Here are my top 10 coins of 2019, presented in no particular order. As you can see, I'm a bit of a generalist… I buy anything that catches my eye and has a story to tell. Over the past year, I made a little progress on my 12 Caesars set. Meanwhile, the Greek coins kept calling to me, and a spastic bidding finger landed me more of those than Romans, by a slight margin. I learned a lot from the CT community in 2019 and am looking forward to the year ahead! Sicily, Syracuse Æ Hemilitron of Hieron II 275-215 BC Obverse: Diademed head l. Reverse: Horseman riding r., holding spear. References: CNS II, 195 Rl 22; SNG ANS 924; HGC 2, 1548 Sicily, Syracuse, Æ Hemidrachm 339/8-334 BC Obverse: Laureate head of Zeus Eleutherios Reverse: Upright thunderbolt; to r., eagle standing r. References: CNS II, 72; SNG ANS 477-88; HGC 2, 1440 I really like ancient representations of thunderbolts. And coins of Sicily in general. Commodus AR Denarius 192 AD; Emperor 180-192 AD Obverse: L AEL AVREL COMM AVG P FEL, Portrait of Commodus as Hercules right, wearing lion skin Reverse: HERCVLI ROMANO AVG, Downward club between bow and quiver References: C 195. BMC 343. RIC 253. Commodus sure did like himself. He ordered the months renamed after his own titles, and later the city of Rome itself to 'Colonia Lucia Annia Commodiana.' It was shortly after adopting the name Hercules and issuing coins with this likeness that the emperor was murdered. Gee, I wonder why? Caligula Æ As 37/8 AD Obverse: C CAESAR AVG GERMANICVS PON M TR POT, bare head left Reverse: VESTA above, S C across field, Vesta seated left on ornate chair, holding patera and sceptre. References: RIC I 38; BMCRE 46; BN 54; Cohen 27. Vespasian AE As 71 AD Struck in Rome Obverse: IMP CAES VESPASIAN AVG COS III, laureate head right. Reverse: AEQVITAS AVGVSTI, Aequitas standing facing, head left, holding scales and palm branch. S-C across lower fields. References: RIC II 483 Why I bought it: I was drawn by the portrait. Also, the reverse is a rare variant where Aequitas is holding a palm branch instead of the usual rod. Maximinus II Daia. Anonymous Æ 1/4 Follis Circa 312 AD Officina 6 (S) Obverse: GENIO AN-TIOCHENI, Tyche of Antioch, turreted, wearing cloak and veil, seated facing on rock; at her feet, river god Orontes swimming right Reverse: APOLLONI SANCTO, Apollo standing facing, head left, pouring libations from patera in right hand, kithara in left hand, S right, SMA in exergue References: McAlee 170(c), Van Heesch 3(a), Vagi2954, SRCV IV 14927 The "persecution" coinage of Maximinus II Daia caught my eye after seeing a discussion about the officina variants here on CT. This example is full of detail for such a tiny coin. Thrace, Thasos AR Tetradrachm Circa 148-90/80 BC Obverse: Head of Dionysos right, wearing ivy wreath Reverse: HPAKΛEOYΣ / ΣΩTHPOΣ / ΘAΣIΩN, Herakles standing left, holding club and lion skin. Control: Monogram to inner left. References: SNG Copenhagen 1040-5; HGC 6, 359 Someday I'd like to own a barbaric imitation as well. Pamphylia, Aspendos AR Stater Circa 380/75-330/25 BC Obverse: Two wrestlers grappling; KI between. Reverse: EΣTFEΔIIYΣ, Slinger in throwing stance right; triskeles to right; all within pelleted square border. References: Tekin Series 4; SNG BN 104. Islands of Thrace, Thasos AR Stater 480-463 BC Obverse: Nude ithyphallic satyr advancing right, carrying off protesting nymph Reverse: Quadripartite incuse square References: Le Rider, Thasiennes 5; HGC 6, 331 I could be wrong, but this coin seems to be a transitional example between earlier and later types. What do you think? Kings of Macedon, Alexander III AR Tetradrachm 336-323 BC Minted at Tarsos in Cilicia Obverse: Head of Herakles right, wearing lion skin. Reverse: AΛΕΞΑΝΔΡΟΥ, Zeus seated left on throne, holding eagle and sceptre. Controls: Plow in left field, pellet below throne and to inner right. References: Price 3018; HGC 3.1, 910h
My favorites are the Anonymous quarter-follis and the Commodus, but really, so many other excellent coins here. Both the Syracusans are terrific!
