Ancient Coin News: ANA Platinum Night Auction, August 3

Ancient Coin Newsletter [Read this newsletter online]( [Heritage Auctions]( [Classical Coin News] In This Issue: [ANA Platinum Night Auction, Thursday, August 3](#collector-a) [July 6 World & Ancients Internet Auction](#collector-b) [Libyan MOU Request](#collector-c) [Ancient Coin Club Of Los Angeles](#collector-d) [Pompeia's Pick:](#pompeia) Coin of the Great Kushans [What Happened In Ancient July?](#what-happened) [Is It Time To Sell?](#sell) [Employment Opportunities]( [Around Heritage Auctions](#around) [Current Auctions](#current) July 6, 2017 [Newsletter Archive]( [Last Issue]( July is named after Julius Caesar, most famous of all Romans, whose birthday falls on July 13. The month was called Quintilis ("Fifth") in the original Roman calendar, which had only 10 months starting with Martius (March) and had only 304 days. King Numa Pompilus (715-673 BC) is supposed to have reformed the calendar by adding the months of Januarius and Februarius and boosting the number of days to 355; the last six months kept their original numeric names despite being pushed "out of sequence" (hence December – "Tenth" – is actually the 12th month). Numa's reforms still left the calendar 10 days short of an actual solar year and, over the decades, it grew steadily more out of sync with the seasons. After becoming dictator, Julius Caesar sought to rectify this by undertaking a major reform of the calendar, turning the project over to the famed Greco-Egyptian astronomer Sosogines of Alexandria. To bring the seasons into alignment, 46 BC was a "long year" of 445 days. After Caesar's assassination, Mark Antony induced the Senate to rename Quintilis as Julius in honor of the great dictator. []ANA Platinum Night Auction, Thursday, August 3 Heritage will host an [auction of high-end Ancient and World Coins]( (Platinum Night) at this year's ANA World's Fair of Money, this time in Denver, CO, August 3 (the ANA show runs August 1-5 at the Colorado Convention Center in Denver, CO). I am proud to say this is our best-ever Platinum Night offering of ancients! The 126 Ancient Greek, Roman, Judaean, Oriental and Byzantine coins in this auction (out of 494 total lots) are all stunners. The session kicks off with a special section comprising The Golden Gate Collection of Roman Gold Aurei, 40 impeccable coins covering a century-long span from the AD 60s to 160s, likely unearthed as a single find in the late 1970s. Here are a handful of highlights from The Golden Gate Collection: [[Extremely rare aureus of Trajan, with Divus Trajan Pater] Extremely rare aureus of Trajan, with Divus Trajan Pater]( [[Beautiful Hadrian aureus with Nilus reverse] Beautiful Hadrian aureus with Nilus reverse]( [[Stunning Aelius Caesar aureus] Stunning Aelius Caesar aureus]( [[Mint State Marcus Aurelius as Caesar] Mint State Marcus Aurelius as Caesar]( The Platinum Night Ancients section continues with a stunning array of Greek coins highlighted by [two Syracuse decadrachms]( a completely unrecorded gold stater of [Magnesia in Ionia]( (30066), an astonishing run of [Lydian electrum and gold]( from the very dawn of coinage, and 10 massive gold pieces of Ptolemaic Egypt. The Judaean section includes an incredible rarity: [A silver quarter-shekel from Year Four of the Jewish War]( one of only four known. The regular Roman offering includes another 15 gold pieces, including [an extremely rare aureus of Didius Julianus](. Picking a handful of highlights from this group is a challenge, because all are highlights! Here is a mere sampling: [[Extremely rare aureus of Trajan, with Divus Trajan Pater] Stunning Syracuse decadrachm]( [[Beautiful Hadrian aureus with Nilus reverse] Extremely rare Ephesus gold stater]( [[Stunning Aelius Caesar aureus] Unique Ionia, Magnesia gold stater]( [[Mint State Marcus Aurelius as Caesar] Incredible Jewish War Year 4 silver quarter-shekel]( [[Extremely rare aureus of Trajan, with Divus Trajan Pater] Superb Julius Caesar aureus]( [[Beautiful Hadrian aureus with Nilus reverse] Gem MS Lucius Verus aureus]( [[Stunning Aelius Caesar aureus] Extremely rare Didius Julius aureus]( [[Mint State Marcus Aurelius