Classical Numismatic Group, LLC
Auction 121 6-8 Oct 2022
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Maximianus. First reign, AD 286-305. AV Aureus (19mm, 5.62 g, 6h). Rome mint. Struck AD 295-305. MAXIMIA NVS P F AVG, laureate head right / VIRTVS AVGG, Hercules standing right, leaning to left, arms wrapped around head of Nemean lion, who climbs up his forward leg; club to left, P R in exergue. RIC VI –; Depeyrot 6/12; Calicó 4732 (this coin illustrated); Biaggi 1801 (this coin); Jameson 319. Pleasing satiny surfaces. In NGC encapsulation 4936351-001, graded Ch AU, Strike: 5/5, Surface: 4/5. Powerful portrait in high relief. Very rare.
Ex Dr. Michael Rogers Collection; Edward J. Waddell inventory 47657 (ND); Leo Biaggi de Blasys Collection (Numismatica Ars Classica 49, 21 October 2008), lot 435, purchased from L.S. Forrer, 1952.
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. 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.
Ex Dr. Michael Rogers Collection; Edward J. Waddell inventory 47657 (ND); Leo Biaggi de Blasys Collection (Numismatica Ars Classica 49, 21 October 2008), lot 435, purchased from L.S. Forrer, 1952.
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. 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.