GAVIN’S TOP 10 of 2020

singig · Dec 4, 2020

Congratulations ! , your #1 Maxentius is awesome.

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dougsmit · Dec 4, 2020

#1 is best. I'm glad you waited for one with the wolf but there nothing wrong with having both if you turn out to be a specialist in the period.

jamesicus · Dec 4, 2020

Gavin Richardson said: ↑

So I fund my coin collection by playing in a rock band. (A hobby, thankfully, not a full-time job.) Perhaps if I were in a better band, I could afford better coins. At any rate, with COVID effectively eliminating indoor gigs, my already meager disposable income took a big hit. This left me doing some eBay bottom feeding and keeping my eye out for VCoins deals. Fortunately, my collecting interests lay in the LRBs of Constantine, and plenty of these can be had quite reasonably. So COVID can take my gigs, but it can’t take my collecting fun. Here are 10 coins that helped brighten an otherwise dark year:

10. NERO AE AS; VICTORY
View attachment 1212623
One of only two non-LRBs on this list. It ain’t fleur de coin, but those Neronian curls were worth $65 to me. A dealer photo.

9. CONSTANTINE GPR, TRIER
View attachment 1212625
I'm a sucker for large folles, and I especially like early coins of Constantine. This one checks both boxes. The tall, elegant Genius seems to have been distinctive of Trier.

8. CONSTANTINE SOL ADVANCING WITH GLOBE
View attachment 1212626
This is a coin only a specialist could love. In about 310, the mint at Lyon seems to have been working out exactly what kind of posture Sol should have for Constantine’s new SOLI INVICTO COMITI coinage, which would become ubiquitous in the West. Here’s an early variant, not in RIC, and languishing for about 20 euros in a VCoins dealer’s stock until I liberated it.

7. CONSTANTINE BEATA; TRIER
View attachment 1212627 Before he founded Constantinople, Constantine made Trier his city of choice, so perhaps it’s not surprising that the die engravers at the mint of Trier were among the most skilled in the empire. Any number of coin types could illustrate the attention lavished upon the gold coinage and even the base metal coins. But this coin is one of my favorites. The oversized head and the tiny little T-Rex hands make this obverse portrait of Constantine resemble a carnival caricature. This photo is the dealer’s; the chocolate patina makes it hard for me to improve upon the dealer pic.

6. GALERIUS GPR, LONDON
View attachment 1212628 A long-term project for me is to get a follis of each tetrarch from all mints, at least for the First Tetrarchy. I’ll never finish it. But I will collect some nice coins along the way, including this one from London. I find the London small bust / large bust distinction interesting. A quirky mint.

5. DIOCLETIAN GPR, LONDON
View attachment 1212629
Here’s one representing the larger bust, type struck ca. 303.

4. TITUS AE AS
View attachment 1212630 Technically I completed my Twelve Caesars set last year with an Otho denarius. But my Titus really was a slug, so I upgraded with this As. This is the only coin on this list exceeding $100, and one of only two non-LRBs.

3. CONSTANTINE GPR FROM HERACLEA
View attachment 1212631
I picked this one up from @Valentinian. As he noted on his site, early (ca. 306) folles of Constantine as Caesar are pretty scarce from the East. I'm sure Galerius was gritting his teeth when he was forced to strike this coin for the new Western Caesar. Large and nearly fully silvered.

2. CONSTANTINE SOL WITH WHIP; LYON
View attachment 1212632 Another variant of interest to collectors of Constantine’s Sol coinage: a scarce depiction of Sol striding with whip. For some reason these variants tended to come from Lyon. Purchased from Victor Clark.

1. MAXENTIUS AETERNITAS; DIOSCURI WITH WOLF AND TWINS
View attachment 1212633
I had always wanted one of these with the Dioscuri reverse, but I also wanted to hold out until I got one with the wolf and twins. I find the context for this coin fascinating: Maxentius is trying to position himself as the most Romanish Roman of them all so that he might rally support in the Eternal City against all comers, including, fatally, Constantine himself. Such an effort earned him a nice, long swim in the Tiber.

THAT'S ALL FOLKS. HERE'S HOPING THE CONGREGATING, GIGGING, AND COLLECTING PICK UP ONCE WE CAN GET PAST THE WORST OF THE COVID YEARS. HOPE YOU ALL HAVE A FANTASTIC 2021!
Click to expand...

That is a very nice selection of coins, Gavin - as are all your coins in this thread. I am pleased to see you are still emphasizing Constantinian coins in your collection including some nice London mint specimens.

zumbly · Dec 5, 2020

Hard to beat that nicely struck, oversized flan Maxentius. Lovely coin! I like the Constantine genius standing follis too.

Curtisimo · Dec 17, 2020

Great coins @Gavin Richardson . I agree with your #1. Reminds me of the Dioscuri and the wolf sculpture on the Capitoline hill and museum. My second favorite is the Constantine Beata from Trier. Look at those cute T-Rex arms!

lordmarcovan · Dec 17, 2020

This is my favorite:

Honorable mention:

The Nero is kinda cool, too.

DonnaML · Dec 17, 2020

After careful consideration, I have finally succeeded in narrowing down my favorites to nos. 1, 2, 4, 5, 7, 9, and 10. In other words, almost all of them. What a great group.

