Arnoldoe's Top 10 Coins of 2017

Well Christmas is over and it looks like no one will be sending me any Decadrachms or EID MAR coins. but It was still a really good coin year.. For my top 10 I went with 1 of each coin type.. 1 Imperial Denarius.. 1 Sestertius etc... (which basically only leaves out some Roman Denarii that should probably be on the list)
anyway here are my top 10 for 2017

From Top down left to right.. ( in no particular order as for my most or least favourite)
1) Antoninus Pius. Denarius, Rome Mint. Struck 147-148 AD. RIC 168
2) Marcus Aurelius. Sestertius, Rome Mint. Struck 163-164 AD. RIC 861
3) "Isiusiisiuisii" Denarius,
Either a new ruler or as some doubters say.. A misspelling on an imitative Roman coin.
4) Vabalathus. Antoninianus, Antioch Mint. Struck 271-272 AD. RIC 381.
Aurulian + Vabalathus at a great price (Free) from @Severus Alexander
5) Frederick Barbarossa, Pfennig struck in Aachen. Menadier 27
6) Eravisci, Imitating a Cn. Lentulus Denarius. Freeman 4 (dies 2/C);
I am up to 5 Eraviscan coins from 0 before this year
7) Alexander Balas. Tetradrachm. Antioch Mint. Struck 150/149 BC. SC 1781.4
Just got this one on Friday.. A nice Tetradrachm that I found out has provenance going back to 1925.. From the Petrowicz + Stoecklin Collection Ex Cahn 65 1929, Ex Cahn 60 1928, Ex Naville X 1925 and From the Petrowicz + Stoecklin Collections.
8) Basil II + Constantine VIII. Miliaresion. Constantinople. Struck AD 977-989 AD
9) Constantius II. Centenionalis Antioch Mint. Struck 350-355 AD
My only Fallen horseman coin at the moment.
10)Constantius Chlorus. Follis. Heraclea Mint. Struck 297-298 RIC 531,

and all of them together..

 

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That denarius of Isiusiisiuisii totally takes the cake. Brilliant! The Alexander Balas is really sweet, too.

 

Agree, Isiusiisiuisii is the best of the bunch to me. Basil II + Constantine VIII & the FH are also the ones I like best.

 

I’m glad to see some LRBs in a quality Top 10 list. Sometimes late bronzes are so common we might not pay much mind to them. But when you have some standout coins that really show great detail, as your last two coins do, they really do reward the attention Precisely because so many of their kind of do not.

 

Finding the provenance for the Alexander Balas tetradrachm is really cool. I think that one is my favorite.

I don't think I've ever laughed as hard here on CT as I did when I read your thread on Isiusiisiuisii. Hilarious

Great coins and a great 2017.

 

This is a nice group with good variety.

 

Thanks, It was also the cheapest coin in my top 10 (other than the free Vabalathus).. It was included in a group of 4 coins I bought for under $20 in total..

 

I like them all, you did very well. That one struck in Aachen, very close to my home town of Julich!

 

I agree!!!

 

All really nice coins, but number 5 caught my eye what is that on the reverse?

 

Very nice!.. the Antonius Pius has great detail still..

 

It is just described as a Tower behind a wall or a Castle gate
AR Pfennig struck in Aachen (18mm 1.5g)
Obverse: FREDERI IMPR Emperor holding sword and globus cruciger
Reverse: ROMA CAPVT MVNDI Tower behind enclosure wall with gate
Menadier 27

 

Great year!! I love the details on the Antonius ar!!!

 

Very interesting how they have rendered it like a tower/gate/walls in almost abstract form.

 

Awesome picks! I really like that tetradrachm, and sweet horseman!

 

A nice and interesting selection. Well done.

Agreed!

 

Let's be clear on this one point. Just because a coin is very interesting does not mean it will sell for a high price. I have quite a number of unofficial, barbarous or just plain strange coins but most of them cost relatively little because the mainstream condition centered, catalog numbering collectors usually avoid them. I don't expect to know much about these coins with any certainty but I do find their existence interesting and would love to know more about the part they played in the economy of their time and place. Was Isiusiisiuisii repeatedly exchanged in commerce for goods and services? Did the people who saw it care it was different from official coins or had they even seen more than a few official issues in their little corner of the world? Was the coin made because coinage was needed or to extort profit from ignorant consumers. Was the coin made in the 2nd century (is that Lucius Verus?) or in the 20th to fool fools like me? We lack the resources to do proper studies of the official coinage so I do not expect great universities to support studies of what may well be unstudyable in the traditional way but that does not keep Isiusiisiuisii and his friends from being a part of my hobby.

 

Isiusiisiuisii denarius is my favorite Roman (imitative or barbaric) coin find of the year!

This is what happens when you only have three letter punches to work with.



A great group of coins for the year.

John

 

I'm a big fan of the Frederick Barbarossa pfennig, and would love to add one to my collection. As someone that sports a red beard I feel a natural affinity for him.

One of the more interesting "what if" scenarios of medieval history is his death in Cilician Armenia. His large German-Hungarian had won a decisive victory over the Seljuks at the Battle of Iconium and sacked their capital city. Yet upon his death, he drowned in a river, his army broke up and only a few thousand Germans and Hungarians continuing on to Acre. The Third Crusade may have been a very different affair if Barbarossa had made it to the Holy Land with his large army and Philip and Richard on the way. Saladin had a hard enough time with Richard, Barbarossa may have tipped the balance.

 

@arnoldoe , that is a great Top 10! Yeah, I really like the Isiusiisiuisii denarius also. Looks great!

I have an odd Imitation Denarius also:


Imitating Octavian-M. Porcius Cato AR quinarius 13.89 mm 1.29g imitating Octavian r blundered legend - Victory seated r patera Cr 343-462 RARE