Bit late to the party. Compared to 2022, when I only bought a dozen coins focusing solely on quality, in 2023 however, I didn't have any focus and just kept buying whatever I found fancy and within my range. Last year being hectic didn't help either as I tried to fill my time with mindless scrolling of coin listings. While I'm happy to have most of the coins in my collection, some I could've done better. Only a few acquisitions were planned, the rest simply found their way to me. I made around 25 purchases (with 36 coins), and couldn't trim the list down to 10. So here are my top 15 ancient coins for this year. 15 & 14- Serapis-Agathodaemon from Alexandria This is a 2-in-1 situation, as I like them both equally. The top one is a drachm issued under Antoninus Pius, featuring the human-headed snake Serapis-Agathodaemon riding a horse. When I first saw this type posted by Tif, it instantly became my favourite, and happened to grab this one at an ebay store for a nice price. The coin below is my first Agathodaemon, with thick red patina, and a nice portrait of Hadrian. 13- Overweight denarius of Severus Alexander Coins of SA are probably some of the most common Roman coins, but I lacked one till I saw this coin. Other than the great condition, what's more special is it's weight at 4.35 grams, which is an outlier for a 3rd century denarii. Severus Alexander 225 AD. 19mm, 4.35 grams, unusually heavy for a third century denarius. IMP C M AVR SEV ALEXAND AVG, laureate and draped bust of Severus Alexander to right. Reverse - FIDES MILITVM, Fides standing front, head to left, holding two military standards. BMC 220; Cohen 52; RIC 139. 12- Gigantomachy Athena slaying the snake legged giant Enceladus might be my most favourite scene from Greek mythology. Despite someone biting a chunk off the coin, most important details are still present on both sides. Valerian I Seleucia ad Calycadnum Obv. laureate, draped and cuirassed bust of Valerian, Α Κ ΠΟ ΛΙΚΙΝ ΟΥΑΛƐΡΙΑΝΟϹ Rev. Athena Promachos l. spearing at anguiped Enceladus who raises hands in resistance- ϹƐΛΕΥΚƐΩΝ ΤΩΝ Π[ ]ΚΛΥ(?) 253-260 AD, 6.3 g, SNG 1059. 11- Biggus Dickus An all-time favourite among ancient coin aficionados (unless you're a prude). One of my last acquisitions of 2023, featuring Priapus, the Roman god of fertility and gardens in his full glory. Septimius Severus- Nicopolis ad Istrum 193-211 A.D. 3.23g Obverse: AV KAI CEΠ CEVHPOC, laureate head right; Reverse: NIKOΠOΛI-TΩN ΠPOC IC, Priapus standing and pointing at his phallus. 10- Pandian commemorative issue Let's travel east for this coin, to the south Indian kingdom of the Pandyas. Issued by the Pandyan king Jatavarman Sundara Pandyan I, it commemorates capturing the city of Kachi. What's special about this coin is that it's one of the few Pandiyan coins that can be dated, because of the event associated with it, also this coin shows that Pandyas have become the dominant power in the region, who by the way were subjugated by the Cholas for the previous 3 centuries. My write-up on this coin. Jatavarman Sundara Pandyan I Copper Kasu, 2.85 g Obv: Twin fish interlinked, with sceptre to left, conch below, crescent above, and unknown symbol to right. Reverse: கச்சி வழங்கும் பெருமாள் Kachi-Valangum-Perumal in Tamil (The king who offers Kachi) 1258-1260 AD 9- LEG IIII of Mark Antony LEG IIII is considerably less common compared to LEG IV, and it remains a mystery why the Romans opted to mint coins in both variations, with the IIII being minted in even fewer numbers. Anyhow, I not only got an upgrade to my previous Legionary denarius, but a scarcer issue with legible numbers. Marcus Antonius LEG IIII (Legio Scythica) Ar Denarius, mint moving with M. Antony 32-31 BC. 3.42 g. Obv: ANT AVG – III·VIR·R·P·C Galley r., with sceptre tied with fillet on prow. Rev. LEG – IIII Aquila between two standards. Sydenham 1220, Crawford 544/16. 8- Tetradrachm of Mazakes An imitation of the Athens owl tetradrachm, issued by Mazakes. He was the last Achaemenid satrap of Egypt under Darius III. Despite the numerous test cuts, I won this coin as a part of a lot for really cheap, making it one of my favourite scores. Mazakes Persia/Alexandrine Empire. Satrap of Mesopotamia, circa 331-323/2 BC. AR Tetradrachm, 17.08g Imitating Athens. Helmeted head of Athena right / Owl standing right, head facing; olive spray and crescent to left, "Mazakes symbol" and Aramaic MZ[DK] to right in retrograde. 7- Pompey Magnus Possibly a lifetime issue minted between 64/63 BC to 48 BC, the time between the founding of Pompeiopolis to his assassination. Definitely a cheap way to own a portrait coin of Pompey Magnus with his iconic hairstyle. Obv: Head of Pompey the Great right; A behind. Rev: ΠΟΜΠΗΙΟΠΟΛΙΤΩΝ. Nike advancing right, holding palm frond and wreath; two monograms to right. Countermark in the center. 