Ryro's Top 10 Macedonian Shield Coins of 2020

Ok,ok. You already noticed I posted two coins that were purchased in November of last year
Give a guy a break. I was two thirds done making my list last year when I fell asleep and when I awoke all my work was gone. Soooooo, I abandoned it and never shared a list last year.
To make up for it, you get two, maybe, this year.
I'll give you all the best of the beast that I am and share my top ten Maco Shield Coins
I may share my next top ten in order of favorites, but you wouldn't ask a papa to rank his children would you!?!
And MSCs are just that to me. So, you'll see they are ranked oldest that we can tell to new(ish)est

A no brainer really. Strong strike, even if a bit off, fun patina and of course there fact that it has the club and bowcase clearly connects it to the also really available Macedonian Herakles obverse coins with the same iconography on their reverse:

Alexander III 'the Great'
336-323 BC Ae. Uncertain mint in Asia Minor.Obv: Macedonian shield w/ omphalos boss.Rev: K. Bow in bow-case, club and grain ear.Price -; Liampi M 11; AMNG I 207-8 (Kallatis).
Diameter: 15mm
Weight: 2.16gr
Condition: Very Fine
Provenance: From a Private UK Collection. Ex: Ares numismatics

Yeah, that is a three quarters looking at you Herakles. It is VERY hard to get this type and be able to tell what is on thre shield boss (center of shield) if you haven't seen it before:

Macedonian Kingdom. Anonymous issues.
Ca. 323-310 B.C. AE half unit (17 mm, 3.93 g, 1 h). Uncertain mint in Western Asia Minor. Head of Herakles facing 3/4 right, wearing lion's skin headdress, forming central boss of Macedonian shield ornamented with five double crescents / Crested Macedonian helmet with cheek guards; caduceus to left, monogram to right. Price 2803 var (monogram and symbol arrangement); SNG Alpha Bank 849 var (quarter unit, no monogram); cf. Liampi 139-156. VF. Rare Variety.
Former Savoca

Near perfect Gorgon, black as the night on a moonless night with just a few speckles of earth. I blush thinking how cheap this went
https://www.cointalk.com/threads/my...-three-latest-deliveries.366022/#post-4835413

Antigonos I Monophthalmos
As king, 306/5-301 BC. Æ Unit (16mm, 4.56 g, 12h). Salamis mint. Struck under Demetrios I Poliorketes. Macedonian shield, boss decorated with facing gorgoneion / Macedonian helmet; kerykeion and monogram to lower left and right. Price 3159 (c. 323-315 BC)

Yeppers, a real rarity of the highest importance on a tiny little piece of silver and a raging elephant on the reverse ta boot https://www.cointalk.com/threads/my...-venus-reverse-its-a-msc.348938/#post-3791504
:

Seleucus I
AR Hemiobol, Antioch on the Orotnes 300-281 BCE 0.49 gr 8MM
OBV: Omphalos on Macedonian Shield.
Rev: BA έE, elephant head right. Dotted border. Left field N
Ref: SC 14
Ex: Ares

I purchased one of these in Feb (better known now as, The Before Times) and thought it possibly singular. 10 months later and I thankfully found another with a much easier to read Antigonus monogram and a dazzling green and red patina. Note the ears on the helmet; grain ears. You will only find those on Antigonus IIs magnificent Satyr tets and on these little half units:

Antigonos II Gonatas/Antigonus III Doson
Æ (13mm, 1.8 g,1/2 unit). Uncertain Macedonian mint. Macedonian shield with monogram of Antigonos in central boss / Macedonian helmet sans bushel flanked by grain ears ; kerykeion to left, green patina.

