Classical Numismatic Group, LLC
Triton XXIII 14-15 Jan 2020
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Titus. As Caesar, AD 69-79. AV Aureus (20mm, 7.34 g, 6h). Rome mint. Struck under Vespasian, AD 75. T CAESAR IMP VESPASIAN, laureate head right / PΛX ΛVGVST, Pax, draped, seated left on throne, holding olive branch in right hand which rests on right knee, and holding transverse scepter in left. RIC II 782 (Vespasian); Calicó 749 (this coin illustrated); BMCRE 310 (Vespasian); BN 271–2 (Vespasian); Biaggi 368 (this coin); Jameson –; Mazzini –. A few shallow scratches and some edge marks. Good VF.
From the San Vicente Collection. Ex Leo Biaggi de Blasys Collection, 368.
Leo Biaggi de Blasys (1906-1979) was a Swiss sugar magnate and sportsman whose fascination with ancient Rome led to the creation of one of the world's greatest collections of Roman gold coins. Born in Genoa to a Swiss-Italian diplomat and a French mother, he became active in the Red Cross after 1943 and, with his father, he repeatedly helped Jews in Italy escape persecution in the later years of World War II. He was also alleged to have knowingly aided in the escape of high-ranking Nazis, a notion dismissed by his friends and relations. In 1961, he received the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic for his services. His collection focused on Roman gold from the Republic to late Empire, ultimately comprising over 2,000 specimens. The gold collection was purchased en bloc by Bank Leu (Zurich) in 1978, and slowly sold off to collectors over the next few decades. More than 500 ex-Biaggi coins were sold by Numismatica Ars Classica in their Auction 49 in 2008. The Biaggi pedigree remains highly prized among collectors of Roman gold.
From the San Vicente Collection. Ex Leo Biaggi de Blasys Collection, 368.
Leo Biaggi de Blasys (1906-1979) was a Swiss sugar magnate and sportsman whose fascination with ancient Rome led to the creation of one of the world's greatest collections of Roman gold coins. Born in Genoa to a Swiss-Italian diplomat and a French mother, he became active in the Red Cross after 1943 and, with his father, he repeatedly helped Jews in Italy escape persecution in the later years of World War II. He was also alleged to have knowingly aided in the escape of high-ranking Nazis, a notion dismissed by his friends and relations. In 1961, he received the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic for his services. His collection focused on Roman gold from the Republic to late Empire, ultimately comprising over 2,000 specimens. The gold collection was purchased en bloc by Bank Leu (Zurich) in 1978, and slowly sold off to collectors over the next few decades. More than 500 ex-Biaggi coins were sold by Numismatica Ars Classica in their Auction 49 in 2008. The Biaggi pedigree remains highly prized among collectors of Roman gold.