Numismatica Ars Classica Zurich

Auction 87  –  8 October 2015

Numismatica Ars Classica Zurich, Auction 87

The Ernst Ploil Collection of Roman Coins - Part I

Th, 08.10.2015, from 2:30 PM CEST
The auction is closed.

Description

The Roman Empire
Trajan, 98 – 117
Sestertius after 20th February 116-August 117, Æ 27.21 g. IMP CAES NER TRAIANO OPTIMO AVG GER DAC PARTHICO P M TR P COS VI P P S – C Laureate and draped bust r. Rev. ARMENIA ET MESOPOTAMIA IN POTESTATEM P R REDACTAE Trajan standing facing, head r., holding spear and parazonium; on ground, reclining figures of Armenia, Euphrates and Tigris. C 39. BMC 1035. RIC 642. CBN 915. Woytek 590v-24.
Rare and probably the finest specimen known. A very interesting and finely detailed
reverse composition struck on a very large flan and a pleasant brown tone. Minor
flan crack at two o’clock on obverse, otherwise extremely fine Trajan’s Parthian campaign of 114-116 was a great success as a military venture, but it failed to have many lasting effects, making it somewhat of a flash in the pan in broader terms. Perhaps the only important results were the annexation of Nabataea, which became the province of Arabia, and the realization by Trajan’s successors that the borders of the empire should not be extended needlessly.
This sestertius, assigned by Woytek to the last eighteen months of Trajan’s life, from February, 116 through August, 118, ranks high among the artistic achievements of the era. It portrays Trajan towering over the seated figure of Armenia flanked by the reclining personifications of the Rivers Tigris and Euphrates, each resting against an overturned amphora. The latter two represent Mesopotamia, the land between the two mighty rivers of the Near East that in earlier millennia had been a cradle of civilization.
The dies were executed with an extremely high order of skill, noticeable even within a series known for its fine artistry. The portrait is of the first quality and the reverse presents a multi-dimensional scene that in every respect appears to be derived from of a monumental sculptural group. Though the group apparently has not survived, we might suspect it was erected in Rome and would have been available as a guide to the engraver.

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Price realized 11'000 CHF
Starting price 8'000 CHF
Estimate 10'000 CHF
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