Very Rare Isis Issue

Sale: CNG 82, Lot: 895. Estimate $750.  Closing Date: Wednesday, 16 September 2009.  Sold For $1610. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

EGYPT, Alexandria. Diocletian. AD 284-305. BI Tetradrachm (5.89 g, 6h). Struck circa AD 296. Laureate and draped bust right / Isis standing left, holding sistrum and cornucopia. Köln -; A. Geissen. “Numismatische Bemerkung zu dem Aufstand des L. Domitius Domitianus,” ZPE 22 (1976) p. 284 and pl. XVI, 19; Dattari (Savio) -; K&G 119.141; Triton VI, 605 (same dies). Good VF, dark green patina. Very rare.

From the Gordon S. Parry Collection. Ex Giessener Münzhandlung 73 (11 October 1995), lot 272.

Because of the reverse, this tetradrachm has been erroneously attributed an issue related to the Festival of Isis coinage. Alfoldi, in his work on the subject, demonstrated that all the Festival of Isis coinage was of imperial type, minted at Rome in the later fourth century AD, and conformed to a standardized legend and type – VOTA PVBLICA and the goddess standing on her divine ship. Since he listed no provincial issues commemorating the festival, and since the striking of provincial coinage had ended by the beginning of the fourth century, it is reasonable to conclude that this tetradrachm, while it does depict Isis, is not to be associated with the festival in Rome.

In any event, this type is very rare, and some extremely rare Alexandrian coins may offer a clue for its use under Diocletian. Egypt was undergoing a number of economic changes as the Roman government was beginning to end the production of its provincial coinage and replacing it with imperial types. During this transition, while the mint was striking tetradrachms of a more imperial style with increasingly imperial types, very rare undated issues, some with specifically Egyptian reverses, such as this coin, were also struck. Most likely, these latter coins were an attempt to ease the changes taking place and accommodate a population used to its local monetary types. Ultimately, this policy failed to satisfy, for shortly after the new imperial coinage was introduced, a revolt in Egypt broke out under Domitius Domitianus.