Al Kowsky · Dec 17, 2020

Gavin Richardson said: ↑

So I fund my coin collection by playing in a rock band. (A hobby, thankfully, not a full-time job.) Perhaps if I were in a better band, I could afford better coins. At any rate, with COVID effectively eliminating indoor gigs, my already meager disposable income took a big hit. This left me doing some eBay bottom feeding and keeping my eye out for VCoins deals. Fortunately, my collecting interests lay in the LRBs of Constantine, and plenty of these can be had quite reasonably. So COVID can take my gigs, but it can’t take my collecting fun. Here are 10 coins that helped brighten an otherwise dark year:

10. NERO AE AS; VICTORY
View attachment 1212623
One of only two non-LRBs on this list. It ain’t fleur de coin, but those Neronian curls were worth $65 to me. A dealer photo.

9. CONSTANTINE GPR, TRIER
View attachment 1212625
I'm a sucker for large folles, and I especially like early coins of Constantine. This one checks both boxes. The tall, elegant Genius seems to have been distinctive of Trier.

8. CONSTANTINE SOL ADVANCING WITH GLOBE
View attachment 1212626
This is a coin only a specialist could love. In about 310, the mint at Lyon seems to have been working out exactly what kind of posture Sol should have for Constantine’s new SOLI INVICTO COMITI coinage, which would become ubiquitous in the West. Here’s an early variant, not in RIC, and languishing for about 20 euros in a VCoins dealer’s stock until I liberated it.

7. CONSTANTINE BEATA; TRIER
View attachment 1212627 Before he founded Constantinople, Constantine made Trier his city of choice, so perhaps it’s not surprising that the die engravers at the mint of Trier were among the most skilled in the empire. Any number of coin types could illustrate the attention lavished upon the gold coinage and even the base metal coins. But this coin is one of my favorites. The oversized head and the tiny little T-Rex hands make this obverse portrait of Constantine resemble a carnival caricature. This photo is the dealer’s; the chocolate patina makes it hard for me to improve upon the dealer pic.

6. GALERIUS GPR, LONDON
View attachment 1212628 A long-term project for me is to get a follis of each tetrarch from all mints, at least for the First Tetrarchy. I’ll never finish it. But I will collect some nice coins along the way, including this one from London. I find the London small bust / large bust distinction interesting. A quirky mint.

5. DIOCLETIAN GPR, LONDON
View attachment 1212629
Here’s one representing the larger bust, type struck ca. 303.

4. TITUS AE AS
View attachment 1212630 Technically I completed my Twelve Caesars set last year with an Otho denarius. But my Titus really was a slug, so I upgraded with this As. This is the only coin on this list exceeding $100, and one of only two non-LRBs.

3. CONSTANTINE GPR FROM HERACLEA
View attachment 1212631
I picked this one up from @Valentinian. As he noted on his site, early (ca. 306) folles of Constantine as Caesar are pretty scarce from the East. I'm sure Galerius was gritting his teeth when he was forced to strike this coin for the new Western Caesar. Large and nearly fully silvered.

2. CONSTANTINE SOL WITH WHIP; LYON
View attachment 1212632 Another variant of interest to collectors of Constantine’s Sol coinage: a scarce depiction of Sol striding with whip. For some reason these variants tended to come from Lyon. Purchased from Victor Clark.

1. MAXENTIUS AETERNITAS; DIOSCURI WITH WOLF AND TWINS
View attachment 1212633
I had always wanted one of these with the Dioscuri reverse, but I also wanted to hold out until I got one with the wolf and twins. I find the context for this coin fascinating: Maxentius is trying to position himself as the most Romanish Roman of them all so that he might rally support in the Eternal City against all comers, including, fatally, Constantine himself. Such an effort earned him a nice, long swim in the Tiber.

THAT'S ALL FOLKS. HERE'S HOPING THE CONGREGATING, GIGGING, AND COLLECTING PICK UP ONCE WE CAN GET PAST THE WORST OF THE COVID YEARS. HOPE YOU ALL HAVE A FANTASTIC 2021!
Click to expand...

Gavin, You scored some great looking folles this year ! Diocletian era folles are a favorite collecting area for me too . The Constantine follis from Trier, #7 would be my favorite. The engraver of the obverse side obviously wasn't used to working on a small flan & created a comical portrait of the emperor. This coin has a lot of character . My 2nd favorite would be the follis of Maxentius, #!. My 3rd choice would be #9, the other follis of Constantine from Trier.

rrdenarius · Dec 17, 2020

I like your alpha (Α or α) and omega (Ω or ω). The Nero portrait is great and your Maxentius Dioscuri with Wolf and Twins has plenty to like.

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GAVIN’S TOP 10 of 2020

singig Well-Known Member

Guest User Guest

dougsmit Member

jamesicus Well-Known Member

zumbly Ha'ina 'ia mai ana ka puana

Curtisimo the Great(ish)

lordmarcovan Eclectic & Eccentric Moderator

DonnaML Well-Known Member

Al Kowsky Well-Known Member

rrdenarius non omnibus dormio Supporter

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GAVIN’S TOP 10 of 2020

singig Well-Known Member

Guest User Guest

dougsmit Member

jamesicus Well-Known Member

zumbly Ha'ina 'ia mai ana ka puana

Curtisimo the Great(ish)

lordmarcovan Eclectic & Eccentric Moderator

DonnaML Well-Known Member

Al Kowsky Well-Known Member

rrdenarius non omnibus dormio Supporter

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