Who’s the Most Culturally Significant Person in your Collection? (According to MIT)

I am actually the one who culled down the list to coin issuers and decided to include Pilate for the following reasons.

Pilate didn't issue coins but there seem to be coins popularly associated with him so I left him in the list with a * in order to drive discussion.

Pythagoras was included for similar reasons. The data certainly produced some wacky inclusions. It will be interesting to see how the project develops as MIT adds further sources to their algorithm as described in their methods linked above.

...and remember, it's all just for fun!

 

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Interesting idea - and some great coins.

How about a 1696 Crown of King William III for Sir Isaac Newton? And three ugly sixpences showing London and the Norwich and Chester branch mints.

From Wikipedia:

Newton moved to London to take up the post of warden of the Royal Mint in 1696, a position that he had obtained through the patronage of Charles Montagu, 1st Earl of Halifax, then Chancellor of the Exchequer. He took charge of England's great recoining, somewhat treading on the toes of Lord Lucas, Governor of the Tower (and securing the job of deputy comptroller of the temporary Chester branch for Edmond Halley). Newton became perhaps the best-known Master of the Mint upon the death of Thomas Neale in 1699, a position Newton held for the last 30 years of his life.[72][73] These appointments were intended as sinecures, but Newton took them seriously, retiring from his Cambridge duties in 1701, and exercising his power to reform the currency and punish clippers and counterfeiters.

 

You're right, I'm just being a party pooper. External things fouled my mood (big power outage, internet down, have to work more days/month now, repair work trouble, etc).

Your list will be a fun exercise for the forum.

I'm a little less baffled by the Pantheon project's methods now that I've read through more of their site. It's akin to Twitter rankings... a measure of popularity. More wikipedia country pages = higher ranking. More page views = higher ranking. @Severus Alexander... you could bump up your idol's ranking by getting friends to view his wiki pages over and over and over... just like fanclubs do! . Hmm. Maybe that's how Macrinus got so high on the list. His descendants must be fangirling his wiki pages.

Alright, enough sass. I have a bunch of coins from the list. Nothing exotic that hasn't already been shown-- so here's Alex the Great, who surely belongs in the top dozen or so no matter how such a list is made


KINGS OF MACEDON, Alexander III
AR tetradrachm, 17.14 gm
late lifetime issue, struck in Aradus c. 324/3 BCE
Obv: Head of Herakles right, wearing lion skin headdress.
Rev: BAΣIΛEΩΣ AΛΕΞΑΝΔΡΟΥ; Zeus seated left, holding eagle and scepter; I in left field; AP monogram below throne
Ref: Price 3325
ex Colosseo Collection

 

Hopefully I understand the theme of this game...
My thought is that there is a glaring omission; Napoleon Bonaparte!
I would put the Napoleon 20 franc gold coin on the list and argue that it should hold a place high on the list.
Think about this; besides Napoleon's resume as we see in the history books, if he had not been hard up for cash due to his thirst for conquests, he would not have agreed to the Louisiana Purchase. And if not for the Louisiana Purchase, North America would look more today as Europe does with a "New England," a "New France" and a "New Spain." Thus, the USA as we know it never would have happened (the L.Purchase started our push towards the Pacific). And if the USA (from coast to coast) had never happened the entire history of the world would be different.

 

I'm sorry that you are still having life difficulties @TIF!

If it makes you feel any better that Alexander III Tetradrachm is stunning!

 

Thanks for posting this list @Curtisimo it makes for a very fun read. Even though this list is of culturally significant people, which enables someone like William Wallace to land on it, its still a bit of a head scratcher.

Ill toss out a medieval penny of King John, the villain of Robin Hood and singer of the Magna Carta which is the foundation of the individual's freedom against the capricious nature of despotism.

John I AR Short Cross Penny 1205 AD Canterbury mint; Arnaud moneyer; struck in the name of Henry II.
18mm 1.51g
Obv: Crowned head facing; scepter to left; HENRICVSR EX
Rev: Voided short cross; quatrefoil in each angle; +ARNAVD*ON*CANT
SCBC 1351; North 970

I'll also add a coin of Oliver Cromwell, Lord Protector of the Commonwealth of England, Scotland, and Ireland and hammer of the Catholic Irish.

Commonwealth AR Halfgroat 1649-1660 AD London mint.
15mm 0.88g
Obv: English coat-of-arms within wreath.
Rev: English and Irish coat-of-arms; II above.
SCBC 3221; North 2728

 

@Orfew should be going Ga-Ga with his postings here!

My NEXT 10 on the List:

Fun for me due to the Historical Figures

12) CALIGULA:

RI Gaius Caligula AE As 37-41 CE Vesta seated S-C

13) MARCUS AURELIUS:

RI MARCUS AURELIUS AR Den as Caesar TR POT VI COS II - Genius stg at altar hldg standard

14) SALADIN:

AYYUBID Caliphate - Saladin al-Nasir Salah al Din Yusuf AH564-589 1169-1193 CE AR Dirham RARE mint

15) TRAJAN:

RI Trajan CE 98-117 AR drachm Struck CE 114-116 Arabia Petraea Bostra - Camel SNG ANS 1158

16) ELIZABETH I

England - Elizabeth I - 1558-1603 AR Shilling

17) HADRIAN:

RI Hadrian, AD 117-138 Æ Limes Denarius 18mm 3.5mm after AD 125 Genius stndg sacrificing altar cornucopia RIC II 173
EX: @John Anthony

18) MARC ANTONY:

RImp Antony-Octavian AR Denarius 41 BCE 3.65g 18.7mm Italian mint star Craw 528-2a Sear 1507

19) CONSTANTINE I:

RI Constantine I CE 306-337 Æ Follis 19mm 3.2g Siscia CE 326-7 AVG Laureate R - PROVIDENTIAE AVGG Camp gate 2 turrets no door star RIC 200

20) XERXES I PERSIA:

PERSIA Achaemenid Darius I - XERXES I - Xerxes II 485-420 BC AV Daric 14mm 8.3g LydoMilesian Sardes king wearing kidaris kandys quiver spear bow Incuse Carr Type IIIb Group A-B pl XIII 27

21) TIBERIUS:

RI Tiberius AE As 14-37 CE Laureate-Pont Max Globe Rudder RIC I 58

 

I knew you would have some fantastic additions Brian! Thank you!

Thanks, also, to all who have contributed to the thread so far.

Regardless of what anyone may think of the actual list (does anyone ever agree on a list order??) I thought the list and method were interesting. Hopefully it will lead to some fun additions and discussion.

No. 15 - Trajan


No. 22 - Diocletian


No. 80 - Constantius Chlorus

 

Yes Brian, this is my type of thread. Here are a few from the list.

1 - Alexander the Great (5)

2 - Julius Caesar (8)


5 - Augustus (20)


8 - Nero (37)


12 - Caligula (57)


16 - Elizabeth I of England (88)

17 - Hadrian (105)


18 - Mark Antony (107)

19 - Constantine I (120)


21 - Tiberius (125)

 

30 - Vespasian (174)



32 - Timur (201)


33 - Claudius (202)


39 - Antoninus Pius (240)



46 - Marcus Junius Brutus (271)


48 - Richard I of England (283)

49 - Lucius Cornelius Sulla (284)



55 - Herod the Great (329)


61 - Otho (349)


63 - Vitellius (355)

 

64 - Galba (360)


67 - Titus (376)



86 - Louis IX of France (533)



As mentioned above, why is Napoleon not on the list? Also, I would have liked to have seen Eleanor of Aquitaine and King Cnut.

 

Holy moley @Orfew i had no idea that you had so many coins from famous historical figures. Fantastic!

I explained in the indroduction that I tried to keep it to just ancient and medieval people associated with coins. (though I was quite liberal with medieval dating!)

If you look at the second list of top 25 overall Napoleon is a respectable no. 21! I won't complain about seeing your sweet Napoleon though...

 

NAPOLEON??? Ok, not Ancient, but got one from a buddy!


France Napoleon Emperor 2 Francs 1808-I Limoges mint Republic Rev AU55
EX: The Emperor Himself - @Cucumbor !!! (And he has a GREAT pic of himself TOO!)

