Inspired by @zumbly 's great thread, I thought I would do my own. Julius Caesar. AR Denarius, 44 BC. (19.00 mm 3.68 g) Obv:. Laureate head right; before, CAESAR IMP; behind, star of eight rays. Rev: P. SEPVLLIVS MACER. Venus standing left, holding Victory and sceptre (resting on star?). Cr. 480/5b RSC 41 BMC 4165 Syd 1071Sear (2000) 1412 A very elegant portrait. Perfectly struck on broad flan. Areas of flatness and scratch on obverse, otherwise about VF. Ex: Artemide Asti E-Auction 43 E, June 9, 2018. Galba, AD 68-69. Denarius, Spain (Tarraco ?), 68. AR 3.25 g. Obv: GALBA - IMPERATOR Laureate head r., globe at point of bust. Rev. VIRTVS Virtus, wearing short tunica, standing l., holding parazonium with her l. hand, on her outstretched r. hand Victoria with palm branch and wreath. RIC 48a (R3) Supplementum Galbianum, Quaderni Ticinesi XII Numismatica E Antichita Classiche 1984. Cf. BMC 341, 194v.; BN III, 36, 34v.; C. 210; RIC 30var. (all with IMP on obv.). Very rare variant. Toned. Small chips on flan. Almost very fine Provenance: Auction UBS, Zurich 49 (2000), 365. Ex: “The Galba Collection” Hess Divo Auction 333, Lot 100 November 30, 2017 Hess Divo Auction 334 Lot 107 May 29, 2018 Coin depicted on the Wildwinds database Otho, 69 CE Õ-Denar, Rom; 3.03 g. Kopf r.//Aequitas steht l. mit Waage und Zepter. BMC 6; Coh. 9; RIC² 19. RSC 9 Feine Tönung, schönExemplar der Auktion Fritz Rudolf Künker 304, Osnabrück 2018, Nr. 1073. Ex: Jryki Muona collection Ex: Fritz Rudolph Kuenker Aution 312 Lot 2822 October 8, 2018 Vitellius AR Denarius 69 CE 17 mm 3.32 g Obv: A.VITELLIVS GERM IMP AVG. TR P.: Head of Vitellius, laureate, right Rev: L VITELLIVS COS III CENSOR: Bust of Lucius Vitellius, laureate and draped, right; eagle-tipped sceptre in front Very rare RIC 99 RSC 2 Silbury coins January 27, 2019. Vitellius (AD 69). AR denarius (18mm, 2.95 gm, 5h). NGC VG 4/5 - 4/5. Rome. Obv: A VITELLIVS GERM IMP AVG TR P, laureate head of Vitellius right Rev: LIBERI IMP GERM AVG, bareheaded and draped busts of the children of Vitellius (Aulus Vitellius Germanicus Junior and Vitellia), facing one another. RIC I 101. Ex: Heritage Auctions November 29, 2018 Lot 65074 Vespasian, 69-79 A.D. AR Denarius, 3.16g. 21.41mm. Rome, 73 A.D. Obv: IMP CAES VESP AVG CENS. Laureate head of Vespasian to right. Rev: MAXIM PONTIF. Nemesis walking to right holding caduceus over snake. C 385, RIC 544. BMC 97SRCV I (2000) 2304, RSC 385 Ex: E. E. Clain- collection. Ex: Numismatica Ars Classica - Auction 92 Part 2, Lot 2133 May 24, 2016 275 CHF ; Ex: Ed waddell September 7, 2016 Coin depicted in the Wildwinds.com database. Best of type in the Forum Ancient Coins Galleries Vespasian (69-79). AR Denarius (18.08mm, 3.50g, 6h). Rome, AD 75. Obv: Bare head l.; IMP CEASAR VESPASIANUS AUG Rev: Pax seated l., resting l. elbow on throne and holding branch. PON MAX TRP COS VI RIC II 773 (this coin); RSC –. Extremely Rare variety, near VF. Not in RIC plates. Ex Vecchi sale 13, 1998, 757. Ex: St Paul Antiques auction 7 Lot 285 June 11, 2017\ Coin depicted in the Wildwinds.com database. One of 2 known. Titus as Caesar 75 CE AR Denarius 20 mm 3.30 g Obv: Head laureate r; T CAESAR IMP VESPASIAN Rev: Securitas seated l; head resting on raised arm; PONTIF TR P COS IIII Ric 784 (R2) [Vespasian] BMC--, RSC--. Not in RIC plates. Purchased from Zurqieh on vcoins; April 18, 2019 DOMITIAN, (A.D. 81-96), silver denarius, Rome mint, issued A.D. 86, Second Issue (3.47 g), Obv. laureate head of Domitian to right, around IMP CAES DOMIT AVG GERM P M TR P V, Rev. around IMP XII COS XII CENS P P P, Minerva standing to right, fighting, holding javelin and shield, RIC 435 (R), RSC 201b BMC 93. Attractive blue and gold patina, extremely fine. Ex: H.D. Rauch GmbH, Auction 85 Lot 464 November 26, 2009 (sold for 333 USD plus fees) Ex Dr V.J.A. Flynn Collection. With old dealer's ticket. Noble Numismatics Auction 120 Lot 3217 April 4, 2019. Best of Type in the Forum Ancient Coins Gallery Domitian AR Denarius. Rome 88 CE (Group 2) Obv: Head laureate r; IMP CAES DOMIT AVG GERMANIC COS XIII Rev: Minerva Minerva stg l with thunderbolt and spear; CENS P.P.P. RIC-568 (R2) BMC 139 RSC 27 Jesus Vico Mail bid auction # 153 Lot 3133 March 7, 2019 Coin depicted on the Wildwinds database
I gotta go with Vespasian Nemesis. The JC is also a standout and the toned Domitian / Minerva has great eye appeal. Great coins @Orfew .
Ditto. The Vespasian Nemesis by a mile . Well maybe by a half-mile... the dynastic denarius is pretty cool. I'm liking these "what's your favorite of my favorites" threads! Maybe we should all do one .
Beautiful coins! The Vespasian Nemesis is my favorite, but I also like the Domitians, and the Vitellii. You have a lot of nice coins.
Aesthetically the Vespasian Nemesis is the best coin of the bunch, but I love history and went with the JC denarius.
All very nice coins, but I can't go past the great detail and toning of the Domitian Minerva RIC 435, I can see why it is best of type in Forum.
Vespasian, Nemesis for me. (Historically all great coins & I particularly like the Vitellius with the kids.) But the strike & the artistry aside, I LOVE that flan! I'm not swayed by the "best of type", but I can see why.
Spectacular grouping. Yikes. I voted for the Vespasian Nemesis because of that incredible artwork. They are all wonderful, but that one is a stunner!
Excellent selection! I really like the Galba, but the Vespasian denarius with Nemesis gets my vote. I've admired it from the first time you showed it here, and it just gets more attractive with repeated viewings.
Looks like Nemesis is off to a commanding lead with Spanish Galba putting in a fighting effort. ...dying to know. Which one did you cast your vote for @Orfew ?
As much as I love the nemesis I had to go with the Galba. The Spanish portraits are very special. Both coins have a great provenance but to me there is something special about the Galba.
Thanks to all for voting and participating in this thread. I knew the Nemesis was a great coin but I did not expect it to dominate in the voting as it has.
