The Favorite Coin in My Collection

Same old boring coin that I've been spamming

 

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I have a fairly good idea at the moment which coins are going to make my 2016 favorites list. I'm also hoping that self-control will kick in soon so I can stop adding to that list .

I've never had an all time favourite, but thinking about the OP question (not as easy to answer as I thought it would be!), I kept coming back to this JC portrait coin which was #1 on my favourites list last year.

 

I do not have a "favorite". Most of my coins represent cool historical periods for me. It is hard for me to even have favorite categories of coins, as they represent some cool times in history.

It is like when someone asks me what is my favorite city or country that I have traveled: None are my favorite, as virtually all of them have really nice memories for me... as they ALL are a favorite to me in some way!

I would have to put up several hundred coins as favorites, but I would have to give a narrative for each one as to why it was my "favorite"...

Here are a few random ones that I pulled from my database that I have picked up in the last year...


Marsic Confederation - The Social War
AR Denarius
3.60g, 20mm
Corfinium mint, 89 BC.
Obv: Laureate head of Italia right, wearing pearl necklace; ITALIA behind, X (mark of value) below chin
Rev: Italia, seated left on shields, holding sceptre in right hand and sword in left, being crowned with wreath by Victory who stands behind; retrograde B in exergue. Ref: Campana 105, Series 7a (same obverse die); Sear 228 w/ control mark inverted B; HN Italy 412a
Comments: Cleaning marks to rev.
18 known Rare


Roman Republic
Anonymous, 280-275 BCE
Didrachm (Silver, 20mm, 7.28 g 11)
Uncertain mint (Neapolis?)
OBV: Helmeted head of bearded Mars to left; oak spray to right
REV: Horse’s head right, wearing bridle, on base inscribed ROMANO; to left, stalk of grain.
REF: Sear 22; Crawford 13/1; HN III 266. Sydenham 1
COMMENTS: Minor reverse corrosion. FIRST Silver coin struck by the Romans.
From a Swiss collection, formed in the 1990s


Carthage Zeugitana
AR Shekel / Didrachm
300-264 BCE, 7.42g, 21.0mm
Obv: Head of Tanit left, wearing wreath of grain, earrings and necklace; dotted border
Rev: Horse standing right on exergual line with head turned left, palm tree in background, star in right field



Etruria, Populonia
The Rasna people.
3rd Century BC
Silver 20-Asses
8.1g, ovoid 16.6mm x 20mm
Obv: Facing head of Metus, hair bound with a diadem, X:X below
Rev blank
Sambon 47; HN Italy 152



Roman Republic
Anonymous issue
Aes Grave Triens , Libral Standard
46mm, 90.3g, 9.3mm THICK
280-276 BCE
Rome Mint
Obv: Thunderbolt; •• •• across field.
Rev. Dolphin right; •••• below.
Ref: Crawford 14/3; Haeberlin pl. 39, 7-10. Thurlow & Vecchi 3; Sear 538

 

Gandalf => hey, you're peaking too early ...

Great coins!!

 

As many others I couldn't decide of which coin is the favorite, thus I have to torn things a bit : the one I couldn't part with, whatever the reason, is the Commodus sestertius my grandfather found at Verdun battle in 1916 (exacly one hundred years ago, yeah !!!!)while digging a trench with his comrades. As a plus, it's been my first roman ever as I started collecting them after grandpa' gifted me with it :


Commodus, Sestertius - 021 Minted in Rome, AD 192
L AEL AVREL CO---MM AVG P FEL, Laureate head of Commodus right
HERCVLI ROMANO AVG, Hercules facing, head left, holding club and lion's skin, resting on trophy. SC in field
21,01 gr
Ref : RCV #5752, Cohen #203, BMC # 314. RIC # 640.

