A world record was set at an auction earlier this week, when an ancient Greek coin was bought for more than $3.25 million (US). The entire collection of 642 ancient coins was sold off for approximately $25 million through New York-based A. H. Baldwin and Sons auction house on Wednesday.
Known as the Prospero Collection, it is believed that it was started by the famous British architect Richard Seifert, who died in 2001. Prior to the auction, the collection was valued at over $8 million US.
Paul Hill, Baldwin’s ancient coin specialist and cataloguer for the Prospero Collection, said, “The sale of the Prospero collection has far exceeded our expectations. It has truly been a once in a generation auction and one that will go down in numismatic history. It was an honour and a privilege to catalogue this collection and the results achieved are testament to the dedicated team at Baldwin’s.”
Around 200 bidders were in attendance in the magnificent Vanderbilt suite at the Waldorf Astoria hotel with an additional 156 registered to bid online. Anticipation was building prior to the auction and an electrifying buzz filled the air when the auctioneer opened the first lot at $450 and was immediately bid up to $1,700. Excitement grew as lots proceeded to sell for three, four, five times their pre-sale estimates, it became clear that the prices achieved in this landmark auction would be the new benchmarks for high quality Greek coins.
Lot 213, the catalogue cover coin, broke all previous world records for an ancient Greek coin, selling for a phenomenal US$3,250,000. This beautiful example of a Gold Stater from Pantikapaion depicts the head of a satyr, a character widely used in Greek mythology. The coin is one of the most spectacular numismatic objects to have survived from the classical world and is one of the greatest and admired of all the ancient Greek coins. This miniature work of art is an incredibly rare artistic masterpiece and it was no surprise when bidding soared past the pre-sale estimate of US$650,000.
Other noteworthy sales included lot 149, a Silver Tetradrachm of Naxos, a wonderful example of one of the greatest of all fifth century Greek coins, which sold for US$850,000 against it’s pre-sale estimate of US$125,000 and lot 411, an outstanding Stater of Phaistos with an exceptional provenance, which achieved a staggering US$650,000 against the pre-sale estimate of US$40,000.
Ian Goldbart, Managing Director of Baldwin’s, added, “The auction has just concluded after eight hours. We are delighted to have sold this important and comprehensive Prospero Collection for a total of approximately $25 million, making it the largest auction in Baldwin’s history.”
Source: A. H. Baldwin and Sons
