BOOK REVIEW: NUMISMATICA GENEVENSIS SALES 11-12

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V22 2019 INDEX E-SYLUM ARCHIVE

The E-Sylum: Volume 22, Number 45, November 10, 2019, Article 4

Last week we discussed a group of Zodiac mohurs and a very interesting silver bar from the reign of Tutankhamun offered by Numismatica Genevensis SA. In her email Newsletter #134 dealer Shanna Schmidt provides a capsule review of the sale catalogs. With permission we're republishing an excerpt here. -Editor

NGSA typically has auctions every two years in the beautiful Hôtel Le Richemond in picturesque Geneva. Dr. Alain Baron puts on what I would term "an event" rather than a coin auction, which is not to be missed. It might be one of the most sophisticated of sales that the coin world has. His catalogs are all hard bound and feature some of the most impressive coins available on the market. Many of the coins are outside of my area of expertise but it doesn't take an expert to see that he is able to persuade many high brow collectors to consign and buy in his auctions. This sale is no different. Two catalogs are being presented.

The first is "A Royal Collection". The first coin might be one of the most beautiful Greek coins ever created. It is a silver tetradrachm signed by Kimon. The starting price however is already at a whopping 1.5 million CHF. (This coin last sold for 2.3 million CHF in a 2014 NAC auction). Not many ancient coins reach that level so being in the room for this sale will be an amazing experience. A Royal Collection is a mere 47 lots but every coin is estimated in the 5 or 6 digits.

The second catalog, Auction 12, is far larger and with about 57 ancient coins. The first lot is an incredible silver lingot of Toutankhâmon. The historical significance of the piece is mind boggling. The starting price is 30,000 but I imagine it will go much higher. This sale has some equally fantastic ancient coins. If lot 1 in the "A Royal Collection" is too rich for you, there is another opportunity to obtain a signed Kimon tetradrachm of amazing beauty. Lot 112 is equally spectacular but at a fraction of the price (250,000 CHF starting). It has a pedigree going back to a 1993 Sotheby's-NFA sale.

In the Imperatorial section there is an exceedingly rare gold legionary aureus (Legion 20) of Marc Antony. Lot 148 is a large size gold piece, a "quaternio", of the emperor Maxence. This piece comes out of a 1996 Christie's London auction. Finally lot 155 is a beautiful solidus of Anastasius I from Constantinople. This left facing beautiful portrait style is extremely rare. This coin comes from the Lacam collection of 1974 and was part of the Hunt collection which Sotheby's sold in 1990. The second part of the catalog has some dazzling Renaissance medals (lots 195-197).

Lot 706 is a beautiful gold medal featuring the façade of Notre Dame. See the article later in this issue about the piece, the proceeds of which will be donated for the restoration of the cathedral.

Shanna has booth 1136 in the ancient/world section in this week's Whitman Baltimore Expo (November 14-17). Stop and say hello! -Editor