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Schulman b.v.
Auction 363  13 Jun 2020
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Lot 413

Estimate: 1000 EUR
Price realized: 1200 EUR
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AV Stater ca. 50 BC, Skythian Kings, Northern Greece, THRACIA, KOSON Geto-Dacians. Consul L. Junius Brutus striding left between two lictors, monogram to right, KOΣΩN in exergue. Rev. eagle standing to left on sceptre, holding wreath in talon.Fr. 124; RPC 1701A; Liescu 1; BMC Thrace p. 208, 1;S. 1733 var.Ex collection Jaap van der Veen. These enigmatic coins, found in Dacia and most likely minted there, have been attributed to the city of Olbia, an unknown Thracian or Dacian king called Koson, or to the famous Marcus Junius Brutus who led the assassination on Caesar. The latter hypothesis is supported by the design, which is based on a Denarius of Brutus depicting his famous ancestor, and the monogram that sometimes appears on these Staters and can be interpreted as BR. Alternatively, the monogram can be read as OΛB for Olbia or BA for basileus (king). A recent metallurgic study has pointed out that only the ones carrying a monogram are struck from refined gold of about 97% which is not found in native golden artifacts (Constantinescu 2012). This suggests that the monogram-coins were possibly struck from Roman gold, supporting the Brutus connection. In contrast, the ones without the monogram consist of unrefined gold with the same chemical properties as locally mined gold.8.35 g. Impressive example of this highly interesting type, with original mint luster Mint
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