One of my coins has not yet arrived, so I had to use the seller's photo (see below). As always, the ordering is not very precise. 1. Seleukids, Seleukos I (312-281 BC). AR tetradrachm. Babylon mint. My first Seleucid silver, and first coin of that period from historically Persian-controlled territory. Also does double-duty as a coin in the name of Alexander III. 2. Achaemenids, time of Darius I- Xerxes I (c.510-480 BC). AR siglos. An early Persian silver, from the time of the great wars against the Greeks. Considerably scarcer than the later types featuring the king with either a spear or a dagger. 3. Roman Empire, Trajan (98-117 AD). AE sestertius. Regna Adsignata (Kingdoms Assigned) reverse. Commemorates Trajan's assigning of subservient rulers in the territory conquered during his Parthian war. 4. Eastern Sistan, Salih 'Imad (c.780s AD). AR drachm. At the eastern edge of the Islamic Caliphate, Sassanian-style coin imagery hung on for a while, but became degraded over time. This late-stage piece looks almost cartoonish, but appealingly so. 5. Persis, Ardashir IV (late 2nd-early 3rd century AD). AR hemidrachm. Attractive and scarce coin from the core of Persian cultural territory, just before the Sasanian revolution. 6. Parthia, Phraates III (70-57 BC), Rhagae mint. AR drachm. This features the Sellwood 38 type portrait of Phraates III, which is one of my favorite Parthian portrait varieties (my avatar photo is also Type 38). 7. Himyarites, 'Amdan Bayan Yanaf (c.50-150 AD). AR quinarius. Not especially rare, but a nice coin of an often overlooked kingdom at the edge of the Roman world. 8. Parthia, Phraataces (2 BC- 4 AD). AR drachm. Just a pleasant coin of a king with a... let's say complicated personal life. 9. Khwarezmshahs, Kurzuwan under siege (May-June 1221 AD). AE jital. A coin issued while the city was under siege by Genghis Khan. Spoiler alert: There's a reason why you've never heard of the city of Kurzuwan. 10. Kingdom of Italy, 1808. AR 5 lire. Napoleon Bonaparte (aka Napolione di Buonaparte) as King of Italy. Not ancient or even medieval, but this piece has plenty of history behind it. Overall, I had less money available to spend on coins this year, but I still managed to find some attractive and historical pieces. Hope everyone enjoyed my highlights, and I look forward to seeing more of your Top 10s (or however many you want to list). Good luck in 2019!
Wonderful coins. I really need one of those sigloi. I find them interesting but just have not pursued one...yet.
Great coins @Parthicus . My favorites are 8, 3 and 2. Your write up on the Trajan Sestertius was really interesting. Because of that it's on my want list! Here is an example of my later and more common siglos.
I like the Achaemenid siglos and Trajan sestertius very much, but that Ardashir IV hemidrachm looks like a fantastic example, even to someone who doesn't collect the series.
Having little experience with coins of other ancient people, I like the Trajan and Achaemenid coins quite a bit. Of the others, I like the "cartoonishly appealing" Eastern Sistan drachm.
Lovely coins, @Parthicus ! Of course, I like the Trajan -- what a fascinating reverse type! I also found the Phraataces drachm fascinating for the iconography on the obverse. I like the Nike behind the portrait, but was particularly intrigued by the crescent and star in front of the portrait. I sometimes read back issues (actual print copies ) of The Celator and I recently read "Crescent and Star and Related Images -- a historical perspective" by David Wray in the February, 2004 issue (Vol 18, no. 2, pp. 6ff). The author discusses the use of the crescent and star on various Parthian issues and illustrates a drachm of Orodes II from the Mithradatkart mint (Shore 241). The Celator is archived online and this particular issue is available here, but this morning my browser says the link is unsafe, so be warned. I wish you the best, both personally and numismatically, in 2019!
A wonderful and eclectic historical coin party! My favourites are the Sistan drachm (the tail end of a long numismatic tradition & hilarious style), the Kurzuwan siege coin (history), the Trajan (like everyone else), and especially the Persis Ardashir IV (I so want one of these!!)
The Himyarites AR quinarius is amazing! and certainly falls in the overlooked and under appreciated category. The Phraates V / Phraateces is also an great coin from a ruler with, as you describe, a "complicated personal life". Eastern Sistan, the AR siglos, ...2018 looks like it was good year.
I like the Trajan too--probably because I lack the knowledge to appropriately appreciate the other coins. That reverse type reminds me of "donative" reverse types.
