Curtisimo's Top 10 Coins of 2021

2021 was a really good year for my collection. Interestingly, I managed to add some coins I have been after for years while I missed on several coins I thought would be easy to add. I had 13 coins that were serious contenders for my Top 10 this year. You can see the other three posted to the Top 10 Index thread:

• 13 My Most Obvious Overstrike
• 12 A Philip Tet to Complete the Set
• 11 A beautiful LIFETIME Faustina

My below list contains;

• 6 Greek and 4 Roman coins
• 8 Silver coins, 1 gold coin and 1 bronze coin
• 6 coins with respectable provenance and 3 coins with an excellent provenance
• 10 coins I like very much

As with my previous lists I hope you will all consider voting for your three favorite coins. Please feel free to comment and add anything relevant from your collection as well.

10 The Myth of Europa

Crete, Gortyna
AR stater, struck ca. 330-270 BC
Dia.: 27.5 mm
Wt.: 11.58 g
Obv.: Europa seated right in lefeless plane-tree, holding branches of tree with both hands
Rev.: Bull standing right, head turned back, scratching muzzle with hoof.
Ex Karl Kress (before 1969); ex @zumbly Collection

Most of us are familiar with the Myth of Zeus’s abduction of Europa by taking the form of a Bull. However, in the Cretan city of Gortyna there was a local legend that took the myth even further. Near Gortyna there was a plane tree near a spring that never lost its leaves year round. The local legend was that it was under this tree that Zeus spent the night with Europa. The coins of Gortyna can be taken together to tell the story. Europa starts out seated in a lifeless tree (like my example), she then interacts with and symbolically pairs with an eagle meant to represent Zeus. In the last of the die variants she is wearing a crown and holding a scepter while seated next to the eagle in a tree that is now in full bloom.

The fact that this coin adds detail to a well-known myth makes it absolutely fascinating to me. This coin type can get very pricy, even in lower grades, so I was especially happy to add an example that has everything I look for in a coin. The coin is of excellent metal, is well centered and retains enough of the design to showcase the artistry. It also has a provenance that goes back at least to the 1960 and includes the collection of my CT friend Z!


This is a statue of Europa and Zeus as a bull from the British Museum. It was excavated at the ruins of Gortyna in 1862.

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9 The Wrestlers of Aspendos

PAMPHYLIA, Aspendos
AR Stater, Aspendos mint, struck ca. 380-325 BC
Dia.: 22.1 mm
Wt.: 10.62 g
Obv.: Two wrestlers; the left one holds the left arm of his opponent with both hands, the opponent grasping with right hand his right wrist; no control in between legs.
Rev.: Slinger, wearing short chiton, discharging sling to right; Π in between legs; on right, triskeles to right, EΣTFEΔIIVΣ behind, all within dotted square; c/m: wolf running left in rectangular incuse.
Ref.: BMC 52; SNG Copenhagen 214; Tekin Series 4
Ex Harlan J. Berk (private sale September 21, 2015); Ex Minotaur Coins; Ex @zumbly Collection

I am fascinated by sports in the ancient world. Wrestling was extremely popular in Ancient Greece and was the first sport added to the Olympic Games that was not a foot-race. We don’t have any names of famous wrestlers from Aspendos but considering how long this type remained the primary iconography of the city’s coins there must have been a strong connection to wrestling or a famous wrestler from the city. This coin is probably about as close as I can get to a front row seat at the ancient Olympics. In the case of this coin even close enough to recognize that the wrestler on the left ate too much gassy food before this match…

This coin has great toning and detail and is well centered. The flatness on the obverse caused by the countermark is more than made up for by the great detail on the rest of the coin. The provenance to Harlan J Berk and @zumbly is also a plus.


This is a relief that was repurposed as part of the Themistoklean Walls at Athens. It shows wrestlers engaged in competition similar to the coin design. It dates from ca. 510 – 500 BC. (Photo from Wikipedia Commons)

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8 The Trial of the Vestal Virgins

Roman Republican
Q. Cassius Longinus, moneyer
AR Denarius, Rome mint, struck 55 BC
Dia.: 20.2 mm
Wt.: 3.95g
Obv.: Head of Libertas right, wearing hair collected into a knot, decorated with jewels, and falling down neck, and wearing single-drop earring and necklace of pendants; LIBERT upward to left, Q • CASSIVS downward to right.
Rev.: Temple of Vesta, circular, surmounted by figure holding scepter and patera, flanked by antefixes; curule chair within; urn to left, tabella (voting tablet) [inscribed AC (Absolvo Condemno)] to right.
Ref.: Crawford 428/2; Sydenham 918
Ex Prof Dr Hildebrecht Hommel Collection, acquired from Hirsch, Auction 63 (July 1969), lot 2454; Ex Dr. Busso Peus Nachf., Auction 422 (April 26, 2018), lot 424 (part of); Ex Kölner Münzkabinet Auction 109, Lot 360 (November 16, 2018)

