Gemini III, January 9th, 2007



                  Lot # 384 - Auction is closed.Estimate: US$4000 / Price 
                  Realized: US$9500 
                  Hadrian and Sabina. Silver tetradrachm 



             



            Hadrian and Sabina. (117-138 AD). Silver tetradrachm (13.63 gm). 
            Cilicia, Tarsus, 128-138 AD. AYT KAI ÈE TPA ÐAP YI ÈE N - EP YI TP 
            AÄPIANOC CE - Ð Ð, laureate, cuirassed bust right, seen from front, 
            aegis and Medusa head on cuirass, fold of cloak on left shoulder / 
            AY CABEINA CEBACTH KAI AÄP TAP MHTPOÐOËEÙC, draped bust of Sabina 
            right, hair gathered atop head, cornucopia below neck. Unpublished 
            variant of Prieur 771, BMC Lycaonia 153 and Sear 1270. Tiny scrapes 
            on the temple and cheek of each bust. Wonderful sculptural 
            portraits. Nearly mint state. 

            On the published tetradrachms of Hadrian and Sabina at Tarsus, the 
            rulers respectively have a radiate crown and a crescent behind their 
            busts and are assimilated to the sun and the moon. The letters Ð Ð 
            and A Y flank the portraits on obverse and reverse. However, on the 
            present example Hadrian has the laurel wreath of the imperator, 
            together with a fancier cuirassed bust, while Sabina has a 
            cornucopia below her portrait, assimilating her to Felicitas. The 
            letters Ð Ð and A Y appear below their busts rather than in the 
            fields. As stated in BMC, pp. lxxxix-xc, just as Ð Ð abbreviates 
            Hadrian’s new title Pater Patriae, so must A Y abbreviate Sabina’s 
            new title Augusta, despite the fact that Sabina’s legend on the same 
            coin also calls her “Sebaste,” the Greek translation of "Augusta". 




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  ... Lot 384 sold for high bid of $9500 [ $10925, or approx 8445.025 EUR, 5571.75 GBP including the 15% buyers fee.] 


Re-used by permission of Harlan J Berk (www.harlanjberk.com) and
                         Freeman & Sear (www.freemanandsear.com)