THE 2021 top 10: A serious retrospective of Sextus, coins and rock n roll!

At the end of last year I said that I would get some more aesthetically pleasing coins and more Greeks in 2021... what an awful year to gun for pretty coins and 6 of my top 10 are Roman denarii.
Don't worry. I still have at least one or two ugly little chocked full off history gems for you all, but this year's top 10 is decidedly a hats off to the die engravers. (NOT celetors! That is a VERY specific term to die engravers from a specific time and town in Sicily.)
I had a really hard time not picking any MSCs here, but did already spoil you all with my early year end MSC thread: https://www.cointalk.com/threads/no...that-i-bought-this-year-top-ten-alert.390207/

I may have greater coins, more expensive or prettier, or historically impactful, heck, I bought my first gold and lifetime Julius Caesar portraits this year and they didn't make mustard. However, these are the coins that I picked today.

My last major coin acquisition of 2021 eeks in at #10, however could just as easily came in at #1 despite being the ugliest of the bunch.
Possibly the most important, influential and well known woman in history (whoes more? Livia Augusta, Joan of Ark, Oprah???)
Despite the overcleaning the portrait gives enough of a hint that power and personality may have been what seduced Caesar and Antony.
#10 Cleopatra, the Kardashian of her times, VII:


Cleopatra VII Thea Neotera, 51-30 BC. 40 Drachmai or Obol (Bronze, 20 mm, 8.61 g, 12 h), Alexandria. Diademed and draped bust of Cleopatra VII to right. Rev. BACIΛIC[CHC KΛEO]ΠATΡAC Eagle standing left on thunderbolt with wings closed; to left, cornucopiae; to right, value mark M (= 40). SNG Copenhagen 422-4. Svoronos 1872. Weiser 184. Patina stripped and heavily brushed, otherwise, fine.
From a European collection, formed before 2005. Purchased from Leu Numismatik Dec 2021

Maybe the most beau-TIF-ul coin and rarestof this here list come from a land that even Alexander the Great himself could not reach nor subdue.
Keeping in mind there is still HEATED debate on the exact iconography. @zumbly reminds us, "I suspect some misattribution, though admittedly my only basis is that they seem to depict a winged murloc rather than an iguana, and that species is indigenous to Azeroth."
Learn more at the first post here on coin talk on the subject, page 2 is where things get intense: https://www.cointalk.com/threads/hear-no-evil-see-no-evil.269689/
I would add a possible connection with these ancients and those of TIFopalus hip-hopalus.
#9 A coin type that YOU don't have... unless your @TIF ... or me


TIFFILY, Tiphonia
c. 5th century BCE
AR 17, 7.4 gm
Obv: Forepart of winged iguana left
Rev: Monogram within dotted square, incuse
Ref: SNG 2,
Note: Metallurgic analysis shows this unusual coin to be 99.9% pure silver yet oddly porous.
Ex @TIF collection

I LOVE this coin. I HATE this coin. But either way, it's gonna stay in my collection a long time.
Not only does Ant Pius hair (after two decades of rule) look like a wavy comb-over they remind of

And, of course, my Michael Sera looking, preteen, Marcus Aurelius gets more and more beautiful as you zoom in. The curly hair, the severe look and the stare give hints of maybe the greatest philosophers, led alone emperors, of all time.
#8 THE Dynamic Duo; Antoninus Aurelius:

Antoninus Pius and Marcus Aurelius. Denarius. Minted 140 CE Ob. : ANTONINVS AVG. PIVS PP TR. P. COS. III. Antoninus Pius bare head to the right. Rev .: AVRELIVS CAESAR AVG. P. III F. COS. Marcus Aurelius bare head on the right. 3.13 grs. Slight skates skates. EBC / Antoninus Pius and Marcus Aurelius. Light uneven patina and extremely fine. C-21a; RIC-415c; BMC-148. Former Martí Hervera - December 10, 2002, n. 801. Purchased from Soler y Llach, Coleccion Scipio, Oct 2021