This coin references one of the most famous trials in Roman history. In 113 BC two Vestal Virgins were put on trial for breaking their vow of chastity (a third had already been convicted in 115 BC). The trial took place in the Temple of Vesta. Jurors were asked to deposit a tabella with either “ABSOLVO” or “CONDEMNO” written on it into an amphora in order to cast their vote. The Vestals were found guilty and were buried alive! On the reverse of the coin we see the temple, the amphora and the tabella.

This coin is slightly off center and has some honest circulation wear that has worn off the “A” and “C” from the tabella but in my opinion it still has great eye appeal and looks really nice in hand. The provenance to the Hommel Collection with a sales record from 1969 is a big plus for this coin in my book.


Photos of the Temple of Vesta in the Roman Forum. (Author’s photos)

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7 Realistic Roman Portraiture

Roman Empire
Faustina II, daughter of Antoninus Pius and wife of Marcus Aurelius
AE Sestertius, Rome mint, struck ca. AD 156
Dia.: 33mm
Wt.: 26.11g
Obv.: FAVSTINA AVGVSTA AVG PII F; Draped bust right
Rev.: S-C; Diana standing left, holding bow and arrow
Ref.: C 206; RIC A. Pius 1383; BMCRE 2194
From a European Collection formed in the 1980s with tag

Realistic personal portraiture is one of the art forms in which Roman artists substantially excelled their Greek counterparts. This may be partially due to the tradition in Italy of creating imagines. These were wax models of the facial features of prominent people made during that person’s lifetime or just after their death. These imagines were kept as heirlooms by distinguished families and were worn by actors during funerals in remembrance of the honored ancestor… creepy! An imago was made by pressing a person’s face into the wax to capture an exact likeness and so idealization was impossible. The realism we see in Roman personal portraiture was probably influenced by this strange practice.

The portrait on this anepigraphic sestertius is one of my favorites in my collection. The portrait is well rendered enough that through comparison I am quite confident that this coin is actually a portrait of Faustina I paired with a legend for Faustina II.


Left: Statue of Faustina I at the Getty Villa. Right: Statue of Faustina II in the National Museum in Rome. (Author’s photos)

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6 The Paeonian Cavalry

Kings of Paeonia
Patraos (c. 335-315 BC)
AR Tetradrachm, mint at Astibos or Damastion.
Dia.: 24 mm, 1 h
Wt.: 12.93 g
Obv.: Laureate head of Apollo right
Rev.: Warrior on horse rearing r., spearing enemy warrior who defends with shield and spear.
Ref.: Paeonian Hoard 493-9; HGC 3, 148

This coin is roughly contemporary with the conquests of Alexander the Great and shows a fascinating depiction of an important and often overlooked element of his unstoppable army… the light cavalry. Because the light cavalry was lighter and quicker than the more famous Companion Cavalry it was used for scouting missions as well as to protect the Phalanx and Companion Cavalry against enemy cavalry. At the battle of Gaugamela it was the light cavalry that defeated the Persian heavy cavalry and routed the Persian left flank.

The sources make a distinction of the light cavalry between the Paeonian Cavalry and the sarissophoroi (or prodromoi). This indicates that the Paeonians made up an especially important part of this unit. The specifics of what is actually happening on the reverse of this coin is interesting enough that it deserves its own write up. Below is a fascinating painting from an ancient Macedonian tomb that shows the same scene as seen on the coins.

This coin is beautiful. It has great artistry, great toning and it is probably the second highest relief coin in my collection (after my #1 shown below). It seems almost unfair to keep this coin out of my Top 5 but…


Painting found on the Kinch Tomb ca. 300 BC. (Photo courtesy of Wikipedia Commons)

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5 Et tu, Brute?

Roman Republic
M. Junius Brutus
AR Denarius, Rome mint, struck 54 BC
Dia.: 20.5 mm
Wt.: 3.56 g
Obv.: LIBERTAS; Head of Liberty right
Rev.: BRVTVS; Consul L. Junius Brutus walking left between two lictors, each carrying fasces over shoulder, preceded by accensus
Ref.: Crawford 433/1, Sydenham 906, Sear 397
Ex Michael Kelly Collection

This coin barely needs any introduction. It was struck under the authority of Julius Caesar’s assassin, Marcus Junius Brutus, when he was Moneyer in 54 BC. The reverse commemorates his famous ancestor Lucius Junius Brutus who helped found the republic in 509 BC by ousting the last king of Rome.

