IONIA, League of Thirteen Cities. Antoninus Pius. AD 138-161. Æ Medallion (42mm, 45.65 g, 5h). Marcus Claudius Fronto, asiarch of the Koinon of Asia and archierus of the Koinon of the Thirteen Cities. Struck circa AD 140-144. Fine.

Keystone 17 – The W. Toliver Besson Collection
Lot: 91. Estimated: $ 500

Roman Provincial, Bronze

Sold For $ 1 300. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

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IONIA, League of Thirteen Cities. Antoninus Pius. AD 138-161. Æ Medallion (42mm, 45.65 g, 5h). Marcus Claudius Fronto, asiarch of the Koinon of Asia and archierus of the Koinon of the Thirteen Cities. Struck circa AD 140-144. Laureate and draped bust left, seen from behind / The Abduction of Persephone: Hades, with billowing chlamys, standing in quadriga right, holding scepter and carrying off protesting Persephone; above, small Eros flying right, holding torch and guiding the horses' reins; below, overturned kalathos containing flowers. Gillespie 7-8; RPC IV.2 Online 2296.8 (this coin); BMC 2 var. (rev. legend arrangement). Brown patina, slight roughness, flan flaws, trace silvering remaining. Fine.

From the W. Toliver Besson Collection. Ex Roma E-Sale 32 (7 January 2017), lot 569; Numismatik Naumann 45 (3 July 2016), lot 433.

The League of Thirteen Cities was originally founded as the Ionian League in the 7th century BC. The 12 original members were Miletus, Myus, Priene, Ephesus, Colophon, Lebedus, Teos, Clazomenae, Phocaea, Chios, Erythrae, Chios and Samos. Smyrna joined in 298 BC, bringing the number to 13. The confederation proved remarkably enduring,as the series of medallions struck under Antoninus Pius, eight centuries after its founding, attests.

Closing Date and Time: 22 July 2026 at 10:30:00 ET.



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