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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;Curtisimo, post: 2928944, member: 83845&quot;]I am not yet ready to call the race when it comes to my top 10 coins of 2017 but I recently noticed a neat thread posted by [USER=57495]@zumbly[/USER] listing his ten favorite purchases in each ten dollar increment from $1 to $100.</p><p><br /></p><p><a href="https://www.cointalk.com/threads/favorite-coins-of-2017-the-1-100-list.306817/" class="internalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://www.cointalk.com/threads/favorite-coins-of-2017-the-1-100-list.306817/">https://www.cointalk.com/threads/favorite-coins-of-2017-the-1-100-list.306817/</a></p><p><br /></p><p>Turns out I don’t have all the categories for all ten so instead here is Curtisimo’s sentastional seven coins under $70!</p><p><br /></p><p>One of these is sure to make my 2017 top 10... can any of you guess which one?</p><p><br /></p><p><b><u><font size="6">Category: $1 - $10</font></u></b></p><p>[ATTACH=full]710774[/ATTACH]</p><p><b>Why I like it:</b></p><p>This coin is 1,700 years old, in fairly good condition and it was $10... $10!!!&nbsp; While I understand that Licinius I’s coins are about as common as they get (is the roach moniker already taken?) it’s hard to imagine getting more enjoyment per dollar out of owning an object as I do out of owning this coin.&nbsp; Licinius I is best known as the co-emperor and competitor of Constantine I the Great.&nbsp; This rivalry would eventually cost him his life.&nbsp; I like the reverse of this coin showing Nike and the eagle… did I mention this coin was $10?</p><p><br /></p><p><font size="6"><b><u>Category: $11 - $20</u></b></font></p><p>[ATTACH=full]710775[/ATTACH]</p><p><b>Write up:</b></p><p><a href="https://www.cointalk.com/threads/heroes-of-the-third-century-aurelian-and-severina.303721/" class="internalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://www.cointalk.com/threads/heroes-of-the-third-century-aurelian-and-severina.303721/">https://www.cointalk.com/threads/heroes-of-the-third-century-aurelian-and-severina.303721/</a></p><p><b>Why I like it:</b></p><p>Severina was a fascinating historical woman to say the least.&nbsp; It is widely speculated that she was the only woman to have ever ruled over the Roman Empire in her own right.&nbsp; Some of the evidence for that suspicion is based on this coin type.&nbsp; The unusual style of her portrait, the inclusion of P F (Pontifex Maximus) and the singular AVG (vs AVGG for plural) on both the obverse and reverse of this coin seems to indicate that at least in parts of the empire she was considered a ruling empress even after the death of her husband Aurelian.&nbsp; It is possible she entered a power sharing arrangement with the senate during the time the senate was debating who would replace Aurelian.&nbsp; To top it off this coin is a very attainable piece and punches way above its weight class in terms of value for money.&nbsp; Aurelian and Severina are two figures in Roman history that are severely underrated in my opinion (the upside is their coins are cheaper!).</p><p><br /></p><p><font size="6"><u><b>Category: $21 - $30</b></u></font></p><p>[ATTACH=full]710776[/ATTACH]</p><p><b>Why I like it:</b></p><p>While the Mediterranean world was struggling through the chaos of the first Crusade that culminated in the sack of Jerusalem and the crowning of Baldwin I in around AD 1100 the Song Dynasty of China was celebrating the ascension of their own new ruler: Emperor Song Huizong.&nbsp; I bought this coin because of a fascinating story I read recently that involved this emperor.&nbsp; It seems that the Song Dynasty was a high point in art, culture and prosperity in China but the dynasty was unfortunately unable to leverage this into sustained military success.&nbsp; To remedy this Huizong made an alliance with a tribal confederation known as the Jin (in the far northeast) in order to fight back against the encroaching Liao Empire to the north of China.&nbsp; This proved to be a mistake as the Jin quickly recognized the weakness of the Song army and became much more of a threat than the Liao had been.&nbsp; After a series of diplomatic miscalculations on the part of the Song the Jin army invaded China.&nbsp; When he heard of this terrifying prospect Emperor Huizong faked a stroke and abdicated.&nbsp; His son refused to take the throne and so Huizong had him carried to the ceremony by eunuchs and made emperor by force.&nbsp; He then promptly fled the capital… now that’s good parenting!</p><p><br /></p><p><b><u><font size="6">Category: $31 -$40</font></u></b></p><p>[ATTACH=full]710777[/ATTACH]</p><p><b>Why I like it:</b></p><p>I like Domitian… I like denarii… I like ancient silver… really what’s not to like here?&nbsp; I consider snagging a 12 Caesars coin in this price bracket to be a great success!&nbsp; The details on this one are more pleasant than is conveyed in the photo.&nbsp; I have also taken to carrying this coin in my wallet when I travel for work lately.&nbsp; I was admiring it while in Nebraska, then in Montana, now in Kansas then Minnesota.