VK's 10 Chosen Ones of 2015

I probably won't buy anything groundbreaking within the last month of this year, so I figured I might as well do this now before I get lazy. As I am a university student with a fairly limited budget with off-the-beaten-path coin interests don't expect TIF/AJ quality stuff in my list. But I hope you enjoy the best fruits of my 5th (calendar) year collecting ancients as much as I do.

Honorable Mention: Valens, AE3, Siscia mint, Western Roman Empire, 370s AD

I am always on the lookout for above-average quality LRB's and I must say this one is one of the best I've seen, very exceptional. Even more surprising is that I did not have to pay through the nose for it, like if it was one of those times where nearly every other potential bidder was asleep at the keyboard. Some dismiss this type and other LRB types as too common and not worth their time but I challenge them find one of this quality and at the price (or less) that I got it.



10.) "Standing Caliph", AE fals, Aleppo mint, Umayyad Caliphate, 693-697 AD

One of the collecting "fields" I want to expand more into is Islamic coinage from the early caliphates (Rashidun, Umayyad, Abbasid). I did less-than-stellar this year with regards to that goal, something I really want to change for 2016, but I did manage to knock off this very desired type (for me) from my list. And it is a great example to boot, especially compared to how these are usually found.



9.) Valentinian III, AE nummus, Rome mint, Western Roman Empire, 440-455 AD

Say what you will about them, but I love the little bronze nummi of the 5th century Roman Empire. So much interesting history behind them; they are a window into the decline of Roman power, of uncertain and dangerous times for the inhabitants of a state that had been considered to be indomitable. While the legends are mostly off-flan, this coin is still better than most with it having good surviving detail and no serious problems.



8.) Decentius, AE centenionalis, Trier mint, Western Roman Empire, 350-353 AD

I have to admit, the Chi-Rho is a very cool-looking symbol. It is one of the main symbols of the late Roman Empire, of which I am an enthusiast of. For these reasons I cannot get enough coins depicting it. This is one of the better Chi-Rho reverses I've seen, well-styled, and the sand patina making it stand out even more. It helps that it is of Decentius, since I didn't have his Chi-Rho reverse before.




7.) Justinian I, AR half-siliqua, Ravenna mint, Byzantine Empire, 540-565 AD

Byzantine-Italian coinage is one of my "things", so this was perfect fit for that part of my collection. I needed a Byz-Italy silver since I didn't have one, plus I had to get a silver coin of Justinian to complete my triad of gold, silver and bronze of him. And it had to be affordable, of course. I will update this photo with in-hand ones when it arrives.



6.) Honorius, AR siliqua, Carthage mint, Vandal Kingdom, 440-480 AD

I had basically always wanted this type, but at the time wasn't really actively looking for it. Realizing that it would take a while longer to pay off another coin I wanted, I figured I'd look for something I could get at that moment and not have to keep the dealer waiting on anymore future payments. So I found this Vandalic siliqua of Honorius (not "barbarous" since by then the Vandals were a legitimate power with an official mint). This was my first silver coin from one of the Germanic tribes.



5.) Anastasius/Theodoric, AR quarter-siliqua, Sirmium mint, Gepid Kingdom

I saw this among the stock of the dealer I acquired my Galla Placidia from, and still a bit stung from not getting the original Gepid silver almost a year earlier (the "other coin" referred to in #6's paragraph), asked the dealer to hold it for me. It is a good amount less that what I wanted before so I should be able to ultimately get this one.



4.) Justinian I, AE half-follis, Rome mint, Byzantine Empire, 537-542 AD

I really desired a Gothic War-era Justinian Rome half-follis for my Byzantine-Italian subcollection. This coin was "born" during a very trying time for the city of Rome; it had reverted back into Roman hands for the first time in six decades and was constantly menaced by Gothic reconquest. The city itself was severely depopulated and in decline. The history feels very much alive with this coin.



3.) Domitian, AE as (originally)/42 nummi, Rome mint, Roman Empire/Ostrogothic Kingdom

This one came completely out of nowhere. I was bored and just simply browsing for appealing coins I could score for a few bucks, nothing too major or special. I found this normal-looking As of Domitian, looked at it briefly then noticed a familiar set of letters engraved onto the coin: XLII (42 [nummi]). I could not believe my luck. I had found a rare Ostrogoth-revalued early imperial bronze (so far only 150-200 known). The seller apparently was oblivious to that fact but I wasn't. Fortunately it seemed like the other bidders did not notice it either and so I was able to get this at a price far below retail for this coin type.



