My Top Ten Favorites of 2020 – dougsmit

This my eleventh Top List since we started doin this in 2013. Some of you may remember a few 'Budget' lists where we showed coins that we got for under $100 divided by ten dollar brackets like 'Best coin of the year $11 -$20'. I did this three times in the years when I had enough new coins to make it possible without duplicating my overall list. That will not be the case this year so this might be my last list unless something changes between market conditions and my attitude toward them. Perhaps this year would be a good time to do a 'Top Ten of the Decade' list but rather few of the current crop of active posters have been collecting that long.

I have never posted a year end list this early and was waiting for the results of my bids in the upcoming Frank Robinson sale but all of the coins there that I really wanted have already passed my level of interest so it does not look good for a last minute 'hero coin' to rush in and save 2020 from being a bad year in even another way than those that afflict us all. Reading over my list, I see that about half of the coins are things I might not have bought at all in some years but I did this year. Only time will tell if I discover I am right to doubt those purchases or if I decide I should have compromised more and paid more for lesser coins as now seems to be in fashion.

This year I have ranked the coins counting down from 10 to 1 but, as always, I warn that those relative positions might change from day to day so nothing is guaranteed. This year my explanations of why the coins appealed to me enough to make this list will read a bit less positively than usual. Only #1 is a coin I believe would have ranked near the top in all of my Top Lists. For those who missed the earlier post on our lists, I repeat the link to the Great Curtissimo Index post:

https://www.cointalk.com/threads/ancients-top-10-index.351239/#post-3920428

Read it and posts yours when you are sure 2020 is over for your collection.

Doug's Top Ten of 2020:

10. Vetranio AE2 350 AD / HOC SIGNO VICTOR ERIS



A few years ago, I upgraded my coin of this type with one that turned out to be fake and was returned to the seller. Before I discovered the fake, I had disposed of my previous coin of the type. This coin from CNG in July corrected my error. The Christian type (By this sign you will be victorious) is very popular and usually sells over my head. I paid less for this one than I had for the fake. Go figure!



9. C. Renius AR denarius c.138 BC, Juno Caprotina / Biga of goats



While I am not a specialist in Roman Republican coins, I am attracted to those that show animals other than horses pulling vehicles. I 'needed' the goats. While this coin is pretty high grade for my collection, the small flan (frequent with these) clips into the horns and makes these second class goats. Many of my Coin Talk friends have this type so I can blame peer pressure for its purchase from Frank Robinson in February. As a side benefit, this issue of 138 BC was very early for coin types personalized by the moneyer rather than using the Roma/horses motif. Juno Caprotina was the patron of Lanuvium where the Renius family called home.



8. Kroton AR stater



I was absolutely thrilled when I discovered I had won this stater in the May Robinson sale. I love the incuse reverse Magna Graecia coins and this one with a different reverse type was a special want. It even came with a 1961 provenance and tag. So, how did it fall from #1 all the way down to #8? The coin has gouges, too bad to be 'scratches', in the incuse eagle. It turns out I really am a condition oriented collector after all. I really wanted to return the coin but I knew that I would never have a coin this nice without any faults so I kept it and stopped wondering how I had been so lucky. As said so many times in my list this year, Any other year, this coin would not have made the list. I bought about one third as many coins as I averaged in recent years.





7. Vologases V, Parthia, AE chalkous 0.98g



Smallest, ugliest and cheapest of this year's ten is this AE chalkous of the Parthian king Vologases V (191-208 AD). I always wanted a coin of his since he was the Parthian king who fought Septimius Severus. His common coin is an expensive silver drachm with facing bust but I have never found one at a price I could justify. This coin came from the Pars auction in April where it was described as a dichalkous, one of several he has sold this year, despite it weighing much less than the others. I believe it is a chalkous but I don't know enough for my opinion to matter. As these go, the portrait is not bad. The reverse head of Tyche (or is it Athena?) is poor. I wanted a cheap coin of Vologases V and I got one.