Whorl with BEEFY club and an inexplicably missing I on the reverse. A mystery and a beauty.
https://www.cointalk.com/threads/wh...greece-da-club-of-course.345632/#post-3674855
Lucky me

Philip V, 221-179 BC. Hemiobol (Bronze, 17 mm, 5.01 g, 12 h), circa 186-183/2 BC. Macedonian shield with whorl/six crescents in boss. Rev. BA ΦI (I curiously missing) around club. Mamroth, Bronzemünzen 16. SNG Kikpe 450. SNG München 1169-71. Well centered, pleasant green patina. Very fine. Ex: Savoca

Here is my second from @Severus Alexander AMCC 2 and one of my most beautiful RRs. As well, it couldn't have a more beautiful shield (that those creep Roman's are trampling over):
T. Quinctius Flamininus, 126 BCE, AR denarius. Rome, 3.91g, 18mm.
Obv: Helmeted bust of Roma right; flamen's cap behind; XVI ligate below chin
Rev: The Dioscuri riding right, each holding a couched lance, stars above; Macedonian shield between T-Q below; ROMA in exergue.
Crawford 267/1
The key feature of the type – the Macedonian shield on the reverse – is very clear on this example.
Issued by a descendant of the more famous Flamininus, a philhellene who prosecuted the second Macedonian War against Philip V and proclaimed freedom for Greece.
Ex: AMCC 2 consigned by Caesar_Augustus

They say pictures don't do them justice all the time. This coin is the reason they started saying that... man, I would love to know who this was minted under:

Pseudo-autonomous issue, 1st century AD. (Bronze, 17 mm, 4.97 g), Beroia. Macedonian shield. Rev. MΑΚΕΔΟΝΩΝ Nike standing to left on globe, holding wreath with the extended right hand and palm branch with the left. SNG Cop. 1331. SNG ANS.-. RPC -. Unusual and rare; a very interesting exampleA very interesting and scarce emission of the Macedonian Koinon
MACEDON. Koinon of Macedon. Ex: Munzzentrum

Stepping up in the world I purchased this, my fourth tet, and couldn't be more proud. Now into the Antigonus Satyr and then the Perseus tets:

Macedonia under Roman rule
AR tetradrachm- 16,21 gram,31 mm, struck after 168AD at Amphipolis
obv: diademed head of Artemis Tauropolos facing right with quiver over shoulder in the center of a Macedonian shield, shield decorated with seven eight-pointed stars within double crescents
rev: Club of Herakles within oak wreath, monograms and legend around, thunderbolt at left
AMNG III, 159, SNG Cop 1314, BMC 2
Ex NB-Numismatics

You wouldn't like Vespasian when he's angry!
Jk... sort of. Just finished looking at @Orfew amazing Flavian top 10 that gave me the inspiration to do a "specialist" top ten of my own... though, I think his lovely 10 may have cost a buck er two more than mine:

Vespasian
MAKEDON. Koinon . ( 69 - 79 AD). Ae. Obv: Laureate head left . ΑΥΤΟΚΡΑΤ [ΩΡ ΚΑΙΣΑΡ] ΟΥΕΣΠΑΣΙΑΝΟΣ. Rev: ΚΟΙΝΟΝ ΜΑΚΕΔΟΝΩΝ. Makedonian Shield. RPC 333. SNG COP. 1336. Rare. Condition: Extremely Fine. Weight: 8.82 g. Diameter: 23 mm. Purchased from: Papillon

Well, that's it. Thanks for taking a look and making life a bit more fun by participating in the ranking
Happy Saturnalia to you and your loved ones

 

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WOW what a brilliant bunch of shields, but that Amphipolis TET really shines but all great in their own way, congrats.

 

Ryro, Great selections for an unusual & fascinating specialty ! The Whorl Shield bronze is my favorite, followed by the Flaminius denarius, & the rare Hemiobol from Antioch.

 

Nice shield coins my friend. My favorites are:

Flamininus denarius - I love the uppity-ness of bragging about the exploits of a more famous ancestor... Roman Republicans...

Amphipolis tetradrachm - Nice toning and a great all around coin.

3/4 Hurcules - Look at that little fella...

 

LOL, does @Ryro like shields??? Is that some subliminal message that he is hiding behind them?

What a great collection, Dude. A great collecting focus, neat.

Nice job for 2020. Congrats!

 

Great collection of Macedonian shields Ryro! Really like the Alex III with bow-case and the pseudo-autonomous with Nike is sweet!

