Favorite Coins of 2017 : The $1 - $100 List

Doug started this variant of the year-end list awhile back, and this is the 3rd time in as many years that I'm playing along with my own. I'm not done with receiving coins that will make my actual 2017 favorites list, but honestly, this list has always been equally fun to come up with, and includes coins that I'm as happy to have in my collection.

The idea : Show ten coins you bought this year that cost between $1 - $100, with each coin being your favorite in its own price category. For example, your favorite coin that cost you $1 - $10, your favorite between $11 - $20, and so on till you get to the final price category of $91 - $100.

Here's my list, from the lowest priced to highest...

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Category : $1 - $10

JULIA DOMNA. Hybrid Fourree Denarius.
$10
This is the only coin here that's from a group lot (which I generally try to exclude from this list), one that Doug passed on to JA to sell for him. There were five coins in the group, costing a total of $50, for an average of $10 per coin. All were 'irregular' issues formerly of the A.K. Collection. This one was my favorite of the lot, because I've always wanted a... ZOMBIE MULE FOURREE .

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Category : $11 - $20

SICILY, Syracuse. Agathokles AE22.
$18
I do love my affordable Greek bronzes. This one was purchased off Frank Robinson's annual bargain list of ancients, which is unusual in this day and age for having no pictures at all. You make your choices based only on Frank's descriptions, which are typically detailed and accurate enough for you to make an informed decision. Ironically, the thing I loved best about this coin was not highlighted in the description - that the coin is struck a little off-center on the reverse, with the bull just barely complete on the flan, its right horn actually struck onto the remnant of the casting sprue. Thus, even as the bull is all there, but there’s the illusion that it’s about to charge right off the coin!

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Category : $21 - $30

PARTHIAN EMPIRE. AR Drachm (Sellwood 30.16).
$25
Prior to this year, I had no Parthian coins in my collection at all. On the strength of how much I enjoy this one, along with a handful of other Parthians purchased this year, I'm very likely to pick up more in 2018. If one were to want to beef up the description of this coin, one could say something like this:
"Concensus has yet to form as to exactly who struck this coin, dated to between 88-57 BC, the so-called "Dark Age" of Parthia. Knowledgeable voices have thus far attributed it to no less than THREE different rulers - Orodes I (Shore), Artabanos II (Assar), and an 'Unknown King' (Sellwood). An intriguing coin destined for much future research and scholarship."
This, however, is what my seller went with:
"A beautiful coin, very tremendous, believe me, OK? I love this coin, honestly; and you know, I'm very smart, and I have the greatest coins, folks. Those other dealers are losers. And so ugly. Sad. Am I right, OK? Make your collection great again. And Mexico will pay for it!"
Mexico didn't really pay for it, but I did think that this other purchase from the Frank Robinson bargain list wasn't too expensive to begin with. I mentioned when showing the previous coin that his descriptions were "detailed" and "accurate"; they're sometimes also downright hilarious .

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Category : $31 - $40

GALLIENUS. Billon Antoninianus.
$32
It has a weak reverse, but a strong armoured, spear-wielding bust of Gallienus. It's also struck on decent billon and the flan has the sort of ragged character that appeals to me. The coin didn't find a single bidder in an auction last year when its opening price was $75. I feel happy for it that on its second try this year, it's finally found an appreciative one.

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Category : $41 - $50

ROMAN REPUBLIC. C. Vibius C.f. Pansa Denarius.
$41
I already had a nice example of an RR denarius with 'Stannard scoop' weight adjustment gouges; what I didn't have was a really ugly, disfiguring one. Problem now taken care of .

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Category : $51 - $60

ELAGABALUS. THRACE, Philippopolis AE19.
$53
There were quite a few in this price category that I really loved, but in the end, I had to give the top spot to this Elagabalus provincial, a purchase made early in the year. There's the sleek, jet-black patina, the creepy little Telesphoros on the reverse, the nice centering and neat lettering, and most of all, the fact that I know I'm always going to be 100% pleased that I have it in my collection.

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Category : $61 - $70

GALLIENUS. CILICIA, Seleucia ad Calycadnum, AE27.
$62
Another provincial takes this cateogry, but where the last one had an alluring, all-black patina, this one sports a colourful quilt of a patina to match its colourful mythological reverse. The scene, depicting Athena preparing to smite a serpent-legged giant, is taken from the Gigantomachy, the tale of the epic battle between the Olympian gods and the one hundred sons of Uranus and Gaia. Warrior goddesses laying the smackdown on monsters? Recent movie ticket sales tell us that this theme is going to be a perennial hit with the crowds.

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Category : $71 - $80

LICINIUS I. AE Follis.
$74
I was not really expecting to be able to win this rare 'Jupiter standing' follis of Licinius, at least not for this price. Maybe it had something to do with the fact that it was misattributed, to a later issue, from a whole different volume of RIC. The last of the common IOVI CONSERVATORI coins were often executed in poor style on thin, scrappy flans, as different as night and day when compared to this hefty 7.4g beauty with its majestic figure of Jupiter. That is has a nice pedigree - ex Dattari Collection - is really just gravy.

