Sale: Nomos 1, Lot: 9. Estimate CHF25000.  Closing Date: Tuesday, 5 May 2009.  Sold For CHF29000. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

BRUTTIUM, Kroton. Circa 330-300 BC. Stater (Silver, 7.92 g 5). ΚΡΟΤΩΝΙΑΤΑΝ Eagle with spread wings standing left on olive branch Rev. Tripod with domed cover and fillets hanging from the handles; to right, serpent coiling left; to left, grain ear. Basel 202 (this coin). HN III 2176. SNG ANS 355-356. SNG Copenhagen 1798. SNG Lockett 628. A superb example, beautifully struck in high relief and attractively toned. Good extremely fine.

From the collection of A. Moretti, Numismatica Ars Classica 13, 8 October 1998, 202.

It may seem remarkable how many coins come from the collection of A. Moretti (or ADM as he is often termed) but he was one of the great collectors of the 20th century. He was a Swiss-Italian with close connections to Milan and initially collected all types of ancient coins, except for Celtic, but he soon specialized in the coins of Italy and Sicily. He had a long and close relationship with Leo Mildenberg, as well as with Herbert Cahn, so that throughout the 1950s, 60s and 70s, when so many coins were coming on the market, he always had first choice of whatever appeared. He collected many Italian and Sicilian mints by die, in the manner of his younger contemporary BCD (luckily they did not collect the same area!). The high point of his collecting career came when a careful selection of his coins went on display in the Antikenmuseum in Basel with a wonderful catalogue by H. Cahn, L. Mildenberg, R. Russo and H. Voegtli. His non-Italian Greek coins were mostly sold in a series of Leu sales, his Roman coins appeared in sales of Leu, NAC and NFA, and his wonderful Italian Greek coins have appeared in innumerable NAC sales (a complete sylloge of his collection is promised, and would be of great value). The present piece, far and away better than any other known example of the type, shows the kind of coins this passionate collector was able to acquire - no one else had the chance!