Tired yet? Another "Favorite Coins of 2017" thread.

Originally, I didn't really feel like making a Top 10 thread of my coins for 2017. But then I figured that I'd be doing a disservice to the two or three people on here that would be interested in seeing my best coins of the year. In general, it was like years past; didn't get all that I wanted of course, but I still made off with a pretty decent haul, including a few surprises. Only purchases are included (no gifts or freebies). I didn't keep track but if I had to guess I probably bought between 20 and 30 coins, possibly a little more than 30.

10) Justinian, Byzantine Empire
AE follis
Obv: D N IVSTINI-ANVS P P AVG, helmeted, cuirassed bust facing, holding cross on globe and shield, cross to right
Rev: Large M, ANNO to left, cross above, regnal year XX (20) to right and star, Γ below
Date: 546 AD
Mint: Theopolis (Antioch)
Mintmark: 9HЧΠ (• above Π)
Ref: SB 220



Since nice large Justinian folles can be around $100 or more, it was on my to-do list to save up the cash for one. Fortunately JA came to the rescue with this example for half the price. Despite a few minor imperfections, it is definitely a keeper.

9) In the name of Alexander III, Macedon
AR drachm
Obv: Head of Herakles right, wearing lion skin
Rev: Zeus Aëtophoros seated left on throne without back; aphlaston in left field
Mint: (Uncertain mint in Greece or Macedon).
Ref: Price 862



It was seeing a tempting lesser-grade Alex III drachm at the FUN show in Ft. Lauderdale that prompted me to try and find a better example for around the same price, and I was successful.

8) Hieron II, Kingdom of Syracuse
Æ27
Obv: Laureate head of Hieron II left
Rev: ΙΕΡΟΝΩΣ; Horseman galloping right, holding spear; below horse, Φ.
Mint: Syracuse
Date: 274-216 BC
Ref: HGC 2, 1547; CNS II 193



My interest in Greek coinage has increased exponentially in the last two years, even though my knowledge about Greek history and the various cities, deities, etc. hasn't quite caught up. This one had a large, Hellenistic bust, a fascinating reverse, is a nice shade of brown, and is somewhat hefty, so naturally I couldn't say no to this one. It actually was a replacement for another coin (not the same type) that was lost in the mail.

7) Anonymous, Abbasid Governors of Tabaristan
AR hemidrachm
Obv: Crowned Sasanian-style bust right; “strong” before”, “excellent” and “good” in Arabic in 2nd and 3rd quarters of margin
Rev: Fire altar flanked by attendants; star and crescent flanking flames
Mint: (Tabaristan).
Date: 787-788 AD
Ref: Malek 172; Album 73



I love transitional and imitative coinage, such as the Byzantine-Arab series and the Byzantine-Sassanian coinage of Egypt, so this was right up the alley for me. This type was from the only part of the entire Persian Empire to successfully hold off the Arab armies during the initial conquest. It became a vassal state, and was allowed to strike its own coinage, albeit with Arabic added to acknowledge Arab overlordship. I also got this for a steal: $17 shipped as the only bidder.

6) Khosrau II, Sassanian Empire
AE 12 nummi
Obv: Facing bust of Khusru II, beardless, wearing chlamys and crown surmounted by a cross; star to left, crescent to right
Rev: Cross potent on globe, I to left, B to right
Mint: Alexandria
Mintmark: ALEZ
Date: 618-628 AD
Ref: SB 855



When the Sassanian Persians themselves were doing the conquering, against the Byzantine Empire, the mint in Persian-occupied Alexandria decided to strike Byzantine-style coinage depicting the Persian king, Khosrau II. Even though he was Zoroastrian, he is still depicted with a cross-tipped crown, which is proposed to show him as a friend and ally of his Christian subjects (his wife was a Christian). It was another very good deal; around $13 it cost me.

