Heritage World Coin Auctions
ANA Signature Sale 3033 8 August 2014
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GRECO-BACTRIAN KINGDOM. Diodotus I as Satrap (ca. 255-240 BC). AV stater (19mm, 8.23 gm, 6h). First Diodotid Mint (Holt's and Kritt's "Mint A"), ca. 250–240 BC. Diademed head of Diodotus I right in fine style / ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ ΑΝΤΙΟΧΟΥ, Zeus, viewed from behind, advancing left, brandishing thunderbolt in raised right hand, aegis draped over left arm, N above eagle in inner left field. SC 629.1. ESM 713. Kovalenko Series VIII, 55. Rare, particularly so without test cut. A magnificent piece, surely among the finest known specimens of this intriguing type. NGC MS★ 5/5 - 5/5, Fine StyleFrom The Lexington Collection of Jonathan K. Kern.Circa 260 B.C., the Seleucid king Antiochus II appointed a general named Diodotus as satrap of Bactria, the easternmost province of his empire, comprising modern Afghanistan, Pakistan, and northern India. Starting circa 256 BC, Diodotus began to gradually throw off the Seleucid yoke. For about ten years, Diodotus struck gold and silver coins with his own portrait, but with the name and titles of Antiochus II. Until about 2001, only one indisputably genuine satrapal gold stater of Diodotus I was known to exist. Recently, a significant number have come to light, most of them marred by test cuts. The present specimen is free of test cuts or any other defects, making it both rare and highly desirable. As these rare pieces demonstrate, the tradition of excellence in Bactrian coin portraiture started with the very first reign.
Estimate: 7500-10000 USD
GRECO-BACTRIAN KINGDOM. Diodotus I as Satrap (ca. 255-240 BC). AV stater (19mm, 8.23 gm, 6h). First Diodotid Mint (Holt's and Kritt's "Mint A"), ca. 250–240 BC. Diademed head of Diodotus I right in fine style / ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ ΑΝΤΙΟΧΟΥ, Zeus, viewed from behind, advancing left, brandishing thunderbolt in raised right hand, aegis draped over left arm, N above eagle in inner left field. SC 629.1. ESM 713. Kovalenko Series VIII, 55. Rare, particularly so without test cut. A magnificent piece, surely among the finest known specimens of this intriguing type. NGC MS★ 5/5 - 5/5, Fine StyleFrom The Lexington Collection of Jonathan K. Kern.Circa 260 B.C., the Seleucid king Antiochus II appointed a general named Diodotus as satrap of Bactria, the easternmost province of his empire, comprising modern Afghanistan, Pakistan, and northern India. Starting circa 256 BC, Diodotus began to gradually throw off the Seleucid yoke. For about ten years, Diodotus struck gold and silver coins with his own portrait, but with the name and titles of Antiochus II. Until about 2001, only one indisputably genuine satrapal gold stater of Diodotus I was known to exist. Recently, a significant number have come to light, most of them marred by test cuts. The present specimen is free of test cuts or any other defects, making it both rare and highly desirable. As these rare pieces demonstrate, the tradition of excellence in Bactrian coin portraiture started with the very first reign.
Estimate: 7500-10000 USD