BenSi Top 5 for 2021

Eye-popping coins, all of them!!! But my favorite is the personification of the moon on the dirhem of Nasir al-Din Mahmud.

 

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BenSi, those are 5 stunning coins ! The flashy hyperpyron,#5 is my favorite . The AE dirhem, #2, is the finest example of that type that I've seen .

 

The cover of this book was the first one i had seen @Al Kowsky , i think my example is nicer for detail. This series of books by Wayne Sayles has been an excellent guide through my ancient coin collecting years.
The hyperpyron was a excellent aquasistion, i was beyond pleased when i won it. I thank everyone on the kind words regarding my best 5. Happy Holidays to All.

 

BenSi, no question about it, your example is far superior to the dust cover photo on the Sayles book . The figure on your coin looks more female, her face looks more sensitive, & her jacket is done with greater care . I like Zangid coinage because they use figurative designs on their coinage which is unusual, most Islamic coinage uses strictly calligraphy. I've got only one Zangid coin from the Mosul Mint that I scored from AMCC 2, photo courtesy of Tom Callaway.


Zangids of Mosul, Saif ad-din Ghazi II, dated AH 567 (1171/2). AE Dirhem: 11.1 gm, 28 mm, 12 h. Obverse: Male head with two angels above holding parasols. Album 1861.1. Ex Severus Alexander Collection; Ex Frank Robinson 2017; Ex Gordon Singer.

 

These are awesome @BenSi . I especially enjoy these top lists that have interesting coins outside of my usual focus.

Nice work cutting it back to five. After seeing these I am sure there are some stunners left in the coins that didn’t make it.

My favorites;
#2 - I was not aware of this coin but I think it is fascinating! Beautiful design as well.
#5 - That is a top notch coin all around.

I also agree with you that “Top 10” time is one of the funnest times of the year on CT. Hope 2022 treats you just as well.

 

Thank You @Curtisimo , I had a real problem keeping it to 10, it was a blessed year. I could not agree on what made the list past 5 and what didn't. After a couple of weeks of thinking about it I decided the 5 would suffice.

As for branching out , yes and that is the result of coin talk members turning me on to new types of coins to collect and also the fact I am finding fewer 12th century blank spots to fill.

Be Well.

 

@BenSi my favourite coin on this is #2, the Zengid Dirhem often referred to as the ‘watermelon eater’

Its not even close, and here’s the reason:
I was the underbidder on that very coin at a Munz Zentrum auction in 2019.
Still salty about it and have not found an example remotely as nice since.

Considering you acquired this coin in 2021 and not 2019.. I’m curious as to where you got it.
I obviously missed the listing or it might have ended up in my top 10 instead

 

Vcoins and i paid a high price. I bought it in January of this year. I hesitated for a few days, digesting the price.The Dealer included this note from the seller but i had already seen the coin on the book cover.

Owner's comment - Why I bought this coin: "I was fascinated with this coin type when I saw it on the cover of Wayne Sayles' ‘Ancient Coin Collecting VI – Non-Classical Cultures’ book. I waited a long time before I found a very nice example that I sold previously on this site, and was thrilled when I recently found this example, which is even nicer and rivals the quality of the Sayles’ coin. Sayles has an interesting commentary on this type on page 178 of his book."

I agree with the previous owner.