Yesterday's London Ancient Coins auction wiped out the remainder of my 2016 budget, so now that I'm done buying for the year I suppose it's time to share my top 10 coins for this year. Some of the coins in the list were no-brainers, in fact my #1 coin of the year is my favorite coin in my entire collection and has been since I bought it 3 months ago, but others were tougher decisions because I bought a lot of coins I really like this year. That said, I think I've made the right choices and I will do my best to explain why each one made the list, so I hope you enjoy the group I've assembled: This first coin is most certainly my #1 coin of 2016 and my favorite coin in my entire collection. You can read the full story of how I came across this coin here. The Etrurian "staff and club"(though only the bronzes include the club) series is fascinating, both from its historical context and the interesting and beautiful style that these engravers produced which is unlike that of any other contemporary mint. I'm still pinching myself at both the simple fact that I was able to acquire an example of this extremely rare type at all and especially the fact that I was able to get an example that is one of the finest examples known and is overall such a beautiful coin in terms of style, strike and condition. It'll be hard for me to top this coin. Roman Republic AR Victoriatus(3.07g, 18mm). Anonymous("Staff and club" series). 209-208 B.C., Etrurian mint. Laureate head of Jupiter right. Border of dots / Victory standing right, crowning trophy with wreath; Staff between. ROMA in exergue. Line border. Crawford 106/1; Sydenham 209; RSC 24n. The second coin on my list is a type that I've always found interesting and a coin that from the moment I saw it listed for auction I knew I had to have. The moneyer, whose cognomen was Purpurio, put a murex-shell symbol on his coins, a rather punny reference to Purpura, the word that describes the Tyrian Purple/Royal Purple dye produced from mucus of this species. You can read a bit more about this coin and the history of the moneyer here. I liked this coini in particular because I felt it was in fantastic style, and even more importantly, had about as perfect a murex-shell as I'd ever seen on an example of the type that fell within my budget. plenty of other examples of the type fall within my price range, but few with such a well rendered and well preserved murex-shell and I am glad to have been able to win this excellent example. Roman Republic AR Denarius(18.8 mm, 3.99 g, 12 h), Furius Purpurio, moneyer, circa 169-158 B.C. Rome mint. Helmeted head of Roma right; behind, X. Border of dots / Luna in biga right, holding reins of nearer horse in left hand and reins of further horse and goad in right hand; above, murex-shell; below, PVR; in linear frame, ROMA. Line border. Crawford 187/1; Sydenham 424; BMCRR Italy 420; Babelon Furia 13. Ex RBW Collection, ex Crédit Suisse 5, 4/18/1986, lot 246 At first glance this scrappy little bronze might not look terribly interesting, but look a little closer and you'll notice something absolutely fascinating about it: it's overstruck, and not just on any ol' random type either, but a popular type that many members here have an example of: a Hieron II Poseidon/Trident bronze. The Romans overstruck many earlier bronzes during the second Punic War, both as a way to revalue their own coins as the weight standards shrunk, but also as a way to monetize captured coins. In particular, many of the bronzes struck in Sicily and Sardinia show signs of being overstruck on either local issues or Punic issues that were circulating in the area. These overstruck coins are a fascinating piece of history from the Second Punic War and this coin is a vivid symbol of Rome's expanding power during this period. Roman Republic Æ sextans(5.48g, 19mm), anonymous(corn-ear KA series), 207-206 B.C., Sicilian(Catania?) mint. Head of Mercury right; above, •• / Prow right with flat deck structure; above, corn-ear/wheat-ear; below, Roma; before, KA or IC ligate(off flan). Crawford 69/6. Overstruck on Syracusan trident Æ. The denarii of Q. Minucius Thermus have one of my favorite reverses created during the era of "moneyer" bronzes. I came across the type very shortly after I began collecting and decided I really wanted one long before I began focusing exclusively on the Roman Republic. This is one of those types that, in my opinion, all collectors, whether they focus on this period or not, should have an example of because they are such a cool type and they come in all price ranges. Roman Republic AR Denarius(19.5mm, 3.95g, 8h), Q. Minucius Thermus M.f., moneyer, 103 B.C., Rome mint. Head of Mars left, wearing crested helmet ornamented with plume and annulet / Two warriors fighting, each armed with sword and shield; the one on the left protects a fallen comrade, the other wears horned helmet. Crawford 319/1; Sydenham 592; Babelon Minucia 19. This next coin is my second victoriatus on the list and while it might not look like a terribly interesting coin at first glance, those who have studied the series will recognize that this isn't your standard Rome mint anonymous victoriatus. This is a rare anonymous type that is stylisticaly related to the "CROT" series that is traditionally thought to have been struck at a mint near Croton. This anonymous type was not in the RBW NAC sales, nor in Goodman nor on Andrew McCabe's website and I've only managed to find a single misidentified example on ACSearch, so I jumped at the opportunity when a dealer posted this misidentified example on MA-Shops. I hope one day I get lucky enough to upgrade it but if not I'm more than happy with this scrappy little example. Roman Republic AR Victoriatus(3.12g). Anonymous(style of "CROT" series). ca. 211-208 B.C. Uncertain mint(traditionally, Croton). Laureate head of Jupiter right. Border of dots / Victory standing right, crowning