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ANA Signature Sale 3101 25-28 Aug 2022
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Ancients
PHOENICIA. Tyre. Philip I (AD 244-249). AE (31mm, 17.43 gm, 1h). NGC Choice Fine 4/5 - 4/5, repatinated. IMP M IVL PHILLIPVS P F AVG, laureate, cuirassed bust of Philip I right, seen from front / COL-TVRO-METRO, Cadmus presenting the alphabet to the Hellenes: Cadmus standing facing, head left, transverse scepter in left hand, presenting a rolled papyrus in right hand to the first of four Greeks standing right at left; murex shell in central field, ЄΛΛH and KAΔ in exergue. Rouvier 2446 = Babelon, Perses 2281. cf. BMC 448 (Gallienus). AUB -. Extremely rare. Although well-circulated, which is typical for provincial coins as they were intended to be used extensively locally, the essential reverse is clear and still well-detailed.
From the Historical Scholar Collection. Ex David Vagi, private sale
Few ancient coins are as historically significant as this one, which must rank with the famous Noah's Ark issues of Apameia. The reverse type on this coin celebrates the moment when the Greeks received an alphabet from the Phoenicians. It was a watershed event for the Greeks, who had lost the memory of the Minoan and Mycenean written languages of "Linear A" and "Linear B". The reintroduction of written language allowed for the oral traditions and stories to survive and be spread throughout the Mediterranean. The application of this new written alphabet, complete with vowels, paired with the Greek spoken language allowed for there to be a collective history that could withstand beyond an individual's lifetime and survive for millennia. With this alphabet they were able to the write down their mythology, literature, philosophy, plays, astronomy, medicine, and any other form of study or creation to be recorded in permanent form. The oral tradition of the Homeric Age was no longer the only substantial method of retaining cultural milestones. This coin is thus of great importance, for it depicts Cadmus, eldest son of Agenor, king of Tyre, giving a scroll of the alphabet to a procession of four Greeks. This extremely rare and highly interesting issue explicitly names the figures and represents the legend as recorded in Herodotus 5.58:
"The Phoenicians who came with Cadmus-amongst whom were the Gephyraei-introduced into Greece, after their settlement in the country, a number of accomplishments, of which the most important was writing, an art till then, I think, unknown to the Greeks. At first they used the same characters as all the other Phoenicians, but as time went on, and they changed their language, they also changed the shape of their letters. At that period most of the Greeks in the neighborhood were Ionians; they were taught these letters by the Phoenicians and adopted them, with a few alterations, for their own use, continuing to refer to them as the Phoenician characters-as was only right, as the Phoenicians had introduced them."
https://coins.ha.com/itm/ancients/roman-provincial/ancients-phoenicia-tyre-philip-i-ad-244-249-ae-31mm-1743-gm-1h-ngc-choice-fine-4-5-4-5-repatinated/a/3101-32075.s?type=DA-DMC-CoinArchives-WorldCoins-3101-08252022
HID02906262019
© 2022 Heritage Auctions | All Rights Reserved
Estimate: 2000-3000 USD
PHOENICIA. Tyre. Philip I (AD 244-249). AE (31mm, 17.43 gm, 1h). NGC Choice Fine 4/5 - 4/5, repatinated. IMP M IVL PHILLIPVS P F AVG, laureate, cuirassed bust of Philip I right, seen from front / COL-TVRO-METRO, Cadmus presenting the alphabet to the Hellenes: Cadmus standing facing, head left, transverse scepter in left hand, presenting a rolled papyrus in right hand to the first of four Greeks standing right at left; murex shell in central field, ЄΛΛH and KAΔ in exergue. Rouvier 2446 = Babelon, Perses 2281. cf. BMC 448 (Gallienus). AUB -. Extremely rare. Although well-circulated, which is typical for provincial coins as they were intended to be used extensively locally, the essential reverse is clear and still well-detailed.
From the Historical Scholar Collection. Ex David Vagi, private sale
Few ancient coins are as historically significant as this one, which must rank with the famous Noah's Ark issues of Apameia. The reverse type on this coin celebrates the moment when the Greeks received an alphabet from the Phoenicians. It was a watershed event for the Greeks, who had lost the memory of the Minoan and Mycenean written languages of "Linear A" and "Linear B". The reintroduction of written language allowed for the oral traditions and stories to survive and be spread throughout the Mediterranean. The application of this new written alphabet, complete with vowels, paired with the Greek spoken language allowed for there to be a collective history that could withstand beyond an individual's lifetime and survive for millennia. With this alphabet they were able to the write down their mythology, literature, philosophy, plays, astronomy, medicine, and any other form of study or creation to be recorded in permanent form. The oral tradition of the Homeric Age was no longer the only substantial method of retaining cultural milestones. This coin is thus of great importance, for it depicts Cadmus, eldest son of Agenor, king of Tyre, giving a scroll of the alphabet to a procession of four Greeks. This extremely rare and highly interesting issue explicitly names the figures and represents the legend as recorded in Herodotus 5.58:
"The Phoenicians who came with Cadmus-amongst whom were the Gephyraei-introduced into Greece, after their settlement in the country, a number of accomplishments, of which the most important was writing, an art till then, I think, unknown to the Greeks. At first they used the same characters as all the other Phoenicians, but as time went on, and they changed their language, they also changed the shape of their letters. At that period most of the Greeks in the neighborhood were Ionians; they were taught these letters by the Phoenicians and adopted them, with a few alterations, for their own use, continuing to refer to them as the Phoenician characters-as was only right, as the Phoenicians had introduced them."
https://coins.ha.com/itm/ancients/roman-provincial/ancients-phoenicia-tyre-philip-i-ad-244-249-ae-31mm-1743-gm-1h-ngc-choice-fine-4-5-4-5-repatinated/a/3101-32075.s?type=DA-DMC-CoinArchives-WorldCoins-3101-08252022
HID02906262019
© 2022 Heritage Auctions | All Rights Reserved
Estimate: 2000-3000 USD