From the collection of the Dukes of Gotha, acquired in 1712 by Duke Frederick II (1676-1732)
Lot 290
KYRENAICA. Kyrene. Circa 375-308 BC. Tetradrachm (Silver, 24 mm, 13.41 g, 6 h), Asiatic standard. Theupheides, magistrate, circa 331-322. ΘEYΦEI Bearded head of Zeus Ammon to left, with ram's horn over his ear. Rev. K-Y/P-A Silphium plant with two pair of leaves and fruits. BMC 165b and pl. XVI, 1 (this coin). SNG Copenhagen -. Warren 1359. Very rare. A beautiful piece of splendid late Classical style with an illustrious and exceptionally old pedigree. Good very fine.


From the Kleinkunst Collection, ex Leu 79, 31 October 2000, 795, Leu 13, 29 April 1975, 346 and Hess-Leu, 16 April 1957, 326, and from the collection of the Dukes of Gotha, acquired in 1712 by Duke Frederick II (1676-1732) from Count Anton Günther II of Schwarzburg-Sonderhausen-Arnstad (1653-1716).


The present coin was once in the collection of the Dukes of Gotha, which had a very old history, as the bulk of the coins was acquired in 1712 by Duke Friedrich II (1676-1732) for the colossal amount of 100,000 Talers from the famous collection of Count Anton Günther II of Schwarzburg-Sonderhausen-Arnstad (1653-1716). The last ruling Duke of Gotha was Carl Eduard (1884-1954), a grandson of Queen Victoria, whose original name was Charles Edward. Carl was appointed Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha in 1899 at a very young age and became a German loyalist, fighting, albeit reportedly with mixed feelings, his native country England as a German cavalry staff officer in the First World War. Deprived of all of his English titles in 1917, Carl Eduard abdicated as Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha a year later during the German Revolution of 1918-1919, which swept away the German monarchs. Like many other aristocrats, the Duke supported the rise of the Nazi party in the 1920s and 1930s, and he eventually became one of its most prominent figureheads on the international stage. A good acquaintance of Hitler, he was appointed president of the German Red Cross in 1933 and represented Nazi Germany on thirty-nine trips abroad and two world tours, the last of which led him to the Soviet Union, Japan and the United States of America in 1940, where he met the Soviet foreign secretary W. Molotow, the Japanese emperor Hirohito and the US-President Franklin D. Roosevelt. Despite being a cousin of King George VI, Carl Eduard was imprisoned by American troops and charged with crimes against humanity after the fall of the Third Reich. He was, however, released in 1946 and sentenced in 1950 as a 'Mitläufer' and 'Minderbelasteter' by a denazification court. The loss of the family's estates and the fine of 5,000 DM almost bankrupted the House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, which eventually sold those parts of its numismatic collection that had been carried into safety in 1945 prior to the installment of the Soviet occupation, mostly through Münzen & Medaillen and Hess-Leu.
Estimate:
3500 CHF
Starting price:
2800 CHF
Hammer price:
11000 CHF
Bid increment:
Closed
Minimum bid:
Closed
Number of bids:
Time left:
Closing time: 23-Oct-20, 06:00:00 CEST
All winning bids are subject to a {0} buyer's fee.

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