[Ancients] Top 10 Index

Discussion in 'Ancient Coins' started by Curtisimo, Dec 6, 2019.

  1. ValiantKnight

    ValiantKnight Well-Known Member

    I’m currently waiting on a few auctions, but I’ve got a top 10 compiled already just in case I completely strike out on the coins I’m hoping to win. Definitely some long-term goals achieved this year.
     
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  3. Curtisimo

    Curtisimo the Great(ish)

    I can't wait to see your list when you post it VK!

    Since I am out of almost-made it coins I'll bump this thread with a coin that would have made my 2016 list if I had posted one that year.
    45B111CD-0ED7-45C1-8C6C-585788C6D338.jpeg
    Roman Empire
    Elagabalus
    AR Denarius, Rome mint, struck ca. AD 218-222
    Obv.: IMP CAES ANTONINVS AVG; Laureate draped cuirassed bust right
    Rev.: VICTOR ANTONINI AVG; Victory advancing right, holding wreath and palm branch
    Dia.: 20.29 mm
    Wt.: 3.26 g
    Ref.: RIC IV 153
    Ex Bill Rosenblum mailbox sale 28F, Nov. 1998


    Why it would have made my 2016 list:
    This example lacks the horn that so many prize on these Elagabalus denarii but I still think the portrait is very nicely rendered. It is also well centered on a large oblong flan with a provenance to the late 90s. The reverse was struck from a worn die but you can still tell that the die was of nice style as well. The legends on this example though are not very carefully engraved leaving one to wonder if was even the same person that engraved the portrait and the legend.

    ..........................................​

    Don't miss out on the older lists!
    As a reminder I would like to highly recommend once again that anyone that has the time should go back and read some of the older top 10s. The pre-2016 lists in particular seem to have gotten far less attention. Perhaps in future I'll bump this thread with a couple of links to older lists I found especially interesting.

    Note I have also added some new threads (both 2020 and previous from various members). Please keep me informed if you know of more that should be added.
     
  4. dougsmit

    dougsmit Member

    As of right now, this list shows 237 Top/Best of lists ranging from gold to uncleaned findings our members have shared since 2013. IMHO this makes this index of lists the single most significant post on Coin Talk since I have been associated with it. Thank you for the list and thanks to all you posted their lists over the years. To those who are no longer active here: You are missed. To those new here: Post your list now or wonder in ten years why you did not.
     
  5. Curtisimo

    Curtisimo the Great(ish)

    We currently have 42 top lists for 2020 and the pace of new lists seems to be picking up. As such I figured this would be a good time to bump this thread.

    Here is one of the first issues of Geta as Caesar (RIC 2) that I got from AMCC 1 in 2018. I wouldn’t say that it was necessarily a contender for the top 10 that year but it is a nice coin with good centering and detail that I am very fond of.
    5E8898CC-EBF1-430F-81B4-F7158E0CA673.jpeg
     
  6. Clavdivs

    Clavdivs Well-Known Member

    That Geta is stunning!
    It really has been a great experience reading though everyone's top lists this year... and we still have a few weeks!

    2020 will never be forgotten!

    upload_2020-12-5_19-32-43.png
     
  7. IMP Shogun

    IMP Shogun Well-Known Member

    I've been enjoying looking at everyone's coin lists acquired over the last few years (bump).

    This coin is worn quite a bit - the image makes it appear to resemble a higher quality coin - not common for me as it's typically the other way around:

    [​IMG]
    Commodus sestertius struck 183-184 A.D.
    M COMMODVS ANTONINVS AVG PIVS
    PIVS TR P VIII IMP VI COS IIII P P
    Minerva advancing to right, brandishing spear and holding shield; S-C across fields
    RIC III 410

    With last night's Chianti:
    [​IMG]
     
  8. Curtisimo

    Curtisimo the Great(ish)

    We have a full 50 top lists so far this year so I figure it is time for another also-ran.

    This coin is from 2017 and the only reason I did not post it before now as an almost-made-it coin is that I had forgotten that this one didn't make my list that year. 2017 was a very strong year for my collection as this coin would certainly have made the 10 in most other years.

    DDB8597A-FAF0-4391-AA16-D569D7D79739.jpeg
    Roman Empire
    Augustus & Agrippa
    AE Dupondius, Nemausus mint, struck ca. 10 BC - 10 AD
    Dia.: 26 mm
    Wt.: 12.3 g
    Obv.: IMP: Augustus, laureate bust right; Agrippa, bust left wearing rostral crown
    Rev.: COL - NEM: Crocodile chained to palm tree
    Ref.: RIC 158
    Ex JAZ Numismatics


    Why it almost made my 2017 list:
    This is an iconic type showing both Augustus and Agrippa. Augustus settled veterans from his legions in Nemausus in what is today France. These veterans used this coin issue to celebrate the victory of Augustus over Egypt and Cleopatra. On the reverse we see a crocodile (a symbol for Egypt) chained to a palm tree to signify its capture and defeat.

    These are fascinating coins and this one is a nice example, in my opinion, with all the relevant details identifiable and a very nice set of portraits.
     
  9. Curtisimo

    Curtisimo the Great(ish)

    hahaha this reminds me of a thread @Ken Dorney started a few years ago where everyone posted funny things like this. I will have to go back and see if I can find the thread now... we could all use a bit of humor in 2020.

    This is a really great coin. The "Chianti" photo really shows some of the nice detail and depth... I also love a good Chianti. Makes me want to visit Tuscany again.
     
