Just won this coin in the latest Savoca auction. It is not the type of coin I usually buy. It is quite worn and a bit chipped. However, I liked the portrait and I liked the provenance. The auction listed the provenance as CNG 188 Lot 183. Before I bid on the coin I looked it up on CNG and found a further provenance. It is from the collection of Richard Prideaux.
From CNG
"Richard Prideaux was born in Illinois sixty years ago. A dual national, he eventually moved to France, where he studied law and history, closing the loop opened by his ancestors the Prideaux Brothers, who crossed the Channel with William the Conqueror in 1066 before some descendants sailed to America eight hundred years later. Fond of "the first centuries" (BC and AD), he started collecting Roman coins in 1970, including a broad range of coinage from aes grave to Hadrian. Later, at the Sorbonne, when he was working on the military symbolism in Augustus' coinage, he focused his numismatic interest on the first emperor's issues, and over time assembled an extensive academic collection.
Richard Prideaux believes that understanding the mentalities of people living in the past is essential to appreciate generally how they lived, and specifically to understand their coinage. To address the questions of why, how, when and where the coins were issued, one must consider many factors, some of which may easily be forgotten or misinterpreted nowadays. He is now preparing a book about Augustus' coinage. His comprehensive study has enabled him to reinterpret various aspects of the coinage, and he has kindly communicated some of his insights which have served as the basis for notes in the following catalog."
I was the only bidder on this coin. I think I just bought something interesting for 10 Euro plus fees.
MACEDON, Edessa.Augustus.27 BC-AD 14. Æ
19mm (6.23 g).
Obv: Laureate head right
Rev: EΔEΣ/ ΣAIΩN in two lines within laurel wreath.
RPC I 1520; SNG Copenhagen -; BMC 17.
Near VF, glossy grayish-green patina, patina chipped around edges.
Ex: CNG 188 Lot 183
From the Richard Prideaux collection
Savoca coin Auctions Blue #11 Lot 1020
October 27, 2018
Posted 10/27/2018 7:53 pm