6. Septimius Severus, AR denarius, Alexandria mint LIBERO PATRI



I am embarrassed that the total of 24 coins I bought in 2020, only two were Eastern mint Septimius Severus denarii. Other people are paying more than I will so I get only the ones no one else wanted. This Alexandria mint denarius with Libero Patri reverse is too scarce for me to think the newcomers to my obsession already had one. Many of the coins of the McAlee collection sold by CNG in September went for way more than I would have paid so this was the only one I won from that sale of coins in my specialty. I consider myself lucky to have it. There are still a few Alexandria mint types I lack. Will I get lucky in 2021?



5. Sybaris AR trias? 9mm, 0.25g



My #1 coin of 2015 was sold and replaced by a 'lesser' (but better to me) coin which made #2 in 2016. Each of them was a bull nomos of Sybaris from the 6th century BC. #5 this year is a fractional (trias?) from the bull series. Instead of the incuse bull reverse, this little fellow shows the first two letters in the city name in archaic letters and four dots which I take to be the denomination (I'm often wrong but that is my reading of the coin). If the nomos is ~8g, this coin's weight would be closer to a half litra. The coin requires more study. It came from Frank Robinson in February.



4. Tarkondimotos I, Cilicia, AE22 with anchor countermark



Tarkondimotos is probably the second most famous of the pirates who operated off the coast of Cilicia in the first century BC. He was outranked by the crew that kidnapped Julius Caesar and asked such a small ransom for him that the offended Caesar tracked them down and crucified them all. Tarkondimotos was more politically skilled and allied himself with a series of Roman Imperators and was made king of Cilicia. He died fighting for Mark Antony in 31 BC. This coin is special due to the line at the bottom of the reverse identifying Tarkondimotos as 'friend of Antony'. Most of these coins I have seen are countermarked with an anchor on the obverse that flattens the reference to Antony. I believe this was done by the sons of Tarkondimotos who abandoned Antony to side with Octavian and that the mark was done intentionally to deface that name. My coin received an angled blow of the countermark that split the coin rather than flattening the offensive name. This came from Frank Robinson in May and probably was cheaper for me because of the damaging split that saved the word I wanted.



3. Tiberius, AE as / rudder and globe, 36-37 AD



#3 is a coin I have wanted for a long time. I already had a decent example of the same rudder/globe type from TR POT 37 but this one was a 38. That is the sort of difference that should only interest a specialist in Tiberius BUT I wanted it because that year date 38 was expressed with a double subtractive XXXIIX (37 was XXXVII – boring). I have bought many coins for strange reasons. This is a decent looking as but I wanted it and it made this list solely for that 38. I must have wanted it since I bought it in June from Lucernae, a European dealer, making it my only overseas purchase this year. The seller and post office gave it great service making me think I overreact to the horror stories some of you have told about long distance purchases. I am simply not interested in delivery drama.



2. Clodius Albinus, AE24 , Pautalia



There are very few Provincial coins of Clodius Albinus. This is probably the most common one and is known in better condition so I am now at a loss to explain why I bought it. It arrived in July from a poor service dealer (name not being advertised here) and cost more than I would have paid before Covid induced cancellations made me do silly things. I must be happy to have the coin since I ranked it #2 but it came after I got #1 below. I really did not need both but as poor a year as 2020 has been.........





1. Clodius Albinus and Septimius Severus, AE25, Pautalia / serpent, tree and altar



Coin #2 would have been really special to me were it not for being outshown by this year's #1. These have more or less the same reverse except for the pose of the snake and they are from the same city. This one came to me in June from the web page of PeteB here on Coin Talk and is the plate coin for Varbanov 4866. There was one other (similar condition) die duplicate sold by Lanz (121,451) but I have not found others. Septimius Severus made Clodius Albinus Caesar so he would not have to fight him at the same time he was at war with Pescennius Niger but set him aside as soon as Pescennius was dead. I am not aware of other facing portrait pairs for the two. This coin leads my list for this year and would probably make my top ten for all time. This is one of those coins that does not exist in high grade. I am privileged to have it.