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Category : $81 - $90

TACITUS. Double Antoninianus.
$89
My interest in this rare denomination of Tacitus goes back to when I first bought one of them from Warren Esty, an example that he had used in a published metallurgical analysis that established that these coins marked XI or IA (indicating 10:1) did in fact contain double the amount of silver when compared to regular antoniniani, marked XXI and KA (for 20:1). After picking up two XI examples, I naturally wanted the even rarer IA variety as well. I suspect this one was overlooked in its auction and I think I scored it for a decent price (hammer of $70, but $89 after adding fees and shipping). Of course, there's the caveat: when it comes to unpretty 3rd century numismatic oddities, always allow for a good deal of variance in price.

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Category : $91 - $100

PONTOS, Amisos. Time of Mithradates VI, AE21.
$99
Beyond the cool factor of an Amazon warrior wearing a wolf-skin headdress gracing the obverse, one of these has been high on my want list because it's part of an interesting series I've been meaning to collect - the bronze coinage struck at the Pontic mints under Mithradates VI. While conducting a war against the Roman Republic, Mithradates issued a coordinated set of bronze denominations at a number of cities that facilitated not only economic transactions between them, but also disseminated the political propaganda of his being a Greek liberator through the use of specific typology. The 'decapitated Medusa' coins that a number of us here on CT are fond of are part of the series. This one is quite a bit scarcer and was struck at fewer mints, the Amazon depicted being more closely associated with city myths. I really like the look of this example I managed to win, an ex E.E. Clain-Stefanelli collection coin.

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Thanks for reading. Please do feel free to comment and also play along with your own $1- $100 lists (in this thread or one of your own)!

 

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Great list! That Pontos ae is awesome!

 

Thanks, I really like that one of yours too.

 

Thanks.

They are definitely hard to find.

 

What a great list - That Licinius is impressive!

 

Not only are they a great group but I see the reasoning behind the prices for each one. That is unusual. There are a couple bargains in the bunch but they have something that explains it. The IA Tacitus has roughness that would keep many people from looking and I am sure that many people can not imagine a Licinius they might want (If Gordian III's are roaches, what are Licinius'?). The Stannard is classic but ugly enough that only people who are seeking one as a educational item would be interested.

 

Great observation, as usual, Doug. Looking through my list again, I agree most fit quite squarely into their price categories for various reasons.

I hope you're working on your list/s, as I can't wait to see them!

 

That's a cool selection and I can easily understand why they appealed to you and for the reasons you mentioned---especially at the listed prices. I'd be interested in each one too!!

At the moment, I'm still waiting to find out if I won the 'Amazon' bronze I bid on. For me, coins of the 'Poison King' are cool enough and one with a bust of an
amazon was irresistible

 

Good luck, let us know and share a pic if you win it!

 

Great looking bunch

 

Nice
Partial to that Cilicia Gallienus and I really like the Pontos. In fact when you're tired of that one let me know

 

Heh, will do, but some coins don't leave a collection once they find they way into it .

 

I hope everyone is working on their list. I have ten selections but hate to post so early and assume December will be a total loss. As it stands, four came from January and 3/4 from the first few months. I want another winner!!!

 

This thread is a great idea. The Agathokles bull is a cool coin with the bull determined to charge out of the coin like that little girl on 'The Ring' and I think you got a great deal on the Licinius!

What we have here is obviously a celator who's favorite X-man is Banshee!





I've been looking through my 2017 purchases and it looks like I'll be relegated to a top 7 for under $70

 

Neat-o keen-o scoop on your $41 Roman Republic Denarius. I've read about the Stannard scoop at CT but don't have an example. The more I examine the photo, it looks like the scooping may have been done after the strike.

 

The gouges were supposed to lower the weight of overweight coins, that is, coins noticeably over the usual full-weight of about 3.95 grams. So, what is the weight now?

 

Lol, won't be able to get that out of my head now!

 

The coin is 3.8g. My understanding of what I've read is that the adjustments were 'al marco', to correct the weight of a quantity of metal had been used to produce a number of coins, rather than to adjust the weight of specific coins. So, the coins picked for adjustment might have been random, rather than strictly the overweight ones.

Edited to add this paragraph from Andrew McCabe in a Forvm discussion about Stannard scoops:
"The very definition of al marco means of course that light coins were as often scooped as heavy ones. They only weighed batches, never single coins. So you could get an underweight coin being made even more underweight! But the entire batch would start heavy e.g. weighing about 4 grams average, hence even the underweight coins in the batch would on average be slightly heavier. How did they make the slightly heavier batches? Probably by eye and experience. One batch of 100 coins might weigh 395 grams, the next 403 grams the next 391 grams etc. All that mattered is it weigh at least the official norm of 389 grams. Then they scoop coins until the batches get to 3.89 grams average. Of course the scooped out silver gets thrown back in the pot."

 

Great selection Z!! I like them all but am jealous of that Gallienus. That Pontus is really cool too!

 

I believe Stannard himself says they were done before striking, but I honestly have no idea and can't tell one way or the other.