Spring Auctions at Gorny & Mosch

From 4 to 5 March 2024, auction 302 “Ancient Coins” and auction 303 “Selected Coins and Medals from the Middle Ages and Modern Times” will be held by Gorny & Mosch. Two high-quality printed catalogues complement the sales.

Auction 302

More than 600 ancient coins will be offered from 4 to 5 March 2024 by the Munich auction house Gorny & Mosch in their business premises. Once again, the offer includes outstanding pieces and rarities such as a Knossos drachm (lot No. 159) featuring the famous labyrinth, tetradrachms from Akragas and Syracuse (lot No. 55 and No. 77, the cover piece of the catalogue), a decadrachm created by Kimon (No. 80), a prutah of Mattathias Antigonus presenting the oldest depiction of the menorah (No. 249), and a series of Roman aurei of outstanding quality (lot No. 415, 426, 459, 468, 483).

Auction 303

The auction of medieval and modern pieces on 5 March 2024 presents more than 500 exquisite coins and medals of outstanding quality, especially from the Middle Ages, the German States, Germany after 1871, Habsburg hereditary lands, Europe and world issues. Particularly the sections of German coins and medals contain pieces of great rarity and impressive quality. More than 200 pieces were graded by NGC.

The offer of auctions 302 and 303 at a glance:

• Celts – lot 0001-0034
• Greeks – lot 0035-0316
• Roman Provincial Coinage – lot 0317-0373
• Roman Republic – lot 0374-0397
• Roman Empire – lot 0398-0549
• Byzantium – lot 0550-0627
• Migration Period – lot 0628-0629
• Contorniate – lot 0630
• Armenian weight – lot 0631
• Middle Ages – lot 1001-1047
• Germany up to 1871 – lot 1048-1195
• Germany after 1871 – lot 1196-1303
• German colonies and linked territories – lot 1304-1313
• Medals – lot 1314-1317
• Austro-Hungary – lot 1318-1361
• Europe – lot 1362-1474
• World Coins – lot 1475-1534
• Islamic coinage – lot 1535-1538

Lots from Auction 302 – Ancient Coins

• Lot No. 77: Syracuse. 2nd Republic, 466-406 BC. Tetradrachm ø 26mm (17.27g). 430-420 BC. Rare in this quality! Fine toning, well-centred on a broad planchet, about extremely fine. Estimate: 10,000 euros.

• Lot No. 159: Knossos. Drachm ø 19mm (5.43g), approx. 330-300 BC. Rare! Attractive dark toning, Rev. die error. Very fine to extremely fine. Estimate: 15,000 euros.

The reverse depicts the labyrinth of Knossos. Daedalus had been commissioned by King Minos to build this construction in order to hide the Minotaur, a creature that had emerged from the mating of King Minos’ wife Pasiphaë and a white bull. Ever since Knossos started to mint coins, the labyrinth had been depicted on its coins – initially in a stylised form. This specimen depicts one of the most complex renderings of the labyrinth, which ancient authors localise either in the Bronze Age palace of Minos or in Gortyn.

• Lot No. 249: Hasmoneans. Mattathias Antigonos, 40-37 BC. AE prutah ø 15mm (1.61g). Jerusalem mint. Very rare! Outstanding, well-centred depiction of the menorah, very fine. Estimate: 10,000 euros.

“And you shall set the table outside the veil, and the lampstand on the south side of the tabernacle opposite the table, and you shall put the table on the north side.” (Exodus 26:35) The golden menorah and the golden table of showbread were among the central objects of Jewish worship, and only the priests of the Second Temple were allowed to set eye on them. After the Romans destroyed the temple in AD 70 – as the relief on the Arch of Titus shows – the menorah, the table of showbread and other temple utensils were paraded through Rome in a triumphal procession. Josephus recorded that they were then taken to the Templum Pacis. However, there is no information on what happened to them afterwards. This prutah issued by the last Hasmonean ruler Mattathias Antigonos presents the oldest dated depictions of the menorah and the table of showbread. According to traditional interpretation, this coin series was produced during the siege of Jerusalem by Herod and Sosius (37 BC) in order to strengthen Mattathias’ authority as high priest.

• Lot No. 459: Roman Empire. Commodus, AD 177-192. Aureus ø 20mm (7.32g). AD 192. Rome mint. Gold! Mazzini and Calicó plate coin! Extremely fine. Estimate: 25,000 euros.

Lots from Auction 303 – Coins and Medals from the Middle Ages and Modern Times

• Lot No. 1061: German Coins and Medals up to 1871. Bavaria. Maximilian III Joseph, 1745-1777. Ducat 1762, Munich. So-called Isar river gold ducat. Engraver Franz Andreas Schega. Gold! Showpiece. Of great rarity. Fine toning, slightly bent, about BU, MS62+-NGC-6774330-003. Estimate: 15,000 euros.
• Lot No. 1170: German Coins and Medals up to 1871. Saxony, Electors and Albertine line. Anton, 1827-1836. 10 talers 1829 S, Dresden. Gold! Very rare! Showpiece. Beautiful BU. Estimate: 12,500 euros.
• Lot No. 1214: Germany after 1871. Silver Coins of the Empire. Hesse. Ludwig IV, 1877-1892. 5 marks 1888 A, Berlin. Head to the right, below mint mark A / Small imperial eagle. J. 69. 27.77 g. Showpiece. Very rare in this quality. Magnificent toning, minuscule scratches, FDC, MS64-NGC-6145260-001. Estimate: 10,000 euros.

• Lot No. 1369: European Coins and Medals. Denmark. Christian V, 1670-1699. Ducat 1682 CW, Glückstadt. Gold! Of great rarity, especially in this quality. About FDC. Estimate: 25,000 euros.

E-auction 304

On 10 April 2024 starting at 10 a.m., coins and multiple lots with ancient issues as well as coins and medals from the Middle Ages to the 20th century will be on offer.

Viewing

The viewing takes place at Gorny & Mosch, Maximiliansplatz starting now from Monday to Friday, 10 a.m.-1 p.m. and 2:30 p.m.-6 p.m., Sunday, 3 March 2024, 1 p.m.-5 p.m. and upon prior appointment.

The catalogues for auctions 302 and 303 can be ordered from Gorny & Mosch, Giessener Münzhandlung, Maximiliansplatz 20, 80333 Munich, Germany, phone: +49 (0)89 24 22 643-0, fax +49 (0)89 22 85 513.