Thank you Terence I agree, the Bosphoran Staters started off with good gold content/ artistic portraits/ by 218AD the gold went down below 50 percent/ coin quality in artwork also suffered. It marked a slow decline.....
Thanks I was really struck by that Iceni coin when it came up in a Chris Rudd auction. The Celtic people had a sense of humour with their hidden smiles/ obvious ones like this coin. John
Thank you Donna I was drawn to #1 (love coins that depict Dragons) I have a Transylvanian AV Dukat from 1605 that has a large Dragon/ even a 1974 AV 100000 Rupiah with the modern "Komodo Dragon" I know I was "day dreaming" about coins/ auctions all thru my lawn/ garden care season....and sometimes grabbing a cold Corona out of my icebox/ on hot days I wish you a very nice 2021!
Fantastic top 10 @panzerman !!! I've been waiting for your list and it didn't disappoint! The Alexander III quarter stater is phenomenal for the type, at least from the examples I've seen. My next favourites would have to be the Bosporus stater and the Honorius tremissis; the latter seems to be quite rare. Congrats!!!
Oh my, soooo much gold! You are a truly broad collector, and so much quality! My fav. is no. 2. This made my laugh, me entire collection is just over 100 coins! It has been a great year for you!
Thanks BenSi That is so true. I have seen over the years some really famous collections/ make mine look "Mickey Mouse" The Garrett/ Adams/ Kroisos/ Caranett/ Tyrant/ Farouk etc. collected/ collect everything. While others specialize like Pogue/ Eliasburg/ Simpson..... However, in the end all of us here have one thing in common/ our passion for the hobby and the enjoyment we get from our collections. Wish you a prosperous 2021!
Thank you Romancollector I remember how lucky i was with that Honorius coin. I was working 13 hrs days at the time, and before bedtime, after supper at 10:30 I would go on sixbid to check auction sites. The "Golden Lion" auction #1 caught my attention, and saw Lot #1 was the FDC Honorius Tremissis. I put up a proxy bid of 1000 euros. Later that month, I got an e-mail/ invoice! I won it for 900! By the way congratulations on your A. Pius Aureus Hope you add some more nice coins in 2021! John
Thanks Limes! From the 95/ I think I won 9 high quality AV Sovereigns from the Caranett Collection/ mostly Australian Mints/ Perth/ Melbourne/ Sydney. My most pristine catch from 2020 was this AV Quarter Dukat from Transylvania/ HRE Karl VI/ Karlsburg Mint/ struck 1706/7. Hard to imagine a coin that beautifully engraved/ unblemished for 300+ years. In 2021/ I will keep my numbers down and God willing land a few MS Aureii
Fantastic coins, John. Spectacular. Wish you would get into coin photography, because it would be interesting to see how you view the coins. I’m not picking any favorites, all of them are great. My eyes have been dwelling most with the Byzantine and late Romans, though. But that’s two periods that are on my mind these days. Thank you for sharing, as always!
Thanks svessien! I will take your advice to heart. My focus right now is on Triton/ Heritage/ Lansky events in January. Heritage offers CH-MS Theodosius III 602-6 AD/ Mezezius AV Solidi....... Wish you a beautifull 2021 in Norway.
Wow, what an amazing assortment. My favorite is the Regnum Francorum/ Merovingian coin. Like many others I've developed a morbid fascination for the Late Roman Empire aka the Principate I think it's sometimes called. And the period of collapse and coalescense of nationalistic states immediately after that in the 6th century AD. I only got 2 coins this whole year and one of them is in fact holed, gold and old. A little bit similar to your Merovingian this is a coin issued by the Germanic tribes, copying the Roman aureii of the time. It has a crude depiction of a Roman Emperor but the rev is the 8 legged Nordic warhorse: Sleipnir. Sleipnir was the fastest warhorse around; no doubt due to the 8 legs. It {he?} was exclusively ridden by Odin: the Norse god {except on one occasion when he was loaned out for a trip to the underworld}. Also I should mention that your Honorius tremissis is beautiful. As you know soldii of Honorius are not rare but I've never seen a tremissis of him before: particularly in that grade.
Thank you Gallienus, that Merovingian was my "catch" of 2020. I was off work due to an early snow event, and had lots of time to check the sixbid site. First time I ever looked thru the Heritage / Europe lots. I immediately was struck by that coin/ put down a proxy bid. I was still off work when the event took place/ to my surprise no one bid on the coin. Other times, a "common" coin goes 10X estimate. Your Germanic coin is probably also very rare/ maybe unique. I had a Rottweiler named "Thor" and a Boxer, "Odin" Before, I forget/ I have a mystery AV Tremissis/ in name of Marcian/ unpublished....
My favorite is the Erythrai with that sharp lionskin headress. It really looks like Herakles' head is being devoured!
Thanks zumbly I was thinking the same thing. Better still, it did not cost me an arm and a leg/ went for $480/ CNG e-auction. However the #1 Bologna did.....
Sorry, missed some of your prose. ...Did you mean something like, 'THAT HONORIUS BE BANGIN'? (Accepted Ebonics usage.) Just a guess. And no, it's not reducible to the fact that I'm personally offended. What this is reducile to is the fact that you, on no less personal a level (As In, You Did That), were offensive. The Aesopean moral of this story: Own your own shit.
Thanks! The Tiberius III looks why better then photo. I am surprised how a 1400 year old coin can look like it was struck yesterday. There were definately people around back then that put them away for sage keeping or as a collectible. Tiberius Solidi are common, but perfect ones with complete legends are rare.