reverse. Perfectly centered. Removed from NGC holder, graded CH XF 5/5, 4/5. Good very fine. Starting Price: 150 CHF.

Lot 90 (Starting Price: 150 CHF) – Another outstanding Sicilian bronze, this time a hemilitron, comes from Himera and was issued circa 425-409 BC by this city on the northern coast of the island. On the obverse, the god Pan is riding on a goat while blowing from a conch shell. On the other side, Nike, dressed in a delicate – almost see-through – robe, is flying to left, while six pellets are referring to the denomination of the coin. This specimen is perfectly centered, extremely well struck and comes with a pleasing patina. The helmet on the obverse and Nike on the reverse might even refer to the Battle of Himera, fought in 480 BC by an alliance of Greek cities against Carthaginian hegemony on Trinacria.

Lot 403: Lycia, Phaselis. Obol, 4th century BC. Unpublished variation! A rare little coin with a charming owl. Minor porosity, otherwise, very fine. Starting Price: 200 CHF.

Lot 403 (Starting Price: 200 CHF) – The last coin for today is a silver obol from the other end of the Mediterranean. It was struck in the Lycian city of Phaselis in the 4th century BC. Astragaloi (or knucklebones), just as the one depicted on the obverse, were used for divination, but also as game pieces (a simple form of the game – originally called pentalitha – was mentioned by Julius Pollux of Alexandria in c. 180 AD and is still played in Turkey today!). On rare occasions, knucklebones were also depicted on coins. It remains uncertain if the astragalos in this case refers to prophecy or games – or both? What we do know is that the miniature facing owl on the reverse reminds us of a deflated version of those encountered on Athenian decadrachms. We also know that this specimen is an unpublished variant, extremely rare thus!

Lot 524: Islands Off Elis, Kephallenia. C. Proculeius. AE, c. 30-28 BC. Unusual Reverse Type. Very rare and with an unusual reverse depiction. Very fine. Starting Price: 300 CHF.

Don’t forget to have a look at all of the lots of Obolos 30, before it starts closing live on our Nomos webpage beginning at 14:00 CET on Sunday, 17th December 2023! You have plenty of time, but as they say, time flies! If you have any trouble logging into your account, or have questions about the sale, please do not hesitate to contact us.