Auction Catalogue

3 November 2020

Starting at 10:00 AM

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Coins and Historical Medals

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Lot

№ 445

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3 November 2020

Hammer Price:
£150

Roman Provincial Coinage, EGYPT, Alexandria, Hadrian, Æ Drachm, yr 18 [133-4], laureate and draped bust right, rev. Isis Pharia advancing right, holding sail, Pharos lighthouse to right, surmounted with a statue and decorated figures of Triton on lower stage, 24.86g (RPC III, 5895; Milne 1416). Some roughness, otherwise fine, the reverse type clear £80-£100

This lot was sold as part of a special collection, The Antony Scammell Collection of Roman Coins.

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The lighthouse of Alexandria, which pioneered the architectural form of these structures, came to be considered as one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. Constructed on the island of Pharos during the reign of Ptolemy Philadelphos, it was designed to help guide merchants and travellers into Alexandria’s two harbours, away from the shallows and reefs that ran along the nearby coastline. Unfortunately the structure is now lost, having been destroyed by several earthquakes. Reconstructions, based on surviving literary evidence and artistic depictions such as that seen on this coin, indicate that it originally stood around 115 metres above sea level and that its light was visible from some 34 miles distant