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<p>[QUOTE="Roman Collector, post: 3265292, member: 75937"]I was going to wait for a few more weeks to post this because the year isn't over yet. But I don't want to miss out on all the fun and if I get another coin in the next couple of weeks that warrants inclusion, I'll post an addendum!</p><p><br /></p><p>This list was tough to compile because I purchased a lot of coins this year and I like them all. Last summer, I <a href="https://www.cointalk.com/threads/rcs-top-10-of-2018-so-far.318283/" class="internalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://www.cointalk.com/threads/rcs-top-10-of-2018-so-far.318283/">posted a list</a> of the top 10 I had purchased in 2018 up to that time, but I’ve added so many cool additions to my collection that only the top two from my original list made the final cut! Without further ado, I present my top 10 of 2018:</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]859996[/ATTACH]</p><p>10. Apollo preparing to slay Python is the subject of the reverse design on this coin, a Pentassarion from Marcianopolis issued by Caracalla. I love mythological scenes on coins, particularly because such scenes have inspired numerous artists over the centuries, as I <a href="https://www.cointalk.com/threads/apollo-versus-python.327205/" class="internalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://www.cointalk.com/threads/apollo-versus-python.327205/">discussed in an earlier thread</a>.</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]859997[/ATTACH]</p><p>9. I was happy to acquire this Roman provincial coin of Geta issued by the mint in Cremna in Pisidia, a city I had not yet had in my collection. I purchased it because I was fascinated by the goddess on the reverse: Mida. As I <a href="https://www.cointalk.com/threads/geta-and-mida-ae-20-of-cremna.323117/" class="internalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://www.cointalk.com/threads/geta-and-mida-ae-20-of-cremna.323117/">note in an earlier thread</a>, Mida is a manifestation of Kybele considered by the ancient Phrygians to be the mother of King Midas.</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]859998[/ATTACH]</p><p>8. I was so enamored by the depiction of Artemis on the reverse of this Roman Provincial of Gordian III from Hadrianopolis that I translated the <i>Homeric Hymn 27 to Artemis</i> from ancient Greek into English and explored the iconography of Artemis the huntress on ancient coins <a href="https://www.cointalk.com/threads/artemis-the-huntress.318722/" class="internalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://www.cointalk.com/threads/artemis-the-huntress.318722/">in an earlier thread</a>.</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]859999[/ATTACH]</p><p>7. Antoninus Pius was one proud grandpa! This sestertius may not be the highest grade or most well-preserved example, but research about it led me on a fun <a href="https://www.cointalk.com/threads/antoninus-pius-grandchildren-but-which-ones.314260/" class="internalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://www.cointalk.com/threads/antoninus-pius-grandchildren-but-which-ones.314260/">quest</a> to identify who the two grandchildren depicted on the reverse might be.</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]860000[/ATTACH]</p><p>6. Coins don’t have to be expensive or rare to be cool. The goddess Isis is cool, and <a href="https://www.cointalk.com/threads/isis-sistrum-and-situla.322101/" class="internalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://www.cointalk.com/threads/isis-sistrum-and-situla.322101/">research about the reverse</a> of this antoninianus of Claudius Gothicus taught me a lot about her attributes – the <i>sistrum</i> and <i>situla</i>.</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]860002[/ATTACH]</p><p>5. I added this Roman provincial to my collection because it was from a city I did not have represented in my collection, Seleukeia ad Kalykadnon in Cilicia. Curiosity about the coin – particularly its triangular countermark – let me to do a <a href="https://www.cointalk.com/threads/circle-in-triangle-countermark.319858/" class="internalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://www.cointalk.com/threads/circle-in-triangle-countermark.319858/">die-study and explore the countermark</a> in detail.</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]860003[/ATTACH]</p><p>4. I’ve <a href="https://www.cointalk.com/threads/quadriga-of-lions.324114/" class="internalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://www.cointalk.com/threads/quadriga-of-lions.324114/">asked it before</a> and I’ll ask it again: “Is there anything cooler than Cybele riding in a quadriga pulled by lions?” I've wanted one of these denarii of Julia Domna for years and I finally got one!</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]860004[/ATTACH]</p><p>3. Research into the enigmatic reverse on this denarius of Faustina I led me to write what became a <a href="https://www.cointalk.com/threads/not-a-shield-but-the-circle-of-the-zodiac.319539/" class="internalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://www.cointalk.com/threads/not-a-shield-but-the-circle-of-the-zodiac.319539/">featured article</a>. I concluded that what appear to be an apple and shield are actually a globe and zodiac circle. Researching this coin’s reverse was among the most interesting research projects in ancient numismatics I have ever done!</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]860007[/ATTACH]</p><p>2. This humble provincial of Julia Domna from Marcianopolis depicting The Three Nymphs led me not only to learn about what distinguishes the nymphs from the Three Graces, but to also do a die study. <a href="https://www.cointalk.com/threads/three-nymphs-not-three-graces.316058/" class="internalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://www.cointalk.com/threads/three-nymphs-not-three-graces.316058/">My study</a> revealed the coin appears to have produced from only two pairs of obverse and reverse dies, without crossover between them. This project was fascinating and a lot of fun.