The Staffieri Collection – Limited Edition
Customers in North America

182790000.

Classical Numismatic Group Inc., The Giovanni Maria Staffieri Collection of the Coins of Roman Alexandria. 273 individual lots total. Includes Introduction and Prices Realized. Limited Edition. (X279)

(From the Cataloguer's Introduction):

"It has been a rare privilege to catalog the following Alexandrian coins from the collection of Giovanni Maria Staffieri. I have been aware of Giovanni and his collection for a long time now, as he purchased quite a few “old friends” from my collection of Alexandrian coinage, when we sold the best pieces in December of 1990 (Classical Numismatic Auctions XIII). I finally was able to meet him in person at the XVth International Numismatic Congress held in Taormina, Sicily in September of 2015. At the Congress, Giovanni told me that he was working on a book devoted to his collection, which he completed earlier this year: Alexandria In Nummis, 30 a.C.–298 d.C. – Una passione – Una collezione. It is a wonderful book, worthy of such an impressive collection.

Giovanni was born in Lugano, Switzerland in 1944. After completing his studies at the University of Zürich in 1969, he returned to his hometown to start his own business. After a successful career of 40 years, Giovanni retired in 2009, and was able to concentrate on his various avocations, including numismatics.

A life member of the Swiss Numismatic Society since 1966 (a gift from his father), Giovanni started attending meetings of the Society in Zürich on a regular basis in the 1970s, where he would meet Dr. Piero Beretta from Milan. It was Dr. Beretta who introduced him to the Roman coins from the mint of Alexandria in Egypt, and indeed, Giovanni purchased many of his best coins, almost all ex Dattari, from Dr. Beretta. Dr. Beretta, a classical art teacher, had the good fortune to purchase these coins directly from the Dattari collection when it was being dispersed.

Giovanni has never been content with just being a collector, and indeed, his scholarly publications and articles are numerous and reflect his intense interest in the Alexandrian series. Several of his articles are cited in the following catalogue, and of course, every coin in this sale is listed (with full descriptions and commentary) by Giovanni in his book Alexandria In Nummis.

The following 273 lots represent the finest and rarest coins from the Alexandrian collection of Giovanni Maria Staffieri, which includes 116 coins from the Giovanni Dattari collection – probably still one of the finest and most complete collections ever assembled. I am honored that Giovanni included 26 coins from my collection. Other notable collectors of Alexandrian coins represented in the pedigree chain of the Staffieri collection are: Lloyd Beauchaine, Renzo Canavesi, Colonel James W. Curtis, Philip DeVicci, Garth R. Drewry, Carlo Fontana, John Work Garrett, Tony Hardy, Marcel Jungfleisch, Richard Cyril Lockett, Dr. Meyer-Coloniensis, Athos Moretti, Giuseppe Nascia, Walter Niggeler, Jean-Pierre Righetti, David Simpson, Dr. Hans Steger, and Gilbert Steinberg.

Finally, I have strived for accuracy in the following catalogue, but any errors found are my own."

Kerry K. Wetterstrom
November 2017

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