Talk about just dripping with, oozing, just downright being sloppy with history.
Exhibit A: A profile of Rome's greatest general until Caesar. Also known as one of the most handsome men in Rome (though with hard fighting, hard living, hard drinking and hard loving they say Pomps didn't age well.
Exhibit B: The coin was minted by his son, Sextusual, to honor his father and to drum up support. Mind you, having to resort to piracy we get the obligatory sucking up to the God (and frankly, we can never get enough images of Poseidon on coin whom is woefully hard to come by) of the sea on the reverse... but what a wild scene it is.
Exhibit C: In the pseudo-Virgilian poem "Aetna". Lycurgus retells the story thus: "It is said that in Sicily a river of fire erupted forth from Etna flowing throughout the area and towards one nearby city in particular; everyone tried to flee in an attempt to save themselves, but one young man, on seeing that his elderly father was unable to run from the torrent of lava, which had almost reached him, lifted the old man up onto his shoulders and carried him away. Weighed down by his burden, I think, the lava flow caught up with him too. Here, one can observe the benevolence of the gods towards virtuous men: the story says that the fire encircled the area and that they alone were saved. As a result, the place was dubbed ‘seat of the pious’, a name it still retains. The others who, in their haste to flee, abandoned their parents, all met a painful death."
#7: Sextus Pomps pops while Poseidon stomps:


Sextus Pompeius.
Denarius, Sicily circa 42-40, AR 19.6 mm, 3.19 g. MAG·PIVS·IMP·ITER Head of Cn. Pompeius Magnus r.; behind, jug and before, lituus. Rev. PRAEF Neptune standing l., r. foot on prow, holding aplustre; on either side one of the Catanaean brothers carrying his father on his shoulder. In exergue, CLAS·ET·ORæ / [MARIT·EX·S·C]. Syd. 1344. B. Pompeia 27. C 17. Cr. 511/3a.
Very rare. Struck on large flan. F-VF Purchased from GN Damian Marciniak October 2021

Being the father of the greatest man EVER would be tough. Doubldie so when you are the greatest man to live up to that point in time.
So, clearly I needed his most iconic coin. A little idiosyncrasie, I love that the symbol below the horse is Zeus's thunderbolt!
#6: Father of the greatest:


Philip II AR Tetradrachm. Pella, 342-336 BC. Lifetime issue. Laureate head of Zeus right / Youth on horseback right, holding palm and reins; thunderbolt below, [N in exergue]. Le Rider 222-306. 14.22g, 24mm, 7h. VF. Purchased from Savoca July 2021


"Baby, I'm amazed at the way you hunt me all the time. And maybe I'm afraid of the way I'll eat you
Maybe I'm amazed at the way you leave a little line. You hang out that twine. Maybe I'm amazed how I need to digest you.
Maybe I'm a Minotaur, maybe I'm a lonely minotaur whoes in the middle of something I don't understand. "
https://youtu.be/cdDPR8GzXy8

#5 Paul McCartney's favorite coin of Ryro's:
https://youtu.be/cdDPR8GzXy8

CRETE, KNOSSOS.
AE (2.54 g), approx. 200-67 BC BC: head of the bearded Zeus to the right. Back: Labyrinth between ΚΝΩΣΙ / ΩΝ. Svoronos, Crete 116.2.00, Lindgren. Nice. Ex BAC Numismatics 2/9/2021
"Knossos, the famous city of the mythical King Minos, is closely linked to the mythical tales of Daidalos and Ikaros, Theseus and Ariadne, Minos and Pasiphai, and of course, the Minotaur and the Labyrinth. According to legend, Daidalos built the labyrinth at the request of King Minos, who wanted a secure place to confine the son of his wife, Pasiphai. The son - the Minotaur - was the unnatural result of the union of Pasiphai with a sacrificial bull, and was monstrously half-human and half-bull. Daidalos cleverly built the labyrinth so that the Minotaur could never escape (and according to Ovid, in doing so almost lost himself within its walls).Each year seven youths and seven maidens were brought from Athens, at the time subject to Knossos, to be sacrificed to feed the Minotaur. One year, wishing to free Athens from this ghastly tribute, Theseus, son of King Aigeus of Athens, connived with his father to join the next shipment of youths so that he could slay the Minotaur and free his fellow victims. With the help of King Minos' daughter, Ariadne, he smuggled into the labyrinth a sword and some string to help him navigate his way out again. He slew the beast, but on his return voyage to Athens he neglected to raise a white sail, the signal by which his father the king would know of his success. King Aigeus, in despair at seeing a black sail on the returning ship, hurled himself into the sea, which now was henceforth called the Aegean."