This is the very first roman coin I have ever possessed, gift from my grand father who found it digging a trench at Verdun battle during WWI

The following comment is taken from the description of a similar example (in far much better condition) in NAC auction 54, # 477 :
Few Roman coins excite as much commentary as those of Commodus, which show him possessed of Hercules. Not only do they present an extraordinary image, but they offer incontrovertible support to the literary record. The reports of Commodus’ megalomania and infatuation with Hercules are so alarming and fanciful that if the numismatic record was not there to confirm, modern historians would almost certainly regard the literary record as an absurd version of affairs, much in the way reports of Tiberius’ depraved behaviour on Capri are considered to be callous exaggerations. Faced with such rich and diverse evidence, there can be no question that late in his life Commodus believed that Hercules was his divine patron. Indeed, he worshipped the demigod so intensely that he renamed the month of September after him, and he eventually came to believe himself to be an incarnation of the mythological hero. By tradition, Hercules had fashioned his knotted club from a wild olive tree that he tore from the soil of Mount Helicon and subsequently used to kill the lion of Cithaeron when he was only 18 years old. Probably the most familiar account of his bow and arrows was his shooting of the Stymphalian birds while fulfilling his sixth labour. The reverse inscription HERCVLI ROMANO AVG (‘to the August Roman Hercules’) makes the coin all the more interesting, especially when put into context with those of contemporary coins inscribed HERCVLI COMMODO AVG, which amounts to a dedication ‘to Hercules Commodus Augustus’.

Q

 

The favorite


Tiberius (14 - 34 A.D.)
AR Tetradrachm
EGYPT, Alexandria
O: [TI]BERIOS KAISAR SEBASTOS, laureate head of Tiberius right; LID (date) in right field.
R: QEOS SEBASTOS, radiate head of Augustus left.
EGYPT, Alexandria Mint, year 14=27/28 A.D.
13.43g
23mm
RPC I 5090; Milne 54; Emmett 61.

 

My favorite coin -

My favorite medal -


my daughter's wedding medal, mintage about 50

 

I love the story of that coin every time you show. Incredible. Perhaps a scratch could be from his shovel?

 

I find it impossible as well to pick a favorite for all the reasons everyone else has posted. If I didn't sell my original collection or if I had a fantastic story like 'Q's I'd probably have an easier time. But I suppose this Chalcidian tetraobol would come close since it's the 'prettiest' example I own: Apollo and Chitara, 2.36 grams, circa 432-348 BC:

 

yeah, that is pretty darn cool...a great 2nd centry historical coin, found during on of the 20th centuries most important events BY a family member....that's awesome.

 

70% of my collection ranks as my favorite. The other 30 I would not sell. This is one of my fav's.


Mysia, Pergamon. Alliance with Ephesos. AE34 of Commodus
Obv: laureate-headed bust of Commodus (short beard) wearing cuirass and paludamentum, r.
Rev: to l., Asclepius standing, facing, (head, r.), holding serpent-staff; to r., cult statue of Artemis of Ephesus standing, facing, wearing kalathos, having supports.
34mm and 20.8g.
Howgego 70, Caracalla laureate, and reported on 114 coins from Pergamum.
Howgego 811 meaning revalued to 6 assarii, and reported on
32 coins from Ephesus.

 

Sold several coins this past year, but kept these 4, so I guess they are my favorites

Thasos AR Tetradrachm


Teos AR Stater


Alexander III AR Tetradrachm


Galeria Valeria AE Follis

 

Hey, welcome back!! ...... all 4 of 'em are total winners!!

Love the avatar!!

 

Yours is not bad either

 

Nobody will ever get tired of seeing that one Tiff, it is one of the most perfect coins I have ever seen.

 

If I'm honest, probably this one:

Seleukos I Nikator
AR Tetradrachm in the name of Alexander III

But I'm not honest, so I'll just tell them this one is my favorite:


Trajan
AR Tetradrachm of Tyre.

Ooops, did I say that out loud? Oh no, I think they heard me. Uhm...I am not a crook!

 

Very sharp coin stevex6, like it was minted yesterday.........I wouldn't change your undies for a while

 

I never get tired of seeing this coin. You can post that in any of my threads, even if it's unrelated.

Wow, what an amazingly rare coin at an amazing price! I heard a story at a show of a guy who collected the series. It took him decades, and I'm not entirely sure if he found them all.

Love this. Great portrait! I've got a coin with Mount Doom Argaeus on my watch list at Vcoins.

Another rare and amazing coin. JC looks a bit like Zombie Julius Caesar on this one.

I really want one of these gigantic aes grave, but they're kind of pricey for me.

Beautiful! Your Thasos tet is much better than mine, and I'm still searching for a lifetime Alexander III tet.

 

LOL, "peaking" was never really in my philosophy.

 

Not easy to find a decent one , seems MEMMIUS was inspired after his visit to Egypt.