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EGYPT, Alexandria. Antoninus Pius. AD 138-161. Æ Drachm (34mm, 21.33 g, 12h). Dated RY 7 (AD 143/4). AYT K T AIΛ A∆P ANTωNINOC CЄB ЄYC, laureate head right / The Judgment of Paris – Raised platform upon which from left to right: Aphrodite standing facing, head left; Hera standing facing, holding long scepter and looking right; Athena standing facing, head left, holding spear with her left hand and balancing shield on platform with her right (all goddesses wearing their usual attire); to their left on the ground: Hermes standing facing, head left, looking at Paris, left hand raised and pointed at Aphrodite; to his left, Paris seated right; above, two Erotes holding wreath; sheep below; L Z (date) flanking scene. Köln –; Dattari (Savio) 2998; K&G –; RPC IV.4 13519.12 (this coin); Emmett 1635.7 (R4). Even brown surfaces, holed twice in antiquity, small flan cracks. Good VF. Very rare. Overall better than the Staffieri specimen which we sold in Triton XXI, lot 161, which hammered for $32,000. All details embraced in portraying the Judgement scene are sharp and clear. This is not true for most known examples.
Ex Naville Numismatics 64 (21 March 2021), lot 267.
The Judgment of Paris, a mythical “beauty contest” of sorts, serves as a prelude to the Trojan War. Eris, goddess of discord, was excluded from a feast thrown by Zeus, but the scorned deity arrived uninvited with a golden apple inscribed “for the fairest.” Hera, Athena, and Aphrodite each claimed the apple, and Zeus was asked to award it to the most beautiful. Zeus, wishing to avoid this uncomfortable situation, appointed the mortal Paris as judge, as the shepherd and prince of Troy had a reputation for his fairness. Each goddess attempted to sway Paris with a bribe in order to win the apple: Athena offered him incredible skill in battle, Hera offered him an immense kingdom, and Aphrodite offered him the most beautiful woman in the world, Helen of Sparta, the wife of the Greek king Menelaus. Paris could not refuse Aphrodite’s offer, setting in motion the war between the Greeks and Trojans.
This particular piece has been pierced twice, likely serving as a funerary piece on a Romano-Egyptian mummy. Coins and other amulets were woven into the fabric of the mummies to serve as talismans against the spirits that would try to harm them on their way to the afterlife, the coin would pay the toll to Charon, the Greco-Roman tradition of paying the ferryman, which had been absorbed into Egyptian customs. Mummification was still practiced by the Egyptians through the third century AD until Christianity became the dominant religion of the empire.
The final winners of all Triton XXVI lots will be determined at the live public sale that will be held on 10-11 January 2023.
Triton XXVI – Session Two – Lot 335-673 will be held Tuesday afternoon, 10 January 2023 beginning at 2:00 PM ET.
Winning bids are subject to a 22.5% buyer's fee for bids placed on this website and 25% for all others.
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