5) Tiberius II Constantine, Byzantine Empire
AE half-follis
Obv: Dm TIb CONSTANT PP A, crowned, cuirassed bust facing, holding cross on globe and shield
Rev: Large X-dot-X, cross above
Mint: Rome
Mintmark: ROM
Date: 574-582 AD
Ref: SB 476



As I mentioned in the past, one of my specialties in coin collecting is Byzantine coinage from Italy. Since these are rare and highly sought after by Byzantine specialists, they tend to command higher prices as a whole than their counterparts from other mints and regions of the empire. One of my crown jewels of this area of collecting is a Justinian Rome-mint follis, which I unfortunately do not have yet. At least I managed to snag this decently-sized half-follis from late 6th century Rome (which was a very different place than classical Rome, to say the least). I got a bargain for this also at around $65.

4) Ptolemy IV, Ptolemaic Kingdom
Æ octobol
Obv: Head of Zeus-Ammon right.
Rev: ΠTOΛEMAIOY BAΣIΛEΩΣ , eagle standing left on thunderbolt, cornucopia to left.
Mint: Alexandria
Size: 40 mm, 71.64 gr.
Ref: SNG Milano 216



Another wonderful coin from JA. Easily the largest coin in my collection, by far. Of course, these large Ptolemaics grabbed my interest from the moment I first learned about them, but after looking at a few the itch got too strong this year and I just had to have one of these improvised weapons for my collection.

3) Ptolemy II, Ptolemaic Kingdom
AR tetradrachm
Obv: Diademed head of Ptolemy I right, wearing aegis
Rev: ΠTOΛEMAIOY BAΣIΛEΩΣ, eagle standing left on thunderbolt; S monogram in left field
Mint: Alexandria
Date: 285-246 BC
Ref: Svoronos 548



My Seleucid tetradrachm of Demetrius I Soter made me look for other affordable large Greek silver coins to add to my collection. With the Ptolemaic tets I preferred to get one of the more early ones like this Ptolemy II, since I like the general style of those better. I also like that it has a counterpunch on the obverse by Ptolemy's mouth and chin. I'm currently playing Assassin's Creed: Origins, which takes place in Ptolemaic Egypt, so my interest in Ptolemaic coins has grown even more lately.

2) Tiberius, Roman Empire
AR denarius
Obv: TI CAESAR DIVI AVG F AVGVSTVS, laureate head right
Rev: PONTIF MAXIM, Livia (as Pax) seated right, holding long scepter in her right hand and olive branch in her left; plain chair legs
Mint: Lugdunum
Date: 14-37 AD
Ref: RIC 26



This and my Carolingian denier from Venice are my most successful cleaning ventures. I bought it for relatively cheap thinking it looked like it could improve nicely. I started with lemon juice (mixed with distilled water IIRC) to remove the black crud caked all over the coin. The juice did not negatively affect any exposed silver surfaces but it did not have much impact on the black crud. So I decided to soak it in an ammonia-water mix, and most of the hard gunk turned a pale blue color and was easily brushed off after a 10 minute soak. Another soak and brushing got it to how it looks now. This was during the summer and since then the coin has darkened a little, mostly on the reverse.

1) Theodosius II, Eastern Roman Empire
AV solidus
Obv: D N THEODOSIVS P F AVG, diademed, helmeted, cuirassed bust facing, holding spear and shield
Rev: IMP XXXX II COS XVII P P, Constantinopolis seated left, with foot on prow, holding cross on globe and sceptre, star in left field
Mint: Constantinople
Mintmark: CONOB
Date: 442 AD
Ref: RIC X 286



This solidus is my first and so far only Roman gold coin, so a major milestone for me. For the price it was pretty good, and so, like with my other gold coins, reserved it and made a serious effort to save up money for it (with the help of selling off some of my coins). I was not too particularly picky with the emperor or time frame, but for me the closer to 476 AD the coin was, the better. That being said, I like that it can be dated to a specific year: 442 AD. In that year, the Western Roman emperor Valentinian III recognized the Vandal Kingdom in North Africa, a huge deal since now the Romans no longer controlled the whole Mediterranean, and Italy would now suffer barbarian raids from the sea as well. Also in that year, the Huns destroyed the city of Naissus, and as a result, Theodosius's court agreed to pay a yearly tribute of 700 pounds of gold to the invaders.