4.62g. 6- Massive Alexander Tetradrachm I've always wanted one of those tetradrachms minted on a broad flan of >35mm, and these ones from Temnos seem to be the cheaper option. I love the feel of this coin in hand! In name of Alexander III, Aeolis, Temnos mint circa 188-170 BC, 35mm., 15.2 g. Obv: Head of Heracles wearing lion skin headdress. Rev: Zeus Aëtophoros seated holding eagle and sceptre; monogram and E above knee, oinochoe within vine tendril at feet. Price 1676. 5- As of Nero This one is not really special, and most of us have one in our collection. But I've always wanted one of the 'fat busts' and I really love the imperial portraiture of Nero on this coin, and also the strong legends that state his name. Obv: IMP NERO CAESAR AVG P MAX TR P PP. Nero, bare head right. Rev: SC left and right in the field. Victory, draped, flying to the left, holds a shield inscribed SPQR. 10.2g 4- Julia Domna Veneri Victr Another one of my long-sought coin, Julia Domna's denarius featuring the nude Venus. I waited for the right specimen with definite features. They say that the gods on coins often represent the attributes of the emperor/empress, I'm not sure what Domna and Severus were trying to prove having naked Venus and ithyphallic Priapus on their coinage! Julia Domna, 193-195 AD, 2.36g. IVLIA DOMNA AVG VENERI VICTR, Venus standing right, naked to waist, leaning on column to left, holding palm and helmet. 3- Lysimachos Tetradrachm One of my dream coins that depicts Alexander as himself and not as idealised Hercules. I love the high relief and the upward gaze of these Greek portraits. Moreover, there were no specific attribution when I bought it, and part of the fun was hunting down the mint as well as the obverse die-match. Kings of Thrace (Macedonian). Lysimachos, AR Tetradrachm, 16.43 g, 27 mm. 305-281 BC, Sardes mint. Obv: Diademed head of the deified Alexander right, wearing horn of Ammon. Rev: ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ / ΛΥΣΙΜΑΧΟΥ. Athena seated left on throne, holding Nike and spear over shoulder. ΠPΕ monogram outer left, ΔK monogram in exergue. Ref: Thompson 86; HGC 3.2, 1750d. The Rise... 2. Denarius of Augustus I bought this coin from ebay as nothing more than an unattributed junk covered in thick layers of horn silver, and after some cleaning, I turned it into one of my favourite coins that I own. My post on this coin. Augustus AR Denarius (3.32 gm), Lugdunum mint. circa 15-13 BC. Obv: AVGVSTVS DIVI F, bare head right with chopmarks. Rev: IMP X Bull butting to right. ...and The Fall 1- Solidus of Basiliscus Sometimes a coin just finds its way to you. I never intended to acquire such a coin, in fact, I wasn't even aware of who Basiliscus was until a few months ago. Nevertheless, I now own it, and it has become my most cherished possession. Regarding the significance of the coin, It was minted right around the year when Rome, at-least the Western-half fell to the Barbarians! Obv: Basiliscus in Military dress standing facing. DN BASILISCVS PP AVG Rev: Victory standing left supporting long jeweled cross. In right field star. VICTORIA AVGGG Δ. CONOB in exergue. Weight: 4.45g 475 - 476 AD RIC 1003 Honourable mention: While not an ancient, this is certainly a coin that I've wanted for a long time in this grade, even before I started collecting ancient coins. I think it deserves a place in this thread. And that concludes my list of favourite coins from 2023. Thank you for viewing and please share if you have any favourites!
It appears you had a good acquisition year, collecting an eclectic mix of coins. They are great in their own right. I can understand your difficulty in limiting your choices to just ten. if I was forced to choose, Augustus, Alexander and Nero would be my choices, in that order. Thanks for sharing your wonderful coins.
Really cool coins! I like your backdrops for each one! The Alexander Severus denarius is quite pristine, the Priapus coin is a fascinating, amusing piece, can't go wrong with a Mark Antony legionary denarius, and that's a wonderful solidus at the end!
Biggus Dickus . LOL. I can remember the first time I ever watched Monty Python. I can home with my mother in the early 70s from Church. We only got 4 channels. CBS, NBC, ABC and PBS. I turned on the tube and it was on PBS as my younger brother was watching Sesame St. But it was a night time church meeting so we got home around 9pm. When the tube warmed up all I could see was a naked woman and bear breasts. I did not know what I was watching but it was my new fav. show. LOL The life of Brian is now being made by John Cleese for a stage play. They asked him to take out the part of Loretta a man who wants to be a woman and have babies out. He told them to pound sand. That was one of the funny parts. Funny how Monty Python seems to predict the future like the Simpsons.
Monty Python was excellent/ esp. the one with \king Arthur and the Holy Hand Grenade! British comedy doesn't need a laugh track/ shows like "Is there a doctor in the house" or "on the buses" hilarious
