SOLD
10,000.00CAD+ buyer's premium + applicable fees & taxes.
This item SOLD at 2018 Jun 16 @ 17:08UTC-4 : AST/EDT
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Cilician Armenia - Excessively Rare Gold coin of Levon 1, 1198/9 -1219
A struck piece, with the same obverse & reverse designs as the contemporary silver tram. Excessively RARE, the little information we have about these coins is found in “The Coinage of Cilician Armenia” by Paul Z. Bedoukian, published in 1962 by the American Numismatic Association.
A chapter of this book is dedicated to gold coins, of which sixteen pieces were known to the author, covering the entire Rouperian Dynasty. Most of the sixteen were pieces of Levon 1. All of the sixteen were either examined by the author, or reported by trusted colleagues. Most were in collections of museums & monasteries, a few in private collections.
In this chapter, Bedoukian explains his reasoning for pronouncing these coins as authentic, and provides a table of weights & a plate. To be noted is that the weight of the coin here offered, at 4.92 gr, is precisely in the published range for Levon 1.
The author ends this chapter with a section on certain contemporary counterfeits, produced by a jeweler in Syria and placed on the market. These pieces were described as being somewhat crude in design, and weighing c.2.5 gr.
Of interest that the piece sold by CNG in their Triton XIX sales in 2016, lot #2229, weighs 2.46 gr. This may be either one of those counterfeits, or a half-unit unknown to Bedoukian. Its sale realized $40,000 us, plus auction fees. This coin, like the one we are offering, was not certified.
It seems that there is no one alive today with the knowledge and experience to certify such a coin. Opinions in the Armenian Numismatic Community are highly and hotly divided as to the very existence of any such genuine gold coins. One thing certain, there are no published examples since Bedoukian in 1962, and no records of any sale in modern times.
Bedoukian suggests that the genuine examples were struck with the same dies used for the common silver trams. In our opinion, the only way to positively certify this piece would be by die linkage to a silver piece from a known hoard that was archeologically excavated and never dispersed.
The excessive rarity of these coins suggests that they were never intended for monetary purposes but were most likely struck for presentation, perhaps for coronations or military victories. We have no reason to doubt the authenticity of this coin. It was in possession of an elderly Armenian lady living in Montreal. She had inherited it from her father, who told her it was a piece of great value. Some years back, she took it to New York city for evaluation, where she was offered several thousand dollars by each of several dealers she visited, but ultimately she decided not to sell. With changing times and circumstances, it is now on offer. Includes as a little gift, an original copy of Bedoukian’s book.
Estimate price $20,000++ cdn
Auction Location:
2400 Ste Catherine Est, Montreal, Quebec, H2K 2J6, Canada
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