CRETE. Gortyna. Circa 98/6-94 BC. Drachm (Silver, 18 mm, 2.83 g, 12 h). Diademed head of Zeus to right; below, H.
Rev. ΓΟΡΤΥΝΙΩΝ Naked warrior standing left, holding shield set on ground in his right hand and spear in his left; to inner left, Θ. Price, Gortyn, 119-28. SNG Copenhagen 448. Svoronos, Numismatique, 154. Nicely toned and with a very old pedigree. Somewhat rough
, otherwise, nearly very fine.
From the collection of the Hamburg-based Psychologist and Educational Scientist, Prof. Dr. Paul Probst, and from the Dr. Hartmann Collection, Dorotheum 17 May 2017, 23, and from the collection of Apostolo Zeno (1668-1750), Part III, Dorotheum, 26-27 March 1957, 3868.
This pieces fomes once belonged to the collection of Apostolo Zeno (1668–1750), the renowned Venetian scholar, poet, and librettist. Zeno’s extraordinary coin collection was auctioned in Vienna in three parts in 1955-1957. Apostolo Zeno, a scion of an old Venetian noble family, pursued an early career as a poet while also dedicating himself to history, philology, and numismatics. He co-founded the Accademia degli Animosi (1691) and the Giornale de’ letterati d’Italia (1710), Italy’s first critical literary journal. In 1718, he moved to the court of Charles VI in Vienna, where he served as court poet and historian while also managing the imperial coin collection. Upon returning to Venice in 1729, he continued to study and expand his personal coin collection until his death in 1750.
