The Top 10 Coins of L5 Auction 7

1. Alyattes or Kroisos, Lydia. EL Trite, 610-546 BC.

The idiom ‘as rich as Kroisos’ betrays the unhappier truth flowing over the rushing waters of Herodotos’ elegant prose. For the secus decursus aquarum of the Paktolos indeed provided copious amounts of electrum to the native Lydians, but their monarchs did not stand as though a firm tree planted with its due fruit in season. The kingdom rose as dramatically as it fell, and but for a few generations the sons of Sardeis ruled Asia Minor. 

As for the yield of the Paktolos and the innovations of the Lydians, Herodotos tells us that, 

πρῶτοι δὲ ἀνθρώπων τῶν ἡμεῖς ἴδμεν νόμισμα χρυσοῦ καὶ ἀργύρου κοψάμενοι ἐχρήσαντο, πρῶτοι δὲ καὶ κάπηλοι ἐγένοντο.

They were the first men known to us who coined and used gold and silver currency; and they were the first to sell by retail.

Such coins as the above trite evidence the trite tale of Herodotos and the fickle nature of man. For while the cultural memory of one man’s wealth captured the imagination of antiquity and even has pervaded the modern age, the unhappy story of the man behind the phrase is largely forgotten. Kroisos, for all the abundance of wealth and the prosperity of his kingdom, counted himself the luckiest man alive. When the sojourner Solon stayed at court, Kroisos ushered the philosoph into the royal treasury to bedazzle his eminent guest.

After a satisfactory tour of the doubtless numerous rooms, Kroisos posed to Solon the question of who should be considered the happiest man in the world. Expecting himself named, Tellos of Athens came the rude reply! Kroisos, indignant at these words, had Solon explain. Tellos, having lived to see the children of his children, with a happy and respectible family, met his honorable end on the battlefield at a ripe age, buried and mourned with great ceremony by the state. 

Assuredly, if not first then second – Cleobis and Biton the reply! For those two fellows gave their life to see the culmination of a necessary and important religious festival, whereupon having rendered the extreme physical feat of carrying a cult statue many miles in the manner of oxen, the two brothers passed away in sanctity on temple grounds, showing how it “was better for a man to die than to live”.

Angered, Kroisos asked of Solon how this can be! Solon the quip, “But I cannot yet answer your question, before I hear that you have ended your life well.” These golden words later rang true when Kroisos, arrogantly misinterpreting the sacred oracle of Delphi, went off to destroy a great army – only too late realizing that Apollo had spoken of his own. To be as rich as Kroisos…

If only Kroisos was as wise as Solon!

2. Posthumous Issue in the Name of Philippos II, Pella. AV Stater, After 336 BC.

In 1977, Manolis Andronikos discovered perhaps the most famous archeological find of the entire 20th century. Under the earthen loam of Vergina lay the remains of the greatest Greek statesman that the world ever saw – and now, thanks to Andronikos, the world again can see.

Philippos II of Makeonia stood as tall in his own life as he did in legacy. Analysis of a corpse found in Tomb II of the late 4th century BC grave complex showed a man originally 1.8 meters tall with a penetration wound to an eye socket. This taken into consideration with the location, date, and the sumptuous – obviously royal – circumstances of burial, leave only one contender to likelihood. 

The discovery of Philippos sent shockwaves through the academic world, and the long lost remains of a major historical figure returned to be studied. Yet the legacy of Philippos did not cease with his body laid to rest, nor did the machinations of the crafty Makedonian fall apart after death. Under the brilliant leadership of his son, the very army, officers, and state structures built by Philippos were put to good use by another. Coins like the above example emphasize the importance of Philippos to Makedonian propaganda even after his death. The long shadow cast by the scarred, one eye hegemon of Greece extends still a small bit further today, thanks to Andronikos and the rediscovery of Philippos’ remains.

3. Elis, Olympia. AR Stater, 245-210 BC.

This attractive Greek stater embodies the quintessential Hellenistic spirit, minted in the heart of Greece. Olympia, as the name well betrays, was the host of the most famous sporting event in antiquity. Her namesake Olympic games were recurring athletic competitions celebrated in the region every four years. Greeks across the Aegean and beyond strove to not only compete in the illustrious event, but to win fame and fortune for self and polis. The golden tongue of Pindar has immortalized the exuberance and joys of victory, and numerous attestations across the ancient annals record great honors heaped upon those who stood victorious at the games. The prizes themselves were little to look upon, only but a wreath. Beneath the intertwined branches, however, lay civic commemoration, celebration, and immortality. For those fortunate and able enough to stand as victors of the games, their names carry through even to the current day. If we can no longer experience the ancient games as they once were, the fine coinage of Elis and Olympia present a tangible connection to this most Hellenistic of events.

