^^^ ,>^' •vi-v^: iro THE LIBRARY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LOS ANGELES e-ri ^-H THE MONTAGU COLLECTION OF COINS. CATALOGUE OF THE 0§r££k ^£ri£B. WHICH WILL BE SULD L.Y AUtTlUN, BY MESSRS. SOTHEBY, WILKINSON & HODGE, ^urtinnrtrs of $it£rarg ^roprrty \S,- Mlorhs tUualratibc of tljc Jfinc ^rts, AT THEIR HOUSE, No. 13, WELLINGTON STREET, STRAND, W.C. On MONDAY, 23rd of MARCH, 1896, and Five following Days, AT ONE o'clock PRECISELY. MAY liE VIEWED TWO DAYS PRIOR. CATALOGUES MAY BE HAD. LONG ACRE. LONDON. PRYDEN PBESS : J. DAW AND SONS, I37, CONDITIONS OF SALE. I. The highest bidder to be the biiyei- ; and if any dispute arise between bidders, the lot so disputed shall be imme- diately put up again, provided the auctioneer cannot decide the said dispute. II. No person to advance less than Is. ; above five pounds, '2s. 6d., and so on in proportion. III. In the case of lots upon which there is a reserve, the auc- tioneer shall have the right to bid on behalf of the seller. IV. The purchasers to give in their names and places of abode, and to pay down 5s. in the pound, if required, in part payment of the purchase-money ; iu default of which the lot or lots purchased to be immediately put up again and re-sold. V. The sale of any lot is not to be set aside on account of any error in the enumeration of the numbers stated, or errors of description. VI. The lots to be taken away at the buyer's expense, imme- diately after the conclusion of the sale ; in default of which Messrs. SOTHEBY, WILKINSON & HODGE will not hold themselves responsible if lost, stolen, damaged, or otherwise destroyed, but they will be left at the sole risk of the purchaser. If at the expiration of Two Days after the conclusion of the sale, the lots are not cleared or paid for, they will then be catalogued for immediate sale, and the expense, the same as if re-sold, will be added to the amount at which they were bought. Messrs. SOTHEBY. WILKINSON & HODGE will have the option of re- selling the lots imcleared, cither by public or private sale, without any notice being given to the defaulter. VII. Upon failure of complying with the above conditions, the money required and deposited in part of payment shall be forfeited , and if any loss is sustained in the re-selling of such lots as are not cleared or paid for, all charges on siich re-sale shall be made good by the defaulters at this sale. Gentlemen who cannot attend this sale, may have their Com- missions faithfully executed by their humble Servants, SOTHEBY, WILKINSON & HODGE, 13, Wellington Street, Strand, London. Gn^% PEEFATORY NOTE. FEW details relating to the formation of this splendid series of A Greek coins will be found in the sale catalogue describing the British and Anglo-Saxon sections of Mr. Montagu's Collection. As, however, that sale appealed more to collectors of English coins, the catalogue may not have reached the hands of some of those who devote themselves specially to Greek coins. For that reason we will recapitu- late some of our remarks on the Greek series, which were included in the biographical sketch of Mr. Montagu. It was not till he had completed the formation of his cabinet of English coins that Mr. Montagu turned his attention to those of earlier times. It may be of interest to note that the first Greek coin which Mr. Montagu purchased w%.s the beautiful Stater of Croton described in lot 73. The extreme beauty of this coin, as a work of art, particularly attracted Mr. Montagu, and he purchased it, not at the time having any serious intention of devoting himself to forming a collection of this series. So much so, that, shortly after acquiring it, he offered to hand it over to a brother-collector, who, to his after- regret, did not accept the offer. This coin proved to be the deciding point ; and, when Mr. Montagu met his friend shortly afterwards, he remarked "I am glad you did not take that coin, because it has made me a collector of Gi'eek coins." This occurred in 1889, and thus fi.xes the date of the commencement of the formation of this cabinet of Greek coins. The zeal which Mr. Montagu had shown in collecting English coins was now turned to those of Greece, and he was quite as successful in this second instance as in the first ; for, as we have previously re- marked, " what Mr. Montagu undertook it was always liis endeavour to accomplish thoroughly, and this dominant feature in his character was the keynote to his success." Even in the pressure of the multi- farious duties of his profession Mr. Montagu had always kept up his acquaintance with the classics : so that the pages of Eckhel were as accessible to him as any other numismatic work in his library. 