Second-String Top 10 Coins of 2017 - Alegandron

I ended my last posting of my Top 10 for 2017 with:

"And so many others..."

https://www.cointalk.com/threads/top-10-for-2017-alegandron.306764/

I purchased a little over 150 Ancient coins in 2017, which is a markedly slower pace than my last couple years. There were so many coins I captured this year that I really, really liked for their Historical place-marker significance. However, I would like to post the Second-String of my Top 10 Coins for 2017. I feel that any of these would have made it into my original Top-10...

Coins posted in no particular order... Random mayhem is always fun!

Please feel free to post ANY of your coins, match-ups to my coins, your thoughts, critiques, corrections, etc... are always welcomed!

Pile-ons were fun in my Football days; Coin Pile-Ons are always welcome!!!

Famous Guy out East:

Indo-Greek Baktria Menander I Soter BC 155-130 AR Tet 26mm 9.6g Diad - Athena Alkidemos tbolt Gorgon shield SNG ANS 764-767


Part of my Diodachi-Alexandrine Focus:

Seleucid Seleucus I 312-280 BCE AR Tet 14.46g Seleucia on Tigris. Zeus - Athena driving a quadriga of 4 horned elephants SC 130


Famous Rebel against Tyranny and the Murder of the Republic:

RR Gaius Cassius Longinus & P Corn Lentulus Spinther AR den 42 BCE military mint Brutus Cassius Smyrna Libertas r- jug & lituus 18mm 3.3g


Carthage, Nemesis of Rome - seems to NEVER have Bulls on their coinage. LOL, this as attributed as a STEER... Ummm... no, as can be clearly seen:

Carthage 216-215 BCE Sardinia mint AE 3.3g Tanit L - BULL stndg R CNP 377a


Carthage's LARGEST struck coin as Hannibal after the 2nd Punic War was scrambling to pay off debt and indemnities to Rome:

Carthage 201-175 BC Æ 15 Shekels 45 mm 7.5 mm thick. 102g WreathTanit Horse uraeus above. MAA 104 SNG Cop 400 RARE


Carthage - Barcid Silver for the 2nd Punic War. Yup, SNG Cop North Africa shows that funky nose in their plate...

Carthage Zeugitania AR ½ Shekel 17mm 3.8g 2nd Punic War 218-202 BC Sicily mint 216-211 BC Tanit l Horse r sun as double uraeus SNG COP 359


Acheloos - just because (@Nicholas Molinari would like that approach):

GELA AR Didrachm 490-480 BCE Horseman with spear r - Forepart of man-headed bull r

Etruria - Unusual coin minted in Italy:

Etruria 3rd C BCE AE 18mm 4.76g Hd African r Elephant r letter below SNG COP 48 HNI 69 SNG Paris 138-140 SNG Morcom 44 RARE


I love the Roman Republic Sestertius - 2-1/2 Asses, IIS is Two-and-a-Semi:

Roman Republic AR Sestertius After 211 BCE 12mm 1.0g Rome mint Roma r IIS - Dioscuri riding stars in ex ROMA Sear 46 Craw 44-7 RSC 4


Roman Occupation of Macedonia:

RR Roman Occupied Macedonia Gaius Publilius, Questor Amphipolis Mint As AE26 As ROMA Griffin MAKEDONWN TAMIOV GAIOV POPAILIOV oak wreath BC 148-146 SNG COP 1318

...and still more... (but I am done posting)

Please feel free to post ANY of your coins, match-ups to my coins, your thoughts, critiques, corrections, etc... are always welcomed!

Pile-ons were fun in my Football days; Coin Pile-Ons are always welcome!!!

 

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Great idea, and wonderful coins. Some of them could be Top 10 in their own right. I always do something similar to this. However, I usually do it as "Honorable Mentions" sprinkled throughout my Top 10 List (Top 20 this year).

 

I totally agree with Sallent....so many would make my Ist string top ten!!

 

Great stuff Alegandron

I think your Seleukos I -Elephants quadriga Tet deserves a much nicer and bigger picture.

Sestertius dioscuri , What a strange confusing name for this 2 1/2 asses silver coin
although the counter value is correct. I would call it a half quinarius, just my 2 cents.

My favorite in this lot would be the Gela Didrachm.

 

Love the coins, but I have a question about the descriptions. Are these copied from a reference? The reason I ask is that some are using BCE in the date while others use BC. I just always figured the use of either was a personal preference. As a note, when I typed this, my spell check program flagged BCE as a misspelled term, but not BC.

 

Lovely honorable mentions - and I'm always happy to have a reason to pile on my own Menander!


Kingdom of Bactria
Menander I r. c. 165/55-130 B.C.
AR Drachm, 15.71mm x 2.5 grams
Obv.: ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ ΣΩΤΗΡΟΣ / ΜΕΝΑΝΔΡΟΥ. Diademed bust of the sovereign right, coat fastened on the right shoulder
Rev.: (Maharajasa tratarasa / Menamdrasa). Athena Alkidemos standing left. Monogram 'H' in right field
Ref.: Bopearachchi, Ménandre (I) Sôter, 67

 

Well done! FANTASTIC coin!

 

Some more sweet coins!

 

Some more great coins. I really like the Cassius and the MFB.

 

The only thing I can complain about is you buying 150 coins while I got five times less in the meantime !

Great acquisitions, again
Q

 

This 'second string' list just goes to show you had a very good year. Wow.

 

Damn, does this mean you didn't send me that 15-shekels as a Secret Saturnalia gift??

But seriously, that is a top-shelf second string!! Holy smokes.

 

I like the Republican focus of much of your collecting.

 

Nice “also-rans”! That 15-Shekel is not an easy coin to come by. It would have smashed its way right into my Top 10.

 

Yeah, I felt I lucked out looking for this one. 'Twasn't a "cheap" purchase, but it was a "strike-while-the-iron-is-hot" purchase.

I wanted to add this one to the list as this was a cool "What might had been" coin. He was the guy that ALMOST killed Alexander III at his first major Battle (Granicus).


Persia Spithridates Achaemenid satrap of Sparda-Lydia and Ionia- 334 BCE AE10 1.20g wearing Persian headdress - Forepart galloping horse r Klein 367, Cop 1538

 

Another very cool coin!

 

Thank you. So many folks here focus on the Empire. After studying much of their History, I took the approach that the REPUBLIC era was a great crucible that formed the well known Empire. I focus on what made these people great to grow into that Empire.

To steal Winston Churchill's fire... I made this coin my background on my PC's... This was minted at their lowest points in the 2nd Punic War when Hannibal was kicking their tails. Regardless of Trebbia, Trasimene, Cannae... they REFUSED to surrender, with a "NEVER GIVE UP!" mentality. What a crucible that went on to build a World Empire!


RR Anon Quadrigatus Janus 225-215 BCE Craw 28-3 Sear 31

 

You lucky man! 150 Ancient coins in 365 days is darn good, I am not in your league. I only added 54 coins in 2017.....ONLY 12 from Ancient period. By the way nice coins!

 

All of those would have made my top 10, for sure!