I attended a meeting of ancient coin collectors last week. It was interesting seeing what others collect and some of the stories that went with the coins. We were asked to bring our five favorite. I brought: You can read a bit more here: http://rrdenarius.blogspot.com/ I would not say these are my favorites, but they are ones I like and have purchased recently. Post your fab five.
Several of us have posted end of year favorites for 10 coins added that year. I suggest each of our new participants start thinking about that so we can have more participants. I really can't feel good about naming five overall since the order and choices would change as the spirit moves. I do invite anyone to see what I onces considered to be my favorites but I really am not sure I have kept up accurately adding new choices and, harder, removing the losers to make room for the new favorites. I have considered organizing these in better order but could never decide which one was 98 and which was 99 with accuracy that would last over a day. http://www.forumancientcoins.com/dougsmith/favs.html
I only have readily-accessible pics of a portion of my collection, but these are five of my favorites from among that sub-group:
Beautifull selection, the more I see....the more I want! Coin collecting is, "The magnificent obsession" aka Rock Hudson movie....
This is a tough one. If I had to choose today, I'd take the five coins below. If I had to choose tomorrow, it would probably be 5 different ones. I like all my coins, so I guess my top 5 changes on a daily basis depending on mood, but for tonight these are it. Trajan Mars denarius: This one is consistently one of my favorites, as well as one of the first ancient coins I ever bought. I love Trajan, and the artistry and theme of this coin has me completely in love with it. Trajan Tetradrachm of Tyre: I just got this one last week, so it still has that new car smell that makes me want to hold it and look at it every single day. I think it's awesome. It's got Trajan, an eagle, and Melqart (ie. Hercules). Kavadh I drachm: It's the portrait! Just look at it. Hands down one of the best portraits of any coin I have. M. Cipius M.F. denarius: You all know the story of Goldilocks. Well, this coin is not too hot and not too cold, but just right. I love the portrait of Roma, and the toning adds that special touch to what is already a nice coin. Istros drachm: This one is frequently in my top 5 favorites at any given time. Dolphin, eagle, and dual portraits = big win!
Seleukos I Nikator Tetradrachm. I hope to upgrade this caesar one day This is probably my favourite Hope to upgrade this one one day too This is probably my other favourite
I have a hard time choosing just 5. It's much easier for me to list every single one I've purchased this year and all the reasons I like it and I purchased it than to pick favorites. I also limited it to recent ones(i.e. purchased in 2016) and ones that I have in-hand, just in an attempt to make it easier but there's a good possibility that the two I have on the way would displace others on this list just by virtue of being coins I'm thinking abut more at the moment. At any rate, my current 5 favorite coins, limited only to recent ones are:
I don't think I can pick a top five. In May we had a "top twelve favorites" thread and I was paralyzed with indecision and then felt guilty for leaving some coins off the list. In the end I posted twelve Greeks and twelve Romans. Trimming those twenty-four to only five? Don't think I can
Since I'm in the middle of reading Alexander the Great by Robin Lane Fox , I show 5 Tets of Alexander and his generals:
Ummmm, well since we're breaking it down into categories, then I'll toss-in ... => my 5 favourite A-Pius Alexandrian Drachms
I cannot isolate 5 Favorite Coins, as there are so many that I love for their place in history and some for their rarity. @rrdenarius always shows cool ones, as I gravitate a lot to his area of collecting also... Here are 5 random that I love: Carthage AR 2/3 Shekel Tanit Horse Sear6491 SNG COP143var RARE Etruria, Populonia 2 ½ asses ( 3rd century BC, AR 0.85 g. Obv: Radiate female head r.; behind, CII. Rev: Blank. Ref: EC 104 (misdescribed, Female head with an Attic helmet). Historia Numorum Italy 179. Of the highest rarity, apparently only the second specimen known. (The other in the British Museum) From the collection of E.E. Clain-Stefanelli BABYLONIA, Babylon AR Tetradrachm / Stater (or Dishekel) Minted ca. 323-328 B.C. 24 mm, 16.3g Obv: Ba’al seated left holding scepter Rev: Lion walking left, control mark Г above. (Control mark was minted during Alexander III Lifetime) Ref: Ref: BMC Arabia XXII no.1 Marsic Confederation - The Social War AR Denarius 3.60g, 20mm Corfinium mint, 89 BC. Obv: Laureate head of Italia right, wearing pearl necklace; ITALIA behind, X (mark of value) below chin Rev: Italia, seated left on shields, holding sceptre in right hand and sword in left, being crowned with wreath by Victory who stands behind; retrograde B in exergue. Ref: Campana 105, Series 7a (same obverse die); Sear 228 w/ control mark inverted B; HN Italy 412a Comments: Cleaning marks to rev. 18 known Rare Roman Republic Anonymous AR Didrachm. Rome mint, circa 265-242 BC. Obv: Head of Roma right, wearing Phrygian helmet, cornucopiae behind Rev: ROMANO, Victory standing right, attaching wreath to long palm, YY in right field. Ref: Crawford 22/1; RSC 7. 6.55g, 18mm, 6h. Ex: the Eucharius Collection
I absolutely LOVE the OP 'Fab Five' and ALL the coins posted. Like TIF, I'm conflicted as to what to choose, especially since I've been on a mini buying spree since 2016 began and I have Brian's historical attitude towards what I prefer---not to mention I'm 'notoriously' indecisive LOL ....but I can easily pick two that would fall within the first five favorites; Tetrabol of the Chalcidian League and a Tet of P-II depicting Ptolemy I:
Challenge Accepted Alexander the Great Tetradrachm Lifetime issue, Tarsos Mint (327-323 BC) Qi Knife "Qi Fa Hua" China, Qi State (600-200 BC) Yong Tong Wan Guo China, Northern Zhou Dynasty (579-581 AD) Xing Chao Tong Bao 1 Fen China, Mind Rebels (~1650 AD) I'm about to buy this one, so I will throw it in. Wang Mang Knife "Qi Dao Wu Bai" China, Wang Mang period (7-9 AD)
