Heritage Offers Rarities Certified by NGC Ancients
Offerings include a 2,500-year-old gold Lydian coin from the reign of Croesus that is expected to realize six figures during the January auction.
From the dawn of coinage to the Byzantine Empire, rarities certified by Numismatic Guaranty Company® (NGC®) are being offered in an upcoming Heritage Auctions sale. More than 130 coins certified by NGC Ancients are part of the NYINC Platinum Session World & Ancient Coins Signature Auction, being held on January 8, 2024.
Among the top highlights of this auction is a Lydia Croesus 561-546 BC “Heavy Series” Gold Stater graded NGC MS★, 5/5 Strike, and 5/5 Surface (lot 31029) with an estimate of $100,000 to $150,000. Around 561 BC, Croesus ascended to the Lydian throne in what today is Turkey. Croesus is credited with a crucial reform — the introduction of a bimetallic coinage in both gold and silver, gradually supplanting the existing electrum currency. The gold staters initially minted by Croesus adhered to a "heavy" standard of approximately 10.7 grams, the same weight as the newly introduced silver stater denomination.
Other NGC Ancients-certified coins in this auction include:
- a Roman Imperatorial Marc Antony and Lucius Antonius 41 BC Gold Aureus graded NGC Ancients Ch XF, 5/5 Strike and 2/5 Surface (lot 31046), with an estimate of $100,000 to $150,000
- a Roman Imperatorial Quintus Labienus 40-39 BC Silver Denarius graded NGC Ancients Ch AU, 5/5 Strike and 2/5 Surface (lot 31047), with an estimate of $100,000 to $150,000
- a Lydia (Croesus or later) after c. 561 BC “Light Series” Gold Stater graded NGC Ancients Ch MS, 5/5 Strike and 5/5 Surface (lot 31031), with an estimate of $50,000 to $70,000
- a Zeugitana, Carthage c.270-260 BC Gold Trihemistater graded NGC Ancients AU, 5/5 Strike, and 4/5 Surface, with Fine Style and pedigreed to the Wetmore Collection (lot 30016), with an estimate of $40,000 to $60,000
- a Roman Empire Nero Claudius Drusus (posthumous, c.AD 41-50) Gold Aureus graded NGC Ancients AU, 5/5 Strike and 4/5 Surface (lot 31051), with an estimate of $40,000 to $50,000
- a Roman Empire Constans AD 337-350 Gold Medallion graded NGC Ancients MS, 5/5 Strike and 3/5 Surface (lot 31065), with an estimate of $30,000 to $50,000
- a Byzantine Empire Leo V AD 813-820 Gold Solidus graded NGC Ancients MS★, 5/5 Strike and 4/5 Surface (lot 31068), with an estimate of $25,000 to $40,000
All estimates are provided in USD by Heritage Auctions.
