Here are my best 10 of 2020 , I actually had a few more I wanted to include. let me know the one you like the best. #1 Asido Ancient Spain 110 BC. Present day Medina Sidonia. Phonecian and Punic. Obv: Melkart head facing forward. Rev: Two tunny fish right Libio-Phoenician legend ( B B L ) Semis 3.68 grams #2 CASTULO ANCIENT SPAIN CELTIBERIANS 2nd Cen. BC SEMIS 6.36 grams Obv: Laureate male head to the right. Rev: Bull standing right. Crescent upward above. Legend beneath Burgos 712 #3 Sexi Spain, Circa 200-150 BC. Obv: Head of Herakles left, wearing lion skin headdress, club over shoulder Rev: Two tunny fish to left; aleph above, crescent below, Neo-Punic legend "MP'LSKS" within central frame. ACIP 819-20; SNG BM Spain 415. Æ Unit.13.06g, 26mm, 12h. Very Fine. Rare. From the Amilcare Collection. Roma Numismatics E-Sale auction 67, 06-02-2020, Lot 8 #4 Saguntum Spain, 2nd Cent. BC AE Sextans, 3.76 grams Obv: Scallop shell. Rev: Dolphin, crescent above,three dots and Iberian letter A below. The Siege of Saguntum was a battle which took place 219 BC with the Carthaginians and the Saguntines at the town of Saguntum, near the modern town of Sagunto in Spain. The battle is remembered because it triggered one of the most important wars of antiquity, the Second Punic War. #5 Carthaginian 237-209 BC Barcids In Spain PHOENICIAN AND PUNIC Obv: Wreathed head of Tanit left Rev: Horse’s head right, Phoenician letter'aleph' below chin. AE, Unit. 9.69 grams Reference CNH pg. 69, 45 Burgos 515 #6 City Commemorative. 330-333 CONSTAN-TINOPOLIS, bust of Constantinopolis left, wearing laureate and crested helmet, necklace and ornamental mantle over left shoulder, holding sceptre / No legend, Victory standing left, foot on prow, holding transverse sceptre and resting left hand on shield. Mintmark SMANI. RIC VII Antioch 92; Sear 16480. 2.87 grams (This is the heavier type. The lighter type is about 1.7gr is RIC 114.) #7 Agrippa Struck under Caligula, 37-41 AD. Obv: M AGRIPPA L F COS III, head left wearing rostral crown Rev: S-C, Neptune standing facing, head left, naked except for cloak draped behind him & over both arms, holding small dolphin in right hand & vertical trident in left. AE As. 9.68 grams Cohen 3, RIC 58, Sear5 #1812 #8 Carinus, Brother of Numerian AD 283-285. Rome Obv: IMP CARINVS PF AVG, radiate, cuirassed bust right. Rev: FIDES MILITVM, Fides standing left, holding two standards. AE Antoninianus. 22mm Rome mint. Mintmark KA crescent Epsilon. 3.71 grams 5th officina 6th emission La Venera 4166, La Venera IV 4102-4116, RIC V-2, 253 var (mintmark). Scarce. CNG E auction 463 11 march 2020 lot 483 Ex Phil Peck collection AKA Morris collection #9 Julia Domna, AD 193-217. AE AS, 8.75 g, 24 mm, Rome, AD 211-217. Obv: IVLIA PIA FELIX AVG, bust of Julia Domna, draped and diademed, right. Rev: VESTA S C, Vesta seated left, holding simpulum in right hand and transverse sceptre in left hand. Refs: RIC 606; BMCRE 231; RCV 7136; Hill 1455. #10 Segobriga (SPAIN) ROMAN. Provincial. Augustus. 27 BC-14 AD Obv: Augustus Bare head right; palm behind, dolphin before Rev: Horseman galloping right. Below SEGOBRIGA Æ As. 11.03 grams, Reference: Vives 135–3, NAH 886, GMI 724,RPC I 470
Great coins, all of them, but my three favorites are the semis from Castulo with the crescent over the bull, the Carinus antoninianus, and the Constantinopolis commemorative from Antioch, which is an outstanding example of that coin.
Great coins with a strong Spanish presence, some real beauties but I like your Saguntum Sextan along with the history behind the coin. Congrats on a great year of collecting.
Great top 10 @bcuda !! I really like your as of Domna because of the late portrait style. Also, the portrait of Carinus is finely engraved!! Well done!
I wished I could vote for at least three. It is an interesting group with several nice Spanish coins that are not in my collecting areas. I have some of the books, but not the coins. Here are three books on ancient Spanish coins. Catálogo General de la Moneda Hispánica: Desde su orígenes hasta el siglo V (Spanish Edition) 1982. A price guide for and line drawing of 1967 types with short descriptions in Spanish, almost all illustrated with 248 pages of line-drawings of ancient Spanish coins. SNG Deutschland Statliche Munzsammlung Munchen, volume 1 (Hispania-Gallia Narbonensis) Cardcovers. 432 coins on 17 folio page plates, A. Heiss, Description generale des Monnaies Antique de l'Espagne [Ancient Coins of Spain] 1870, Forni Reprint (The date of the reprint is not given in the book, but it looks old), in one large volume, 548 pages plus 68 plates of line drawings.
I like them all. But I think my favorite is # 1, from Asido, with Melqart on the obverse. Not only is it visibly appealing, but I find it very interesting and unusual -- at least, unusual to me, given that I don't collect at all in the area of pre-Roman Spain, and know very little about it.
I'm pretty sure that I was underbidder on your #10. Great coins. If I had to pick one... I'm a sucker for the legends on those earlier Julio-Claudian AEs. Coupled with the brooding brow of Vipsa; I'm swooning. Bromance at 1st site. That stated, I went with #2. I really like the large eyes pronounced nose/chin style of the portraits on this type. For some reason, it reminds me of a more recent well-known Spanish painter named Pablo.
@bcuda........That's a really nice, nice, nice, group of coins!.....Great to see some very well centred/detailed Iberic coins.....You have a really good eye....The Asido, wow, you don't find them like this very often, nice pick up!...I also like that Saguntum and to add a Roman for me the Agrippa, personally his portrait just screams Rome to me!.......All are sweet coins congrats on a good year.
On the obverse #10 is that mark from something on the die to center it? or is that a place it had corrosion? It's a very neat coin. @bcuda
Awesome, @bcuda ! You know me: Carthage and the Ancient Spain coins... all of them. I had to rethink your comment: WOW, did he REALLY buy 2,020 coins this year??? Congrats, great coins for "2020"!
It is a spot where the coin was centered. Not very common to see it on a a Spanish provisional coin but more common on some of the other provisional coins out there.
bcuda, Nice variety in your selection . My favorite is #7, the as of Agrippa. This is a great coin despite the roughness on the reverse. I like the portrait of Agrippa & the depiction of Neptune.
Excellent group There is always something special when you see other people like coins you also thought worth having. Mine is worn but I liked the color. The Domna as was cut by a person with special skills. My similar coin is a sestertius but the reverse was ruined by double-striking.
I think perhaps this is the definition of a good year - a top 10 list that is too short I enjoy your posts and coins @bcuda and from your top ten the ones that I am drawn to are: #4 the Saguntum AE Sextans, #10Segobriga of Augustus, and the wonderful portrait on #8 of Carinus. All are interesting coins - thanks for the posts and best wishes.
Should I pick only one, that would be the Domna as. But I like the Castulo coins aswell, of which I have just one (the world famous "Castulo bottle opener" ) Q