Hard to know where to place one of the most iconic coins, that happens to be repaired (I'd post the after Pic, but 10 p per post, ya know).
Even when I bought this coin in three pieces I knew it was gonna be a keeper. The unique artistry, ridiculously complex minting process these coins went through, that near golden toning and the history of Magna Graecia all add up to my...
#4 Apollo all in pieces:
https://youtu.be/0XcN12uVHeQ

Bruttium, Kaulonia. Circa 525-500 BC. AR Nomos (31 mm, 6.63 g).
Obv. Apollo advancing right, holding branch aloft in right hand, left arm extended, upon which a small daimon, holding branch in each hand, runs right; KAVΛ to left; to right, stag standing right, head reverted.
Rev. Incuse of obverse, but daimon in outline and no ethnic.
Noe, Caulonia Group A, 1 (same dies).
Rare. Cracked in three parts, otherwise, very fine/fine
Purchased from Auctiones gmbh March 2021

For more on this fresh coin: https://www.cointalk.com/threads/da...nd-no-the-r-in-his-name-isnt-for-ryro.381225/

I know, I know, technically this coin should be #2 due to the double bubble. Despite perfection, I just couldn't place her any higher (unless I could find a penthouse that nobody would know about).
#3 Double bubble (little in the middle but she got much Domna):
https://youtu.be/X53ZSxkQ3Ho

Julia Domna
Denarius . 193-196 AD . Rome . (Ric- 536 ). Ob .: IVLIA DOMNA AVG, Bust draped to the right . Rev .: VENERI VICTR, Venus standing to the right, leaning on a column, holding a palm and an apple . Ag . 3.18 g. Displaced. Tone . EBC . Tauler & Fau Jan 2021

Learn/drool about her more right here: https://www.cointalk.com/threads/do...est-these-buns-isis-cans.374033/#post-5483030

KING OF THE GAULS=Literally what his name means (or something close to it. What? Are you a linguist? Oh, you are. Well, please decipher linear B for us all). I don't know how to make the reasoning for this coin's being my #2 anymore clear.
During a dark time where a militaristic genius foreigner was invading his land just to kill, steal and send good news back to Rome this man unified groups of people that had NEVER united before. Hard men used to hard living... and almost pulled off the upsetonly to become the scapegoat for killing millions of his own people.
Vercingetorix portrait may very well be on this coin. Even if not, and it's just one of his countrymen, this is still thy closest image we have of the great man.
I almost forget to mention the obvious, it's a fourée. But what a fourée it is. For a portrait known for its individualistic style, this particular specimen gives me chills whenever I break it out for a look.
Just let the irony of him coming in second place, again, sink in
#2 Vercinget-fouree-ix
https://youtu.be/GR35pRz7JQ8
L. Hostilius Saserna. Fourré Denarius (18-19 mm, 2.86 g), Rome, 48 BC.
Obv. Bearded male head to right, his hair straggling out behind him; cloak around neck and Gallic shield behind.
Rev. L HOSTILIVS / SASERN, Nude Gallic warrior, holding shield with his left hand and hurling spear with his right, standing left in a galloping biga being driven to right by a seated charioteer holding a whip.
Cf. Craw. 448/2; Syd. 952.
Fourré. Very fine. Purchased from Auctiones gmbh March 2021

Though purchased at the VERY beginning of the year, when you look this good and lay reference to some much AWESOMENESS you get the V.I.C. (Very Important Coin) treatment.
An image of the last great Macedonian king. Made by a decedent of the man who helped subdue him and his family. An obverse just filthy with old cabinet rainbow toning. A reverse that shine like the sun and one of the most ADORABLE horsies on any coin of the Roman Republic.
Blah, blah.
#1 my horns bigger than that. It was COLD that day!:
https://youtu.be/GC5E8ie2pdM

L. MARCIUS PHILIPPUS. Denarius (112 or 113 BC). Rome.
Obv: Head of Philip V of Macedon right, wearing diademed royal Macedonian helmet with goat horns; Roma monogram to upper left, Φ to lower right.
Rev: L PHILIPPVS .
Equestrian statue right; mark of value in exergue. Crawford 293/1. VF 3.99 g. 19 mm. Ex Numismatik Naumann
Purchased Jan/2021

Read all about it right heera!
https://www.cointalk.com/threads/th...ut-is-it-the-worlds-best.374740/#post-6229160

Thanks so much for all the enlightenment, entertainment and friendship my CT pals. I hope you all have a happy and healthy new year (and a bunch more magnificent ancient coins!)!