This coin has nice detail, good centering and beautiful toning. BRVTVS is clearly legible. This coin is very worthy of its Top 5 spot and sometimes oscillates into the #4 spot depending on my mood.


A statue often attributed as L. Junius Brutus (The famous co-founder of the Roman Republic). Bronze statue in the Capitoline Museum in Rome. (Author’s photo)

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4 The Golden Mystery

SKYTHIA, Geto-Dacians
Koson
AV Stater, struck mid-1st century BC
Dia.: 20 mm
Wt.: 8.35 g
Obv.: ΚΟΣΩΝ; Roman consul accompanied by two lictors advancing left; monogram to left
Rev. Eagle standing left on scepter, holding wreath.
Ref.: RPC I 1701A; HGC 3, 2049; BMC Vol. III Thrace 1 (pg. 208)
Formerly slabbed by NGC

This famous coin copies the design of the Brutus denarius shown as my #5. I am only barely exaggerating when I say that is about all that is known for certain about it. We recently had a great and on-going discussion about this coin in my write up here. Some of the theories are that it was struck by Brutus, a king named Koson that was either Dacian, Thracian or Skythian… it was probably just aliens.


The eagle on the reverse is copied from a rare Republican denarius. The eagle iconography was popular in Roman art. This bronze eagle is in the Getty Villa in Malibu. (Author’s photo)

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3 Agathokles of Syracuse

Sicily, Syracuse
Agathokles, AR Tetradrachm
Dia.: 26 mm
Wt.: 17.19 g
Obv.: KOΡAΣ Head of Kore to right, wearing grain wreath and pendant earring.
Rev.: AΓAΘOKΛEIOΣ Nike, bare to the waist, standing right, attaching armor to trophy to her right, she holds a nail in her right hand and a hammer in her left; to left, triskeles of legs running to right.
Ref.: Ierardi 143/141 (O38/R95). SNG ANS 674 (same obverse die). An unrecorded die combination; toned.
Ex W. F. Stoecklin (1888-1975) acquired in Taormina, Sicily, in 1931.

This coin type was issued by Agathokles of Syracuse and it come in two distinct styles. One style is considered an artistic masterpiece (you can see why by checking out @happy_collector ‘s example here). My coin is of the second style but what it sacrifices in elegance it makes up for in historic interest. At the time this coin was minted Agathokles was locked in a brutal struggle with Carthage for the control of Sicily. Agathokles transported his army to Africa where he took the fight to Carthage. Unlike Scipio a century later he wasn’t quite up to the task. He was defeated and had to retreat. One theory is that coins of this style were struck at a mobile mint in Africa to pay his soldiers while on campaign (the two styles don’t share any reverse dies as far as I know). There is some debate about this but I find the possibility quite fascinating.

I like the history, style and design of this coin. It has a 90 year provenance from the Stoecklin Collection going back to 1931. In fact, this is the 5th year in a row that a Stoecklin coin has been in my Top 5… will the streak continue next year?


This coin is the first instance I know of where the “Nike setting up a trophy” motif was used on a coin. There was, however, an artistic precedent illustrated by this amphora from the Boston Museum of Fine Art that dates to Athens ca. 450 – 400 BC. This is one of the best examples I can think of that shows how coins represent ancient art just as much as statues or vases.

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2 How the Spartans Paid for the Peloponnesian War

SIKYONIA, Sikyon
AR Stater, struck ca. 431-400 BC
Dia.: 26mm, 7h
Wt.: 12.03 g
Obv.: Chimaera advancing right; ΣE below
Rev.: Dove flying right; bow above tail feathers; all within olive wreath.
Ref.: BCD Peloponnesos 193; HGC 5, 188 corr. var. (incorrect photo and citation; ethnic).
Ex Sigmund Collection.

Sparta famously coined no money until well after the end of the classical period. However, because Spartans made up only a small part of the Peloponnesian army during the Peloponnesian War it still required coins to pay for mercenaries. The Spartans at full strength made up only about 1/3 of the army at Mantinea for example. The Peloponnesian mercenaries came largely from Arkadia and would expect to be paid in money coined on the Aeginetan standard. Coins of Aegina were the dominant currency of the Peloponnesus but Aegina’s minting activities came to an end in 431 BC when Athens occupied the city and expelled its citizens. Corinth seemed an obvious solution for a communal mint but Corinth had its own weight standard and would not want to change it and complicate its trade interests in the west. Sparta was also probably distrustful of putting too much influence in the hands of Corinth by allowing it control of the bullion reserves.

