HERITAGE: ANCIENT COINS PLATINUM HIGHLIGHTS

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V29 2026 INDEX E-SYLUM ARCHIVE

The E-Sylum: Volume 29, Number 34, 2026, Article 13

Heritage Auctions will be hosting their ANA World & Ancient Coins Platinum Session and Signature Auction from September 1-5. The following items were highlighted in Shanna Schmidt's Newsletter #245. Her website is http://www.shannaschmidt.com/. -Garrett

SICILY. Syracuse. Dionysius I (405-370 BC). AR decadrachm (37mm, 42.88 gm, 5h). NGC AU 4/5 - 3/5, Fine Style, light marks. Reverse die signed by Euainetos, ca. 400 BC. Racing quadriga driven left by charioteer, reins in left hand, kentron in right; Nike flying right above to crown him, military arms, including aspis (shield), greaves, cuirass, and crested Attic helmet, all joined by horizontal spear, ?T?? ("prizes") below all in exergue, dotted border / S?-??-?-?-S?O?, head of Arethusa left, hair wreathed with barley ears, wearing triple pendant earring and beaded necklace; four dolphins swimming around, ? below chin, EY-AINE (die-engraver's signature) below bottom dolphin. SNG Lloyd 1413 (same dies). Gallatin (DI/RIX). HGC 2, 1299. A simply beautiful example of this classic issue, struck on a oblong flan in sound metal, with none of the usual obverse die rust. Light iridescent toning.

From the Randy & Nancy Best Collection. Ex Vecchi, Sale 16 (9 October 1999), Lot 76; Hess-Leu, Auction 49 (27 April 1971), Lot 70.

Under the brutal but capable Tyrant Dionysius I (406-367 BC), Syracuse had become the wealthiest and most powerful city-state in the Greek world, and chose this moment to introduce the most extravagant coins yet seen - the stunning series of signed silver decadrachms. These huge, impressive coins were struck to pay the Greek mercenaries who flooded Sicily to fight the expanding power of Carthage. The magnificent decadrachms of the master engraver Euainetos have become a paradigm for classical beauty in the 24 centuries since their creation. His Arethusa is the very ideal of feminine beauty, both human and divine, her hair interwoven with a wreath of barley ears symbolizing the agricultural bounty of Sicily. Likewise, the horses pulling his chariot seem to levitate above the ground line, perhaps preparing to draw the charioteer into the heavens themselves.

MACEDONIAN KINGDOM. Philip II (359-336 BC). AV stater (17mm, 8.61 gm, 11h). NGC Choice MS? 5/5 - 5/5, Fine Style. Late posthumous issue, Colophon, under Philip III Arrhidaeus, ca. 322-319 BC. Laureate head of Apollo right, with features of Alexander III the Great / F???????, charioteer driving fast biga galloping right, kentron in outstretched right hand, reins in left hand; tripod in lower right field. Le Rider pl. 90, 16. SNG Alpha Bank 260. SNG ANS 309. Flashy surfaces with well-centered strikes.

While the types of this gold stater issue of Colophon conform to the norm for Philip II (359-336 BC), the magnificent obverse die of this late posthumous issue of Colophon bears a portrait of "Apollo" that is quite distinctive and clearly depicts a real person. Comparison with the coins of Lysimachus and surviving portrait sculpture leaves no doubt the image represents Alexander III the Great himself. The issue seems intended to legitimize the patchwork Macedonian regime put together by Alexander's generals after his death in Babylon under the figurehead rulers Philip III Arrhidaeus, Alexander's half-brother, and the infant Alexander IV, his posthumously born son. As such the "Philip" named on the reverse should probably be seen as referring to Arrhidaeus rather than the traditional attribution to Philip II.

Trajan Decius (AD 249-251). AV aureus (20mm, 4.14 gm, 11h). NGC Choice AU 5/5 - 4/5. Rome. IMP C M Q TRAIANVS DECIVS AVG, laureate, cuirassed bust of Trajan Decius right, seen from behind / VBERITAS AVG, Uberitas standing facing, head left, purse in outstretched right hand, cornucopia cradled in left arm. RIC IV.III 28. Calicó 3299. Exquisite luster with deep jewel tones rippling across the obverse.

