Zumbly's 2021 Top 10 List

Looking back at my auction battles for coin acquisitions in 2021, most seem to have ended up going this way...



For avoidance of doubt, I would be the one with my face on the floor.

The months of April through September were the most challenging, with only two of the ten coins on my favorites list coming from that six-month period. During that time, trying to collect my preferred Greek, Provincial and RR coins became so frustrating that I essentially gave up and instead picked up some Doge coins, and here I'm embarrassed to admit that I'm not even referring to Venetian grossos. While that REALLY didn't turn out well for me, a long spell of involuntary contemplation following Elon Musk's SNL appearance in May eventually brought some clarity and focus, and in the closing months of 2021, I slowly managed get back into the groove of things and add some relatively noteworthy coins to my collection. I also dumped the Doge coins.

Casting an objective eye over this year's list of my favorite coins, I'd say the Fugliness Rating is abit on the higher side compared to many previous years, but I'm 100% fine with that, and I can honestly say I mostly don't mean that in a self-consoling way. One of my collecting axioms has always been that there's more to ancient coins than mere aesthetics, and I find that axiom to be particularly true and practical when aesthetics start costing too much. Then, if anything, the fuglier the coin, the more interesting I'm likely to find it. You may think I'm joking, but three of the ten coins on my list this year are Roman Provincials from Alexandria. But, okay, let me qualify that non-joke... only one of those Alexandrians is really terrible, another is actually very nice "for the type" and the third is probably the best-looking coin on my whole list (just ignore the big gaping hole in its middle).

All said, I'm very grateful I got to collect the coins that I did this year, and after processing the quote below from Marcus Aurelius, have decided that I even had fun while I was at it.

"Very little is needed to make a happy life; it is all within yourself, in your way of thinking."


- Marcus Aurelius, showing how happy he is... within himself.

But enough talk... on to my favorite coins in the next post!

 

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10. PHYRGIA, Laodicea ad Lycum. AE15.
Infant Deity Ploutus.

I have a small sub-collection of coins depicting gods as infants (which @TIF has dubbed my "Deities in Diapers" set) that I add to whenever the opportunity arises. The reverse of this one features baby Ploutos, the Greek god of wealth and abundance, who was sometimes conflated with the Roman god Pluto. Now, thanks to this coin, whenever I think of that dour and dreaded Lord of the Underworld, all I can see is a cute little tyke whooshing down a cornucopiae like it's a playground slide.


9. DOMITIAN. Rome mint. AE As.
Ludi Saeculares scene. Ex P.A. Zanchi ("White Mountain") Collection.

I've always found this reverse type remarkable for its detailed depiction of a religious scene from Domitian's Secular Games of AD 93, showing the emperor sacrificing at an altar accompanied by two musicians, with a temple serving as a backdrop. Obviously, a lot of thought and care was put into its design, and it's a great example of what Rome's die engravers could achieve on the canvas of its larger bronze coins. I was surprised and really quite pleased when I managed to affordably snag this piece with its exceptionally well preserved reverse.


8. CLAUDIUS. EGYPT, Alexandria. AE Dichalkon.
Addition to the Zoo: Frog.

While not looking that bad for Alexandrian, it's not great either. However, as frogs just don't pop up on ancient coins all that often, I would have bid on this one even if it had been in worse condition (I do it so you don't have to). It's also possible that the frog depicted on this dichalkon is not just any old frog, but the Egyptian frog deity Heqet, goddess of fertility, rebirth and abundance. And on account of that, I will almost certainly be flexing my possibly divine frog whenever the topic of animals on coins comes up.


7. MESOPOTAMIA, Adiabene. Natounia. AE22.
Addition to the Zoo: Camel with bonus rider.

A purchase from December 2020, but as it only arrived in January, I had it as a candidate for my 2021 list. In my book, a coin with a camel on it is one that any lover of animal coins ought to have, but this type stands out even more for the camel having a rider on it! As I'd never seen anything like it before, it went straight to the top of my want list, and I count myself lucky that not more bidders thought it was as cool as I obviously did. Oliver Hoover suggests that the rider is Arsu, the Arab god of the evening star, protector of travelers and caravan traders, which just makes it, as a side note in my aforementioned book, an even cooler coin.