That is where Sikyon comes in. This city was small enough not to pose a threat to Spartan hegemony and yet close enough to Corinth to give that city a measure of influence. It has been suggested that the treasury at Olympia was used as a silver source to coin the money needed for the war (Persian money would only come late in the war).

These coins were used by the Spartan alliance to pay the soldiers that fought in one of the most famous conflicts in ancient history. This coin is the natural companion and counterpart of the mass emission Athenian owl. These early Peloponnesian War types are much rarer than the later coins of similar design. I have been looking for just the right example for years. Back in 2018 I started negotiations with a dealer on a great example but walked away because we were too far apart. I have regretted it ever since. Call it a grail coin, call it a white whale or call it whatever you like… I am just glad to have added this excellent coin to my collection this year.

The obverse of these staters shows the monster, Chimera, who was slain by Bellerophon with the help of Pegasus.


This wine cup was actually made in Sparta ca. 570 BC! It shows Bellerophon and Pegasus battling the Chimera. I am not sure what the connection of Bellerophon to Sikyon was but perhaps he was consciously adopted as a Pelopponesian-wide hero in the same mold as Theseus for Attica. (Author’s photo)

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1 A Wonder of the Ancient World

Satraps of Caria
Maussolos
AR Tetradrachm, Halikarnassus mint, struck ca. 377 - 352 BC
Dia.: 23 mm
Wt.: 15.06 g
Obv.: Laureate head of Apollo facing three-quarters right
Rev.: MAYΣΣΩΛΛO, Zeus Labraundos standing right
Ref.: BMC 1 var; SNG Von Aulock 2359 var.; Traité II, 91
Ex Roma Auction II, lot 302 (Oct. 2, 2011)

It is a short and distinguished list of ancient people whose names have given us widely known words in the English language. One of the stranger people on that list is King Maussolos of Caria. He is best known to history for his tomb, the Mausoleum at Hallicarnassus, which was numbered one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. Maussolos may have started planning and constructing his tomb before his death but it was his widow, Artemisia, who spared no expense in turning it into a wonder. When she also died two years later Pliny the Elder says that the craftsmen decided to stay and finish the building as a memorial to art. The building was finished under Maussolos’s brother Irideas and remained standing into the late 15th century AD.

I can only imagine that a 3/4 facing portrait would be incredibly difficult to execute for a die cutter. Even slight mistakes can make the portrait look unnatural. I have wanted one of these coins issued under Maussolos for quite some time but I wanted to wait for an example with a natural looking portrait of Apollo. This portrait definitely meets my expectations and in my opinion the reverse die is just as artistically rendered (Zeus’s foot has all of his toes and a natural looking ankle bone!). This is the highest relief coin in my collection and is an absolute delight in-hand. With a combination of historic significance and artistic ambition this coin just barely edges out my #2 for my favorite coin of 2021… at least for the moment.

 

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Amazing year, @Curtisimo ! Likem all!

Sometimes, when all the coins are good, there are no favorite.

 

Excellent group here @Curtisimo
While all the coins are great, I think #6 is outstanding and one of the best of the type I have seen.

 

you have a great collection. I think the obverse of #1 and the reverse of #6 are the best.

 

Wonderful selections, @Curtisimo!

All 10 coins are my favorites. I really enjoy reading your additional information regarding each of your coins. Makes me loving your Maussolos tetradrachm (#1) and Sikyon stater (#2) a lot. I also like the history and design of your Agathokles tetradrachm (#3) as well. The reverse design of your Patraos tetradrachm is stunning and dynamic. Beautiful coin.

 

Excellent coins and an entertaining read. Well done.

My favourite is the Sikyon stater. It's a type I would like but always seem to get outbid on at auction.

 

Great coins, Curtis, though I admit I'm a little partial to a few of these on your list . Your writeups invariably make the coins even more interesting, and the Koson in particular was one I picked as a favourite for that reason. I love the Brutus as well, and am glad that it's in your collection now. My third pick was the Sikyon... I love these chimera staters and yours is a a truly outstanding example. It says alot that I had to leave out the Maussolos, a type that's high on my own want list. I think yours is fantastic! Congrats on your excellent coin year, my friend!

 

A truly wonderful group. Very difficult to choose. I voted for 1, 2, and 5. But could easily have picked a half-dozen others as well. The reverse of 6 deserves special mention, as does the portrait on 7. Which does look a little more like Faustina I facially, but that's clearly a Faustina II hairstyle.

If this was our final list, it's a worthy one!

