Ira and Larry Goldberg Auctioneers
Auction 106 4-5 Sep 2018
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Macedonian Kingdom. Demetrios I Poliorketes. Silver Drachm (4.20 g), 306-283 BC. Uncertain mint, perhaps Chalkis in Euboia, ca. 290-289/8 BC. Diademed and horned head of Demetrios I right. Reverse: BAΣIΛEΩΣ ΔHMHTPIOY, Poseidon Pelagaios, nude, standing left, foot propped on rock, holding trident and resting arm on leg; in outer left field, monogram. Newell 154, pl. XVI, 9 (same obv. die); cf. SNG Alpha Bank 953 (tetradrachm). Rare. Fine Hellenistic style Very attractive and lightly toned. Very Fine. Estimate Value $500 - 550
From the Lee Rousseau Collection.
The diademed portrait of Demetrios Poliorketes, which is included among the earliest numismatic depictions of a living Hellenistic king, elevates him to the status of a god through the addition of horns. These not only respond to the horn of Ammon on Lysimachos' celebrated coin portrait of the deified Alexander the Great, but refer to Demetrios' association with Poseidon (in his aspect as Taureos), whose sacred animal was the bull. Indeed, the Athenians hailed him as a son of the sea-god when he entered their city in 291/0 BC. Should there be any doubt about his connection to Poseidon, a depiction of the god - probably representing a lost statue - appears on the reverse.At the time of writing in 1927, Newell knew of just three examples of this coin, all in public collections. Based on style, he placed the issue at Chalkis in Euboia. It is possible the die engraver moved about during these troubled times and the actual mint was another Euboian city. However, if we take into account the activity of the Chalkis mint around 290 BC and a little later it does not seem impossible that the mint produced these drachms and their accompanying tetradrachms as the second leg of a near-contemporary but separate operation and obviously for some special purpose. The first - and much more numerous - leg, composed only of tetradrachms, would in this case be Newell's nos. 146 to 152. It is possible that the position in time of these two legs should be reversed, but more work is needed before this can be said for sure.
From the Lee Rousseau Collection.
The diademed portrait of Demetrios Poliorketes, which is included among the earliest numismatic depictions of a living Hellenistic king, elevates him to the status of a god through the addition of horns. These not only respond to the horn of Ammon on Lysimachos' celebrated coin portrait of the deified Alexander the Great, but refer to Demetrios' association with Poseidon (in his aspect as Taureos), whose sacred animal was the bull. Indeed, the Athenians hailed him as a son of the sea-god when he entered their city in 291/0 BC. Should there be any doubt about his connection to Poseidon, a depiction of the god - probably representing a lost statue - appears on the reverse.At the time of writing in 1927, Newell knew of just three examples of this coin, all in public collections. Based on style, he placed the issue at Chalkis in Euboia. It is possible the die engraver moved about during these troubled times and the actual mint was another Euboian city. However, if we take into account the activity of the Chalkis mint around 290 BC and a little later it does not seem impossible that the mint produced these drachms and their accompanying tetradrachms as the second leg of a near-contemporary but separate operation and obviously for some special purpose. The first - and much more numerous - leg, composed only of tetradrachms, would in this case be Newell's nos. 146 to 152. It is possible that the position in time of these two legs should be reversed, but more work is needed before this can be said for sure.