Blake's Top 10 Ancients of 2021

I've seen a lot of people doing these so I decided I would do one myself .

This year is the first year I began collecting Ancients so essentially all of my ancient coins are eligible for inclusion on this list.

Without any further ado here we go: My Top 10 of 2021!




#10 - Tetradrachm of Trajan (Tyre, Phoenicia)

This is my second tetradrachm after my Athenian owl and even though it's not particularly expensive or in great condition I still really like it a lot for the size, design and portrait of Trajan.



PHOENICIA. Tyre. Trajan (AD 98-117). AR tetradrachm (24mm, 6h). NGC Choice VF. •ΑΥΤΟΚΡ ΚΑΙC ΝЄΡ ΤΡΑΙΑΝΟC CЄΒ ΓЄΡΜ ΔΑΚ•, laureate head of Trajan right / •ΔΗΜΑΡΧ-•ЄΞ ΙЄ ΥΠΑΤ •Є•, eagle standing facing on club, head and tail left, wings spread. Prieur 1504. McAlee 439.


#9 - Denarius of Hadrian

This coin is special to me because it's my very first ever denarius and I love the toning.


Hadrian (AD 117-138). AR denarius (17mm, 2.89 gm, 7h). NGC AU 4/5 - 4/5. Rome, ca. AD 119-125. IMP CAESAR TRAIAN HADRIANVS AVG, laureate, draped bust of Hadrian right, seen from front / P M TR P-COS III, Aequitas or Moneta standing facing, head left, scales in right hand, cornucopia in left. RIC II.3 389. RIC II 80.

Ex Goldberg, Auction 110 (4 June 2019), lot 1870


#8 - Drachma of Mithridates II

I really love this coin because it's my first ancient coin NOT from Rome and I like the time period it represents. This coin was minted not long before the Parthian Kingdom CRUSHED Marcus Licinius Crassus's Roman legions.

Basically what happened is that the Parthians use armored cavalry and mounted archers. The Romans would form up and run at the Parthians who would start shooting arrows while running away. Then the Romans would group up into a testudo to protect themselves from the arrows and the Parthian cataphracts would charge into them.

This would break up the Roman formations at which point the mounted archers would begin peppering them with arrows again.

This was rinsed and repeated until Crassus's legions were obliterated.




PARTHIAN KINGDOM. Mithradates II (ca. 121-91 BC). AR drachm (20mm, 1h). NGC AU. Rhagae, ca. 109-96/5 BC. Diademed, draped bust of Mithradates II left, wearing long pointed beard / ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ ΒΑΣΙ-ΛΕΩN ΜEΓΑΛΟΥ ΑΡΣΑΚΟΥ EΠIΦANOYΣ, archer in Parthian dress (Arsaces I) enthroned right, holding bow outward, cloak ends in pellet under throne. Sunrise 293. Shore 85. Sellwood 27.1.

#7 Denarius of Marcus Aurelius

It's Marcus Aurelius. Need I say more? Everyone knows I LOVE Marcus Aurelius ^_^



Marcus Aurelius, as Augustus (AD 161-180). AR denarius (19mm, 3.37 gm, 11h). NGC AU 5/5 - 4/5. Rome, AD 168-169. M ANTONINVS AVG ARM-PARTH MAX, laureate head of Marcus Aurelius right / FORT RED TR P XXIII•IMP V, Fortuna seated left, rudder in right hand, cornucopia in left; COS III in exergue. RIC III 205.

#6 Denarius of Domitian

This denarius is on the list because it is the first denarius of one of the "Twelve Caesars" written about by Suetonius. I also particularly like the strong strike and easily readable inscription.



Domitian, as Augustus (AD 81-96). AR denarius (18mm, 3.31 gm, 5h). NGC AU 5/5 - 2/5. Rome, AD 88. IMP CAES DOMIT AVG-GERM P M TR P VII, laureate head of Domitian right / IMP XIIII COS XIIII CENS P P P, Minerva standing facing, head left, thunderbolt in right hand, spear in left, shield behind her leaning against her legs. RIC II.1 580. Scratches noted for accuracy.



To be continued below.... apparently I can only link 10 photos per message.

 

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#5 Denarius of Faustina the Younger



Faustina Junior (AD 147-175/6). AR denarius (18mm, 3.29 gm, 7h). NGC Choice AU 5/5 - 5/5. Rome, AD 147-175. FAVSTINA-AVGVSTA, draped bust of Faustina Junior right, seen from front, wearing stephane, hair brushed in waves and tucked in small chignon at base of head / SAECVLI FELICIT, pulvinar facing with Commodus and Antoninus, as young children, seated facing each other. RIC III (Marcus Aurelius) 712. Beautifully toned.


#4 Denarius of Vespasian


Vespasian (AD 69-79). AR denarius (17mm, 3.41 gm, 5h). NGC Choice AU 5/5 - 4/5. Rome, AD 70. IMP CAESAR VESPASIANVS AVG, laureate head of Vespasian right / COS ITER-TR POT, Pax seated left, branch upward in outstretched right hand, transverse caduceus in left. RIC II.1 29.

#3 Byzantine Solidus of Justinian the Great



Justinian I the Great (AD 527-565). AV solidus (22mm, 4.46 gm, 7h). NGC Choice AU 4/5 - 3/5. Constantinople, 5th officina, ca. AD 545-565. D N IVSTINI-ANVS PP AVG, cuirassed bust of Justinian I facing, wearing plumed helmet with pendilia, globus cruciger in right hand, shield decorated with horseman motif in left / VICTORI-A AVGG Є, angel standing facing, staff surmounted by staurogram in right hand, globus cruciger in left; star in right field, CONOB in exergue. Sear 140.


