[Ancients] Top 10 Index

We currently have 84 Top 10 lists. The number of lists this year has been daunting and I have been utilizing my own index quite a bit to make sure I have read all of the lists that have been posted (though I am a bit behind ). Hopefully others are finding it helpful as well.

As such I am going to bump this thread again by counting down to the last of my "almost made it" coins of 2021. Please feel free to post yours (or anything relevant) if you have a mind to.

11 A Beautiful LIFETIME Faustina

Roman Empire
Faustina I
AR Denarius, Rome mint, struck AD 139-140
Dia.: 18 mm
Wt.: 2.77 g
Obv.: FAVSTINA AVGVSTA; Draped bust right.
Rev.: CONCORDIA AVG; Concordia standing left, holding patera and cornucopia.
Ref.: RIC 335 (Antoninus Pius)
Ex Collection of a Hanseatic Roman-friend. Ex Auktion Münzzentrum 94, Lot 420 (Cologne; May 13, 1998)

This is probably my favorite coin to not make a Top 10 list in all the years I have done one. Most coins of Faustina I were struck after her death and the fact that this coin was struck during her lifetime adds a lot of interest for me. I bought this coin as part of my effort to collect all of the empresses of the Nerva-Antonine Dynasty in silver. Even though I already had a few posthumous Faustina coins with interesting reverses I like the idea of adding lifetime coins when possible.

The coin is perfectly centered, well struck, well engraved and beautifully toned. It also has a respectable provenance back to the 1990s.

Good effort Faustina… you just barely missed the mark.

 

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That is a fine specimen, looking forward to your list

 

@Curtisimo.......Wow!...And that didn't make it!....Sweet looking coin and really like the toning obviously along with the detail...Super coin!
Here's an A.P as that didn't make it for me although quite close!
Antoninus Pius AD 138-161. Æ As (27.1mm, 8.14 g.)
Rome mint, struck AD 139.
Obv. Laureate head right.
Rev. Fortuna standing left, holding rudder and cornucopia.
RIC II 533c (scarce)
Nice VF, good portrait.
Green patina.
Scarce 139 AD emission, without globe and COS II rather than COS III.

 

What a nice lifetime Faustina I denarius, @Curtisimo. Great toning also. You should include it into your top 10 list somehow. Maybe as "coin 10b", or group it with one of your top 10 coins as some sort of "coin pair".

Here is a lifetime Faustina I bronze I picked up early this year. Similar to your denarius, this coin "almost made it" to my top 10 list. The reason: a Faustina II took its spot.

 

I'm looking forward to your Top 10, Curtis. That's a fantastic Faustina (I really need more coins of hers). And is it my imagination or does Concordia on the reverse bear a more than passing resemblance to Faustina's husband Antoninus Pius?

 

Thanks Shogun!

Thanks @Spaniard ! Love that A-Pi! I don’t know what the term for the coin die equivalent of “photogenic” would be but A-Pi seems to have it. He has some very nice portraits and your coin is a good example.

Thanks @happy_collector ! Coming from a Faustina connoisseur such as yourself I take that as quite the compliment. Your aurei from this year and your sestertii from last year are in a league of their own.

Don’t worry though. I still have both Faustinas covered in my Top 10

No doubt about it...

...you can’t expect any self respecting emperor to not put himself on the coin SOMEWHERE.

 

We have 92 lists so far this year! We are going to come very close to our record of 101 set last year.

If the Top 10s were shown on the forum without any other content the oldest ones would still be on page 5! As such I’ll continue to update and bump this thread (despite being out of almost-made-it ancient coins) until we have everyone’s list captured.

This medal is not ancient and as such it was not eligible for inclusion in my Top 10. However, I bought it as a companion to one of my medieval coins and I like it very much. I picked up an interest in Ragusa (Modern Dubrovnik) after I visited that beautiful city a few years ago.



Even though ancient coins will always be my focus, if I ever decided to branch out into a side collection it would probably be 19th century and older European medals. Many of them are quite beautiful and quite impressive in hand. This one is 50mm in diameter! I also enjoy the depiction of the ancient inspired kithara on the reverse. .

Here is my medieval coin from the same city (needs a new photo I think).


...and a gratuitous photo of the city from my trip there.

 

I was trying to collect 10 snake coins this year, in order to create a "Top 10" theme-specific collection. I concentrated on "large-size" snakes, and excluded those smaller-size Salus-fed serpents. Well, I ended up with only 6. I guess they can be categorized as some sort of "almost made it".

 

A not ancient bump but my other collecting interest, I call it Hybrid modern with ancient architecture1418605[/ATTACH]
Thanks John, haven't received yet but mails very slow at the moment.

 

Still wasn't enough to get it to the top of the ancients board cause there's a guy with a moustache there, but I knew you would like it Curtis that's why I put an early bid on to put you off, thanks.

 

Those are great! It looks like you had a pretty awesome year. Your collection has both high end dream coins as well as more humble but interesting coins. That is an admirable way to collect and I tip my hat to your excellent taste.

I like your Etenna. A fascinating little coin of a mysterious lost myth. I added one too this year.

PISIDIA, Etenna
AE19, Etenna mint, struck ca. 1st century BC
Dia.: 19.3 mm
Wt.: 3.32 g
Obv.: Naked nymph/woman standing to front, legs crossed, entwined by serpent; at her feet to left, a vase.
Rev.: E-T, sickle-shaped knife.
Ref.: SNG Cop 146
Ex Minotaur Coins

That’s really cool AA. Sometimes I will pick up modern coins that have ancient themes or people so I can see how ancient building would be very appealing. Especially for you and your excellent architecture collection my friend!

Alexander the Great


Aristotle


Homer


Solon


Nothing against Euro collectors but for my taste European coins lost a lot of their charm when the Euro was introduced.

 

I was doing pretty well keeping up with year end summary posts but as expected, now that we're actually at the year's end there has been a big flurry and I'm at least a dozen posts behind. Hopefully today I'll catch up... at least with the ones already posted (more are likely to hit the board today). This year I want to make sure I see everyone's list, and comment. If after today I've somehow missed your post, please feel free to send me a PM .

Looks like a banner year for CoinTalk Ancients based on the number of year-end posts and quality of material!

I've been trying to find time to present an interesting coin but don't know when I'll get to it. Same for my 2021 Top Ten list. Maybe this weekend .

Meanwhile, here are a couple that don't make the top 10 but I like them... like them so much that these are my 3rd and 4th examples of the type .





Might as well show the other two

 

As a coincidence it's brother The Imperial Baths of Trier built under Diocletian came in the post yesterday. they must have made trillions of these to only cost $7 over a hundred years later.

 

Just to bump this to page one, here's a coin I bought recently but will only have in hand in a few days, i.e. in 2022 now (not something standing out, yet adding to my Diana Lucifera side collection)



Q

 

At 103 Top 10 lists we have officially beat the record of 101 set last year.

My guess is we will still have at least a few more this year so I will continue to update the thread to make sure I capture them all.

Thats awesome AA!

Lovely Diana Q!