3037473 ( iv ) At first, as in the case of forming his English cabinet, Mr. Montagu purchased cautiously, chiefly at public sales and of dealers, always, however, selecting fine specimens, and such as were of special numis- matic or historical interest. His practised eye told him at once what was true and what was false, so that he had not that difficulty to contend with, which always meets a beginner. He was a past-master in his art. The acquisition, in 1893, of the whole of the stock of M. Hoffman, the well-known dealer in Paris, placed Mr. Montagu's collection on a very firm basis. It was a splendid acquisition, as it contained a very large number of very fine and exceedingly interesting coins.* From that date Mr. Montagu increased his collection with remarkable rapidity, such as never before was the fortune of a collector to accomplish. His frequent visits to the Continent placed him in correspondence with the foreign dealers, and there was scarcely one of any standing- over the whole width and breadth of Europe and in Asia Minor with whom he had not transactions at one time or another. Mr. Montagu was also on terms of friendship with most of the private collectors on the Continent, through whom he obtained many interesting coins. The rapidity with which he collected is shown by the extent of his collec- tion : and, had he lived but a few years longer, in completeness it would probably have rivalled his English series. The present occasion offers to collectors a rare opportunity of add- ing to their treasures. Since the dispersion of the Northwick cabinet in 1859, no collection of Greek coins so remarkable for their beauty, condition and numismatic importance, as that formed by Mr. Montagu has been offered by public auction in this country. A perusal of the pages of this catalogi;e must convince the reader of the truth of this remark. To attempt to particularise what is of a special nature would mean the recapitulation of nearly the whole catalogue. The plates will give some idea of the beauty and fine condition of the coins : but it must be understood tliat these form Ijut a limited selection. There would have been no difficulty in reproducing double, or even treble, the number of equally fine pieces. Where possible the previous collections through which the coins have passed are quoted : of these the greater number are from recent sales. As Mr. Montagu purchased very largely of dealers there are many cases where such information is not possible. * The duplicates and coins in inferior condition in this collection were elimi- nated by Mr. Montagu, and sold at this house in December, 1894. / y *_ V. 1' 9 yL^ V Sizes of the Coins. iScait of Mioiintt, CATALOGUE OF THE VERY VALUABLE AND EXTENSIVE COLLECTION OF GREEK COINS, THE PROPERTY OF THE LATE HYMAN MONTAGU, ESQ. F.S.A. Vice-President of the Numismatic Society. FIRST DAY'S SALE. HISPANIA. LOT 1 Iliberi (Baetica). M, Draclims, Head with curled hair to right; 1^ Horseman with circular shield, riding one horse and leading a second, legend in exergue {Heiss, pi XL\iii, 1). Turiaso, Al, Bearded Horseman with couched head to left, letters in field '>^.A.M. ; ^ Iberian, lance, to right ; legend beneath (i?ms, xxii, 2). Romano Saguntum under name of Arsenses, /R, Bearded liead to right, to right, legend in front, dolphin, behind, plough ; y. Horseman below. Segobria, M, Beardless Head to right, behind, crescent Horseman helmeted, going to right holding and below M ; 9> couched lance. M, Hemidracbm of Barcide King, l^Iale bust to to right, Punic letters below, right wearing corn-wreath ; Jt. Horse Jim 5 _ Minorca. Hemidrachm Ai Punic issue. Cabiros (Bes) facing ,'. 'M] .;, :, rare 1 -2). ;; . rced, ^.Biill to left (//f(>, ji*. LXIII, ,, GALLIA. 3 Massalia. ^flDrachms (.3)afterB.c. 350, Head of Artemis wearing triple earring to right; Jc MAZZA, Lion to right (wt. 64 grs.). After B.C. 200, Bust of Artemis, diademed and draped, with bow and quiver on shoulder, to right; I^ MAZZAAHTflN., Lion to right, in front AA (mon.), lut. 41^ grs. Another but with head of Artemis, and without quiver or bow ; 9> MAZZA-, Lion to right. An example showing only rev. type one side incuse ; inscribed MAZZA and KAA in exergue, wt. 41 <jrs. Obols (2) Head of Apollo to left in spaces of wheel, lot. 9 grs. the ; ft) M A- ; other specimen is of similar type but head of Apollo to right, wt. 12 grs. 5 ITALY.