DEMETRIUS POLIORCETES SILVER HEMIDRACHM – SPECIMEN EX SAMUEL POZZI COLLECTION – CHOICE VF STAR 5/5 5/5 NGC GRADED GREEK MACEDONIAN KINGDOM COIN (Inv. 19387)

SOLD

19387. KINGDOM OF MACEDON. DEMETRIUS POLIORCETES, 306–283 BC.
Silver hemidrachm, 2.09 g, 13 mm. Issue of Tarsus, ca. 298–295 BC.
Obv. Nike standing on ship’s prow left, blowing trumpet. Rev. ΒΑΣΙΛΩΣ ΔΗΜΙΤΡΙOΥ, Poseidon striding left, preparing to throw trident, A in left field, AI within circle control monogram in right field.
Published: Newell, Demetrius, 45.ζζ (this specimen cited).
Ex Jean Vinchon, Paris, private stock = ex Samuel Pozzi Collection = Pozzi (Boutin), 2011 = Naville I, 3/14/1921, lot 958.
NGC graded CHOICE VF STAR, Strike 5/5, Surface 5/5, the prestigious Pozzi provenance listed on label.

Demetrius “the Besieger” was one of the more colorful players in the struggle for power following Alexander’s death. His coinage features Poseidon, god of the sea, recalling Demetrius’ claims to glory as being a “Besieger of Cities.” This series depicts a triumphal monument commemorating a naval victory, with Nike, goddess of victory, blowing a trumpet from the prow of a ship. The figure is reminiscent of the “Victory of Samothrace,” the famous marble figure in the Louvre Museum. This specimen, a hemidrachm from the Nike on prow/Poseidon series, was once in the collection of Dr. Samuel Pozzi, one of the greatest collectors of turn–of–the–century Europe.