João VI gold Ingot of Mato Grosso 1818 Genuine NGC, Mato Grosso foundry, Prober-1832-M-188 (this piece). 81x16x6mm. 139.50gm. Markings: N188 (number); 4.7.02 (weight); TOQVE 23 (23 karat); 1818 (DATE); IDBF. A substantial survivor, remarkable both for its weight and historical significance, this gold ingot is among the few remaining examples of a once-abundant form of wealth. The overwhelming majority of Brazilian gold bars were melted as newly mined bullion flowed into the mints during the country's prolific gold production. The connoisseur of this sub-genre of advanced numismatics understands how simply having a gold bar as such in their collection takes it to the next level; but when it comes to a Mato Grosso bar, and one of these measurements, it's beyond impressive. The few bars that reach the market every few years generally contain around an ounce of gold, or roughly 33 grams; this mammoth piece sits at just over four ounces. The bright but satin aureus color, seen in nearly-pure gold shines as bright as the day it was made. All stamps are deeply rendered, including the Mato Grosso shield itself, which according to Prober is the exact die used to regulate 8 Reales coins in 1818 for circulation in the Province. Prober, in his comprehensive work lists all known Brazilian gold bars, studied this piece in 1940 when it belonged to renowned businessman Guilherme Guinle, who built the famous Copacabana Palace Hotel in Rio de Janeiro. From the mere twenty surviving Mato Grosso bars cataloged by Prober, thirteen are in museum collections across Brazil and Portugal, three were stolen from the National Historic Museum of Brazil in the infamous 1939 heist (and are believed to have been melted down by the thieves), leaving only four Mato Grosso possibly in private hands, considering that Prober's book was published in 1990 and some of those could have been acquired by museums, such as the Banco Espirito Santo Collection, which did acquire several bars in the 1990s. First we have the pleasure to handle and only to hit the auction blocks in the past decades, this is sure to entice the most advanced collectors of Brazilian types and any trophy hunter.

During the early 1800s, gold exploration in Mato Grosso focused primarily on the region's rivers and streams, where miners extracted gold from alluvial deposits using relatively simple washing techniques. Although production had declined from its eighteenth-century peak, the deposits were still enough to sustain the production of these now seldom-seen ingots.

To read the complete item description, see:
João VI gold Ingot of Mato Grosso 1818 Genuine NGC, (https://coins.ha.com/itm/brazil/brazil-joao-vi-gold-ingot-of-mato-grosso-1818-genuine-ngc-/a/3135-31001.s?ic4=ListView-ShortDescription-071515)

SICILY. Messana. Ca. 412-408 BC. AR tetradrachm (26mm, 17.24 gm, 8h). NGC XF 4/5 - 4/5, die shift. Nymph Messana driving biga of mules walking left; Nike flying right above to crown driver / ??SS???O?, hare springing right; Ketos swimming left below. Jameson 652. Caltabiano 599. Impressive and powerful obverse, struck in high-relief and sporting deep toning.

From the Ahlden Castle Collection. Ex Gorny & Mosch, Auction 169 (12 October 2008), lot 19.

The coins of Greek Sicily abound with symbolism, the meaning of which is not always obvious to the modern observer. Messana, located on the northwest corner of Sicily and the third most populous city on the island, chose as its civic badges a chariot pulled by a pair of mules (biga) and a leaping hare. On this pleasing tetradrachm, the mule biga is driven by a woman, most likely the nymph Messana, while the hare springs over Ketos. As to what it all means, we can surmise as follows: In 484 or 480 BC, a mule team from Messana won the Olympic Games in the event known as the anape (mule biga race); naturally, civic pride prompted the Messenians to advertise the victory on their coinage. The hare is an animal sacred to the god Pan, who had a temple in Messana and was widely worshipped there.

MACEDONIAN KINGDOM. Alexander III the Great (336-323 BC). AV distater (22mm, 17.21 gm, 10h). NGC Choice AU? 5/5 - 5/5, Fine Style. Lifetime issue, Aegeae(?), ca. 336-323 BC. Head of Athena right, hair in three tight corkscrew curls, upswept at temple, and flowing over left shoulder, wearing pendant earring, double-necklace, and triple-crested Corinthian helmet pushed back on head, long divergent crest ends, bowl decorated with coiled serpent right / ??????????, Nike standing facing, head left, wreath in outstretched right hand, stylis cradled in left arm; vertical thunderbolt in outer left field, AO monogram in left field below wing. Price 191. Superb eye appeal with flashing luster and nearly pristine devices.

At the beginning of his reign in 336 BC, the Macedonian Kingdom was reportedly in debt to the tune of 500 silver talents (a talent being 6,000 silver drachms and a "king's ransom" in earliest Greek times). To give an idea of the vast loot his conquests amassed, at Susa alone Alexander seized 50,000 talents of silver and 40,000 of gold. This huge intake of bullion resulted in hitherto unseen denominations such as the gold distater, tariffed at two staters and ten silver tetradrachms, about 20 day's wages for a Macedonian soldier during wartime. The distater was likely employed to pay many of Alexander's veteran soldiers, who were rewarded for their labors with the equivalent of a silver talent. With the new denomination, a talent could be paid out as 120 gold distaters. Despite their size and enormous buying power, gold distaters evidently circulated heavily, for most specimens found today display considerable wear and numerous contact marks. However, this attractive specimen is nearly mark free.

Frederik III gold 10 Ducats (Portugaloser) ND (1668-1669) MS63? NGC, KM-Unl, Fr-Unl, Hede-80B, Bruun-6736. 34.46gm. Mintmaster: Gotfred Krüger. A coin of epic proportions, emanating flashes of light from the semi-reflective surfaces that play host to lightly frosted, intricately engraved devices. Without any discernable weakness of strike or wear to the devices, the star designation is well warranted. We are aware of only a single other example of the type, which resides in the National Museum of Denmark.

Ex. L. E. Bruun Collection (Stack's Bowers, September 2024, Lot 1096); Countship of Brahesminde Collection (Private sale, 1922)
Ex. L.E. Bruun Collection