Watch List notes:

Kings of Bosporos, Asander, as Archon (c. 44-40 BC), gold stater, year 4 (41/40 BC), bare head right, rev., ΑΡΧΟΝΤΟΣ ΑΣΑΝΔΡΟΥ ΒΟΣΠΟΡΟΥ, Nike standing left on prow of galley, holding wreath and palm; across upper field, ΕΤ Α (year 1); in left field, monogram, 8.14g, die axis 12.00, extremely fine and extremely rare. References: K. Nawotka, Asander of the Bosporus: His Coinage and Chronology, AJN 3-4, 1992, 3a, these dies; RPC I, 1842 [as year 1]; SNG BM Black Sea 961 [as year 1], same dies. Provenance: CNG 84, Lancaster PA, 5 May 2010, lot 575 (as year 1). Note: Following his defeat by Caesar at Zela in 47 bc Pharnaces II was killed by his treacherous subordinate, Asander, "whom Appian define[d] as a 'personal enemy'" (Primo, p. 160). Swiftly consolidating his position, Asander defeated Mithradates of Pergamon, and married Dynamis, the daughter of Pharnaces II and granddaughter of Mithradates the Great whose lineage provided "her an aura of legitimacy for those who wished to rule the Bosporus." (Primo, p. 161 n.). Asander first ruled as archon, and the Roman-style portraiture of the rare gold coins he issued for four years under this title present a stylistic break from the previous Bosporan issues of Mithradates VI and Pharnaces II; a style to which his coinage reverted after he was granted the title king by Octavian in 41/40 bc. Asander's reign was long and according to Lucian (Mac. 17) he "committed suicide by starvation, at the age of 93" (Nawotka, p. 36). The dating of Asander's coinage remains a matter of debate, with some reckoning 47/46 bc for the earliest issues. But Nawotka (p. 42) prefers 44/43 bc for the start, noting that the chronology of Asander's regnal years "seems to agree with the dates obtained from analysis of literary sources and appears preferable." (10000 - 15000 GBP)