 

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A fantastic group! I voted for 1, 5, and 8, but reserve the right to change my mind!

 

9, 5, and 3 for me. They are all great though! An exceptional year for you!

 

Woo doggy!! That's a bodacious bunch o' beauties, @Ryro!



All historically important and all fun! I chose the elusive Tiffilian city of Tiphonia as my favorite. Very, very special indeed. Gotta be a FoT to get one. Being not only a collector of Roman coins but of Antonine coins in particular, I had to vote for the Pius/Marcus combo denarius. The hard decision was number three. I had to go with the freaky goat-horn helmet of Philip V!

May you have a wonderful 2022, full of collecting joy!

 

A great selection, @Ryro.

#1, 4 and 8 are my favorites. I like the helmet and portrait details of your #1 coin. Very unusual type. For #4, I like the cool archaic portrait of Apollo. For #8, I find the young portrait of Marcus Aurelius very pleasing. I hope to pickup a similar example this year to pair up with my Faustina II coins.

Wishing you a fruitful collecting year in 2022.

 

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder... and I do think your coins have plenty of it... rugged beauty, damaged beauty, unique beauty, gorgeously toned beauty, and in the case of that Domna Venus reverse, bootylicious beauty. As far as Roman denarii go, I think you've captured some fantastic historical types - a Sextus Pompey Catanaean bros, A-Pi/MA dynastic power duo, and wow, that (possible) Vercingetorix portrait! And I haven't even mentioned yet that envy-inducing Tiffily!

So, which three did I vote for? Does it matter? They're all wonderful! Just an excellent list, and all wrapped up in as much fun as is legal in one of these year-end threads.

Cleo is a safe bet, but only because rock n' roll hadn't yet been invented when Joan was around...

 

All awesome coins as always, my friend. I like the lil horns, dynamic duo and maze of the minotaur. That Sextus Pompey is up there too though.

All are epic. Well played Scoob.

 

Love to read your writeups @Ryro they crack me up. Only the coins themselves can surpass that. It's morning here, and the read already made my day, it will be a good one for sure

Keep them coming my friend

Q

 

#5, #8, #9 but the remorse of skipping #3... oh boy

 

Great read and excellent variety of coins.

But #5 for me thanks. I love the history, mythology and coins of Knossos. I REALLY want a labarynth coin of Knossos! Yours is excellent, especially for a bronze, thanks for showing.

 

Ryro, You scored some beauties this year ! My favorites are #1, 3, & 2, in that order. The Philip V denarius has a wonderful composition & is finely engraved . The portrait of Julia is finely engraved too, but the sexy Venus sporting a well defined posterior makes this a great addition to any collection . The portrait on the Vercingetorix denarius is exceptional despite the plating .

 

We can always count on Ryro to bring the fun

Your #1 is fantastic. Great strike, great centering, interesting devices, beautiful toning.

Hilarious to see #9 in the lead in the poll! (I picked it as a favorite too ).

The third spot was sooooo hard. I ended up going with Cleo but the Knossos or Domna could easily have taken that spot.

Congrats on the good year, Scooby!

 

Great coins this year Ryro! All historic, esp Cleopatra, Pompey,. But #1 is just SUPERB.

 

Great year, Ryro.
I voted 1,4 and 8. Damaged or not, that Kaulonia nomos has a ton of charm! And if you had deemed your Demetrios P. tet good enough I'd probably have voted for that one as well.

 

@Ryro.....Great selection! 7, 10 and 1 for me but all are cool!..Congrats!

 

A.Pius and young M.Aurelian denarius, top class!

 

The Cleopatra VII portrait is excellent for the grade, really bold. The three-piece nomos is beautiful and appealing in its own way. Finally the AP-MA denarius is really nice. Nice coins for 2021!

