Aegina’s Sea Turtle

Aegina is a rocky island in the Saronic Gulf located about 25 miles southeast of Athens. It was settled around 900 BCE and was named after the daughter of the Greek river god Asopos. The inhabitants became expert merchants and tradesmen, dominating the shipping industry early in the sixth century BCE. Their success brought the island great wealth and power. The first coins were thought to be made by the king of Argos, Pheidon. Coins with 'turtle' design were an important early trading currency.

Aegina became the first of the Greek city-states to issue coined money, starting in the mid-sixth century BCE. Their common didrachm “stater” coinage weighed about 12.6 grams. Their status as the first international trade currency was aided by consistency of their designs, and their coins spread far throughout the known world.

Artemis Gallery ancient antiquities

Artemis Gallery unlocks the mysteries of ancient times with auctions of classical antiquities, and ancient and ethnographic art.

Polychrome gesso box, Egypt, 26th Dynasty, circa 662 to 525 BCE, with hieroglyphs on each of four panels, $40,000-$60,000

Greek Illyrian bronze helmet, circa late 6th to 5th century BCE. $20,000-$30,000

22+ karat gold Burmese Buddha dates to the 12th century. $20k-$30k.

Pre-Columbian ceramic figure of the Veracruz (Mexico) culture is a life-size ocarina. $40k-$60k.

Wood mummiform sarcophagus depicting Falcon Bird Horus. Circa 664 to 332 BCE, very rare $25k-$35k.

A rare 1st century cavalry officer’s bronze parade mask modeled in the likeness of its owner. Estimate $80k-$100k.

Greek Cycladic marble female figure, circa 2500 BCE. Est. $80k-$100k.

Enormous Early Byzantine (400 to 600 CE) liturgical table finely carved from a single piece of creamy white marble. $100k-$300k

Chinese Han Dynasty terracotta horse, circa 206 BCE to 220 CE. Est: $75,000-$150,000

Urartu bronze helmet, circa-8th-7th century BCE. Est. $250,000-$350,000

Greek Paestan red-figure bell krater, Magna Graecia, southern Italy, circa 340 to 330 BCE $6,000-$8,000

Museum-quality pieces are from Egyptian, Greek, Roman, Etruscan, Near Eastern, Asian, Pre-Columbian and Native-American cultures. There are important Celtic and Viking relics and gold jewelry items. Viking 18K gold ring with central cabochon garnet and flanking emerald cabochons, circa 9th to 12th centuries CE, $20,000-$25,000

Large Ancient Roman marble head of a man, circa 1st to 3rd century CE $20k-$30k

Ancient Greek murder victim unusual

About 2,000 years ago, a heavily muscled man was murdered on a Greek island. The killer drove a spear into the man's chest with such force that it left a nearly perfect circle in his sternum.

Such an injury is rare according to researchers. Archaeologists found the man's remains in 2002 while excavating a section of an ancient necropolis in Thasos, the northernmost Aegean island.

The murder weapon was likely an ancient spear — known as a styrax. The pointed end of a thrusting spear wasn't thrown at the victim from a distance. Instead, it was likely thrust inward at close range and with precision, possibly for an execution.

An injury like that would have caused cardiac shock and arrest, likely killing the man within a minute. A dental analysis showed that just before the man's death, his diet worsened, suggesting that he was a prisoner or captive in his last days.

Treasures of the Atocha

It's a pleasant September morning in the year of our Lord 1622. A Spanish galleon sits in the port of Havana, along with 27 other ships of the combined fleet, their crews awaiting departure orders. The Nuestra Señora de Atocha ("Our Lady of Atocha") sits low in the water, weighed down by treasure.

The ship contains 964 silver bars, 161 gold bars or disks, 255,000 silver coins, and chests filled with emeralds. The Atocha is a 20-cannon, 500-ton colossus. It's the rear guard of the fleet and includes soldiers. It protects the smaller and slower moving vessels.

The treasure arriving by mule to Panama City was so immense that summer that it took 2 months to record and load the cargo on the Atocha. After more delays in Havana, the convoy did not depart for Spain until 4 September 1622, a full six weeks behind schedule and well into hurricane season. On 6 September the Atocha was driven by a severe hurricane onto the coral reefs near the Dry Tortugas, about 35 miles (56 km) west of Key West.

