The El Greco Collection of Modern Greek Rarities

Welcome to Nomos Auction 31! This auction contains El-Greco Collection of Modern Greek Rarities, which we are proud to present in association with our colleagues in Thessalonica, the well-known auction firm of A. Karamitsos. Built up over the last three decades of the 20th Century, the El-Greco Collection is specialised in the coins and patterns of Modern Greece, including the Ionian Islands and Crete. This collection is, without exaggeration, the most important to appear in a public sale, since that of the late Dimitri Loulakakis, which was sold in Spink Auction 5 back in 1979. The El-Greco collector was one of those old-school collectors who valued completeness more than just condition. He didn't mind that his common 10 Lepta of 1833 (lot 39) wasn’t in mint condition, because he had the great rarities that no one else had, such as 5 Drachmai of 1845 (lot 95), the unique gold 20 Drachmai of 1852 (lot 126), or the unique Gold Pattern of the 1 Drachma of 1915 (lot 199) and so many others. Driven by his burning passion for Greek history, El-Greco patiently built his collection for almost 30 years, always keeping a low profile, away from the lights of publicity. He had almost never personally attended an auction, but had agents bidding for him in such a discrete way that most collectors were unaware of him, and his collection’s, existence. Nomos 31 contains 267 lots, with starting prices that range from a mere 20 CHF to a stratospheric 500,0000 CHF (for our cover piece, lot 126, the illustrious 20 Drachmai of 1852). We would like to dedicate this catalogue to our very good friend, George, who has unfortunately and unexpectedly left us far too early. George, another El-Greco in his own way, and a connoisseur, among others, of modern Greek coins, acquired, many, many winters ago, his very first coin from the El-Greco collector. It was a small gazzetta of the Ionian islands as the one here in lot 239. Since then, he always told his friends, while they enjoyed, together, the pleasures of life - he was a famous and always generous host- that this particular moment was the turning point that inspired him with his love for history and for him to become a collector with his own beautiful collection. We hope that this catalogue, which offers coins for every collector, will offer beginners the inspiration to start their numismatic journey, and give the most advanced connoisseurs the opportunity to acquire incredible coins, which haven’t been on the market in a generation. Τύχῃ ἀγαθῇ!