 

Thanks for all the kind comments, laughs and folks who took the time to vote and let me know just how poor my taste is (other than my #1 it seems the list is upside down in popularity)
As a follow up, here are some of my coulda beens!

This guy came dangerously close to going in my top ten but I wanted more coins that I hadn't shared yet to give you all that WoWiE factor:


VESPASIAN

Denarius. Minted AD 69-70 . ASIA MINOR. Anv.: IMP. CAES. VESPAS. AVG. Laureate head to the right. Rev .: AVG within laurel. 3.42 grs. Dark patina. Nice piece. EBC / Vespasianus. Nice coin with dark patina and extremely fine. C-36b; RIC-311; BMC-497. Purchased from Soler y Llach, Coleccion Scipio, Oct 2021

Not in the greatest shape, nor with the greatest artistry, but how many coins do you have laying around that depict the battle between the Olympian gods and the giants??? Nuff said:

Gallienus

Æ 27mm of Seleucia ad Calycadnum, Cilicia. AD 253-268. ΑΥ Κ Π ΛΚ ΓΑΛΛΙΗΝΟϹ, laureate, draped and cuirassed bust to right / CEΛΕVKEΩΝ TΩ Π KAΛVΚ, Athena standing right, holding shield and striking with spear at serpent-legged giant, who hurls stone. SNG France 1064-6; SNG Levante 789; SNG Leypold 2615. 9.7g, 27mm, 6h.
Nice brown patina.Very fine.
Purchased from Biga auctions December 2021
"The reverse of this coin recalls the second major conflict of Zeus' rise to power. After he had defeated the Titans in the Titantomachy and apportioned their former relatives to his fellow Olympians, he was compelled to resolve a conflict with the Giants, offspring of Gaia and Cronus. Known as the Gigantomachy, these chthonic half-man, half-serpent creatures attempted to wrestle power from the Olympians by casting them out of Olympus. To accomplish this, the Giants attempted to reach Olympus by heaping up one mountain range on top of the other. From above, Zeus and the other Olympians, such as Athena, depicted on the reverse of this coin, defended themselves by hurling their weapons. In the end, however, it was the assistance of Hercules that won the day. With the final defeat of the Giants, the rule of Zeus was no longer challenged
In this scene we see Athena spearing a serpent-legged Giant, perhaps Enkelados."

My first CNG purchase was a coin I'd been passionate about adding to my collection for a while...and due to the ambergris nobody bid against me!


GAUL, Northwest. Coriosolites. Circa 100-50 BC. BI Stater (19mm, 6.28 g, 6h). Celticized head right, hair in large spiral curls, S-like ear / Devolved charioteer-in-biga right; quadrilateral banner hanging from lash to right, [boar below]. Depeyrot, NC VIII, 186; D&T 2340. Brown surfaces, hard green encrustation. VF.
Purchased from CNG March 2021

I have had a very sorry sliver of a Balbinus denarius for a few years but have always been on team Pupienus.
The portrait drew me in and so I spoiled my sweet little Pupienus:

Pupienus Antoninian. Minted 238 AD . Anv.: IMP. CAES. PVPIEN. M. CLOD. DVPIENS AVG. Bust radiated to the right. Rev .: LOVE MVTVS AVGG. Linked hands. 3.76 grs. Limited. EBC-. / Pupienus. Scarce and almost extremely fine. C-1; RIC-9a. Purchased from Soler y Llach , Coleccion Scipio, Oct 2021

It was hard not adding this one and looking back I see 2 coins that I would now trade out for her. As you know beautiful and Sicilian are kinda synonymous. So I don't need to justify much with this coin right here:

Sicily. Syracuse. Dionysos I (406-367 BC). AE Hemilitron. Obv. Head of Arethusa left, wearing necklace, hair bound in ampyx and sphendone; olive leaves behind. Rev. Dolphin swimming right; Σ Y P A and cockle shell below. CNS II 24/1-7; HGC 2 1480. AE. 2.58 g. 16.00 mm. Good VF.
Purchased from Artemide Aste Aug 2021

Very rare, beautiful dies, lovely patina but again, a coin that I had shown before and so it gets a little more love now:

LUCANIA, Thurium as Copia (193-150 BCE) AE As. 9.40g, 22mm.
Obv: Laureate head of Janus
Rev: COPIA in right field; Cornucopia, caduceus and I (mark of value) in left field.
HN Italy 1935. Very rare. cf. CNG E-Auction 374, 11.05.2016, lot 9 (hammer 260 USD); same dies as NAC Auction 84, 20.05.2015, lot 564 (hammer 2250 CHF)
Very rare and in fine style.
Purchased from AMCC3 July 2021

"Wait, Ryro, you beautiful beast you, you already shared your Labyrinth in the OP." You may say.
Naw. This is just 4 times larger and with Zeus looking left. Pretty hard to come by and even harder to leave once you've entered!

