For the second half of the collecting year, starting in about July or August, I dove into Greek coins and even bought a Persian Empire coin that I really liked. Expanding my envelope has been an adventure. Here are a few of my favorite ancient acquisitions from the second half of 2014. Alexander III "The Great" Tetradrachm. This was my first Greek and it is from the Side mint, either a lifetime or early posthumous issue. Why not start with an iconic ancient Greek coin? I shopped around for about a month to get one that I liked and fit within my budget. Cilicia Tarsus Stater of Pharnabazos. OK so it's Persian and not a Greek coin, but I just couldn't pass this one up. Just started collecting Greeks and I'm already busting out of my lane! See what happens in this hobby! Back to the Greek coins. I couldn't pass on this hemilitron of the Syracusan Tyrant Hieron II. Price was right and the coin was in great condition compared to others of this type I had seen. Then I came full circle back to Roman coins and finished up the year with a coin I'd been meaning to add to my collection for a while. A Mark Antony Legionary Denarius with war galley and VII Legion standards. All in all a fun year broadening my ancient collecting horizons. I look forward to more collecting in 2015!
Wow => you finished the year with an ummpphhh!! (I like all four of those babies) ... my favs of this coin-quartet are Hieron II and Alex III
That's a tetradrachm minted under Alexander the Great. I think they are fairly common, but still can be a little pricey since they are in high demand. When most people think of an ancient Greek coin, this is one of the types that comes to mind. Probably because of the iconic images of Hercules wearing a lion skin on the obverse and the image of Zeus holding the eagle on the reverse. It doesn't get more classically ancient Greek than Zeus and Hercules. This type coin was minted under various different Greek rulers but the fact that this coin was minted under Alexander the Great adds a little extra cache. Lifetime issues are more coveted than posthumous issues. There is still some debate in numismatic circles as to whether the image of Hercules was minted in the likeness of Alexander III. Here are two links for some more info on the type. http://www.forumancientcoins.com/numiswiki/view.asp?key=alexander tetradrachms http://alexanderthegreatcoins.reidgold.com/tets.html Nice ones can still be had in the $400-800 range. Superior specimens will cost a little more.
Definitely nice coins, congrats. I'll get a Alexander III someday, I think. Marcus Antonius Denarius is also on my wishlist. That Hieron II coin is totally awesome. Want one of those too. lol
Great choices Race. I really like the Tarsus piece. That Herion you picked out is quite nice as well. I am glad you were able to slide a Persian in there under the radar.
those are some sweet coins RB..i didn't remember that second coin. i went back and looked through the old threads and found your OP...i must have missed it somehow. glad i caught it this time around, it's a fantastic coin!
An excellent end to the top 10. I love the reverse on the Hieron II ae. That tet looks nice and chunky too. Greats coins
I try to collect the Mark Anthony Legionary Denarii whenever I find one at a decent price. Sometimes they are hard to find affordable. Nice find.
