pprp's Top 3 for 2019

This was quite a productive year, with several nice coins at fair prices. Here is my top 3 in no particular order.

Wishing a happy numismatic 2020 to all!


Thrace, Maroneia. Circa 436/5-411/0 BC. Stater (silver 14.23 g, 27 mm). Magistrate Posideios. Free horse springing to left; above, Corinthian helmet to left; below ΜΑΡΩΝ Rev. ΠΟΣΙΔΗΙΟΣ Grape vine with four bunches of grapes and four leaves. Schönert-Geiss Die Münzprägung von Maroneia (1987) no.151.1 (this coin), Babelon Traité des monnaies grecques et romaines (1932) II/4, 1459 Taf. 341, 4 (this coin), Allen B. West Fifth and fourth century gold coins from the Thracian coast (1929) no.21a (this coin). Very rare, one of two known. Toned and struck on a broad flan. Very fine.

ex-Bank Leu Auction 15, lot 162, 4-5 May 1976; ex-Collection De Nanteuil, lot 715, Auction Florange-Ciani, Paris 1925





MACEDON, Akanthos. Circa 500-480 BC. AR Tetradrachm (17.01 g). Attic standard. Leopard left, attacking bull crouching right; floral ornament in exergue / Quadripartite incuse square. Desneux 21. Near EF, very rare, possibly the second known, the other in Boston MFA.





BRUTTIUM, Rhegion. Circa 425-420 BC. AR Tetradrachm (30mm, 16.65 g, 2h). Facing lion's head / Iokastos (or Aristaios?) seated left, holding scepter; grape bunch on vine to right; all within laurel wreath. Herzfelder 61 (D35/R50); HN Italy 2491; SNG Lloyd 685 (same dies); SNG München 1578 (same dies); Winterthur 529 = Pozzi 324 (same dies); de Luynes 789 (same dies). VF.

ex Baron Friedrich von Schennis Collection (J. Hirsch XXXIII, 17 November 1913), lot 262; F. Martinetti Collection; G. Nervegna Collection (Sambon-Canessa, 18 November 1907), lot 627.

 

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Very nice coins with character and prestigious pedigrees in addition. Well done! I also wish you a similarly successful numismatic 2020!

 

All three are wonderful examples. My favorite is the Akanthos.

 

Three great coins, I prefer the first one : nice horse and terrific reverse

Q

 

Stunning examples, very artistic designs! Wish you a great 2020 coin year!
John

 

Ohh man! That Akanthos artistry is breathtaking
And I've always loved the facing Lions

 

That Acanthus is something you don't see every day. Could you take a high resolution image of the obverse at some point? I'd love to see more of the detail.

 

Quite an amazing top 3, to say the least. Congrats on an impressive year of collecting.

 

Nice 2019 purchases. I also like the Akanthos. A large coin with cool details.

 

Great coins, thanks for sharing.

I do not remember seeing a leopard. It is superb.

 

Lovely examples. The Maroneia stater is particularly appealing to me.

 

Wow! Very nice Top 3! I really like them all, and can easily imagine me having any of them in my collection. Well done, @pprp

 

Dear all thanks a lot for replying and for appreciating the coins! @AncientJoe I am posting a better photo of the akanthos, but I plan to shoot an even better one which I will also post.

Here's the link to the Boston MFA example
https://collections.mfa.org/objects/2373/tetradrachm-of-akanthos-with-lioness-attacking-bull

Desneux discusses the controversy and supports that the feline depicted is a lion rather than a leopard; I am on the opposite side....

 

I agree with your interpretation: the claws and circles on the body are very leopard-esque. Yes, there were some coins with circles engraved on them for stylistic purposes, but it would seem odd that it would only be on the top animal, not the bottom, indicating to me that it was deliberate.

Or some engraver messed up, was scolded by his boss, and the emission was stopped (hence the scarcity of the type ).

 

Show a photo of a lioness to a kid and tell him/her "this is a girl lion". Then show a photo of a leopard to the kid and ask him/her to describe the leopard... The answer is a girl lion with spots... This is exactly what I think the ancient engraver tried to depict. @Nicholas Molinari I was considering to write an article on the theme, do you think it would fit in koinon?

 

Sure, go for it!

 

All outstanding coins, @pprp, the Bruttium lion's head impressive too!

 

pprp, Beautiful acquisitions ! The Akanthos tet is spectacular . I tend to think the attacking creature was originally meant to be a lion; its physique & tail look more like a lion. Engraving a coin die is like engraving a piece of glass, you can't replace what's been removed but you can alter it to make it look like something else. Maybe the engraver went too deep on a couple of drill points (dots) & then decided to make a pattern on the creatures surface? Food for thought...

 

Agree. I prefer leopard with intentional spots to a lion with measles.

 

Another leopard from the MFA collection, from Africa. Just happened to see it today and thought of yours.



Sorry for the blur—I was chasing two kids on my own!