6. ANTONINUS PIUS. EGYPT, Alexandria. AE Drachm.
Zodiac Series: Mars in Aries.

Being your typical rational-minded Virgo, I've never bought into the whole astrology thing. That hasn't, however, stopped me from wanting to collect the Zodiac series of coins struck at Alexandria during the reign of Antoninus Pius. Thought to have been issued to celebrate the renewal of the 1460 year Sothic Cycle, they feature wonderfully unique reverses representing various constellations and the corresponding heavenly bodies that they were in conjunction with at the dawn of the great new age. Drachms from this series are always popular, often rare, typically in poor condition, and as a result of all those factors, horribly expensive in higher grades. Just two months prior to this auction, the Dattari example of this Mars in Aries variety sold for EUR 14,000 before fees! I ended up paying less a tenth of that for mine, which is still pretty horrible, but I guess not so bad when one thinks about the expense in terms of a 1460 year-long cosmological cycle. Also, I take some satisfaction in noting that the reverse of mine has almost as much detail as that far pricier Dattari piece (apologies for bragging, but I couldn't help it - Moon in Leo here. )


5. PICENUM, Hatria. Circa 275-225 BC. AE Teruncius.
Addition to the Zoo: Stingray.

While I find the obverse of this massive 114 gram cast bronze interesting for its crude, dumpy-looking dolphin, it was the beast on the reverse, referred to in most catalogs as a stingray or skate, that made it a target for me. I especially like that the unusual top view depiction makes it seem like you're looking down at it as it swims through the water, the curl of its tail adding to the illusion of motion. Of course, its measurements - size and weight similar to that of a Ptolemaic oktobol - are also impressive. The three pellet mark of value below the stingray indicates that it is a teruncius (worth three unciae), issued at the city of Hatria at around the same time aes grave on the Libral standard were produced at Rome. It's the first of these massive cast Italian bronzes in my collection, and hopefully, it won't be the last.


4. CIVIL WAR. Forces of Galba in Spain. AR Denarius.
Augustan Sidus Iulium type. Ex Gollnow Collection.

The catalog for Leu's October sale, which included as a separate book Christian Gollnow's amazingly comprehensive collection of Civil War denarii, was the one that got me excited about the prospects of participating in an auction again after the long, frustrating hiatus that had been ongoing for me since April. A Civil War denarius had been on my want list for the longest time, and I was determined to break my dry spell with one of these. The two I ended up with weren't my top choices, but I don't think I was ever blinkered enough to think my chances of winning my actual favorites were any better than Nero's chances of winning his 10-horse chariot race at the '67 Olympics without cheating (basically, zero). I do really love this one, though. It was minted by Galba in the early days of the revolt against Nero, when he didn't dare yet call himself emperor and before he struck coins in his own name, choosing in this instance to instead copy an issue of Augustus. The original 'Comet of Caesar' type is also on my want list, and with any luck, I'll be able to acquire an example in 2022 to complement this one.


3. ROME, 4th century AD. AE Contorniate.
Nero & Olympias.

I'd always been fascinated by the highly unusual contorniates that were made in Rome in the 4th century, and being able to own one of them was a big box to check for me. I was therefore a little dismayed when I read in one of his pre-auction missives the esteemed Dr Alan Walker of Nomos opine that he could never figure out why people were interested in them. And while I'd long admired Dr Walker, all I could think was, "Hmmmph, I guess there's no accounting for taste!" Of course, I was referring to my own taste, and that I will adamantly refuse to account for how questionable it can get. If anything, it made me feel a sense of solidarity with the 4th century citizen of Rome who gave this contorniate as a New Year's gift to a friend or family member, and who was perhaps met with a raised eyebrow about having chosen one with this match-made-in-hell pairing of the infamous Nero (bad husband, awful son, terrible emperor, universally reviled actor and poet) on one side and the notorious Olympias (Alexander the Great called her mother, @Alegandron just calls her "ding-bat") on the other. Beyond the fact that I couldn't have helped but love something as visually and historically wacky anyway, I've now developed a connection with this contorniate that money can't buy. So thanks for that, Dr Walker!


