Fontanille Coins
Auction 84 7 April 2016
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Herod Agrippa I, AE 24 mm struck year 43-44 C.E. in Caesarea Maritima (GBC 1248) 16.56 g.
An important and exceedingly rare coin type of Agrippa I struck on the last year of his life and in the city where he died. In the 10 last years, only 4 specimens have been seen on the market: Archaeological Center 2007a (previously: Superior-NYINC 1995 No. 1165), Archaeological Center 2007b, CNG 2013 & CNG 2015, for a total of 8 coins known for the type (www.menorahcoinproject.org/ag1-13.htm). This type is always found in a terrible - to not say horrible - condition, but the historical importance of the scene depicted on the obverse makes it desirable and important in any condition. This scene shows the emperor Claudius (in the middle) crowned by Herod Agrippa I (on left) and his brother Herod of Chalcis (on right).
Struck by the pair of dies O1-R2 (like AC 2007b), this coin is one of the 3 finest known examples for the type, with THE most complete scene on the obverse, while the reverse stands in the average condition. The reason for this nice scene on obverse is that this coin has been struck after O1 was recut by the engraver, which leads us to say a few words about recut on Judaean coins. A die was - sometimes - recut if it was too affected by wear or breaks before the number of coins to strike was reached. I have found and studied 4 examples of recut dies on Judaean coins. Two important facts appeared to me: 1) A recut certainly improves the quality of a worn illustration, but it also weakens the die. A recut die could not strike more than 10-15% of the coins previously struck before the recut. 2) An engraver recutting a die was not exactly free to recut what he wants, but he also had to deal with the problems the die was affected by (breaks, cracks, wear...). The recut obverse die of the coin offered here gives several remarkable examples of it. For example, if the right arm of the figure in the middle of the scene - Claudius - appears to be too long, it is because the die was affected by a severe defect in this area (www.menorahcoinproject.org/ag1-13.htm) and the engraver who recut the die had to deal with that.
Now, why did the dies of this coin type were so prematurely and dramatically affected by wear, breaks and other flaws although they struck so few coins? In my opinion, the dies were made in an alloy that was not appropriate or not homogenous enough. During the strike, a too hard alloy is subject to break as a too soft one is subject to premature wear. If the coin makers of Agrippa I have had a better control in the fabrication of their dies, it is probable this coin type - and some others - would have been much more common. It does not make sense to cut an important historical scene on a die if it is for striking a handful of coins only.
Est. $15,000-20,000
An important and exceedingly rare coin type of Agrippa I struck on the last year of his life and in the city where he died. In the 10 last years, only 4 specimens have been seen on the market: Archaeological Center 2007a (previously: Superior-NYINC 1995 No. 1165), Archaeological Center 2007b, CNG 2013 & CNG 2015, for a total of 8 coins known for the type (www.menorahcoinproject.org/ag1-13.htm). This type is always found in a terrible - to not say horrible - condition, but the historical importance of the scene depicted on the obverse makes it desirable and important in any condition. This scene shows the emperor Claudius (in the middle) crowned by Herod Agrippa I (on left) and his brother Herod of Chalcis (on right).
Struck by the pair of dies O1-R2 (like AC 2007b), this coin is one of the 3 finest known examples for the type, with THE most complete scene on the obverse, while the reverse stands in the average condition. The reason for this nice scene on obverse is that this coin has been struck after O1 was recut by the engraver, which leads us to say a few words about recut on Judaean coins. A die was - sometimes - recut if it was too affected by wear or breaks before the number of coins to strike was reached. I have found and studied 4 examples of recut dies on Judaean coins. Two important facts appeared to me: 1) A recut certainly improves the quality of a worn illustration, but it also weakens the die. A recut die could not strike more than 10-15% of the coins previously struck before the recut. 2) An engraver recutting a die was not exactly free to recut what he wants, but he also had to deal with the problems the die was affected by (breaks, cracks, wear...). The recut obverse die of the coin offered here gives several remarkable examples of it. For example, if the right arm of the figure in the middle of the scene - Claudius - appears to be too long, it is because the die was affected by a severe defect in this area (www.menorahcoinproject.org/ag1-13.htm) and the engraver who recut the die had to deal with that.
Now, why did the dies of this coin type were so prematurely and dramatically affected by wear, breaks and other flaws although they struck so few coins? In my opinion, the dies were made in an alloy that was not appropriate or not homogenous enough. During the strike, a too hard alloy is subject to break as a too soft one is subject to premature wear. If the coin makers of Agrippa I have had a better control in the fabrication of their dies, it is probable this coin type - and some others - would have been much more common. It does not make sense to cut an important historical scene on a die if it is for striking a handful of coins only.
Est. $15,000-20,000