We finally were able to sit down and whittle down our top 10 (each) for 2018. We have only been collecting ancients since ~July of this year but have had a blast so far. We have been the lucky recipients of some beautiful coins from some really great people and have purchased a few ancients ourselves at a few shows we have been able to attend. We went through our coins and had about 30 that we both wanted for the top 10 haha. It wasn't easy to narrow down but we finally we managed. We weren't able to decide a 1-10 order though so the top 10 are just that, 10 with no ranking between them They will just be in alphabetical order since that's how they sitting in the folder. I will post FFIVN's top 10 and then mine. Without further ado: 1) Antoninus Pius Denarius. Obv: ANTONINVS AVG PIVS PP Laureate head right. Rev: COS IIII Thunderbolt on decorated altar. 2) Bactria, Apollodotos I Obv: Square AR Drachm. Elephant standing right, monogram beneath Rev: Humped bull standing right, monogram beneath. 3) Constans AE3. Obv: D N CONST-ANS P F AVG, pearl-diademed head right Rev: VOT XX MVLT XXX within wreath. Mintmark SMALΓ 4) Constantine I AE Follis. 310 AD Obv: CONSTANTINVS PF AVG, laureate and cuirassed bust right Rev: SOLI INVICTO COMITI, Sol standing left, chlamys falling from left shoulder, holding globe and raising right hand, T-F across fields. Mintmark PLN 5) Phocas. AD 602-610. AE Follis. Nicomedia. Obv: DM FOCA PER AVG, crowned, mantled bust facing, holding mappa and cross Rev: Large XXXX, mintmark NIKOB 6) Hormazd IV 570-590 AD Drachm, 4.14g Obverse: Bust of Hormizd IV right, wearing tall cap, crenellated crown with crescent and diadem tie below elevated globe, crescent at front, star left and right. Short beard, small ball of hair, moustache; diadem behind each shoulder, crescent on each shoulder. 1 ring, star and crescent symbols. Reverse: Fire altar with upturned diadem ties. Two facing attendants wearing crowns with globe, holding staff resting on the ground in front. Star left, crescent right of flames. 1 ring. 7) John Hyrcanus I, Prutah Obv: Paleo-Hebrew within wreath Lettering: יהוחנן הכהן הג דל וחבר היהד ם Translation: Yehohanan the High Priest and the Council of the Jews Rev: Double cornucopia adorned with ribbons, pomegranate between horns; no monogram 8) Marcus Aurelius. Sestertius. 175-176 AD M ANTONINVS AVG GERM SARMATICVS, laureate head right TR P XXX IMP VIII COS III SC, Aequitas standing left, holding scales and cornucopiae 9) Syracuse ~4th century BC 5.09g, ~14mm Don't know much else about this one 10) Tian Sheng Yuan Bao 1023-1031AD Emperor Renzong
Great coins @furryfrog02 I hope you and your son have great fun with the coins and I look forward seeing your additions in 2019. Are you mainly focusing in Roman coins or Greek coins will also be on your list? I really like your #1 and your #2 Apollodotos drachm looks nice, I still need to get one of those.
It was an educational year. I hope 2019 is as productive. Does he have a want list for things that would fit but not duplicate?
I think I will mainly be focusing on Romans since there is so much to still learn and so many different ways to branch out. That's not to say that if something catches my eye and is within my meager budget I won't grab it haha. I would like to add at least one Greek in 2019. I don't know much about them yet.
