Spanish Provincial Coinage from the Huntington Collection

316, Lot: 274. Estimate $100. Sold for $150. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

SPAIN, Abdera. Tiberius. AD 14-37. Æ As (26mm, 9.89 g, 6h). Laureate head right / Tetrastyle temple, the center two columns in the form of tunnies. ACIP 3304; RPC I 125. Fair, brown patina, rough surfaces.

Ex Archer M. Huntington Collection (HSA 1001.1.21277).

An important collector who was intimately connected with both the American Numismatic Society (ANS) and the Hispanic Society of America (HSA), Archer M. Huntington's (1870-1955) collection of Spanish-related coinage was particularly notable. Numbering almost 38,000 coins, Huntington worked to acquire an example of every single Spanish coin known from the beginning of coinage to his own day, as well as Spanish-controlled territories in Europe and overseas colonies. His goal was, in his words, "to condense the soul of Spain into meanings, through works of the hand and spirit." Because of Huntington's scholarly and artistic acumen, this collection became the most complete collection of Spanish-related coins outside of Spain ever in existence.