trophy with wreath. ROMA in exergue. Line border. Crawford 92/1b The next two coins are two on my top 10 list simply because they are nice little Republican bronzes. In a series where the vast majority of coins on the market are ugly and not well preserved, it's always exciting to find better examples. The sextans has a particularly nice obverse and the quadrans is nice all around, one of the better examples of the type on the market. It's also got excellent provenance as it was the RBW example and is published in the RBW Collection reference book put together by NAC(highly recommended for those who don't want to shell out the $500 or so for a copy of Crawford). Roman Republic Æ Sextans(21mm, 4.99g, 3h), Anonymous("Staff and club" series), 209-208 BC, Etrurian mint. Head of Mercury right; above, •• / Prow right; above, ROMA and staff; below, ••. Crawford 106/8a; Sydenham -; Russo RBW 487. Ex Andrew McCabe collection, ex JD Collection, NAC 78(5/26/2014) lot 1637 Roman Republic Æ quadrans(6.80g). "NAT" series(Pinarius Natta?), 155 B.C. Rome mint. Head of young Hercules right, wearing lion's skin headdress, ••• behind / NAT, prow of galley right, ••• below. ROMA below. Crawford 200/5; RBW 863(this coin); Sydenham 383c; Babelon Pinaria 6 Ex RBW Collection(NAC 61 lot 859, unsold), ex Aes Rude sale 55, 1993, lot 134. The next bronze is a common type and one that I almost skipped over because I decided I wanted to wait for a better example, until I realized that it wasn't just your average example of this type. This particular example has a previously-unpublished legend variant on the reverse: FRVGF versus the usual FRVGI. During my research, I actually managed to find a double die-matched example in the ANS that also had this legend variation but which was not previously noted. Roman Republic Æ as(29mm, 11.87 g, 4h). L. Calpurnius Piso Frugi, moneyer, 90 B.C. Rome mint. Laureate head of bearded Janus right; I above / Prow of galley right, on which stands Victory; above, L PISO; below, FRVGF. Crawford 340/4 var(FRVGF reverse legend); Sydenham 677 var; BMCRR Rome 2179-2185 var Ex RBW collection, purchased from V. C. Vecchi 11/30/1985 This next coin is another long sought after type that I am happy to have added to my collection this year. The gryphon is not a common device on Roman Republican coins and that combined with the fascinating series of control-marks where each die pair has its own, unique pair of control-marks makes this a series that I think everyone who collectors Republican types should make a point to add to their collection at some point. This example also has a rather well engraved gryphon which made it a no brainer for me. Roman republic, AR Serrate Denarius(4.10g) L Papius, moneyer. 79 BC, Rome mint. Head of Juno Sospita right; behind, mace. Bead-and-reel border / Gryphon leaping right; below, club with strap; in exergue, L PAPI. Bead-and-reel border. Crawford 384/1(symbols 73); BMCRR Rome 2977; Sydenham 773; RSC Papia 1. My final coin is an anonymous quinarius, my second coin of this denomination and my only fully-anonymous example. I really liked this example in particular for its dark, reflective hoard patina(that unfortunately doesn't translate well in photos) and well centered strike. Hopefully in 2017 I can add a fully-anonymous denarius to the mix but I'll be hard pressed to find one I can afford that is as nice as this little quinarius. Roman Republic AR Quinarius(2.17g). Anonymous. After 211 B.C. Rome mint. Helmeted head of Roma right; behind, V. Border of dots / Dioscuri galloping right; in linear frame, ROMA. Line border. Crawford 44/6; RSC 3. Ex RBW Collection, purhased from Antiqua, March 1997 That's all I've got. I hope you enjoyed my list, and I'd love to hear what you think of my choices, and even more than that I really look forward to seeing everyone else's posts. Here's to hoping 2017 is as excellent for my collection as 2016 was!
Holy Roman Republic, Batman!! red_spork => congrats on those amazing 2016 additions!! (all of 'em are winners!!) #3 ... the sweet over-struck sextan is probably my favourite (super interesting)
That's a great group from a focused collection! I enjoyed reading the reasons for your choices and particularly like the Purpurio... it's an outstanding coin.
It certainly looks like you've done very well for 2016, a great set of coins and I like the way you have provided an insight/provenance into each coin. Congrats I envy your collection.
I like them all but especially the FRVGF for a reason you know. I could never be a specialist in just one area of ancients but do enjoy seeing all those Republicans. I really like the ones overstruck on a recognizable undertype.
Wow Sporky! You know how I enjoy the Republic. All of your 10 are excellent captures. Love them all! Well done.
Great collection - coins and stories behind the coins. I like the RR series because of the affordable rarities (like 1, 3, 5 & 8) and interesting history of the leading families of Rome. I agree with your top pick, that coin was quite a find and you made the correct call to have it cleaned right.
Good picks! You did great with your first coin and I'm really happy for you finding it. I also really like your second and hope to add one to my collection one day.
Terrific write up and terrific coins, @red_spork . It's premature for my top ten list...the year isn't over just yet for me! Maybe in a week or two.
I really like those as well, but I haven't yet developed the skill to pick out the undertypes on most of these overstruck coins I come across. I see quite a few of them that show signs of overstriking and I have to wonder what sort of interesting undertypes I've missed because I neglected to squint just right and get the image rotated at the right angle.
Spork - You've made some great progress on your collection this year. The murex shell on the Purpurio is one of the most detailed I've ever seen.