Excellent quality. I am after one of the Commodus as Hercules types for sure, and I've never seen that Maximinus Daia coin before.
This list is like a Greatest Hits parade! You had a fantastic year . I love all of them but the Commodus is a real standout for its unusually good condition, and the Hieron II is lovely. The Maximinus Daia persecution issue is also a favorite. The Thasos Dionysos is more artistic than most.
Really great acquisitions for your collection, @jb_depew ! My favorites are the Caligula, the anonymous quarter follis, and the Commodus as Hercules.
Excellent coins! Very very nice. Tyche is an interesting coin! I really like your approach!!! It is the approach I enjoy also.
They are all great coins but the Anonymous "persecution" coin stands out as my favorite despite it's little problem with the mintmark. These coins are not rare but nice ones are not often seen. Yours is as sharp and detailed as I have seen. These coins are poorly studied. I have always loved my oficina 9 coin that shows a fancy robe on Apollo that is completely different from yours but am starting to realize there are several other variations on this theme. I have a set of ten workshops and two varieties which I can't add here since CT only allows ten photos.
The two oddballs I have seen are the shop B with SANSTO and the shop E with mintmark ANS for SMA. I once thought this was a reversal caused by the cutter forgetting that dies had to be cut in reverse but the ANS probably was started with AN for Antioch before he remembered he was supposed to use Sacra Moneta SM followed by the A for Antioch. The other common "persecution" coin type (Zeus/Victory) regularly used ANT mintmarks. I would like to know why the change was made. The error causing RIC to omit these coins probably has caused them to be ignored in studies and collections to the point we know less about them than would otherwise have been the case.
Also, that Hieron is as pretty of this type as I have seen. The large coins were not always so fully and evenly struck and this one has nice surfaces. If it were not for my 'thing' for the "persecution" coins, Hieron would have been my first choice of the ten fine selections.
jb_depew , congrats with your 2019 sellection, I love 'm all. The Hieron II Syracuse is indeed high quality as Doug mentions, and so is the persecution Maximinus II Daia. here are mine:
Fantastic coins all. But, like Doug, it's hard to beat that persecution 1/4 follis of Maximinus II. Here is my best one which does not compare: There are others that are better than most such as the two Thasos examples. All in all, a nice collecting year for you.
I could definitely see myself collecting more of the type, @dougsmit - at the very least one of the "workshop of death." Yours is quite nice. What is the little problem you mention with my "S" officina mark? Collecting different robe variations could also be an interesting pursuit.
All great looking coins - the "persecution issue" is unusually sharp - the two AEs from Syracuse and the Commodus denarius at the top of your list are stand-outs for me. Best wishes for the next year!
jb_depew, You scored some beauties this year ! The two Sicilian bronze coins are my favorites, especially the one of Hieron II. You shouldn't have any problem finding a nice barbarian Tet of the Thasos type, they appear frequently in European auctions. I bought one many years ago with extreme stylization, see photos below.
Great coins @jb_depew , My favorites: Herion II - One of these is on my want list. Yours is well centered and great style. Thasos tet - There is a wide range of style that these come in. You acquired a very artistic example. Commodus as Hercules - Not much explanation needed here. Just a cool coin showing very clearly the delusions of an emperor in a downward spiral of craziness.
What a great year! The Hieron is beautiful, but I would say that every one of them has a certain je ne sais quoi about its style. I can see why they caught your eye!
Beautifull examples, you really had a great year. All are fantastic, but #1/ #2 are my favs. Can hardly wait to see what you add in 2020..... John