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Your top 5 on this list are my favorites, and if 1 and 2 were mine, 4 out of 10 coins in my list this year would be from Pautalia. If you are ever of a mind to make my year special, you know where to send them. Glad to see that you didn't have an entirely fallow coin year, Doug. Quite far from it, from what I can see.

 

As always, great selection of coins Doug & your reasons for adding them. I think my favorites would be the Vetranio & the Alexandria Severus. #1 is pretty special too & not one I have ever seen the type of before.

 

Great top 10 list as always!
I am finding it hard to choose which is my favorite. The one that sticks out the most to me is the Kroton AR stater. The bird design is beautiful.

 

Great coins and lots of variety. My favorite would be the Tiberius AS. Both the coin and the story of why it appealed to you.

 

Nice to know why each coin made the list.

And I can't help but agree with your #1 pick - truly an outstanding coin!

 

I am in no measure expert in colonial or "Greek imperial" coinage but they seem by far the most diverse and creative designs of the Roman world. And the Severus and Albinus with Glykon(?) reverse is spectacular.

 

Such a wide variety and fields of interest : @dougsmit, you're a boss !
#1 is exceptionnal. #7 isn't bad either

I've just checked : about 350 coins found their way to my trays during the last ten years, 190 of them being Dombes coinage. Statistically, a top ten of the decade would thus probably include six or seven of them, which most of you would find dead bore, even though some are exceptionnal finds

Q

 

Great Top 10, @dougsmit . I enjoy the Goat Biga and the Kroton the best.

And the AR Trias? Very nice!

Congrats on a wonderful year.

 

My favorite is #9, the republican denarius . Despite the undersized flan, the coin has a fine style obverse that is well centered & the coin has attractive toning. My next favorite is #10 . The coin has an excellent portrait & a fine patina. I'd consider both coins "high grade", bucking your trend for acquiring well worn coins .

 

@dougsmit Excellent coins, Doug. Your rationale for acquiring them and placing them in the order you have makes for an educational read. I'm partial to your numbers 1 and 2, the Alexandrian of Severus with Libero, and the "pirate" coin because of the history surrounding it.

You mentioned a "top 10 of the decade" but that some forum members may not have been collecting that long. Maybe forum members could post an "all-time top ten since you've been collecting," whether 50 years or 2 years, for those who would want to participate.

 

Great list, thank you for sharing. My favorite is your Tarkondimotos I coin.
Reading why a coin gets your attention is always interesting.

 

Terrific coins and informative write-up Doug. It looks to me you had a pretty good year. My favorite is the countermarked pirate, but I have an especial fondness for countermarks -

I'm always thrilled when somebody's top ten has something that I have - I too got the weird "double subtractive" Roman numerals this year - in far worse shape than yours:




Tiberius Æ As
(36-37 A.D.)
Rome Mint
[TI C]AESAR DIVI AVG F A[VGVST IM]P VIII, laureate head left / PONTIF MAXIM TRIBVN [POTEST XX]XIIX S-C, vertical winged caduceus.
RIC 65; BMC 120.
(11.06 grams / 29 x 27 mm)

 

Kroton stater wins, with Tiberius a close second, IMO.

 

...great coins Doug...you are a cornerstone of the coin collecting community and we appreciate you & your coins!

 

Great coins... I really like #4 - the reference to Mark Antony is amazing.
I also love the Tiberius. Thank you for posting.

 

Thanks for sharing your coins and thoughts. My favorite is the left facing Tiberius. It has an excellent portrait and a neat rudder reverse. The designs of similar asses on acsearch vary a lot. Was this because they were issued by different mints or different artists at the same mint?

This is the best reason to have this coin.

 

Great Top 10 coins!
Very informative writeups.

 

Wow, like going to a coin show online, thank you for sharing.

 

Some great coins Doug, very diverse group each with an interesting historical background, I like the Kroton stater, Tiberius not only for the reason you mentioned but eye appeal, and of course your number 1, Pautalia / serpent, tree and altar (which to me looks like a lighthouse). Congrats on a fantastic year.