The vessel quickly sank, drowning everyone on board except for three sailors and two slaves. They were all that remained of the 265 passengers and crew. The Atocha sunk in 55 feet of water, making it difficult for divers to retrieve any of the cargo.

A second hurricane in October of that year made attempts at salvage even more difficult by scattering the wreckage of the ship further.

Mr. Mel Fisher formed a company called Treasure Salvors and began searching in earnest for the much talked about Atocha. His effort over a sixteen-year period from 1970 to 1986 lead to the discovery of the Santa Margarita in 1980 and the Atocha on July 20, 1985, her hull lying in 55 feet of water, exactly as recorded by the first salvagers in 1622.

A gold crucifix with inlaid Colombian emerald jewels went for $119,000.

40 items from his impressive cache went up for auction in New York on August 5, 2015. A gold bar from the Atocha made $93,750.

The golden spoon was thought to be used by priests during Communion to convert South American natives. $62,000.

A gold chalice from the Margarita was the top selling lot, fetching $413,000.

A collection of shipwrecked 17th and 18th century Spanish treasure discovered off the coast of Florida sold in New York for about $2m. The haul includes two spectacular gold chains, one called a 'money chain'. Fisher wore it on the 'Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson' soon after the ship's discovery.

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$75,000

In the Colonial era, the Spanish king placed a 20 percent tariff on gold bullion called the Royal Fifth. But if the gold was turned into jewelry, the tax was forgiven. Each link of the 'money chain' is of equal size and weight and could be twisted off and used as formal currency.

Also up for auction was a Bezoar Stone, which was believed to remove poisons and toxins from liquids. The pendant, about the size of an egg, is encased in a gold mounting with four arms grasping the stone. A magnificent emerald jewel from the lost Atocha. It made $ 410,000 in 2013

The Guernsey's sale also offered about 100 silver coins from the Atocha sister ship, the Santa Margarita, ranging from $1,000 and up.

Macrinus aureus - $288k

Roman emperor Macrinus reigned for about a year, from 217 to 218, before falling victim to assassination, a fate he shared with many of his peers. One of three known gold aureus coins of the type for Macrinus was a highlight of a Heritage auction in 2019. At the same sale a Diadumenian aureus made $336k

AV aureus. NGC Choice AU ★ 5/5 - 5/5, Fine Style. Rome, AD 218. $288k

Macrinus proclaimed himself emperor without confirmation from the Senate in Rome. This and reigning in soldiers’ pay made him very unpopular. Veteran soldiers revolted.

Diadumenian, as Caesar (AD 217-218). AV aureus. NGC Choice AU ★ 5/5 - 4/5, Fine Style. Rome, AD 218. $ 336k

Marcus Opellius Diadumenian, ten-year-old son of emperor Macrinus (AD 217-218), was granted the rank of Caesar soon after his father had succeeded the murdered Caracalla. Coinage in his name was struck in all denominations, though his gold is extremely rare. Diadumenian was captured and executed in late June 218.

3,800 yo warrior kurgan discovered in Azerbaijan

A monumental discovery emerged from the windswept plains of Ceyranchol in western Azerbaijan: a 3,800-year-old Middle Bronze Age kurgan, the burial site of a high status warrior.




At the heart of this burial mound, a richly furnished tomb was revealed. The burial chamber—2 meters wide, 6 meters long, and 3 meters deep—was divided into three symbolic sections: one for the human remains and weaponry, another for ceramic vessels, and a third intentionally left empty. The remains belonged to an individual over 2 meters tall. A rare four-pronged bronze spearhead was found in the warrior’s hand, an exceptional weapon type.
Other grave goods included bronze ankle adornments, obsidian tools, paste beads and 12 elaborately decorated ceramic jugs, featuring white inlays and intricate motifs. Cooked animal bones (goat, horse, cow, and boar), were also found, likely as ritual food offerings. Above the tomb, 14 large limestone slabs (each approx. 1 ton) were discovered, alongside a bull-shaped stone idol and a circular limestone seal.