As this year I expanded my collection a lot, I hope I will not bother anyone if I post a second Top 10 - this one containing only Provincial, Greek and Roman Republican coins. My Top 10 Roman Imperial can be seen here . It was difficult to select a top 10 for non-Imperial also - and again some of the coins left outside would have deserved a place, but I chose the coins I wanted the most and a big criteria was how loud I shouted when winning them. So here goes, in the order they were acquired. 1. Troas, Tenedos obol Troas. Tenedos circa 480-450 BC. Obol AR 7 mm., 0,52 g. Janiform head of female, facing left, and bearded male (Philonome and Tenes), facing right / Labrys (double axe) within shallow incuse; T-E across fields. SNG München 340; SNG Copenhagen 509; HGC 6, 387; SNG von Aulock 7666. Bought it for design. I like the janiform heads and the labrys and I am always amazed on the artistry on such small coins. --------------------------------------------- 2. L. Censorinus Denarius L. Censorinus 82 BC. Rome Denarius AR 17 mm., 3,73 g. Crawford 363/1d; Marcia 24; Sydenham 737 Obverse: Laureate head of Apollo right Reverse: L·CENSOR, Marsyas walking left, naked with right arm raised and holding wine-skin over left shoulder; behind, column bearing statue of Victory. Banker’s marks on legend. One of the coins I wanted a lot. Noticed examples here on CT and liked the design very much. --------------------------------------------- 3. Euboea, Histiaia Tetrobol Euboea. Histiaia circa 338-304 BC. Tetrobol AR,14 mm, 1,94 g obv. head of nymph Histaia to right, wreathed with vine, hair rolled, rev. nymph Histaia seated to right on stern of galley, wing on galley around IΣTIAIEΩN (cf.S.2496, BCD Euboia 387ff, HGC 4, 1524) Although the coin has its flaws, I like it. One of the iconic designs in Greek coinage in my opinion. --------------------------------------------- 4. Corinth drachm Corinthia. Corinth circa 345-307 BC. Drachm AR 13 mm, 1,87 g Pegasos flying left, wings curled, Koppa below. / Head of Aphrodite left, hair in a sakkos. ΠA monogram behind head. BCD Corinth 162; SNG Fitzwilliam 3455-3456; SNG Cop. 136. I love mythical animals and when I bought this coin, Pegasus was not present in my collection. The coin has an amount of wear but is very appealing and when I browse my album I usually spend some time looking at it. --------------------------------------------- 5. Cilicia, Nagidos obol CILICIA, Nagidos(ca 400-380 BC) AR Obol. 0,56 g, 11 mm Head of Aphrodite facing slightly right; [N] to left Rev: Wreathed head of young Dionysos facing slightly left; [N] to left. Göktürk 2; SNG France –; SNG Levante 6. The portraits on this coin are simply incredible. It has centering issues but this is irrelevant for the beauty of the portraits. Somehow it reminds me of ancient statues. --------------------------------------------- 6. Claudius, Antioch Claudius (41-54) AE26 of Antioch, Syria IMP·TI·CLAVD·CAE AV(G)·GER- Laureate head right Rev: Large SC within laurel wreath. RPC 4277; McAlee 245e 14,64 g, 26 mm What I always liked about Antioch coins is that the engravers follow the same standards as the Rome engravers so the portraits are easily recognized. And also, in my opinion, the engravers were more skilled than the average provincial engravers. This coin is one of my favorite provincials. Exceptional color in hand, great portrait, great details. --------------------------------------------- 7. Thessaly, Larissa trihemiobol Thessaly. Larissa circa 356-320 BC. Trihemiobol AR 11 mm, 0,93 g Head of the nymph Larissa facing slightly to left, wearing ampyx and necklace / Thessalian horseman charging to right; ΛΑΡΙΣΑΙΩΝ around. BCD Thessaly II 341; HGC 4, 515. Not much to say about this coin - except that it is a good