as Caesar] Justinian I solidus of Alexandria]( The print catalog should be available this week. If you'd like a copy and are not on our "print" mailing list, please contact David S. Michaels (DMichaels@HA.com) or Sam Spiegel (SamS@HA.com). [Back to Top](#top) []July 6 World & Ancients Internet Auction July's first [Weekly internet auction]( includes 116 ancients, a diverse offering of Greek, Roman Provincial, Roman Republican, and Roman Imperial coins that includes many coins in Choice AU and Mint State. Here are some highlights: [[Rare stater of Acarnania, Thyrrheium] Attractive Thurium stater]( [[Attractive hemidrachm of Crete, Itanus] Choice AU Athens tetradrachm]( [[Choice AU Julius Caesar denarius] Choice AU Persian AV daric]( [[Choice XF Theodosius I gold solidus] Pleasing Julius Caesar denarius]( [[Rare stater of Acarnania, Thyrrheium] Mint State Fine Style Hadrian denarius]( [[Attractive hemidrachm of Crete, Itanus] Mint State Valentinian II solidus]( [[Choice AU Julius Caesar denarius] AU Theodosius I solidus]( [[Choice XF Theodosius I gold solidus] Antioch-mint Maurice Tiberius solidus]( The auction closes via Heritage Live Thursday, July 6, starting at 8:00 p.m. Central Time. We're still seeking consignments for the September Long Beach signature auction! The [deadline for consigning]( ancient coins is July 15. If you'd like to see all or part of your collection sold at this high-profile venue, please contact David S. Michaels at [dmichaels@ha.com](mailto:DMichaels@HA.com), or (310) 492-8615. [Back to Top](#top) []Libyan MOU Request The new Libyan government has requested a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the U.S. State Department restricting import of all ancient artifacts, including coins, originating from this North African land. The comments period before the Cultural Property Advisory Committee (CPAC) is exceptionally short, ending July 10. Considering the chaotic situation in Libya and wildly exaggerated claims that ISIS is financed through the antiquities trade, it is imperative that this deadline be extended to allow more time to examine and discuss this request! Details are on [Peter Tompa's Cultural Property Observer page.]( to Top](#top) []Ancient Coin Club of Los Angeles The July meeting of the ACCLA will take place Sunday July 9, 2016 in the Community Room at the Sherman Oaks Galleria starting at 1 pm. The Sherman Oaks Galleria is located northwest of the intersection of the Ventura and San Diego Freeways at 15301 Ventura Boulevard (at Sepulveda Boulevard), in Sherman Oaks. Park in the Galleria parking lot (we validate your parking). The Community Room is behind the escalator on Level 1 of the rotunda, one floor below the cinema. [Back to Top](#top) []Pompeia's Pick: Coin of the Great Kushans [Kushans]( [Kushans]( Pompeia's pick this time is a departure from our usual run of Greco-Roman coins: A gold double-dinar of Vima Kadphises, Kushan ruler of northern and central India from AD 113 to 137. Considering the importance of Ancient India as home of one of the Ancient World's great civilizations and one of today's great religions, it is remarkable how little we know about the Kushans, the energetic dynasty that controlled much of India during the early centuries AD. Written records of the era, where they exist at all, are all from other surrounding civilizations and are sketchy, imprecise and lacking in detail. We are even unsure what language the Kushans spoke, whether it was an Indo-European tongue or related to Chinese. As to the origins of the Kushans, all we really know is that they emerged from western China and swept into the Indian subcontinent like a storm in the second century BC. They are believed to be a branch of the Yuezhi, fierce nomadic horsemen who can be viewed as a prototype for the later Huns and Mongols (indeed they shared many practices with the Huns). We do not know for certain what the term Kushan means, although it could derive from the Chinese Guishang, an aristocratic tribe of the Yuezhi. They first swept through Bactria, occupying modern Afghanistan and western Pakistan, where they assimilated native forms of dress, the Greek alphabet (slightly