Silver & Gold Coinage of Syracuse as Art

Du Chastel de la Howardries, Comte Albéric. SYRACUSE: SES MONNAIES D’ARGENT ET D’OR AU POINT DE VUE ARTISTIQUE. LA COIFFURE ANTIQUE ET SES DÉVELOPPEMENTS SUCCESSIFS. London: Spink, 1898. 8vo, original maroon cloth, gilt. (34) pages; 14 fine plates of coins. Very good or better. Very scarce, with beautiful plates. The collection of Albéric du Chastel de la Howardries (1842–1919) focused on ancient coins of exceptional artistic beauty and historical interest, with considerable emphasis placed on condition. Ernest Babelon considered the du Chastel collection to be the finest formed by an individual. The primary collection was donated to the Royal Library of Belgium, while lesser duplicates (themselves frequently spectacular coins) were sold by Rollin & Feuardent in 1889. While 250 copies were originally printed, their survival rate appears low and they are infrequently offered. Daehn 3137.