My Dream Collection of Greek Coins

The Source

The material stems from auction catalogues and public and private collections.

My Dream Collection - what is that?

This collection that I dream about is the one I would put together if I were a collector and the prices not so exorbitant. Nevertheless, I can enjoy their beauty by looking at their pictures, be they in black and white or in color.

How did this collection come to be in existence? Since 1949, I have always put pictures of beautiful Greek coins in a drawer and have tried over the years to obtain the best photographs of them. The collection we are looking at is the result of a 50 year love affair with beautiful Greek coins.

What was my criterion? That is simple: It was beauty. I have chosen those coins which I believe are beautiful. Neither its value nor its rarity is important. If the Greek or the Hellenistic coin were in trend at the moment it played no role. It did not matter whether the coin was large, heavy and expensive or a small, common silver coin, or for that matter an even less valuable bronze coin.

I lay great emphasis on coins in my Dream Collection that for me show the best striking that I hold as a work of art. I have, therefore, not included a picture of the valuable decadrachma from Athens despite the fact that it was sold for Fr 620'000.- at an auction. On the other hand, I show the Athenian tetra drachma that I find suits my Dream Collection.

What period does my collection cover, and what geographical area? My collection starts in 600 BC and ends in 200 BC. I show first coins from the Grecian western region, that is southern Italy, Sicily, and the Grecian mainland. Time-wise that means about 530 to 340 years BC. Then, I move to the east. This means the Near East and Asia Minor, the Levant and Africa,or Egypt and the Cyrenaika.