2.) Justinian I, AV solidus, Constantinople mint, Byzantine Empire, 542-565 AD

I was hoping to get a solidus eventually along the line, but one day my urge for one became so great I had to fix my un-solidusness. My requirements were that it be a no-problem coin (I don't really consider the flat area a problem like a distracting scratch or a bent flan), would be 4th-6th century up to Justinian, and if it was early Byzantine, that it had a good style to it (since many have this flat, line-art looking style to them that I am not really a fan of). With this one, there was no way I had all of the cash at hand and at the ready for such a purchase, so I sold, and sold, and sold until I did. Perfect example of achieving a goal if you put your mind and effort to it IMO.



1.) Galla Placidia, AE nummus, Rome mint, Western Roman Empire, 425-435 AD

The rarest ruler I acquired this year (there are plenty of Justinian solidii for sale but at the same not too many coins of Galla Placidia). It is a long term goal of mine to get coins of as many of the extremely rare 5th century Western Roman rulers as possible. I had thought it would be years before I found an affordable coin of Placidia unless I got lucky and found her hidden in an uncleaned/unattributed lot (a coin fantasy of mine is to find a coin of Odoacer this way ). I traded several coins of mine for it so I ended up not paying a cent (unless you count the insignificant amount it cost me to ship my trade coins). She is up there along with my Libius Severus and my Majorian as my rarest Roman rulers. I am more passionate about the Western Empire's history and coinage than its eastern counterpart, so this also helped propel my Placidia to #1.

 

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I hate you ancient guys. So succinct......so on with your cataloging.

 

Yes, we do like to keep good catalogs with all the pertinent info don't we?

VK, that is an interesting set of coins. Keep it up and keep em coming.

 

Great group but I really like #3, 6 and 10 (in that order). All are better than average for what they are and none are likely to be found in mint state. I am also a fan of the cataloging that tells why the coin is worth its place on the list and does not bother with catalog numbers from books you don't own.

I hate it when dealers grade a coin with the disclaimer "for these" explaining why they called a VG coin VF. Using these standards, #3 is Proof and the others are EF.

Thanks for sharing your list. I have mine ready but don't ant to jinx myself from finding the coin I really want at the Black Friday sales tomorrow.

 

Great stuff, I have a top 10 typed up on my computer to post next month sometime.

I dig your Galla Placidia and Valens the most.

 

Great set, and I very much appreciate reading the collecting stories! Well-collected, and well-written.

 

Thanks all for the kind words guys!

 

That's a very cool top-ten, Jango ...

=> #6 is my favourite of that sweet grouping (congrats)

 

You did prety good this year VK. My vote goes to # 5
# 6 and #2 not far behind

Q

 

Nice set of coins.
I would do a top ten list, but I am not done collecting for 2015!

 

Great year! Of course the solidus is nice and the Galla Placida a coup for rarity, but I really like #10 (standing caliph with sword) for some reason .

 

The force is strong with this one. Great year VK.

 

Nice bunch of coins,especially like the solidus myself....

 

i remember every one of them, but not the half-siliqua...that's pretty darn good for me.

great year VK! your honorable mention is very honorable, that's a sweet valens. the justinian silidus is bloody fantastic, the domitian/ostorgoth is interesting as can be.

i'll wait for a bit to make my 2015 list, but it was a good coin year.

 

Thanks Chrsmat. I'm glad to know I've had that much of an impact where someone remembers a lot of my coins And yeah good spotting, the half siliqua is new to CT.

Thanks again for the comments!

 

I wonder how many of us could do well on a test where we are shown photos of a few members' coins and had to name the owner. I think Steve, TIF, Bing, Ides, JA, AJ and VK (sorry not to mention everyone who qualifies here) have distinctive enough collecting styles that I might do well if the selections were made to be representative rather than trying to fool.

Just as an exercise even without a test, it might be fun to try to select a small number of coins that best represent you as a collector. I have my favorites of 2015 list ready to go and noticed that it does not include any late Roman but late Romans make up about a quarter of my collection. Perhaps that means things are changing. When I selected my 99 1/2 favorites, I tried not to be too condition oriented but my overall collection would be better represented with a few more ugly coins.

I do believe many regular posters here could be recognized by their coins certainly better than from their faces. I have met in person perhaps three of you. (Apologies to who I have forgotten in this respect.). I have seen many more of your coins.

 

I totally agree with your previous post ... but honestly, I think that the comman-man may be pretty hard-pressed to try and sort through a tray of my coins and AJ's coins

... I'm just sayin'




... just jokes ...

If I had a better memory, then I'd definitely want to try this challenge, but I always sucked at "Concentration" (but I love playing games, so count me in) ... I think I'd be pretty good at spotting Noob's and Z-bro's coins as well (cool idea for a thread)

 

Dream on Little Brother.

 

*judger*

 

*Realist*