</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]860008[/ATTACH]</p><p>1. I have a long-standing interest in the coins of the Antonine Dynasty and this coin is one of the most notable of those depicting Faustina I. Moreover, it appears to be extremely scarce in the middle bronze denomination and I have been unable to find a single example of it online. But its scarcity is not what makes it interesting. Its reverse is interesting.</p><p><br /></p><p>As I note in an <a href="https://www.cointalk.com/threads/funeral-pyre-dupondius.324353/" class="internalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://www.cointalk.com/threads/funeral-pyre-dupondius.324353/">earlier thread</a>, its reverse represents the earliest artistic representation of an imperial funeral pyre on Roman coinage. Moreover, the remains of the crematorium built by Antoninus Pius for his wife's funeral – depicted here on this coin – have been discovered near the Piazza Montecitorio, west of the Corso.</p><p><br /></p><p>I hope you all have a wonderful 2019, filled with amazing acquisitions and abundance and prosperity.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>
[QUOTE="Roman Collector, post: 3265292, member: 75937"]I was going to wait for a few more weeks to post this because the year isn't over yet. But I don't want to miss out on all the fun and if I get another coin in the next couple of weeks that warrants inclusion, I'll post an addendum! This list was tough to compile because I purchased a lot of coins this year and I like them all. Last summer, I [URL='https://www.cointalk.com/threads/rcs-top-10-of-2018-so-far.318283/']posted a list[/URL] of the top 10 I had purchased in 2018 up to that time, but I’ve added so many cool additions to my collection that only the top two from my original list made the final cut! Without further ado, I present my top 10 of 2018: [ATTACH=full]859996[/ATTACH] 10. Apollo preparing to slay Python is the subject of the reverse design on this coin, a Pentassarion from Marcianopolis issued by Caracalla. I love mythological scenes on coins, particularly because such scenes have inspired numerous artists over the centuries, as I [URL='https://www.cointalk.com/threads/apollo-versus-python.327205/']discussed in an earlier thread[/URL]. [ATTACH=full]859997[/ATTACH] 9. I was happy to acquire this Roman provincial coin of Geta issued by the mint in Cremna in Pisidia, a city I had not yet had in my collection. I purchased it because I was fascinated by the goddess on the reverse: Mida. As I [URL='https://www.cointalk.com/threads/geta-and-mida-ae-20-of-cremna.323117/']note in an earlier thread[/URL], Mida is a manifestation of Kybele considered by the ancient Phrygians to be the mother of King Midas. [ATTACH=full]859998[/ATTACH] 8. I was so enamored by the depiction of Artemis on the reverse of this Roman Provincial of Gordian III from Hadrianopolis that I translated the [I]Homeric Hymn 27 to Artemis[/I] from ancient Greek into English and explored the iconography of Artemis the huntress on ancient coins [URL='https://www.cointalk.com/threads/artemis-the-huntress.318722/']in an earlier thread[/URL]. [ATTACH=full]859999[/ATTACH] 7. Antoninus Pius was one proud grandpa! This sestertius may not be the highest grade or most well-preserved example, but research about it led me on a fun [URL='https://www.cointalk.com/threads/antoninus-pius-grandchildren-but-which-ones.314260/']quest[/URL] to identify who the two grandchildren depicted on the reverse might be. [ATTACH=full]860000[/ATTACH] 6. Coins don’t have to be expensive or rare to be cool. The goddess Isis is cool, and [URL='https://www.cointalk.com/threads/isis-sistrum-and-situla.322101/']research about the reverse[/URL] of this antoninianus of Claudius Gothicus taught me a lot about her attributes – the [I]sistrum[/I] and [I]situla[/I]. [ATTACH=full]860002[/ATTACH] 5. I added this Roman provincial to my collection because it was from a city I did not have represented in my collection, Seleukeia ad Kalykadnon in Cilicia. Curiosity about the coin – particularly its triangular countermark – let me to do a [URL='https://www.cointalk.com/threads/circle-in-triangle-countermark.319858/']die-study and explore the countermark[/URL] in detail. [ATTACH=full]860003[/ATTACH] 4. I’ve [URL='https://www.cointalk.com/threads/quadriga-of-lions.324114/']asked it before[/URL] and I’ll ask it again: “Is there anything cooler than Cybele riding in a quadriga pulled by lions?” I've wanted one of these denarii of Julia Domna for years and I finally got one! [ATTACH=full]860004[/ATTACH] 3. Research into the enigmatic reverse on this denarius of Faustina I led me to write what became a [URL='https://www.cointalk.com/threads/not-a-shield-but-the-circle-of-the-zodiac.319539/']featured article[/URL]. I concluded that what appear to be an apple and shield are actually a globe and zodiac circle. Researching this coin’s reverse was among the most interesting research projects in ancient numismatics I have ever done! [ATTACH=full]860007[/ATTACH] 2. This humble provincial of Julia Domna from Marcianopolis depicting The Three Nymphs led me not only to learn about what distinguishes the nymphs from the Three Graces, but to also do a die study. [URL='https://www.cointalk.com/threads/three-nymphs-not-three-graces.316058/']My study[/URL] revealed the coin appears to have produced from only two pairs of obverse and reverse dies, without crossover between them. This project was fascinating and a lot of fun. [ATTACH=full]860008[/ATTACH] 1. I have a long-standing interest in the coins of the Antonine Dynasty and this coin is one of the most notable of those depicting Faustina I. Moreover, it appears to be extremely scarce in the middle bronze denomination and I have been unable to find a single example of it online. But its scarcity is not what makes it interesting. Its reverse is interesting. As I note in an [URL='https://www.cointalk.com/threads/funeral-pyre-dupondius.324353/']earlier thread[/URL], its reverse represents the earliest artistic representation of an imperial funeral pyre on Roman coinage. Moreover, the remains of the crematorium built by Antoninus Pius for his wife's funeral – depicted here on this coin – have been discovered near the Piazza Montecitorio, west of the Corso. I hope you all have a wonderful 2019, filled with amazing acquisitions and abundance and prosperity.[/QUOTE]
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