Strong Prices Push CNG’s Triton XXVIII Auction to $12.25 million

An “Ides of March” silver coin struck by Brutus to celebrate the assassination of Julius Caesar sold for an astounding $551,250, and bidding for an extremely rare and beautiful Greek silver coin of the lost city of Pheneos attained a breathtaking $490,000, as strong demand for rare and important ancient, world and British coins drove prices in Classical Numismatic Group’s Triton XXVIII Auction, held live in New York City and online January 14-15, to more than double the $5.1 million presale estimate for the 1154-lot offering.

Two follow-up internet sessions, Triton XXVIII Sessions 5 and 6, held January 22-23 in Lancaster PA, also better than doubled their presale estimates to bring the total, bringing the total two-week haul to $12.25 million. All prices quoted include the 22.5% buyer’s premium.

“Across the board, this was one of the most successful auctions in CNG’s 50-year history,” said David Michaels, CNG’s director of consignments and shows. “Not only did the Greek and Roman coins exceed expectations, the prices we achieved for the modern world and British coins were simply jaw-dropping,” he noted.

Lot 622, the silver denarius of Brutus, famous betrayer of Julius Caesar, was struck in 42 BC, two years after the assassination of Caesar on March 15, 44 BC, well known as the “Ides of March.” The obverse featured a portrait of Brutus wearing a slight beard, while the reverse depicted a liberty cap flanked by two Roman daggers and the legend EID MAR. One of about 100 examples known, the type is widely regarded as the most historically important coin ever struck. The denarius, pedigreed to the “Collection of a Connoisseur Classicist,” was purchased by a floor bidder after spirited bidding in the auction room at the Intercontinental Barclay Hotel in New York, and on the internet, more than doubling its presale estimate of $250,000.

Lot 236, a rare silver stater of Pheneos, a small city in central Greece whose exact location is still disputed, was struck between 360 and 340 BC from dies produced by a master artisan. The obverse depicts the goddess Demeter, while the reverse sports a striding figure of Hermes, messenger of the god, cradling a small child identified as the infant Arkas, mythical founder of Arkadia.

Other Greek highlights include:

• Lot 93, a spectacular silver decadrachm of Syracuse, struck circa 405 BC from dies signed by the master engraver Euainetos, and pedigreed to the famous Gillet Collection. This magnificent coin fetched $232,750.

• Lot 387, a gold stater of the Egyptian Pharaoh Nektanebo II, which likewise reached $232,750.

• Lot 90, a superb Greek silver tetradrachm of Syracuse from circa 415 BC, attained $122,500.

• Lot 355, an extremely rare gold stater of the mysterious Seleucid ruler Andragoras, dating to 285 BC and graded Choice AU by NGC, was bid up to $134,750.

Roman Republican and Imperial coins showed exceptional strength in this Triton, Michaels noted. “Greek coins have been all the rage in collecting circles in recent years, but this time the Romans also proved immensely popular with collectors.” Besides the auction-topping Brutus denarius, other Roman highlights included:

• Lot 753, a gold aureus of the Emperor Maximianus depicting Hercules on the reverse, which reached $110,250.

• Lot 731, a rare gold aureus of the Emperor Geta (one of the emperors seen in the current hit movie Gladiator II), which attained $73,500 versus its presale estimate of $25,000.

• Lot 802, a gold tremissis of Romulus Augustus, the short-reigning last Roman Emperor of the West, which was bid up to $79,625.

Modern World coins also showed remarkable strength, highlighted the gem-studded Alexander Christopher Collection of European, Asian and New World coins in outstanding grade. Among the most sought-after pieces were lot 841, a gold 20-leva of Bulgaria dated 1894, which reached an astounding $85,750; lot 862, a Chinese silver dollar of the warlord Yuán Shìkăi, graded NGC MS 63, which achieved $82,687, and lot 946, a silver ducatoon of the Dutch East Indies dated 1739, which hit a remarkable $79,625.

The Sidney W. and Kenneth W. Harl Collection of British Hammered Coins, a father-son holding than spanned six decades of diligent collecting, also showed the ongoing demand for high-quality early British coins has not abated. Lot 1053, a rare penny of Edward the Elder, topped the set with a price of $42,875, while lot 1038, a splendid example of the famous “Raven penny” of the Viking ruler Anlaf Gufthfrithsson, attained $27,562.

Triton XXVIII also featured a strong offering of rare World and British medals, including lot 1000, a gorgeous gold medal struck to mark the conclusion of China’s bloody Boxer Rebellion, with the flags of the allied nations enamelled in colour, which reached $122,500

Moreover, this section included lot 1129, a British gold coronation medal of James II dated 1685, bid up to $42,875, and lot 1002, an apparently unique French gold medal honouring Charles Lindbergh’s Atlantic flight of 1927, which attained $30,625.

Concluding the floor session were a group of early manuscripts from the collection of Gerald Francis Borrmann, a globe-trotting engineer whose Greek coin collection also featured strongly in the early going. These included lot 1152, a 1493 edition of the Nuremberg Chronicle, a monumental early illustrated encyclopaedia, which achieved $55,125; and lot 1153, a 1609 printing of the Parergon sive Veteris Geographiae Aliquot Tabulae, a hugely important early atlas of the ancient and “modern” worlds, which brought $42,875.

These results bode extremely well for CNG’s next Feature Auction, CNG 129, scheduled for mid-May 2025, Michaels said. “If you would like to see your coins showcased in this world-class auction, please get in touch with us right away, as the deadline is February 15,” he added.