 

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That's a very nice selection of coins you've received last year. Most of those I don't have in my collection, except for the Arab-Sasanian coin which I also received in 2017. Your collection has come a long way since I've seen it a couple years ago.




Ancient Middle-East Arab-Sasanian, Abbassid Governors of Tabaristan, AR Hemidrachm, 136 PYE (Post Yazdgard Era = AH 170 = 786/787 AD)

Obverse: AFZWT, Right facing bust imitating Khusru II, wearing winged crown surmounted by star and crescent, inside single-dotted border, crescents with stars at 3, 6 and 9 o'clock. Pahlavi date and mintmark in lower left and right margins.

Reverse: Sasanian style fire altar with two attendants standing facing, crescents on their heads, both hands on sword hilt, inside triple dotted-border, crescents with stars at 3, 6, 9 and 12 o'clock, three pellets at the diagonals.

Reference: Album 73, Malek 175

Ex: Kayser-i Rum Numismatics +photo

 

2017 was good to you @ValiantKnight

 

Great coins!! Your Alexander Drachm is very nice! Also like both the Ptolemys; great bronze and silver!! And that gold coin ain't bad either!!!!

 

Thanks friends!

 

I am glad you decided to post your top buys, I would say most of us here on CT have one thing in common and that's to see and appreciate other members buys. In my eyes your ten are a fantastic diverse group that I would be proud to have in my collection, especially love your gold, Hieron II and your Alexandrians although all great coins.

 

A really great eclectic mix of coins! The 'Tribute Penny' is my favourite.

 

Very nice coins in that list. I really like the solidus.

 

Obviously those top coins are pretty darn sweet!! I'd still love to get an Italy mint Byzatine (I'm not picky I"ll take Ravenna or whatever), and I'll give your 10 coins some love. I dig those crazy mint marks! Here's mine!

 

I really like the Ptolemy tet, but that Tribute Penny is truly excellent in light of how much you improved upon its original condition.

 

Some great coins!

 

Thaks for posting the great group. My favorite is the Rome mint #4. The Theodosius is the same as my only Roman gold and must be the most common Roman gold there is.

I wonder if the 700 pounds was paid in coined money. Are those Attila's fingerprints I see???

 

Wonderful mix!!

I seem to agree with your numbered preferences as FAVS....although second and third views make me want to switch one or two....then back again

 

Great cleaning job on Tiberius! Any pic of before?

 

Nice collection you got there ValiantKnight, my favourites are the Tiberius tribute looks great now , congrats. And the Ptolemy II tet.
here's mine with more or less the same scratches:

 

I am glad your are showing us your new addition 2017, ValianKnight - it is a nice selection. That Tiberius is pleasing, it has a very nice style.
by the way, I notice your have a new avatar? Is that a Colombian coin?

 

A nice top 10 thanks for sharing!

I realized I have yet to do mine...probably this weekend.

 

Well done @ValiantKnight ! That is a great Group of 10. Very diverse, and good examples. All well centered and well-chosen examples of history. The Junstinian II is pretty cool. Yeah, I said it. A late Roman / Byz coin is cool. And to top it all off with Gold is a coup-de-gras!

I have a Hieron II also, just a random same coin from your Top 10:


SICILY Syracuse Hieron II 274-216 BC Æ26 15.9g hd Hieron II L - ΙΕΡΟΝΩΣ Horseman galloping r holding spear HGC 2 1547 CNS II 193

 

I'm very glad you decided to post this! I like them all (some amazing deals!), but my faves are: The Hieron II and the Ptolemy (I've been chasing these for a while, yours are very nice!), the Rome half follis (awesome, and awesome deal!!), and the dated solidus... I agree that particular date is very desirable. Congrats on a great year!!