Between 2,000 and 2,300 years ago, a master engraver whose name was long ago lost to history showed his talent by etching the face of a mythological satyr onto a small metal die. A satyr was a human-like being with ears and tail of a horse along with (I’m not making this up) an exaggeratedly huge, perpetual erection. The creature was said to be a known “mischief maker.” I’d guess so....
Between 300 B.C. and 50 B.C., the lore of satyrs was alive and well. The etched face of this particular one was intended for a gold coin – a Panticapaeum stater, named for the ancient city in Crimea. Stater was the name for some Greek coins made until about 50 A.D. On the reverse of this coin is the image of a mythical griffin holding a spear in its beak.
The most coveted staters were made of gold. Due to the rarity of the metal, not many of those were made. Being extremely malleable, over the course of time, a goodly number of such gold coins were ruined, worn down or eventually melted for their precious metal value.
The aforementioned satyr stater is a rare exception. Over two millennia, it has not only survived but been saved from what can be best called the fate of man. It is pristine and somehow has remained virtually untouched. It retains every detail from when that unknown metalsmith placed a glob of gold between the two etched metal dies and let his hammer fall, creating the spectacular piece.
In ancient times, such a valued gold coin would be used to purchase luxury goods, land or slaves. Lesser copper and silver coins were the medium of trade for food and basic goods.
How the pristine coin survived so well is a mystery. Its condition is renowned. In the early 1900s, it was made a part of the State Hermitage Museum’s collection in Russia. Later, as part of Stalin’s efforts to raise money by selling off artistic items, the stater was sold by the museum to French industrialist Charles Gillet, a collector of rare books, antiques and coins.
This past month, the gold Grecian stater appeared again. It was put up for public sale in Switzerland. When the hammer fell, this time by an auctioneer, the price paid was $6 million.
That amount makes this the most valuable ancient coin ever sold. Yet, it is far from the most valuable coin to ever cross the auction block. That honor goes to a 1933 $20 St. Gauden’s US gold piece. It sold for over $20 million. So too for a 1794 Flowing Hair US silver dollar that brought more than $13 million.
Those coins, along with the ancient stater, continue to underscore the interest in and deep pockets for exceptional rare coins.
In the world of rarities, there must be something about the present $6 million value. Proof of that also came in Switzerland last month when a lowly postage stamp sold for close to that at the David Feldman auction firm.
The stamp, printed in 1871, is a small, used Japanese issue known as a “Dragon.” The 500-mon denominated stamp has a faded green geometric pattern bordered by two upright dragons. In the center are black Japanese characters denoting the denomination. What few people in the Western Hemisphere would notice is that the black characters on this stamp are inverted.
That inversion is the key to the stamp’s value. It is listed in the Scott catalog price guide of having an estimated worth of $175,000. A few weeks ago, that estimate was eclipsed when the rather homely stamp sold for just under $6 million. The buyer was reported to be Asian while the underbidder was a prominent but disappointed European collector.
The 152-year-old Japanese stamp comes dear but doesn’t take the philatelic value prize. That goes to an 1847 orange one-cent stamp from Mauritius on an envelope. It sold for $12 million in 2021. After that is the famous one-cent magenta British Guiana issue of 1856. Any child alive in the early 1960s will remember the British Guiana stamp in comic book ads. It was held up as “the stamp to find.” At its last sale it went for $8.3 million.
So, the lowly Japanese postal issue is in good company. Are there more such rarities waiting to be found? You can bank on it.
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