Al Kowsky Posted October 22, 2023 · Member Share Posted October 22, 2023 One coin that has always fascinated me is the Tigranes II tetradrachm, but I never had the urge to acquire one because of their cost. That changed with a fairly large hoard of these coins that started appearing on the market several years ago. High grade examples with finely engraved portraits were selling for $3,000 to 5,000 two or three decades ago until this undocumented hoard started reaching the market, with the end result being nice looking coins can now be had for $1,000 to 1,500. This hoard release is strangely similar to the hoard of Athenian Owls still flooding the market, however, this hoard of Armenian tetradrachms appears to be smaller than the Owls. How large is this hoard, where was it found, and who found it still remains a mystery. With the importance of provenance taking center stage at the scandal of the 40th New York International Numismatic Convention in 2012, one has to ask are these coins legal to own 🤔? The answer is probably no, on the other hand, the major players who are dispersing these coins are doing so with the confidence that there will be no repercussions. In light of this I began my search for a Tigranes tetradrachm early this year, as I had done with the Athenian Owls several years ago. Early in his life Tigranes was was sent to Parthia as a captive, under the watchful eye of Mithradates II. When Tigranes' father died he was released and returned to Armenia. Often referred to as "Tigranes the Great", he ruled the Artaziad Dynasty from 95-56 BC. Under his rule Armenia grew in power and controlled most of the territory from the Black Sea southward, including the coastal empires of the eastern Mediterranean Sea: Judaea, Phoenicia, Syria, Cilicia, Cappadocia and Commagene. He established his capital at Tigranocerta, where most of his coinage was struck, and used Greek celators to engrave the dies. Map courtesy of Wikipedia Tigranocerta was forcibly populated by people from other areas, primarily from Cappadocia. The city became a showcase of Hellenistic culture and Greek was chosen as the language of the imperial court. The city became an important commercial and cultural center of the Orient. The Roman Republic was spreading its wings eastward and was alarmed at the growing power of Armenia. In 69 BC the forces of Lucius Licinius Lucullus defeated the Armenians at the Battle of Tiganocerta, and the city was looted and completely destroyed. Nearly all the territory controlled by Tigranes was ceded to Rome, and Armenia was no longer a power in the east. While browsing through Roma E-Sale 110 last August, I found the coin I was looking for, lot 361, pictured below. When the bidding shot past the $1,000 mark my interest quickly faded 😒. The coin ended up selling for $2,902 including the buyers premium 🙄. Tigranes II "The Great", c. 80-68 BC. Tigranocerta Mint. AR Tetradrachm: 15.68 gm, 27 mm, 1 h. Obverse: Bust of Tigranes facing right, wearing an Armenian tiara with five peaks and emblazoned with a star between two eagles, surrounded by a bead and reel border. Reverse: Tyche of Artaxata seated on a rock pile holding a palm branch, river god Araxes swimming below, monogram on rock and another on the body of Araxes. The monogram on Araxes is a rare variant. The inscription translates: King Tigranes. Kovacs 75.1; SCADA Group 8. On September 13, 2023 Heritage Auction 231941 had a Tigranes tetradrachm that caught my eye 🤨, see photo below. I ended up winning the coin for $960 including the buyers premium 🤩. This coin turned out to be a double die match with the Roma coin I had to pass on 😮! The Roma coin is superior to mine but I didn't pay $2,902 for it either 😏. There are a number of interesting copies and fakes on the market, ancient and modern. The coin pictured below came from CNG Auction 111, May 29, 2019, and it sold for $2,645 including the buyers premium. It is an "official imitation" issued by Antiochos I, of Commagene, and probably struck at the Samosata mint. The coin pictured below is a hand struck fake made of sterling silver from the SPQR SHOP in Varna, Bulgaria. They are selling these for $145.00. The fake pictured below is made of sterling plated lead and is being offered by COIN REPILCAS for $20. I did a check on Coin Archives to see how many Tigranes II tetradrachms have been offered at auction from May 21 to October 11 of this year, and counted 98 coins from a variety of major auction houses. So if any collectors are interested in acquiring one of these coins check out Coin Archives. Website members are welcome to post any of their Armenian coins on this thread ☺️. 17 1 1 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Benefactor robinjojo Posted October 23, 2023 · Benefactor Benefactor Share Posted October 23, 2023 That a nice purchase, Al, at a very good price! Congrats! I have a couple of his tetradrachms, one purchased from CNG many years ago, and the other from Roma more recently. The second coin is a contemporary imitation that is similar to the example you posted. Tigranes II "The Great", tetradrachm, Tigranocerta, 95-56 BC. Bedoukian (CAA) 40 15.8 grams Tigranes II "The Great", imitation tetradrachm, 69-66 BC. From Roma E-Sale Roma 77, lot 390. ACV35 15.31 grams 4 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tejas Posted October 23, 2023 · Member Share Posted October 23, 2023 That is a beautiful coin, a great buy and a very interesting write-up. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NewStyleKing Posted October 23, 2023 · Member Share Posted October 23, 2023 The "tetradrachms" are 1gm below reduced Attic weight tetradrachms! Maybe Eupator nicked all the silver. Augustus had a coin that had a river god design . Possession from the latest batch is a case of possession is 9 points of the law! There is a rare type with a comet on the tiara headgear. