Campania, Cales, c. 265-240 BC. Æ (20mm, 5.51g, 6h). Laureate head of Apollo l.; shield behind. R/ Man-headed bull walking r., crowned by Nike flying above Extremely inexpensive and rough “man-faced bull” coin. This is sort of a “hole filler” that may never actually be upgraded.. as you know they’re very expensive in better condition. Was very happy to be able to acquire a coin featuring this amazing depiction of Achelous. Wish it was better – but sometimes you have to be happy with what you can get… so this makes my Top 10 easily.. Sicily, Menaion. Circa 2nd Century BC. AE 18mm 4.3g, Pentonkion. Laureate & draped bust of Zeus-Serapis right / MENA-INΩN, Nike driving galloping biga right. Pi below This was a super cheap addition from “Bargain Bin Ancients”.. I have purchased a few coins from Brian that are real gems in my eyes. This is one. Intensity and speed are conveyed quite nicely on the reverse - Nike is driving that biga to Victory.. no doubt! Theodosius I. 379-395 AD. AE 2 (4.81 gm, 22mm). Thessalonica mint, 2nd officina. Struck 25 August 383-28 August 388 AD. Obv.: pearl-diademed, helmeted, draped, and cuirassed bust right, holding spear and round shield. Rev.: Theodosius standing left in galley, head right, raising hand; Victory to lower right at helm, head left, rowing; (wreath)/-//·TESB Not everyone's favorite Emperor .. but the coin has some really nice surfaces and clear detail that I really enjoy (for the price): the helmet, spear and shield are really nice as well as the flowing robes and boots on the reverse. One of my favorites for sure. John Anthony always offers our community a safe and reliable place to purchase great bargains. Better than eBay any day (especially for us lacking the experience to spot good fakes). I’ve been looking for a reasonable priced example of this coin… my Mother’s middle name is Helena and my wife really likes the reverse, it leads her to reminisce of the early days - when our two girls were very young. A special coin that reminds me of the four most important women in my life. I know the babes depicted are not girls - but that is how I see it. Wonderful! 3.14g Helmeted bust of Julian II left "DN FL CL IVLIANVS PF AV" Wreath "VOT X MVLT XX" "CYZD" in exergue A great coin of one of the most interesting Emperors to ever rule the Empire. The portrait is wonderful and every detail is so clear. I love a great patina but I love the coin itself more.. some of my selections may not be to everyone's taste but with my budget I do what I can and buy what I like. I hope you like it too. Marcus Aurelius, AD 161-180 Æ Dupondius, 25mm, 10.7g, 12h; Rome, AD 161. Obv.: IMP CAES M AVREL ANTONINVS AVG P M; Radiate bust right, slight drapery on shoulder. Rev.: CONCORDIA AVGVSTOR TR P XV COS III, S C across fields; Marcus Aurelius standing right, holding scroll and clasping hands with Lucius Verus standing left, both togate A type I have been searching for (within my means) for a few years. Again @John Anthony provided the opportunity. This coin has had problems in the past (so have I!). But the iconography is so meaningful and powerful that I knew I would always be successful in my search eventually. Co-Emperors that ruled in apparent harmony .. well, the end may not have turned out the way they had planned.. but they tried. That is all we can do in the end. Concordia! Patina at last!! . This is the first coin I ever purchased at a European auction and it went very well (except for the 4 weeks of terror as I awaited the delivery!). I wanted a Justinian follis over 40mm - with clear details and an identifiable face - but within my budget ($100).. after a few months I pulled the trigger on this great coin - at 43mm its a beast in hand! Maximinus II A.D. 312, 21mm 4.9g IMP C GAL VAL MAXIMINVS P F AVG; laureate head right. SOLI INVICTO; Sol standing left in long robe, right hand raised, left hand holding head of Serapis; BI in left and ✶ in right field. In ex. ANT I love everything about this coin... the patina with silvering underneath, some toning and the detail of the flowing robes and especially the Serapis head - its an awesome coin. This depiction of SOL with the head of Serapis is such a unique image - beautiful and weird as only the ancients can be. I