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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;TIF, post: 1944321, member: 56859&quot;]Very nice assortment, Z!</p><p><br /></p><p>Here are some of my favorite purchases of the past year.&nbsp; I just celebrated my first anniversary of ancient coin collecting.&nbsp; My list includes coins from the last year, not just six months.</p><p><br /></p><p><b>1.&nbsp; Agathokles tetradrachm.&nbsp; </b>No surprise about its top spot, which it will likely keep for many years to come.&nbsp; I had reached a point where I was ready to buy a <i>very</i> nice coin, something beautiful.&nbsp; Arethusa immediately came to mind and this coin became the object of my desire.&nbsp; The auction house&#039;s ridiculously low estimate of value only fueled the fire even though it was obvious it would sell for manyfold higher.&nbsp; The chase was thrilling and there was absolutely no letdown or buyer&#039;s remorse when it arrived.</p><p><br /></p><p><img src="http://static.wixstatic.com/media/ae43f8_7b2de20fa2f9493b92586ff830e4c774.jpg_srz_p_736_424_75_22_0.50_1.20_0.00_jpg_srz" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" /></p><p><br /></p><p><b>2.&nbsp; Corinth stater.&nbsp; </b>My first &quot;major&quot; purchase.&nbsp; I felt so guilty about spending hundreds of dollars on a mere coin <img src="styles/default/xenforo/clear.png" class="mceSmilieSprite mceSmilie8" alt=":D" unselectable="on" unselectable="on" />.&nbsp; Without knowing much at all about ancients, in the last decade I had seen many of the type set in bezels as pendants so I had at least some familiarity with it.&nbsp; At that point in my knowledge, I thought it was the epitome of ancient coins.&nbsp; Where I live there are several jewelry stores which deal in jewelrified ancient coins.&nbsp; I had purchased a Corinth stater pendant for my brother some years ago and he really treasures it.&nbsp; I thought I deserved one too, although by then I wasn&#039;t looking for wearable coins.&nbsp; HJB deemed this specific issue of the colt (with Silenus) interesting enough to use as the example of Corinth staters in his book, &quot;100 Greatest Ancient Coins&quot;; it is #23.</p><p><br /></p><p><img src="http://static.wixstatic.com/media/ae43f8_e1a4fc69330e4545ae6ea5e3cec13a74.jpg_srz_p_724_362_75_22_0.50_1.20_0.00_jpg_srz" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><b>3.&nbsp; Nero sestertius.&nbsp; </b>Every ancients collector needs a Nero <img src="styles/default/xenforo/clear.png" class="mceSmilieSprite mceSmilie8" alt=":D" unselectable="on" unselectable="on" />.&nbsp; He issued several types with gorgeous reverses and I think this type is among the most artistic.&nbsp; Unlike so many, it appears untooled and the reverse details are stunning.&nbsp; Annona and Ceres represent his largesse in providing the citizenry with grain.</p><p><br /></p><p><img src="http://static.wixstatic.com/media/ae43f8_a1930039261b4671aed52bf5fd76e817.jpg_srz_p_808_395_75_22_0.50_1.20_0.00_jpg_srz" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" /></p><p><br /></p><p><b>4.&nbsp; Carthage 15-shekel.&nbsp; </b>Far from the most beautiful coin in my collection, it maintains a special place in my heart for several reasons.&nbsp; First, its rarity.&nbsp; There are few known specimens.&nbsp; Second, its size-- a whopping 45 mm and 95 gm.&nbsp; Third, it may be the finest or second finest known example, despite its relatively poor condition.&nbsp; Fourth, I practically stole it!&nbsp; It was listed for sale on a site which is not known for its ancients.&nbsp; I watched and planned a big snipe in the last seconds.&nbsp; All of that plotting and drama proved unnecessary though... I was the only bidder and won it for the insanely low opening bid!&nbsp; A few of a second and slightly more common similar type (the horse&#039;s foreleg isn&#039;t raised) have come to market in recent years and have sold for 2-5x what I paid, despite their even worse condition.</p><p><br /></p><p><img src="http://static.wixstatic.com/media/ae43f8_6d55f90db02845a1b703055c500baeee.jpg_srz_p_778_367_75_22_0.50_1.20_0.00_jpg_srz" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" /></p><p><br /></p><p><b>5.&nbsp; A provincial of Germanicus with Drusus.&nbsp; </b>An early purchase, it was immediately apparent that this was unusual and special.&nbsp; This coin was originally struck with the reverse legend EPI ARXIEREWS ALEXANDROU KLEWNOS SARDIANOU but using an elaborate set of ring shaped countermark dies the obverse and reverse legends were restruck, the reverse indicating the new magistrate.&nbsp; There is an article about this coin in the November 1994 issue of The Celator. I&#039;m trying to locate a copy of that article-- no luck finding it online so I&#039;ll have to find and buy a copy of that issue. The piece by Thomas McKenna is titled &quot;The case of the curious coin of Caligula: A provincial bronze restruck with legend-only dies&quot;.&nbsp; I need to re-photograph it.</p><p><br /></p><p><img src="http://static.wixstatic.com/media/ae43f8_c3dbb5c29d20431385077734c5cc3c6e.jpg_srz_p_675_328_75_22_0.50_1.20_0.00_jpg_srz" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" /></p><p><br /></p><p>I&#039;ll post #6-10 later <img src="styles/default/xenforo/clear.png" class="mceSmilieSprite mceSmilie1" alt=":)" unselectable="on" unselectable="on" />[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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