2. PROBUS. AV Aureus. Probus and Sol.
Ex Leo Biaggi de Blasys Collection. Calico Plate coin.

With the numerous silver and bronze types perpetually crowding my want list, my coin budget almost never allows for shiny, gold targets. But this was a weird year, and getting often shut out of the competition in my usual areas of interest, I took an impulse stab at this Probus I chanced upon and somehow ended up landing myself my first ever Imperial gold coin. It has plenty of flaws - considerable wear, various dings, digs and scratches, a repaired hole, edge damage from having been mounted - but none important enough to keep me from seeing it as a beautiful and interesting coin. I'd like to think that Mr Biaggi, who some decades ago had added this very coin to his splendiferous collection of Roman gold, would agree.


1. LUCIUS VERUS. EGYPT, Alexandria. AE Diobol.
Snake Cowboy!

The Provincial coins of Roman Egypt have always been a candy store of weird and wonderful reverse types for me. This one ranks right up there with the best of them with its depiction of a coiled Agathodaemon serpent riding horseback. @Severus Alexander was the one who first coined the term Snake Cowboy for the type, but @TIF is the acknowledged CT doyen of them, and having received her blessing to go after this example, I finally got to cross a big one off my want list. According to Emmett, the iconography of the type represents the seasonal cycle of crop growth and harvesting, and I can easily imagine my holed example being used to adorn the office of a grain trader, or the home of a wealthy landowner. It may also have been used as a religious decoration at a shrine or other place of worship. With the Antonine Plague starting to ravage the Empire in the mid 160s, the divine influence of Agathodaemon, the good spirit of protection and agricultural abundance, would have been particularly apt. I had a feeling when I won this coin that it wouldn't just be the crowning glory of my holed coin collection but also possibly top my list of acquisitions for the whole year as well. Lo and behold, here it is!


If you've made it this far, thanks for reading. I'd love to hear which coins on my list are your favorites, and please feel free to share anything related.

Here's wishing everyone a better year ahead in and out of Coinland!

 

That Nero contorniate is definitely unique. Not only it shows that there was an active cult for Nero centuries after he died, but also the art of realistic die engraving was still in practice among all those cartoonish idealised 4th century coins!

 

Nice coins, Zumby! I really like the AP drachm with a really nice reverse. The Natounia AE22 is also very interesting. Camels don't show up on a regular basis on ancients.

Yes, the bidding this year has been pretty stiff, but you've done good!

 

Very interesting and thanks for the info and scans.
If I had to pick 2 favorites, they would be No 1 and No 2.

 

Real gems out there Z
I particularily like the Galba/civil war denarius and the A-Pi zodiac drachm. All of them would make my day (month ? year ?) though !

On second thought, the snake cowboy isn't bad either

Q

 

All of them really unique and escaping the patterns. Big congrats!

 

zumbly, It looks like you had a stellar year ! My favorite is #5, the massive AE Teruncius, 2nd favorite is #9, the Domitian As. The reverse composition on that coin is impressive. The musicians give the scene great depth & a celebratory feeling. My 3rd favorite is #3, the Nero contorniate with the beautiful reverse composition. The low relief palm frond looks like it was added to the obverse as an afterthought . I think Dr. Walker "missed the boat" on this coin . The palm frond was also used on Nero's tets from Antioch, like the coin pictured below.