2019 was very educational. We both learned a ton and it has been great spending the time together. I have yet to nail down exactly what his tastes are. As you can see by his top 10 his tastes are quite eclectic which is to be expected from a 7 year old
And now for my top 10. Just as with FFIVN, it was very tough to make just a top 10. Mine are a little less eclectic than his as I tend towards Romans over anything else. Again, in alphabetical order since that is how my computer sorted them: 1) Basil II and Constantine VIII, AE Class 2 anonymous follis. 976-1028 AD. IC-XC to left and right of bust of Christ, facing, with nimbate cross behind head, holding book of gospels, sometimes with dots in centre of book's border, two dots in each limb of the cross Rev: IhSUS XRISTUS bASILEU bASILE in four lines, ornament below. 2) Claudius II AE Antoninianus. 268-270 AD. Obv: IMP CLAVDIVS AVG, radiate head right Rev: AEQVITAS AVG, Aequitas standing left, holding scales and cornucopiae. Clashed with obverse 3) Constantine AE follis. AD 326-327. Obv: CONSTANTINVS AVG, laureate head right Rev: PROVIDENTIAE AVGG, campgate with two turrets and one star above. Mintmark: dot BSIS dot 4) Geta, as Caesar, Denarius. 198 AD. Obv: P SEPTIMIVS GETA CAES, draped bust right Rev: FELICITAS TEMPOR, Felicitas standing left left, holding cauduceus & cornucopiae. 5) Hadrian AE Semis. Struck 125-128 AD. Obv: HADRIANVS AVGVSTVS, laureate, draped and cuirassed bust right, seen from behind Rev: COS III S C, lyre. 6) Julius Caesar. 49-48 BC. AR Denarius. Obv: CAESAR in exergue, elephant right, trampling on serpent Rev: Simpulum, sprinkler, axe and priest's hat 7) Maximianus. 297-298 AD. AE Follis Obv: CMA MAXIMIANVS PF AVG, laureate head right Rev: GENIO POPV-L-I ROMANI, Genius standing left, modius on head, naked except for chlamys over left shoulder (falls low), holding patera from which liquid flows and cornucopiae. Mintmark HTA 8) Maximinus I Denarius Forgery Fourree Obverse of Maximinus I, IMP MAXIMINVS PIVS AVG Reverse of Severus Alexander, P M TR P VI COS II P P, Aequitas standing left with scales and cornucopiae 9) Theodosius I, AE2, Constantinople. AD 378-383 Obv: DN THEODO-SIVS PF AVG, helmeted, pearl-diademed, draped, cuirassed bust right, holding spear and shield Rev: GLORIA ROMANORVM, Emperor standing facing, head right on galley, raising right hand; Victory at helm. Wreath in left field. Mintmark CONA. 10) Trajan AE As. Obv: IMP CAES NERVA TRAIAN AVG GERM PM, laureate head right Rev: TR POT COS III PP SC, Victory walking left, carrying shield inscribed SPQR
Very nice diverse set of coins, looks like you and your son have settled in nicely to our fabulous hobby.
Thanks. We are having quite a blast with it. It's been even better thanks to the awesome people here in the Ancients forum. I'm not sure where 2019 will lead us with collecting but I do know for sure that I want to come up with a better system of tracking what we have. It was a bit of a pain to find the information for all the coins I posted. Perhaps I should use a spreadsheet or something. How do you all track your collections?
Very fun!! I gotta agree with Furryfrog the younger -- gotta love a big ol' sestertius!!! Hope 2019 treats both of you well and that your collection continues to grow!
Great year for such a young collector, I would have been very proud to achieve that in first year ! Q
IVN has a wonderfully diverse selection. His A-Pi is my favorite. As for yours... the Hadrian semis, Geta, and of course JC are standouts to me Watching the two of you dive in has been great fun for all of us, so thank you!
Thanks @TIF ! It's been a blast collecting with him. That A-Pi was mine but somehow managed to slip over to his side of the flip box one day...haha not sure how that happened. But to be honest, they are all his anyways.
I like the broad early collecting approach that allows you and your son to figure out what really excites you. I really like that galley reverse design for the Theodosius. Late Roman coins sometimes suffer artistically. Not that one.
I'm several times his age and well you know what they say your as old as you think you are, I happen to like that quite eclectic style myself. Seems both father and son are enjoying themselves. I wished I could have gotten my sons or even grandson interested. You are very fortunate indeed.
I love FFIVN's eclectic taste! On your list, I'm particularly fond of the Hadrian semis and the Siscia mint Claudius II with the die clash. When my son was 3, he applied his remarkable child's memory to the hundred or so coin pictures he found on my phone and soon could name 40 odd Roman emperors by their portraits. He's 6 now and has moved on to other things... I'm hoping some day he'll come back to coins. Here's hoping 2019 will bring you and FFIVN many more coins and the time to spend enjoying them together.
Awesome line-ups @furryfrog02 ! I REALLY like that your Son is sharing this hobby with you. However, no matter what, I m going to vote for your SON's pics over yours.
Yeah, but seeing the care and love for your Son in his collecting, I bet that you did not override HIS picks...