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Al Kowsky Posted October 23, 2023 · Member Author Share Posted October 23, 2023 33 minutes ago, NewStyleKing said: The "tetradrachms" are 1gm below reduced Attic weight tetradrachms! Maybe Eupator nicked all the silver. Augustus had a coin that had a river god design . Possession from the latest batch is a case of possession is 9 points of the law! There is a rare type with a comet on the tiara headgear. The coin type you're referring to is thought to depict Halley's Comet, that was visible during the reign of Tigranes II. Pictured below is an example from the Armenian Museum of America, 15.50 gm, 25 mm. Another example of this rare coin was sold at CNG 85, lot 15. https://www.cngcoins.com/Coin.aspx?CoinID=168935 You're also correct about the Augustus tetradrachm, the celators at the Antioch mint copied the reverse design. 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Al Kowsky Posted October 23, 2023 · Member Author Share Posted October 23, 2023 3 hours ago, robinjojo said: That a nice purchase, Al, at a very good price! Congrats! I have a couple of his tetradrachms, one purchased from CNG many years ago, and the other from Roma more recently. The second coin is a contemporary imitation that is similar to the example you posted. Tigranes II "The Great", tetradrachm, Tigranocerta, 95-56 BC. Bedoukian (CAA) 40 15.8 grams Tigranes II "The Great", imitation tetradrachm, 69-66 BC. From Roma E-Sale Roma 77, lot 390. ACV35 15.31 grams Two examples of this rarity 🤩. Thanks for posting. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NewStyleKing Posted October 23, 2023 · Member Share Posted October 23, 2023 (edited) Eupator's birth was supposedly hailed by a comet and the start of his reign too! Maybe the 2 crescents on the Pontic star between 2 crescents ONLY on Athenian coins celebrates these occurrences. The "Comet" AE's of Mithridate's in a paper by Ramsey, has its critics who say the "comet" on these poorly struck coins depict a Taenia. Lucky old Tigranes also had a lucky star, this lucky star worked and he rode his luck with Mithradates, and the Romans and died in his own bed! Edited October 23, 2023 by NewStyleKing 6 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Al Kowsky Posted October 23, 2023 · Member Author Share Posted October 23, 2023 (edited) 2 hours ago, NewStyleKing said: Eupator's birth was supposedly hailed by a comet and the start of his reign too! Maybe the 2 crescents on the Pontic star between 2 crescents ONLY on Athenian coins celebrates these occurrences. The "Comet" AE's of Mithridate's in a paper by Ramsey, has its critics who say the "comet" on these poorly struck coins depict a Taenia. Lucky old Tigranes also had a lucky star, this lucky star worked and he rode his luck with Mithradates, and the Romans and died in his own bed! Thanks for posting this interesting coin ☺️. Many ancient cultures considered the sighting of comets as an auspicious event. Tigranes lived to be 85 years old, an extraordinary age for the time he lived. The most famous coins depicting comets were issued in the reign of Augustus Caesar, they were struck several months after Julius Caesar was murdered when a comet sighting occurred. The reverse on these coins were called the "Julian Star". The coin pictured below was auctioned by CNG on Sep. 19, 2023 where it sold for $6,000 including the buyers premium 😮! Edited October 23, 2023 by Al Kowsky 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Benefactor robinjojo Posted October 23, 2023 · Benefactor Benefactor Share Posted October 23, 2023 I've posted this image before, of a group of Tigranes II tetradrachms that were offered for sale back in June. This group was listed by an Israeli seller. I actually ordered three on July 3rd, but because of the upheaval, coupled with internal problems/chaos with Israel Post and now a war, they never arrived to my great disappointment. I was refunded through PayPal and I will pay the seller if and when the coins arrive, but I am not optimistic. There were some very attractive examples in this lot, along with possibly very rare varieties. 4 2 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Al Kowsky Posted October 23, 2023 · Member Author Share Posted October 23, 2023 3 hours ago, robinjojo said: I've posted this image before, of a group of Tigranes II tetradrachms that were offered for sale back in June. This group was listed by an Israeli seller. I actually ordered three on July 3rd, but because of the upheaval, coupled with internal problems/chaos with Israel Post and now a war, they never arrived to my great disappointment. I was refunded through PayPal and I will pay the seller if and when the coins arrive, but I am not optimistic. There were some very attractive examples in this lot, along with possibly very rare varieties. Wow 😮! There are some real gems in that group 🤩. Too bad you couldn't snag any ☹️. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sulla80 Posted February 3 · Supporter Share Posted February 3 (edited) Great coin, Al - with Tigranes' involvement in the Mithridatic Wars it was on my wish list for a long time. I eventually picked up this coin which is a bit messy with die break and double strike. and this interesting coin has an almost identifyable undertype - I think it is a coin of Aradus (Astarte/leaping bull) overstruck by Tigranes II - this coin from his conquest of Syria and Phoencia between 83 and 69 BC. Arados continued to stike tetradrachms independently throughout the reign of Tigranes, so these coins were probably captured and overstruck from circulation on the mainlaind. Perhaps used to pay troops along the way (although there are other possibilities). Note the nose, lips and chin at the top of Tigranes head. Edited February 3 by Sulla80 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brennos Posted February 3 · Member Share Posted February 3 Thank you for your Interesting write-up ! I had also the chance to be able to purchase one at a fraction of the price at which they were sold a few years ago. 8 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Al Kowsky Posted February 4 · Member Author Share Posted February 4 22 hours ago, Brennos said: Thank you for your Interesting write-up ! I had also the chance to be able to purchase one at a fraction of the price at which they were sold a few years ago. That's a wonderful example enhanced by the deep toning 🤩! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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