4. Ionia, Magnesia pros Maiandro. AV stater, 130-120 BC.

Magnesia pros Maiandro, or Magnesia ad Maeandrum according to the Latins, was a well to do polis in the south west of Anatolia. Like the drachme from Skepsis discussed in the write up for the top 10 coins of the L5 bourse, Magnesia was one of the five cities granted to Themistokles by the great king of Persia. Most important was Lampsakos, for it was to provide fine wine for the Greek expatriate. Myos was given for vegetables, Skepsis for clothes, Perkote for bedding, and Magnesia for bread. That most ancient and noble of foods dates back to the earliest traces of civilization, and undoubtedly any man of culture insists upon its regular presence at his tableside. Poor Pope Martin I, in his exiled exacerbations, laments how the city of Cherson had only heard of (but never seen) bread. Themistokles, whatever his ills in exile, was spared such a gruesome and hyperbolic fate. To him went Magnesia, with all its bread and revenues. 

5. Krete, Lyktos/Lyttos. AR Stater, 330-270 BC.

The history of Lyttos follows that of Krete, with the city state independent of, in coalitions with, or subject to outside powers depending on the current whims of fate. Prominent especially in the later Hellenistic age, Lyttos faced two unfortunate sackings. The first was made during a Cretan civil war, with the entire fighting-age, male population of the city returning from campaign to find their polis burned down and families enslaved. The second sack occurred at the hands of the Roman Republic, after which the city sank into relative prosperity but obscurity, before eventually being abandoned in the early medieval period. The above stater reflects the city at its most powerful, both economically and militarily active. The eagle represents the bold attitudes of the population before having their feathers twice so cruelly plucked. 

6. Kyprus, Kition under King Pumaiyaton. AV Stater, 325-320 BC.

Little is known of Pumaiyaton besides a few surviving inscriptions and his numismatic proliferations. King of a subservient though nominally independent kingdom in Kyprus, Pumaiyaton was the last in a long line of Phoenician kings to rule on the island. Object 1872,0816.82 in the British Museum hosts a scant reference to the king, with the text assumed to read “[? Pumayyaton King of Kition and Idalion] son of Milkyaton, King of Kition and Idalion”. Of his rulership and accomplishments, little can be said save a brief expansion to claim Tamassos. The series of coinage struck in the name and with the standard designs of the lion maned pupil of Aristoteles raise the question of the relationship between Pumaiyaton and the Makedonian king. Whatever the leeway granted to Pumaiyaton may have been, wise policy for the period was adherence and submission to the new master of the region.

For the curious reader, Evangeline Markou discusses the coinage Kyprus during this period in a recent publication titled The Royal Coinages of Kition and Idalion. A Numismatic and Historical Study (6th-4th c. BC).

The disciple of Ahura Mazda needn’t fear the encroachments of the Western savage. King of kings, lord of lords, bringer of light, he has been chosen by the almighty to defend not only himself, or his kingdom, but the world from the powers of darkness. The bringer of deceit, Ahriman, wages an aeternal conflict for the patrimony of the universe. Baranes II has no doubt. He has seen the power of truth, and he has seen the evil of lies.

Foul, serpent tongued usurpers slithered from every corner. Where do they stand now? The uncouth Latins invaded his heart lands. And what of their efforts? Imperator Carus has been struck by lightning, the surest sign of divine blessing. The Latin invader is quite literally smote by the divine. What need is there of trembling? There can be no doubts now. Valerian was captured and had his flayed corpse stuffed, the fitting punishment for one who works evil. And this day Ahura Mazda has slain another bringer of falsehood. The unconquerable empire of the east was here before the Westerners, and surely it will outlast them too. Ahura Mazda has blessed Baranes’ reign, as he will many others. The victory of truth is inevitable.

8. Judea, Hierosolyma. AR Shekel, AD 66-70.

The great Jewish revolt of AD 66-74 ended as dramatically as it began. On the heights of Masada, one thousand Jewish soldiers and civilians chose suicide over surrender as the culmination of the most bitter siege in a long and protracted war. The Jewish rebellion met early success against regional officials of the Roman province, but once taken seriously, the might of Rome descended upon the region. Spearheaded by Vespasianus and his son Titus, future emperors of Rome, the gradual encirclement of Hierosolyma proved to be an effective strategy by the Roman military command. Cut off from the countryside, the capital of the rebels was left to simmer as tensions boiled over among disagreeing factions in the city. Infighting hastened their ruin, and the city walls were breached before the year of AD 70 passed. The temple was sacked and destroyed, and the spiritual nucleus of Judaism lay in ruins. A second attempt would be made half a century later, only to meet the same fate. The above shekel boldly proclaims the foundation and hopes of a new Jewish state, independent from the control of Rome. However, a single rebellious province, once the attention of a Mediterranean wide empire gazed upon them – tenacious as the struggle might have been – was inevitably doomed to failure. 

9. Skythia, Uncertain Dacian Mint. AV Stater, circa 42 BC.

Honorable Mention: