I have been inspired by the other top 10 lists to create my first one. These are strictly in alphabetical order. My top one is obvious to me and will be listed below but to do any more than that would be like asking me to try to rank my friends. Bahamas 1806 Penny Obverse: Laureate head right Reverse: Full masted ship Ruler: George III Composition: Copper I have wanted one of these for quite a while. Finally found one this year that was in my budget but still nice. Surprisingly, to me, it is the only graded coin on my list. Cambodia 1860 10 Centimes Phnom Penh Mint. Local strike from shattered dies. Obverse: Head left Reverse: Arms The die breaks are beautiful to me. German States Brunswick-Wolfenbuttel 1551 1/4 Thaler. Heinrich the Younger 1514-1568 Obverse: Bust Left Reverse: Wildman in the center. This one fulfilled a long time goal for me. I have quite a passion for Wildman coins but up until this point I had been unable to find this style. This would probably go in the number 2 spot for the year if I was doing that. German States 1692 BA Hennesey 2/3 Thaler Obverse: Saxon coat of arms under Herzogshut, Crown divides date, Smaller arms Reverse: Hen Note: With countermark of the Frankish circle Catalog: Dav. 868 Composition: Silver Weight: 15.30 g Diameter: 37.00 mm Where else can you find a coin with a chicken on it? German ca1918 Token Baden-Karisruhe Obverse: Winged Elephant Reverse: 1 Schoppen Fuldsche Walhrung Menzel 12699.2 Much like the last one, where else will you find a winged elephant. Middlesex D&H 272 Obverse: GREY FRIARS. Reverse: Period after COVENTRY. NO. 4. Edge: COVENTRY TOKEN. My undisputed number one. I had been trying to help a buddy find one of these for over 2 years. He recently found his. When I found this one at a local coin should I had to buy it. The surfaces are glassy in hand. 1690 Gun Money Crown Obverse: Sword points between REX and IAC Note: Overstruck on large size 1/2 Crown. Many varieties exist. Composition: Brass I have a decent size collection of Irish gun money but this is my only crown. If you are not familiar with them you should check them out. Malta 1756 30 Tari Obverse: Crowned arms, date in legend Reverse: John the Baptist standing with a banner in right hand, lamb lying at right, the value in exergue Ruler: Emmanuel Pinto Composition: Silver Malta is another area that is historically fascinating to me. This was an upgrade for me in 2018. Scotland 1625 20 Pence AR XX (Twenty) Pence 16mm. 0.68g. Edinburgh mint Falconer's Anonymous issue, 1637-1642 Crowned bust left, denomination behind the head. CAR. D.G. SCOT. ANG. FR. & HIB. R Crowned thistle. IVST. THRONVM. FIRMAT. S. 5591 Heavily adjusted portrait. Third coinage, class V (Falconer's anonymous coinage). I have been looking to add a Scottish piece from this era and this one suited me. It's tough to find nice affordable pieces. Switzerland 1753 Thaler Obverse: Oval arms of Zurich in a baroque frame, supported by a rampant lion at right Obverse Legend: MONETA REIPUBLICÆ TIGURINÆ Reverse: City view, date below Reverse Legend: DOMINE CONSERVA NOS IN PACE Note: Dav. #1791. Composition: Silver Diameter: 40mm This is another one that looks nicer in hand. The reverse city view is really appealing to me. Add in the rampant lion and it easily made the list. It was fun making this list and I hope others get some enjoyment out of it. I printed a report a couple of days ago to see what coins I had purchased in 2018. Unfortunately, the list also gives you a total, oh boy. One resolution for 2019 is to spend a lot less money.
Great coins Chris! I like Mat picked the Braunschweig-Wolfenbuttel one, but that Hennesey 2/3 Taler with hen is fantastic. Actually Basel struck a AV 10 Dukat with a hen on reverse. Here is photo from upcoming Kunker auction. A lovely coin/ mucho dineros!
The winged elephant token was a surprise find for me. I had never seen one so it wasn't even on my radar. Best of all it was bar far the least expensive piece on this list. Doing some online research after the fact, it was an impulse buy, shows that they are pretty scarce.
You don't see too many 30 tari coins from Malta under the administration of the Knights Hospitaller. Here's mine from 1768.