#2 - Roman Republic Quadrigatus


Anonymous. Ca. 225-214/2 BC. AR didrachm or quadrigatus (23mm, 6.64 gm, 7h). NGC AU 5/5 - 3/5, overstruck. Uncertain mint. Laureate head of youthful Janus, two small annulets on top of head / Jupiter, hurling thunderbolt with right hand, scepter in left, in fast quadriga right driven by Victory; ROMA incuse on raised tablet below. Crawford 29/3. Sydenham 64.


#1 Athenian Tetradrachm



ATTICA. Athens. Ca. 440-404 BC. AR tetradrachm (25mm, 17.18 gm, 8h). NGC MS 5/5 - 4/5. Mid-mass coinage issue. Head of Athena right, wearing earring and crested Attic helmet ornamented with three laurel leaves and vine scroll with two sprays, the end pointing above her ear / AΘE, owl standing right, head facing; olive sprig with berry and crescent moon behind, all within incuse square. HGC 4, 1597. SNG Copenhagen 31-40. Kroll 8. Holder notes coin is perhaps an eastern issue. Struck from high relief dies, especially on the reverse.


Please let me know which of these are your favorites! Hope you enjoyed looking at some of the ancient coins I picked up this year in my first year of ancients collecting!

 

I can see why you're happy with these 10... all are very nice coins! My favorites are the Vespasian and Hadrian.

 

Thanks!

It was tough trying to put some of them in proper order though because I love all of them.

 

I really like the Marcus Aurelius denarius for its sharpness, the Trajan tetradrachm, I recently got one as well for its imposing portrait and the chunkiness, and the owl tetradrachm, simply for the artistry and the history.

 

Thanks Jay!

I agree with you about the Marcus Aurelius denarius. You know I had to get a nice example of a denarius of my favorite Emperor. xD

I also agree that one awesome thing about the Trajan tetradrachm is the heftiness (or as you say "chunkiness") of the coin. It's nice and large and thick and feels like money in the hand.

The denarius is such a small and light coin (its like a dime) and it doesn't feel like much in comparison.

I think that's one reason I really like the Parthian drachm. Because it's what the denarius was supposed to be before being debased repeatedly over the centuries.

 

Very nice year, all are great. My favorite is Drachma of Mithridates.

 

What's more interesting is that the Sassanian drachm was a much more stable silver coin compared to the Roman counterpart, while the antoninianus was debased to obliteration within a century, the Persian drachm still maintained it's high purity (>95%) silver content and weight all they way to the 7th century (despite the degradation in their art).

 

Ah yeah debasement was a bad idea.

Was it just Parthia?

I have this Cappadocian drachm (didn’t make the list) and it seems to be made of a very high silver purity.


Do you know if they ever debased their coinage?

This one is interesting because it’s different from the Parthian one.

It has a smaller diameter but it’s very thick. Surprisingly thick. I can’t take photos of the thickness because of the slab but when I tilt the slab I can see it’s about 1/2 inch thick.

 

Thanks Bensi!

I’m hoping 2022 is as bountiful as 2021 in my collecting.

 

Congrats on your first year. For me, your choices with the most eye appeal are the Hadrian and Vespasian denarii.

 

I prefer the Hadrian but always like a decent Parthian when they are well centered like yours.

 

Thanks!

I really love them both. I think the Hadrian got a lower place than expected because it looks pretty dark in normal lighting. It’s only under bright lighting that the colors pop.

 

Love that Hadrian. The Byzantine gold gets a close 2nd place in my book though. Good start to your collection.

 

Thanks Doug! Yeah I’ve noticed from looking at other Parthian drachms that many of them are way off center with the head at the very bottom (or top).

I think the Hadrian denarius would’ve been #4 or #5 if it wasn’t so dark under normal lighting. The pictures were taken under bright lighting and make the coin look way lighter than it is under normal lighting.

 

Thanks furry!

Oddly enough the Byzantine solidus is the only ancient gold I own. Lol!

Sadly all the coolest ancient gold is way too expensive for my blood. ^_^

 

For me, it's the Domitian. His coins often have a lot of circulation wear and you've got some great details on Minerva!

 

Well, one good thing about collecting slabbed ancients in good condition is that you get this kind of beauties. I don't, but everybody collects whatever he and she wants, likes and affords.

Keeping the tradition of choosing 3 favorites, I would choose the Parthian drachm (I don't have one yet, but I like the portraits, a combination of cartoonish and evil, yours is a very strong coin); the Faustina II - one of my favorite denarii from her, I saw one no later than yesterday, in a good condition, but I had another main target in the auction (surprisingly, fulfilled); and Domitian - a very expressive portrait.

 

Thanks! I really love the Domitian. It does have those scratches but for the first time I didn’t care and went for it anyway. Mostly because in my opinion the scratches don’t detract the eye away from the portrait. It’s hard to see them unless they are pointed out or viewed very closely.

He briefly held the honor of the earliest Emperor in my collection until I got Vespasian.

 

Yup one of the great things about collecting is everyone likes different stuff .

Good choices!

Hopefully the Parthian’s weren’t intending for it to look “evil” lol! I’m guessing back then maybe they wanted them to appear strong, confident, intimidating and in total control. Basically saying “don’t mess with me”.

I had a tough time getting a Faustina the Younger denarius because I wanted one in good condition and with an interesting reverse and it took a while to find this one. xD