  10. Orielensis

    Orielensis Well-Known Member

    Another coin that "almost made it." An early gros tournois was high on my list of important medieval coin types to add. Its connection to Philippe IV, who played the main part in abolishing the Knights Templar, was important for me, too. Also, the ornate design of large medieval French silver coins is simply beautiful:

    MA – Frankreich, Philipp IV. der Schöne, Turnose, 1285–1314 n. Chr., Duplessy 213.png
    Kingdom of France, under Philippe IV "le Bel" ("the Fair"), AR Gros Tournois à l’O Rond, 1285–1314 AD (struck 1295-1314 AD), Tours mint. Obv: +BHDICTV SIT HOME DHI nRI DEI IhV XPI/+ PhILIPPVS REX, cross pattée; 3-pellet stops. Rev: +TVRONVS°CIVIS, châtel tournois; border of twelve lis. 26mm, 3.93g. Ref: Duplessy 213.
     
  11. dougsmit

    dougsmit Member

    It is not half way through the month and we still have a few people who have not shared their top ten lists. This shameless bump post will show what I consider the worst coin I bought in 2020. I paid too much and usually don't chase coins of really insignificant people. Romulus, late son of Maxentius, is about as insignificant a person as they come in the Imperial series. The coin is the smaller size 1/4 follis and not all that nice.
    ru4252rp1318.jpg

    I already had a full follis of Romulus from a show in 1995. It needed upgrade but this fraction did not do the trick. I would like to know what caused the 'problem' on the follis. For years I tried to imagine there was some interesting technical explanation other than someone was bored.
    ru4250bb1188.jpg
     
  12. Curtisimo

    Curtisimo the Great(ish)

    Thanks for the bump Doug. Last year I think we had just over 70 lists and we are now in the mid-50s for 2020. I am hopeful we will have almost as many as last year and still have many to go.

    I am working my way through the 2020 lists one-by-one and making sure I read them all.
     
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  13. ValiantKnight

    ValiantKnight Well-Known Member

    Still waiting on some coins to arrive, which will include one or two more to complete my list, so I’ll probably be one of the last ones to submit a “top 10” list.
     
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  14. Cucumbor

    Cucumbor Well-Known Member

    I've been successful with a few lots at Leu auction 14. No doubt some of them will make it in a top 10.
    Having already made my list this year, and the coins probably showing up here after january 1st, you will have to wait until next year's list to see them in a top list

    Q
     
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  15. zumbly

    zumbly Ha'ina 'ia mai ana ka puana

    I don't have a Romulus but would like one, and while he's indeed one of the "insignificant people" whose coins we're guilty of wanting to own, I've always thought that at least this reverse type was worth collecting because the shrine pictured still stands, and with its original doors no less! I haven't gotten my own yet because the nice ones always go for more than I want to pay, but I fear when I eventually do get one, it's going to see me overpaying anyway. For the record, I don't think yours is too bad, actually!

    Much in the same vein, here's one I chased of a relatively insignificant person. I won't say it's my worst purchase this year, but considering it didn't make my Top 10 and won't qualify for my price bracket list, I may at some point have to re-evaluate its place in my collection.

    Annia Faustina - Tetradrachm Ares 3997.JPG
    ANNIA FAUSTINA, third wife of Elagabalus
    Billon Tetradrachm. 12.14g, 22.4mm. EGYPT, Alexandria, RY 5 (AD 221/222). RPC Online Temp #10198.13 (this coin); Dattari 4190; Emmett 3028.5 (R2). O: ΑΝΝΙΑ ΦΑΥϹΤΙΝΑ ϹƐΒΑ, draped bust right. R: Ares standing left, holding parazonium and spear; at his feet, shield; L Є (date) in left field.
    Ex NAC 72, 16 May 2013, lot 1660; ex Lanz 135, 21 May 2007, lot 832
     
  16. dougsmit

    dougsmit Member

    That is why I bought the damaged follis. If the obverse were as nice as the reverse, I never would have got it.
     
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  17. zumbly

    zumbly Ha'ina 'ia mai ana ka puana

    I wonder if what happened to your follis was environmental damage or corrosion. The result is definitely unusual, and reminds me of this Augustus As that I had originally pegged as badly tooled. Apart from the portrait, just the outline the devices and in particular the legend remain... the centers appear 'hollowed out'. Mine is obviously more far gone, but I see a similar effect in the R in AETERNAE on your reverse.

    tooledaugustus400.jpg

    I no longer have this coin, having tossed it into the Trevi Fountain in 2014. It still owes me a trip back to Rome. :shame:
     
  18. Ancient Aussie

    Ancient Aussie Well-Known Member

    This coin would have made my top 10 list if I had of received it, I purchased from a dealer in Spain over two months ago and last week I queried why it was taking so long to get to me and......wait for it was told because Australia closed it's borders he could not send it. I hadn't realized that coins were so dangerous and weren't allowed in...Covid Coins, I asked for a refund and quickly got it. fQs859yAbBj3GE2pcMD4Z7zq6kPtfk.jpg
     
  19. hotwheelsearl

    hotwheelsearl Well-Known Member

    Wow what a neat consecration issue. Never seen one like that before
     
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  20. Ancient Aussie

    Ancient Aussie Well-Known Member

    I am not going to tell you what dealer I bought it from for when it gets inoculated I will try to buy it again.
     
  21. Curtisimo

    Curtisimo the Great(ish)

    That is super strange. I wasn’t aware closing of borders included shipped goods. Maybe he is worried about being on the hook for goods lost by the postal service over the holiday timeframe.
     
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