 

Nice collection with a theme on shields. Thanks for sharing.
The Antigonos I coin with a gorgoneion head shield is my favorite.

 

@Ryro, hard to pick one over the other - I can see your ranking dilemma. The jade green Vespasian tops my list, with hypnotizing, "whorl/six crescents" of Philip V next, and after that I had to go with T. Quinctius Flamininus playing games with a steel soccer ball.
A great shield set! Thanks too for many lively posts this year. Best wishes!

 

Thanks so much!
The fun thing for me is that it never seemed unusual. I fell in love with them early. The coins that regular folks used in the hellenistic world, that are miniature emblems of war that graced the ancient implements of said war aaand coinage that was more than likely created in Alexander the great's lifetime for him...umm, yes please

Glad to read the whorl gets some love

Philip V
Bottiaiai (Spartolos) AR Pentobol. Circa 185-168 BC. Macedonian shield / Prow of galley right, on which BOTTEATΩN, ΘΕ below. BMC Macedonia p. 64, 3; SNG Evelpidis 1207. 1.32g, 12.73mm.
Good Very Fine.
This type was struck by Philip V of Macedon on behalf of the Bottiaeans. BMC Macedonia 3 type
A nice example but crystalized and broken
Ex: Marc Breightspretcher

Don't ask why the whorl song bombed me with this 80s hair band classic:

 

Great bunch of shields but I have to go with the Victory reverse! Always a huge fan of Victory/Nike and I think that it is a really interesting reverse that I don't think I've seen on a shield coin.
Thanks for sharing!

 

Terrific top 10 @Ryro !!! I like the consistency of your collection...that you stick to a particular theme! No 1 & 8 would have to be my favourites!

 

I REALLY think that if you MADE me pick out a #1, though I'd seppuku soon after, that tet tickled me all over when it finally arrived I was elated (after losing so many at auction) and it's lovely dies, symbolism (both in the coins iconography and what was going down at this particular time ((maybe the greatest transfer of powers in world history)) & that extra girth that you get with tets...
Next up:
#notmycoins borrowed from ac search; note the grain ears instead of the normal bushel. Rare even among the Pan type as well:



And then a coin that I wake up in hot sweets thinking about

 

Never seen so many shields in my life! Congratulations/ you got some beauties. Thanks for sharing them with us/ really nice group.
John

 

Great coins! I didn't know you had this sub-collection theme. Very interesting!

 

Cool coins, I voted for the RR, the tet and the Mean Green Incredible Vespasian Koinon is my favorite. I think mainly because of the name

 

Beatiful shields. Congratulations!!!

 

Nice!

#9,#10,#3

One of those Shield Tets is absolutely on the 'wish list'.

I'm waiting on the right QPR for one, as my usual approach towards coins of "That'll MAKE ΔO" leaves me at a ΝΩΝ plus...Very much still a quantity exceeding quality collecting philosophy atm.

This is likely the reason why I might feel compelled to do a daunting Top100 to chronicle the year's bounty, if I can't pull my self together enough to muster 10.

Like the verse in Ecclesiastes that goes something akin to: There's a time to buy 20 coins, and there's a time to buy only one.

Perhaps I will look to liquidate a little of the duff in the coming year, now that I've developed a liking for a few types that are more deserving to be acquired in sharper condition. Artemis deserves as much. She's not a cheap date.

Yours would definitely be one that I would be pleased with.

 

Great additions @Ryro. A wonderful year for your shield collection. #1 and #6 are wonderful. But since I really like Seleukid coins, #4 is very nice, a rarity!

 

A Macedonian Shield Coin Top 10! Now why did we have to wait so long for one of these?! In all seriousness, your dedication to the theme is inspiring, and you've managed to add some great examples and interesting types. I've always loved the First Meris tets, and think you picked up a very nice one for yourself. My favorite is the little Seleukos I hemiobol. What a neat little find. I somehow missed your original post on it. Congrats!

 

Fantastic additions to your collection, Scoob!!!

My top pick is the Koinon of Vespasian with the bottle-green patina.