My Favorites of the Year Bensi ( Simon )

The best of my year in coins. Granted I specialize in 12th century Byzantine but I think you will find I diversified a bit this year. My normal work travel was curtailed so I spent more time learning, learning from fellow board members ( Thank You) and learning from books.

Here is my the results, my favorite coins of the year.


#12 Seleukid Kingdom, Seleucus I Nikator, 312 - 280 B.C.

I really love this coin, it has a high relief on the portrait , it came from the collection of Maxwell Hunt , I did not know him but I liked his taste.



#11 ALEXIUS III ANGELUS-COMNENUS AE HALF TETARTERON SBCV-NL DOC 6 CLBC 8.4.2 15mm 1.97gm


Ugly but rare and out of the collection of Simon Bendall. He is one of the greats of our hobby, he cowrote with David Sear, worked with Michael Hendy and many others who specialized in late Byzantine. I also got it undervalue, the simple reason CNG but a better example owned by Simon Bendall as well right after it. It sold for over three times more than my coin and to be honest it was not that much nicer.


#10 Byzantine Empire, Tiberius II Constantine, 26 September 578 - 14 August 582 A.D. 31.3mm 10.57gm

Okay, just eye appeal here, What can I say. It is a Byzantine thing.



#9 Kings of Paeonia, Patraos (335-315 BC), silver tetradrachm, Astibos or Damastion mint, 24mm, 11.93g

One I learned about from the board, I found one and even though it has its faults I think it is a lovely coin.



#8 MANUEL METROPOLITIAN TETARTERON S-1970 DOC 17CLBC 4.4.4 20.55mm 4.37gm


This is a treasure coin for me, I am always looking to improve my collection and I have not seen this coin, this nice before. Manuel had a very long neck.



#7 ALEXIUS III EL Aspron Trachy SBCV- 2010a 34mm 4.3gm


I must of lost a half dozen of these at auction, I stumbled on a new dealer and got it for an acceptable price , By this time in the empire they were not putting much gold into these, it looks more white than gold.



#6 John III (Magn.) AE Tetarteron SBCV -2119 DOC 62 type G SBCV-2120 3.40gm 21mm

This coin was just a really beautiful example of another rarity. I also got it for a steal.



#5 BYZANTINE, Latin Rule Half Tetarteron S-2059 20mm 2.28gm

I got this at the end of 2019 but I received it in Jan, Superb example of normally very shoddy coins


#4 Isaac II El Aspron Trachy

In my quest to finish all of the coinage of the 12 century this fellow makes his mark. Beautiful but has a flan crack but all the detail shows itself.


#3 Kingdom of the Gepids Thrassic 491-504 AD in the Name of Anastasius Silver Quarter Siliqua 16.2mm .820gm

This is a debut of this coin, I saw it, loved it, bought it. I got it from Forum it is an ex Roma coin, Joe said it was not up for 5 min before I purchased it. I am uncertain why I am so attracted to it.

 

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#2 Cappadocia Ariarathes VII Ar tetradrachm , In the name of Antiochos VII 16.65g 30mm


My wife bought this for me as my birthday present, she is not a collector, she asked what coins I was looking at and showed her several and this si what she picked for my gift. Love her and I love the coin, It is not as gray in real life has a silver that is just not photographing well.




#1 Anastasius I AV Tremissis. SBCV-8 1.49gm 15mm

This coin has started a new collection for me, a collection of the denomination of Tremissis. I just loved this coin as soon as I saw it. So far, I now own four different rulers in the denomination but this is by far my favorite.

 

Great bunch for the year!
I think the Tiberius II Constantine is my favorite. I am loving Byzantine coins more and more lately and I have yet to see a Tiberius II that looks as nice as yours.
Thanks for sharing!

 

The gift from your wife is my favorite! I'm sure all of us married men on a budget are envious!

 

Nice selection, Simon. I like coins #1, 8 and 10.

 

Sweet coins, hard to pick a favorite when they are all cool.

 

The Anastasius is awesome.

 

They're all great, but the Latin Rule half tetarteron really made me sit up. Gotta go see if I can find the complete legends.

 

That birthday gift from your wife is awesome!! Well struck and well preserved.
Thanks for sharing. Your wife is very generous.

 

Concerning the Tiberius II Constantine, he ruled almost 4 years. Yet the
Regnal Year on the coin shows 8. Where can I find an explanation for this?
As stated before me, the condition is really nice.

 

Great collection, thanks for sharing. My favorite is the HALF TETARTERON out of the collection of Simon Bendall. My favorite scale book in by Bendall.

 

#3 is my favorite. A bit of barbaric style, but VERY attractive

 

What great coins!

12th century Byzantium is a fine area to be specialized in if you ask me!

My vote goes to #7. Fantastic coin.

 

All great coins but I really love the reverse on the Patraos Tet, fantastic detail, congrats on a great group of coins.

 

Excellent selection. I'm not at all into byzantines, but such marvels might make me reconsider....

Q

 

Hi @BenSi you know what would look good in your collection? A tetarteron of Richard Plantagenet from Cyprus.

 

Your Anastasius has great style for the period. I think it is a good idea to collect Tremisses because the byzantine facing portrait Solidi do often look rather like caricatures.

 

I am almost completely ignorant of Byzantine coinage, but I am completely seduced by your superb examples. The Isaac II Trachy is wonderful.

 

BenSi, You added some gems this year ! The Gepid 1/4 stater, #3 was a great find & fits well in your collection. Coins that can be firmly attributed to the Gepids are very rare, & this coin is a high grade example . The tetarteron of Manuel, #8 was a great addition too . The coin has a great strike & lovely patina. The tetarteron of John III, #6 looks like another great score. The sandy patina gives it eye appeal .

 

Good question, I had not noticed that, but the example on Wildwinds was also same year, I do not have the answer, perhaps another board member can enlighten us.

I know the coin you speak of Seth, I am not sure it was Richard the Lionheart that issued it but it makes a great story. The coin has been attributed to Manuel and Alexius II before the current attribution. The reason I do not have one is they come to market much more frequently now, and I do not think it will sustain its current price, I watched drop from 2k to 1k , I am thinking under 500 before I jump on one.