 

My favorite has to be snake cowboy. The type has become a symbol of the inner circle to which I aspire membership. If it is not asking too much I would like the Caracalla or Geta (listed in Emmett but not seen by me) or even the Septimius or Domna (not known to exist but that doesn't mean they never were made). Many if not most Severan from Alexandria are R5's and there are types listed that just never show up (what is a Theoxenion - Emmett 1717 - a coin so poor it could not be identified?) so we may as well wish for the impossible. I am not a statistician but I'm sure there is a formula that would predict the likelihood of unknown types from a set that has so many unique examples. Given the resources, anyone can collect what exists. The impossible takes longer.

https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hoppe...tic+letter=T:entry+group=2:entry=theoxenia-cn

 

What an entertaining read, @zumbly! Look at those coins! Despite your dad's stroke that forced you to take over the building and loan, despite your kid brother Harry going to college in your stead, despite Mr. Potter trying to shut you down, despite your alcoholic and demented Uncle Billy losing $8000 ...



"You see George, you've really had a wonderful year of coin collecting."

My favorites are the Antoninus Pius Mars in Ares zodiac coin and the Lucius Verus snake cowboy. I know I'm an Antonine enthusiast and I'm partial to the characters on the obverse, but with these coins, its the reverses that count! I also really like the tiny AE 15 featuring the still-tinier Baby Ploutos.

Great year!! I hope 2022 brings you collecting joy!

 

The way you share your thoughts about them with us is almost as valuable as the coins themselves.

 

Very nice selection. I particularly like the Domitian myself. I hope next year you won't suffer so many TKO's. I lost many a coin in the auction game myself.

 

Fantastic collection, @zumbly ! Just WOW!

and, beyond COOL how you wove Stoicism, Nero, and our Beloved Ding-bat Olympia into one continuous thought process!!!

LOL, I spewed coffee this morn!

one of my loving thoughts of this woman pulled from a prior thread….

“…you segued to explain that the Snake Mystic of Olympia and the Makedonwn were completely different. Alexander III of Makedon to his Mother, Olympia (Even her loving Son said that she was a crazy-lady)


Alexander III the Great Æ17 / Snake
Attribution: Price 385
Date: 325-310 BC
Obverse: Head of Alexander as Herakles right, in lion skin headdress
Reverse: B A between bow case and club, coiled snake below
Size: 17.75mm
Weight: 5.59 grams
Description: VF
Ex: Marc Breitsprecher”

 

Though they had the old coins to copy from, the style of past emperors' portraits on most of these contorniates are still (unsurprisingly) a little "off". But yeah, it would seem Nero was still hugely popular centuries after his death.

Quite a good number of these contorniates had palm fronds engraved onto them, probably in reference to festive celebrations or sporting games. The contorniate that was in Dr Walker's Nomos auction was a much nicer and more interesting one than mine, and waaay beyond my pay scale. That Nero tetradrachm is fantastic, btw, thanks for showing it!

I think you're right about this one falling into the "impossible" category...


Septimius Severus. AE Diobol
Obv: Head of Sept. Severus r., laureate.
Rev: Representation of a "theoxenion" (lectisternium). From right to left on a couch covered with cushions stretched r. hand; Harpocrates facing, reclining to l., his head turned towards Sarapis; Isis with cornucopiae and scptre; Demeter holding torch in r. hand, with l. outstretched; Hermanubis. Below the couch three niches; in the central one, Tyche reclining to l. on a couch.

In any case, I'll be keeping an eye out for a Severan snake cowboy for you!

It's a hard life but someone's gotta live it. I still can't get over Uncle Billy and that $8000!

Thank you for the compliment! It helped that I managed to win coins that were easy to write about.

Thanks, Brian. I couldn't forget your hilarious term of endearment for her and just had to bring it up. Love that Price 385 with the snake control mark!

 

Love the Aries coin of Pius and the frog as well. Don't see frogs pop up on coins very often. On the Aries type that is quite a score. There was one in the Leu auction from the Rhakotis collection that I bid on but missed. Great example for the price. The aureus is just cool featuring the jugate bust of Sol and Probus.

