The Michel Prieur Collection
Triton XXII, Lot: 505. Estimate $500.
Sold for $600. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee. |
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CILICIA, Mopsus. Hadrian, with Sabina. AD 117-138. AR Tetradrachm (27mm, 13.15 g, 6h). AYT KAI ΘE TPA ΠAP YI ΘE NEP YI AΔPIANOC C, Π Π in field, laureate and draped bust of Hadrian right / CABEINA CEB AΔP-I MOΨEATωN ΠOΛEωC, draped bust of Sabina, as Artemis, right, set on crescent, with quiver over shoulder. Prieur –; SNG BN –; SNG Levante –; RPC III 3360.6 (
this coin, illustrated on pl. 152). VF, lightly toned, some deposits, minor doubling on obverse. Very rare with this obverse legend and crescent on reverse, 1 of 6 cited in RPC.
From the Michel Prieur Collection. Ex Robert O. Ebert Collection (Part I, Stack’s Bowers & Ponterio 174, 11 January 2013), lot 5138.
Michel Prieur (1955-2014) was born in Neuilly-sur-Seine, a suburb of Paris, and spent much of his childhood in Africa and the Middle East. In 1988, he founded Compagnie Générale de Bourse (cgb.fr), the largest numismatic firm in France. Michel combined a scholarly approach to numismatics with a passion for promoting the hobby. He was a pioneer in ushering numismatics into the digital age, and was extremely proud of his website, which is available in a staggering seven languages and offers a wealth of information for collectors through its archives, blog, and monthly online newsletter Le Bulletin Numismatique. Michel authored numerous articles on French coins and banknotes, and was co-author of Le Franc, a popular reference modeled on Whitman’s “Red Book.”
To collectors of ancient coins, Michel is best known for his publication of A type corpus of the Syro-Phoenician tetradrachms and their fractions from 57 BC to AD 253 (Lancaster, PA, 2000), which he co-authored with Karin Prieur. This corpus built on decades of active research and careful recording of the series, and will long remain the standard reference on this often-complex series. Michel was always extraordinarily generous with his time and knowledge of this series, and personally assisted this cataloger on a number of occasions.
Readers will take notice that many of the following lots from the collection have been cited and/or illustrated in publications, not only in Prieur’s own book but in Roman Provincial Coinage Vol. III and Richard McAlee’s Coinage of Roman Antioch, among others. Bidders are also encouraged to view lots 278, 281, 344, 345, 365, 373, 374, and 376 in the Greek section of this sale for additional coins from the Prieur Collection.
Additional coins from the collection will be made available in Triton Session 5 (Electronic Auction 436) and throughout 2019.