modified), and a mixture of Iranian and Greek religion. By the time they reached India, the Kushan culture was a rich blend of Chinese, Iranian, Afghan, Greek and Indian customs, beliefs and modes of dress. Much of what we do know about the Kushans comes from studying their coinage, which is rich and filled with fascinating syncretic symbolism. Our gold distater of Vima Kadphises, the third Kushan ruler in India, is a case in point. As for the man, like the culture itself he is something of a mystery, although from the symbolism of our coin he seemed to think a great deal of himself (not a rare trait among rulers ancient or modern). We do know he was the first Kushan king to strike gold coins, and these are some of the largest and most impressive pieces of any contemporary culture. His gold distater, or double-dinar, weighs in at 15.95 grams, twice the weight of the only other widely circulating gold coin of the time, Roman gold aureus. The large flan size gave the die engraver scope to portray not just the head or bust of Vima Kadphises, but his entire robed royal figure, seated on an elaborate cushioned throne (a variant of this design shows him floating god-like on a bed of clouds). He wears a Greek-style diadem and an unusual elongated skull cap which could actually reflect the shape of his head: Like the Huns, the Kushans seem to have artificially elongated the skulls of their male rulers from infancy. The reverse portrays the Hindu god Shiva, proudly ithyphallic, the "creator, destroyer and transformer of all things" (the ithyphallic feature no doubt reflecting the "creator" function). Shiva stands with the sacred bull Nandi, guardian of the gates of Kailasa, Shiva's heavenly abode. While these deities are part of the Hindu pantheon, the coin also depicts the Buddhist triaratna ("three jewels") symbol, indicating Vima Kadphises may have favored the Buddhist faith. Indeed his son, Kanishka the Great, was a vocal proponent of Buddhism. In any case, the reigns of Vima Kadphises and Kanishka represented the apogee of Kushan fortunes, and their beautiful coins are one of the few ways they left an enduring stamp on history. [Back to Top](#top) []What Happened In Ancient July? July 1, AD 69: Vespasian (AD 69-79) declared Emperor by the Legions of Syria and Judaea. July 1, AD 31: Gaius 'Caligula' serves his first Consulship during the reign of his uncle, Tiberius. July 2, AD 419: Future West Roman Emperor Valentinian III (AD 425-455) born. July 3, AD 324: Constantine I the Great (AD 307-337) smashes armies of rival emperor Licinius (AD 308-324). July 9, 271 BC: Egyptian Queen Arsinoe II dies. She is immediately deified by her brother-husband Ptolemy II Philadelpus and becomes an icon of beauty, appearing on large gold coins for the next century and a half. On the same day, the famous philosopher Epicurus dies. July 9, AD 118: Emperor Hadrian reaches Rome for the first time since his accession. July 10, AD 70: The Second Temple catches fire and burns near the end of the Siege of Jerusalem and the First Jewish War. July 11, AD 472: Generalissimo Ricimer captures and kills West Roman Emperor Anthemius, replacing him with the nonentity Olybrius. July 12 or 13, 100 BC: Julius Caesar, later acknowledged as the greatest of all Romans, born. The month of July will later be named for him. July 18, 390 BC: Gauls defeat the Roman army at the river Allia, leading to the first Sack of Rome. July 19, AD 64: Fire breaks out in Rome, eventually consuming a sixth of the city. It will later (unfairly) be called "Nero's Fire." July 20, 1262 BC: Suggested date of the first Pythian Games, forerunner of the Olympics, and the launch of the Argo, Jason and the Argonauts' ship. July 24, AD 1895: Robert Graves, author of "I Claudius" and "Count Belisarius" born. July 28, AD 450: Emperor Theodosius II dies without an heir; Marcian is named to succeed him. [Back to Top](#top) [] Is it Time to Sell? We're always seeking consignments our world and ancient coins auctions. If you'd like to see all or part of your collection sold at this high-profile venue, please contact me at DMichaels@HA.com, or (310) 492-8615. As you can see from our recent track record, Heritage