 

Amazing year and thanks so much for sharing your thoughts on the coins. Both incredibly enlightening and hilarious
If any three of those fell Off a truck and into my greedy grubbers I'd have to go with that MASSIVE stingray(are you kidding!?!) that I didn't even know existed on ancients from Hatria, any coin that has ATG's momma is something special and of course to be part of the snake cowboys club!
Though, I am a junior member

 

Great selections, @zumbly.

Your snake cowboy is surely my favorite. Look at the muscles of the horse and the snake! An energetic snake rider and a running horse.

Your other pickups are equally nice. I agree that your Domitian AE As (#9) has great reverse design. Same for your Nero and Olympia piece (#3). Being a plate coin, I think your Probus aureus is a great addition.

 

Wonderful as always, @zumbly ! Such an interesting selection, and some truly great additions to your “zoo”. My favorites are the A. Pius zodiac drachm, the Nero contorniate, the huge cast bronze piece with the stingray, and the fantastic reverse on that Domitian bronze.

I also loved that entire collection of Civil War denarii from Leu…I put in a few very strong bids (which all got clobbered), but I’m happy to see you were able to land such a good one from that sale.

 

Your Zodiac drachm is a superb coin, but there's a lot to like in every coin on your list. Congratulations on a wonderful year!

 

A lot of us spent most of the coin year on the mat.

However, when your (arguably) least interesting Top 10 coin is a freakin' A-Pi zodiac series drachm in pretty darn good condition for the type, it's fair to say you had fantastic year despite the challenges!

I'm with you on the fugly factor! Doesn't deter me at all if there are other compelling things about a coin .

Wheeeeeee!

Great coin .

The Alexandrian frog... well, you know how envious I am of that one! But are we sure it's a frog? The L I legend probably stands for [sea] LI[on], although recent scholarship suggests it might be a blundered monogram of Brutus .



Just jokes. Clearly it's an Egyptian wolf frog, Anura lupus.

Sigh. Another I must now find. That's the best camel depiction I've seen on an ancient coin.

Gotta hate you a little for this one because I want it! I'm still not sure what the reverse critter is. As you and Sev and I discussed, it is a stingray or skate, or is it a monkfish? A guitarfish? All are possible. Regardless... want.

What an unexpected and fabulous find! A rare type of aureus, ex Biaggi, Calico plate coin? You're living a charmed life, my friend .

YeeeHAH! Wow, the details on this one are incredible! Glad it went to family .



The Snake Cowboy Code requires that I post the Domitian but I'll refrain from posting the other half dozen .


EGYPT, Alexandria. Domitian. Regnal year 10, CE 90/91. Æ diobol (25mm, 10.86 g, 12h). AVT KAICAP ΔΟ ΜΙΤ CEB ΓΕΡΜ, laureate head right / Agathodaemon serpent, wearing the skhent crown (emblematic of upper and lower Egypt), on horseback galloping left; L I (date) below. Köln –; Dattari (Savio) –; K&G 24.109; RPC II 2585; SNG Copenhagen 214; Emmett 277.10 (R5). https://www.cointalk.com/threads/so-these-exist-snake-cowboys.314032/

Ex Giovanni Maria Staffieri Collection. Ex West Coast/Lloyd Beauchaine Collection (Classical Numismatic Group 41, 19 March 1997), lot 1110; Classical Numismatic Review Vol. XVI, No. 1 (January 1991), lot 316; Numismatic Fine Arts Fall Mail Bid Sale (18 October 1990), lot 2365.

Appearances: Staffieri, Alexandria In Nummis 39 (this coin). Obverse illustrated in Emmett as the header for the Domitian section, p. 24 (this coin); fully illustrated in Emmett, p. 26 (this coin, discussing the unusual reverse).

...

Congrats on the fine year, Z, and it's always a pleasure seeing your posts!

(Forgot to comment on that Domitian-- perhaps my favorite of his Imperial issues. Love that reverse scene!)