hope you like it. OCTAVIAN & MARCUS ANTONIUS (Marc Antony) AR silver Triumvirate issue denarius. CAESAR IMP PONT III VIR R P C, bare head of Octavian right. Reverse - M ANT IMP AVG (MP and AV both in monogram) III VIR R P C M BARBAT Q P, bare head of Antony right. Struck at Ephesus mint, Spring - Summer 41 BC. 18mm, 3.4g Opportunistic pick up here as I was able to grab a very reasonably priced, neat portrait coin of Octavian and Marcus Antonius… yep very rough. But a coin I never thought I would own. A highlight of 2021 to be sure!! This coin doesn’t need much of a write up. This is the bell of the ball for me. A coin I never thought I would own. Missed my 2020 list by a month or so –. Most expensive coin I think I will ever own.. and looking at today’s prices I did very well. I thank the previous owner (a member here) for allowing me to pay in a few installments. I feel honored to hold it my hand and will stay with the family after I am gone. ----- A Mark Antony and a Julius Caesar in one year!! Fantastic! I have some other priorities going currently - helping pay for the one kids College and helping with another’s Law School .. as well as buying them both used vehicles this year… so I will be keeping things lower end for a bit. Fine by me. Been a very rewarding coin year for me. But so is any year we add coins to our collections... no matter the number or the cost. We're very lucky. Generally my last 18 months has been extremely difficult ... as I am sure many understand. If you don't that is Ok too. Onwards and upwards... I hope everyone has a safe, healthy and enjoyable 2022.
This is a top ten I love. Ten coins and with every coin an enthusiastic explanation why you love the coin. Beautiful coins. The Nike coin is superb. Congrats and all the best for you
My favorites: the Julian II (wonderful portrait), the Marcus Aurelius, and, of course, the Julius Caesar elephant denarius.
Excellent, every coin with your story. As for coins, Julius Caesar and Octavian/Marc Antony are my favorites. I like the rest also so if I would choose a third, then it's Maximinus II - never seen this reverse until now.
A nice set, @Clavdivs, and your sentiment is one that I share. Besides the surprise that one can own a Mark Anthony and a Caesar denarius, the Sicily, Menaion is my favorite in the list. Congratulations on a good year, and best wishes for 2022!
Great top 10! I love the Victory driving a biga. I don't have a single one of that type. I need to work on that for 2022 I think my favorite out of all of them though is that Maximinus II. I've been on a kick of those last large folles lately and more specifically, folles of Maximinus II. Yours has everything I could ask for: Well struck, beautiful patina, and great imagery with Sol holding Serapis' head. Love it
Clavdivs, It looks like you scored some handsome coins . I'm a sucker for big Byzantine bronze coins, so your hefty 40 nummi coin is my favorite . The dupondius of Marcus Aurelius is a great pick to .
I know how much better in hand that MA dupondius looks. It just isn't a photogenic coin. Someone had covered it with green enamel paint to mimic a patina, and I cleaned it off with acetone. Then it soaked in distilled water, got heat dried and treated with Verdicure. Then I watched it for a few months to see if it would develop bonze disease. It came out ok. In hand it gives you the natural, bright color of orichalcum.
You had a great year with a diverse set of coins. My favorite is the MAXIMINVS / Sol holding head of Serapis. You can't go wrong with a head in hand coin.
Lovely group! @Clavdivs.......Love the Menaion biga bronze, great movement and nice twin colouring!.....The maximinus II has great green toning and super detail on the reverse!....Next is that Iconic O & M.A Denarius really nice.....Congrats on a cool 12 months! ...Paul
@Claudivs , that is a nice representative group of ancient coins. My favorite is the whopping Justinian, but the others are interesting too.
That Justinian I follis, year 13, Constantinople, was an excellent buy - a really nice coin in every respect.
Great selections, @Clavdivs. Thanks for sharing the stories behind your choice of these coins. My favorites are the Maximinus II and the Julius Caesar denarius.