 

3rd Installment:

22) DIOCLETIAN:

RI Diocletian Ӕ Quinarius 1.46g 16mm Rome AD 284-305 IOVI CONSERVAT AVGG, Jupiter stndng thunderbolt sceptre RARE RIC 193

24) JUSTINIAN I:

BZ Justinian I 527-565 CE AE Folles 30mm 17g 40 Nummi M monogram

26) COMMODUS:

RI Commodus 177-192 CE AR Denarius laureate hd and Hercules and Africa

27) DARIUS I:

Persian Achamenid Type III spear over shoulder Darius I to Xerxes II Ca 485-420 BCE AR Siglos Bankers Marks Incuse rev

28) THEODOSIUS I:

RI Theodosius I 379-395 CE AE 18mm Concordia

30) VESPASIAN:

RI Vespasian 69-79 CE AR Quinarius VICTORIA AVGVST Victory std L Rare

31) SULEIMAN the MAGNIFICENT:

Ottoman Empire Suleiman the Magnificent 1520-1566 AV Sultani CE Constantinople mint 1520 19mm 3.5g

33) CLAUDIUS:

RI Claudius 41-54 Ae As 28mm LIBERTAS AVGVSTA S-C RIC 100

35) PHILIP II MAKEDONWN:

Makedon Philip II Tet Pella LIFETIME 353-349 Zeus Horse star spearhd O-R Le Rider 102

37) POMPEY:

RImp Pompey 42-38 BC AE As Janus Prow Magnus Sear 1394 Craw 479-1

 

Excellent coins Brian!

 

Thanks @Curtisimo

This only includes the historical figures on that list. I have more coins of interesting historical figures.

 

I know this is not a contest...but if my impression is correct, Alegandron has the most coins issuers on the list, right?

 

This is another time I need a double or triple 'like' option!

 

Sorry, Folks. I enjoy this thread. I am having fun and y'all's visual expense! But a sincere thank you for oculating my Coins!

38) SEPTIMUS SEVERUS:

RI Septimus Severus 193-211 AR Denarius Genius Sacrificing

39) ANTONINUS PIUS:

RI Antoninus Pius 138-161 BCE AR Denarius
My coin ALWAYS reminds me of @AncientJoe ! I have NO idea if HIS avatar looks like him, but I always remember my Antoninus Pius as A-J...

40) CARACALLA:

RI Caracalla 198-217 AR Quinarius CE 213 1.3g 13.6mm Laureate - Victory Wreath Palm RIC IV 101 RSC 450 RARE

41) AGRIPPA:
Would had been an AWESOME Emperor...

RI Augustus oak crown -Agrippa rostral crown L AE Dupondius 26mm 12.6g 10-14 CE Nemausus chained Croc wreaths RIC I 158


RI Agrippa AE As 28mm 11g Neptune-S-C

45) PYRRHUS:
Occupying / Guest of Syracuse...

Syracuse Sicily Pyrrhus Epirus 278-276 BCE AE Litra 11.4g 23.3mm Herakles Nemaean Lion scalp - Athena Promachos thunderbolt shield SNG Cop 813, SNG ANS 852

46) BRUTUS:
Yeah, he was a Moneyer, too... His ancestors... First Consul, and a friend of the People...

RImp Brutus-Ahala 54 BC JBrutus cons 509 BC ServAhala mstr hrse 439 BC Sear 398 Craw433-2

47) ROMULUS AUGUSTUS.......???
Now, I am lost...

RI Romulus 310-311 CE AE25 Domed Shrine doors ajar with sm Eagle

49) SULLA:

RR Manlius Torquatus L. Corn Sulla 82 BCE AR den 17mm 3.7g Mil mint w Sulla. Roma - Sulla triumpl quadriga vict wreath Craw 367-3 Syd 759 Sear 286

Yeah, I like this guy... He RETIRED as Dictator...
And, I really like TRIGAS!


RR Naevius Balbus 79 BCE AR Den Venus SC TRIGA Sulla S 309 Cr 382-1

 

Wow! Look at that toning! Goooolllly!