Crete. Knossos circa 200-100 BC. Æ 24 mm, 10,02 g
Obv: Zeus head left
Rev: Labyrinth
fine
Svoronos 112.
Purchased from Savoca Oct 2021

Yep, talk about a captivating portrait, a Beauuuuutiful bird and a coin that cookie monster mistook on one of his famous midnight munchie raids:


Ptolemy II Philadelphos, 285-246 BC. Tetradrachm (Silver, 28 mm, 13.00 g, 12 h), Sidon, RY 32 = 254/3 BC. Diademed head of Ptolemy I to right, wearing aegis around neck. Rev. ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ ΠΤΟΛΕΜΑΙΟΥ Eagle with closed wings standing left on thunderbolt; to left, ΣI above monogram of MT; to right, ΛB. CPE 524. Svoronos 739. Crystallized, double struck and with some edge chipping, otherwise, about extremely fine. Purchased from Leu Numismatiks Aug 2021

The answer is, Yes, yes she is too cute for you. And apparently she was too cute for THE top 10:



Thessaly, Larissa. AE 20 mm. c. 370-360 BC. Obv. Head of the nymph Larissa facing slightly left. Rev. Horseman, wearing kausia, riding right. Cf. SNG Cop. 141. AE. 5.15 g. 20.00 mm. Green-brown patina. Good VF/VF.
Purchased from Artemide Aste Aug 2021

And last but not least, the handsome head of the Besieger of Rhodes. Son of Antigonus (founder of the Antigonid dynasty and general of ATG), Demetrios really thought that he was going to be the next ATG. Though this didn't exactly happen, thanks to his hard work and brilliant mind the Antigonid line was the last to rule Macedon all the way down to it's annexation by Rome:



Demetrios I Poliorketes, 306-283 BC. Tetradrachm (Silver, 29 mm, 16.59 g, 3 h), Chalkis, circa 291-290. Diademed and horned head of Demetrios I to right. Rev. ΔHMHTPIOY - BAΣIΛEΩΣ Poseidon, nude, standing left, his right foot set on a rock, holding a trident in his left hand and resting his right on his right thigh; to outer left, monogram; to lower left, dolphin downward. Newell 146. SNG Alpha Bank -. SNG München -. Very rare. Test cut on the edge and with numerous light scratches, otherwise, fine. Purchased from Leu Numismatiks Aug 2021
"The diademed portrait of Demetrios Poliorketes, which is included among the earliest numismatic depictions of a living Hellenistic king, elevates him to the status of a god through the addition of horns. These not only respond to the horn of Ammon on Lysimachos' celebrated coin portrait of the deified Alexander the Great, but refer to Demetrios' association with Poseidon (in his aspect as Taureos), whose sacred animal was the bull. Indeed, the Athenians hailed him as a son of the sea-god when he entered their city in 291/0 BC. Should there be any doubt about his connection to Poseidon, a depiction of the god - probably representing a lost statue - appears on the reverse.At the time of writing in 1927. Based on style, he placed the issue at Chalkis in Euboia. It is possible the die engraver moved about during these troubled times and the actual mint was another Euboian city. However, if we take into account the activity of the Chalkis mint around 290 BC and a little later it does not seem impossible that the mint produced these tetradrachms and their accompanying drachms as the second leg of a near-contemporary but separate operation and obviously for some special purpose. The first - and much more numerous - leg, composed only of tetradrachms, would in this case be Newell's nos. 146 to 152. It is possible that the position in time of these two legs should be reversed, but more work is needed before this can be said for sure."

Thanks again for all the fun. Please let me know if you would have added any of these and which you would have removed?