 

Wow Curtis, what a year !
I'm with the crowd, and voted #6, what an extraordinary reverse !!




#5 (well, Brutus, you know...)



...and #1 (my absolute favorite from your selection aswell)




Now I have to say Geat(ish) is no more appropriate ----> you should remove the (ish)

Happy new year my friend, hoping 2022 will bring joy in every field of your life
Q

 

@Curtisimo ...Wow!....What a lovely selection....#2 The Chimaera detail is beautifully rendered...#5 The Brutus, toning and detail, great eye appeal....#6 The paeonia reverse has amazing movement and super reverse detail...As others have said though a very difficult 10 to only pick 3...Thoroughly enjoyed the write ups too thanks....Congrats on a great 12 months of collecting! Thanks for sharing.

 

Curtis, it was a great year for you ! Based on style, execution, & condition, your Maussolos Tet, #1 is my favorite . If a collector was looking for one great Greek coin this one would be a good choice . My 2nd favorite would be #7, the Faustina sestertius with the beautiful portrait . Fortunately the surface roughness didn't spread to the portrait. Can you honestly call the reverse of this coin anepigraphic with the abbreviated S C inscription ? My 3rd favorite is #5, the Brutus denarius. I've been on the lookout for an affordable example of this coin type for years to go with my Koson stater without any luck .

 

Congrats Curtisimo , I voted 1 & 2 and number 6. That chimaera stater is awsome , I only have a chimaera hemidrachma but I love it:



chimaera history in a nutshell:

 

A fantastic year for your collection, @Curtisimo! All of these coins are museum quality, to be sure, but I'm partial to Roman coins and thus my favorites were the temple of Vesta denarius, the Faustina II sestertius, and the Brutus denarius.

You might be interested in this article I did last year, but note that I have subsequently learned about unpublished research from Curtis Clay that determined the FAVSTINA AVGVSTA AVG PII F obverse legend was in use from 1 Jan 156 through July or August 156 and the dating of these coins can be known with greater precision than when I wrote the article. The short duration of this legend and placement in the chronological sequence is confirmed by Beckmann. This obverse titulature was limited to a single aureus reverse type -- Venus standing holding apple and scepter -- in a short die chain (die chain 4) and is followed immediately by the FAVSTINA AVGVSTA legend in die chain 5, (Beckmann, pp. 49-52).

Moreover, the existence of this mule demonstrates this anepigraphic Diana type with the FAVSTINA AVGVSTA AVG PII F obverse legend was the last in production in bronze when the obverse inscription changed to FAVSTINA AVGVSTA and the filiation was moved to the reverse c. August, AD 156.

On the basis of style, I have to wonder if the die-engraver who engraved your obverse die in mid-156 ...



... was the same engraver responsible for this one in my collection dating to c. August, AD 160, after the birth of Cornificia.

 

..outstanding coins @Curtisimo !

 

What a great year for you! A most excellent Top 10, even if it is a few days late...

It was a tough choice, but I went with 3, 5, and 1.

 

Curtis....amazing years haul! My 3 picks are 9, 6, 4

I do think that the KΟΣΩΝ Stater was struck by Brutus and his travelling mint to pay the men.

Wish You and Loved Ones, a Wonderfull 2022
John

 

A fantastic selection, elevated by the provided stories . Congrats on the interesting year!

Faves:

The Maussolos tet-- I mean, who wouldn't want that coin? Great portrait, great strike, great preservation, great history. Definitely deserves the top spot on the list.

Sikyon stater-- nice early type

Cassius Longinus denarius-- great story

Beautiful portrait of Faustina Jr on that sestertius .

 

Sweet Zeus you've wrinkled my brain with your AWESOME year


That King Maussolos is just about perfection and so steeped in history.
As well, your Agathokles is pretty hard to stop staring at
And now you have a Macedonian shield coin that I don't yet have with your Paeonian beauty. If the dates are correct these coins could actually have portrayed Macedonian shields on coins before Macedonians
And good gods talk about an action scene
Good historical reminder about the coins of Sikyon helping fund the Peloponnese forces.
I just got mine last month!.. though, it's dated directly after the close of the war:

Sikyonia. Sikyon circa 400-323 BC.
Hemidrachm AR

As well, @Curtisimo @AncientJoe and I all picked up our best looking coins from Gortyna last year

 

Curtis,

Wow you had a great year! So many really nice coins with nice history and provenance. I would have scooped them all up myself. Lol. My favorites are number 1, 2 and 3. I can see we have very similar taste. I hope you have an equally successful 2022 and you will be on your way to building a really fantastic collection.

John

 

They all are so magnificent and historical. I hope next year is even better for you!