Münzen & Medaillen GmbH
Auction 47 23 May 2019
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THE PRINCIPALITY OF ANTIOCH. BOHEMOND III, Majority, 1163-1201. Fractional denier. Cross with annulets at the ends and pellets in the quarters, +BOAMVNDVS Rv. Crescent above a six-pointed star, +ANTIOCNIA 0.62 g. Metc. 464, Schlumb. III, 3, MPS p. 214, 64, Slocum Coll. 152.
Good very fine
Ex collection F. de Saulcy and Fürstenbergisches Münzkabinett. Bought from Classical Numismatic Group, Lancaster, PA, in March 2007. Comment by E. Wäckerlin: Attributed to Bohemond III, 1163-1201, by CNG in accordance with Schlumberger. Metcalf and catalog "Wisconsin" of the "History of the Crusades" (University of Wisconsin) think Bohemond IV, 1201-1232, is more probable. The denomination, too, has been discussed. Schlumberger calls the coin a denier. MPS speak of a fractional denier, Metcalf of a fractional coinage, and he says on p. 145, "a semi-quantitative analysis by XRF of the Ashmolean specimen established that it contained no silver." Therefore it cannot be described as "billon denier". Metcalf goes on, "The extreme scarcity of the type (2 at Antioch) suggests a short-lived issue or perhaps even some sort of ceremonial piece." For the pedigree of this coin: According to the CNG ticket the coin comes from the Alistair Lilburn Collection. The auction catalogue of the Lilburn Collection (Baldwin, London, Auction 49, Sept. 25th, 2006), however, does not mention this coin. But possibly CNG bought part of the collection outside the auction sale. With certainty this coin was in the collection of Dimitri Dolivo, Lausanne, see Münzen und Medaillen AG Basel, Auktion 30, 5. 11. 1965, Nr. 790. In the auction catalogue on p. 61 the following description can be found: "790 ... De toute rareté, probablement unique. Provient de la collection du prince de Furstenberg, vente A. E. Cahn 75, 30 mai 1932, n° 1881 ("inédit"), anciennement collection F. de Saulcy." Indeed, this coin is in the Adolph E. Cahn auction catalogue 75, ... Das Fürstlich Fürstenbergische Münzkabinett zu Donaueschingen, Teil 1, Nr. 1881, and is illustrated on plate 37. In the prologue it says on p. 93, "The former collection of Herr F. de Saulcy which served as a basis for his work "Numismatique des croisades" was acquired for the Fürstenberg cabinet through Freiherr (Franz Simon) von Pfaffenhofen in 1846. On p. 94 of the catalogue the coin is described as "Billondenar von Boemund V., 1233-1251" and "Schl. - . Unedited". However, this is not quite correct as Schlumberger on p. 53 of his work "Numismatique de l'Orient Latin" described the coin: "La collection Fürstenberg possède une variété de ce denier (Schlumb. pl. III, 4), sans le différent de la légende du revers; en autre, l'H est remplacé par un N, ce qui donne: ANTIOCNIA." F. de Saulcy is the famous French orientalist Louis-Félicien-Joseph Caignart de Saulcy, 1807-1880. In his work Numismatique des croisades, Paris 1847, the coin is not mentioned, not even in the supplement, possibly through an error.
Good very fine
Ex collection F. de Saulcy and Fürstenbergisches Münzkabinett. Bought from Classical Numismatic Group, Lancaster, PA, in March 2007. Comment by E. Wäckerlin: Attributed to Bohemond III, 1163-1201, by CNG in accordance with Schlumberger. Metcalf and catalog "Wisconsin" of the "History of the Crusades" (University of Wisconsin) think Bohemond IV, 1201-1232, is more probable. The denomination, too, has been discussed. Schlumberger calls the coin a denier. MPS speak of a fractional denier, Metcalf of a fractional coinage, and he says on p. 145, "a semi-quantitative analysis by XRF of the Ashmolean specimen established that it contained no silver." Therefore it cannot be described as "billon denier". Metcalf goes on, "The extreme scarcity of the type (2 at Antioch) suggests a short-lived issue or perhaps even some sort of ceremonial piece." For the pedigree of this coin: According to the CNG ticket the coin comes from the Alistair Lilburn Collection. The auction catalogue of the Lilburn Collection (Baldwin, London, Auction 49, Sept. 25th, 2006), however, does not mention this coin. But possibly CNG bought part of the collection outside the auction sale. With certainty this coin was in the collection of Dimitri Dolivo, Lausanne, see Münzen und Medaillen AG Basel, Auktion 30, 5. 11. 1965, Nr. 790. In the auction catalogue on p. 61 the following description can be found: "790 ... De toute rareté, probablement unique. Provient de la collection du prince de Furstenberg, vente A. E. Cahn 75, 30 mai 1932, n° 1881 ("inédit"), anciennement collection F. de Saulcy." Indeed, this coin is in the Adolph E. Cahn auction catalogue 75, ... Das Fürstlich Fürstenbergische Münzkabinett zu Donaueschingen, Teil 1, Nr. 1881, and is illustrated on plate 37. In the prologue it says on p. 93, "The former collection of Herr F. de Saulcy which served as a basis for his work "Numismatique des croisades" was acquired for the Fürstenberg cabinet through Freiherr (Franz Simon) von Pfaffenhofen in 1846. On p. 94 of the catalogue the coin is described as "Billondenar von Boemund V., 1233-1251" and "Schl. - . Unedited". However, this is not quite correct as Schlumberger on p. 53 of his work "Numismatique de l'Orient Latin" described the coin: "La collection Fürstenberg possède une variété de ce denier (Schlumb. pl. III, 4), sans le différent de la légende du revers; en autre, l'H est remplacé par un N, ce qui donne: ANTIOCNIA." F. de Saulcy is the famous French orientalist Louis-Félicien-Joseph Caignart de Saulcy, 1807-1880. In his work Numismatique des croisades, Paris 1847, the coin is not mentioned, not even in the supplement, possibly through an error.