&nbsp; It’s interesting to think of all the places that this coin has been that its creators couldn’t even have imagined.</p><p><br /></p><p><b><u><font size="6">Category: $41 - $50</font></u></b></p><p>[ATTACH=full]710778[/ATTACH]</p><p><b>Write up:</b></p><p><a href="https://www.cointalk.com/threads/poll-do-you-carry-a-coin-as-a-lucky-token-if-so-post-it.296034/#post-2732836" class="internalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://www.cointalk.com/threads/poll-do-you-carry-a-coin-as-a-lucky-token-if-so-post-it.296034/#post-2732836">https://www.cointalk.com/threads/poll-do-you-carry-a-coin-as-a-lucky-token-if-so-post-it.296034/#post-2732836</a></p><p><b>Why I like it:</b></p><p>Before I took to carrying Domitian around the world this was my lucky coin and travel companion.&nbsp; It is a coin that is really nice in hand and is impressive to show people who don’t know much about ancient coins.&nbsp; It’s also interesting in that Justin II was the emperor charged with holding together the overstretched empire that was left to him by Justinian.&nbsp; In this he failed miserably and in the process he lost his sanity completely.&nbsp; Into the vacuum stepped his wife, Empress Sophia.&nbsp; The obverse of this coin shows the two sitting as equals (an unprecedented occurrence!).&nbsp; Sophia held onto the reigns of the empire as her husband continued to lose his mind (he would often bite anyone who got too close to him!).</p><p><br /></p><p><b><u><font size="6">Category: $51 - $60</font></u></b></p><p><b>[ATTACH=full]710779[/ATTACH] </b></p><p><b>Write up:</b></p><p><a href="https://www.cointalk.com/threads/the-first-jewish-coin-and-its-modern-descendent.292881/" class="internalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://www.cointalk.com/threads/the-first-jewish-coin-and-its-modern-descendent.292881/">https://www.cointalk.com/threads/the-first-jewish-coin-and-its-modern-descendent.292881/</a></p><p><b>Why I like it:</b></p><p>This is a fantastic little coin.&nbsp; As I explain in the write up above this coin was the first ever coin to be struck by a Jewish leader in his own name.&nbsp; The absence of any depictions of humans or animals on the coin is notable in that it relates to the Jewish prohibition against graven images and is a direct departure from the tradition forced on the Jews by their Seleucid rulers.&nbsp; This coin can most likely be seen in the context of the period following Antiochos VII’s death in 129 BC when the Judean Kingdom was able to reassert its independence and begin coining its own money.&nbsp; The Greek letter “A” on the obverse is likely to be a reference to an alliance with a pretender to the Seleucid throne by the name of Alexander II Zabinas who died in 122 BC.&nbsp; If this is true then it’s yet another fascinating historical tie for this coin.&nbsp; In terms of interest for money this coin is also hard to beat coming in at less than $60.</p><p><br /></p><p><b><u><font size="6">Category: $61 - $70</font></u></b></p><p>[ATTACH=full]710780[/ATTACH]</p><p><b>Why I like it:</b></p><p>The Tetrarchy is a fascinating time period in Roman history to me.&nbsp; This coin depicts Constantius Chlorus who is famous as Constantine I the Great’s father.&nbsp; He was also a fascinating figure in his own right as one of the original members of the Tetrarchy of Diocletian.&nbsp; He started his career as junior emperor (Caesar) in the west under Maximian and played a major role in several empire saving wars against northern tribes and usurpers.&nbsp; Interestingly, it was Constantius Chlorus’s decision to promote his son to Augustus on his deathbed that began the chaotic breakdown of the tetrarchy.&nbsp; As the most senior Augustus in the empire he was well within his authority to promote Constantine I or anyone else he saw fit to the position.&nbsp; However the other tetrarchs did not see it this way and upon his death a series of civil wars broke out that culminated in the reunification on the empire under Constantine I the Great.&nbsp; I like this coin type for the simple fact that it was so uniform across all of the members of the first tetrarchy.&nbsp; I believe that this coin has great details and style for this price bracket.</p><p><b><u><font size="6"><br /></font></u></b></p><p><b><u><font size="6">Bonus Category:&nbsp; Not one red cent!</font></u></b></p><p>[ATTACH=full]710781[/ATTACH]</p><p>Write up:</p><p><a href="https://www.cointalk.com/threads/a-tetarteron-of-manuel-i.298287/" class="internalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://www.cointalk.com/threads/a-tetarteron-of-manuel-i.298287/">https://www.cointalk.com/threads/a-tetarteron-of-manuel-i.298287/</a></p><p><b>Why I like it:</b></p><p>This coin was a gift from my good coin friend [USER=76194]@Sallent[/USER] because I made a joke regarding an elephant and a zebu!&nbsp; All in all it’s an interesting coin from an interesting rule during and interesting time in Byzantine history!.. and you can&#039;t beat the price!!![/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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