example of what I consider iconic Greek coinage. To my surprise, this coin didn't have great success in the auction, I thought the price will be much more than I paid. Perhaps the flan kept people away - but I am very OK with that. --------------------------------------------- 8. Septimius Severus & Julia Domna, Marcianopolis Moesia Inferior. Marcianopolis. Septimius Severus, with Julia Domna AD 193-211. Pentassarion Æ 28 mm, 11,42 g Flavius Ulpianus, legatus consularis. Struck AD 210-211. AV K Λ CEΠ CEYHΡOC IOYΛIA ΔOMNA CEB; Laureate, draped, and cuirassed bust of Septimius Severus and draped bust of Julia Domna facing one another / ΥΦΛ ΟΥΛΠΙΑΝΟΥ ΜΑΡΚΙΑΝΟΠΟΛΙΤΩΝ; Tyche standing left, holding rudder and cornucopia; Є (mark of value) to left. H&J, Marcianopolis 6.15.35.4; AMNG I 601; Varbanov 868; Moushmov 411. Provincials are not my first choice, usually, but this doesn't mean I don't study them or buy the provincials I like. This was love at first sight. Delicious color, good centering, good details, full legend, nice design (my only coin with confronted busts). And, very important for me - the portraits are realistic (this tends to be an issue with provincial coins). On this coin, one can easily recognize Septimius Severus and Julia Domna. --------------------------------------------- 9. Pamphylia, Aspendos stater Pamphylia, Aspendos, ca. 415/10-400 BC, AR Stater Obv: Two wrestlers grappling within a dotted border / Rev: Slinger discharging sling right, triskeles in right field, ethnic EΣTEE to left, all within incuse square. Countermarked. Tekin Series B; SNG Aul. 4525; SNG BN 45ff 21 mm, 10,90 g The Aspendos staters with wrestlers are, for me, one of the most iconic coins in Greek coinage (I keep repeating this term but it is the way I see them). I wanted a stater and if possible, with a price slightly less than an arm and a leg. Got this one. Bad part is that the obverse is not well centered and lacks the details, but the reverse is very nice and has an interesting countermark (I was not able to identify it). Also it is from Tekin Series B, and from what I read, they tend to be scarcer than later series. 10. Istros obol or trihemiobol Moesia. Istros circa 280 - 256/255 BC Obol or Trihemiobol AR 12 mm, 0,77 g Facing male heads, the left one inverted / IΣTΡIH, Sea-eagle left on dolphin, ΔI beneath dolphin. Dima, Tabelul III, Grupa IV, Subgrupa VII, II – Pl XXI, 10 If I needed to pick just one coin, this would be my main choice. It was a type of coin I always wanted (Dioscuri with one head inverted/dolphin and eagle) because it was the first coin ever struck in the country I live (I mean the entire series of coins). And with a very attractive and unique design. And this is a rare coin because of the dolphin and eagle facing right plus the left head inverted on the obverse. Attributing the coin was not easy as this is not in any reference except an article wrote by Mihai Dima, who classified Group IV Istros coins and handled also the subdivisions. Our colleague Seth77 was very helpful in attributing this coin. Thanks for looking!
You know I LOVE all of these! So ranking them isn't fair. But if you're gonna make me, I'm with you. 1,2&3 are tops to me Here are some of mine of the types you've shared:
Nice haul, @ambr0zie. I've always admired the janiform heads of Tenedos. But, unlike you, I haven't found the right one for me yet. Congrats!
Ozie, I voted for #6, the Claudius bronze from Antioch . I recently sold a Claudius bronze similar to your coin that was once in Richard McAlee's collection & pictured in his book .
Quite diverse coins! Great additions to your collection. I have that double Headed Axe on my 1/24 AV Stater from Karia/ Halikarnassus Mint/ Pixodarus/ Satrap for Darius III of Persia/ 341-34BC