Ancients is really starting to achieve some amazing results! If you have any thought of selling your collection, there is no better time than the present and no better venue than Heritage! Our rates are highly competitive and we offer top-notch cataloguing, exceptional photography and production values, an incomparable database of more than 1 million potential buyers, and a matchless promotions/PR department that will make sure everyone knows about your collection. Until next month! Veritas et vita, [David S. Michaels] David S. Michaels Director of Ancient Coins [DMichaels@HA.com]( 1-800-872-6467 ext. 1606 Interested in Selling? [Consign to a Heritage Auction]( [Back to Top](#top) [] Around Heritage Auctions Riverfront Estate on 33 Acres near Whitefish, MT, Will be Sold Unreserved at Auction [Whitefish Property Fit for a Rock n' Roll King]( Music and architecture fans take note: E-Street Band bassist Garry Tallent will sell his custom-build Montana getaway this July. The [sleek 3500 sq. ft. 4-bedroom/5-bath modernist estate]( will sell at a no-reserve auction, regardless of price, on July 18th. Ideally situated for fans of the great outdoors, the estate is surrounded by a jaw-dropping 360° view of the Whitefish Range and Blacktail Mountain Ski Resort. The stunning house drew a lot of attention when it was built in 2007 for rock n' roll hall of famer Garry Tallent and his wife Tammy. It defies the Montana stereotype rustic cabin aesthetic with its dedication to clean lines and advanced technology. Built with sustainability and mindfulness to its core, the house perfectly embodies living in harmony with nature. From the geothermal heating and cooling system to the solar panel array on the roof, every step was taken to tread lightly on the estate's 33 acres. Noting that the property includes 800 feet of frontage on the Stillwater River, builder Marty Beale says, "We purposely sited it away from steep banks, fragile habitats and the animal corridor along the nearby river." The Tallent home includes solar power, tankless water heaters, a rainwater catchment system, and impressive attention to energy efficiency and the environment in its construction. But the beauty of this mountain gem isn't in those details. It's in all of the ways the home embraces its location. The home's new owners will appreciate the how easily the house flows from indoor to outdoor space and back again. With an outdoor dining pavilion, massive rooftop deck, and both a fire pit and outdoor fireplace, the home encourages visitors to soak in all that Flathead Valley has to offer. Bidding for the house, which was last listed at $3,000,000, will take place on July 18 at [Heritage's Luxury Real Estate Auction](. The property will have no minimum starting bid and will be sold without reserve. Bidders are required to register prior to the sale. If interested buyers should call (406)686-2BID or visit ha.com/whitefish for more information. [More information about Real Estate auctions]( [Back to Top](#top) [] Current Auctions Coin and Currency Auctions [July 6 - 9 Summer FUN US Coins Signature Auction - Orlando Summer FUN #1257]( [July 6 - 9 Summer FUN US Coins Signature Auction - Orlando Summer FUN #1257]( [View Lots]( [August 3 ANA World Coins & Ancient Coins Signature Auction - Denver #3056]( [August 3 ANA World Coins & Ancient Coins Signature Auction - Denver #3056]( [View Lots]( [June 25 - July 30 Selections of Mexican Silver from the Law Collection Monthly World and Ancient Coin Auction #271731]( [July 30 Selections of Mexican Silver from the Law Collection Monthly World Coin Auction]( [View Lots]( [Weekly World Coin Auction]( [Thursday World Coin]( July 6 Live session @ 8PM CT [Sunday Internet Coin Auction]( [Sunday Coins]( July 9 Live session @ 7PM CT [Tuesday Internet Coin Auction]( [Tuesday Coins]( July 11 Live session @ 7PM CT [Tuesday Internet Currency Auction]( [Tuesday Currency]( July 11 Live session @ 7PM CT OTHER SIGNATURE AUCTIONS • [Prints & Multiples - July 18]( • [Luxury Real Estate - July 18]( • [Photographs - July 19]( • [Movie Posters - July 29]( OTHER INTERNET AUCTIONS • [Thurs. 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