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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;Severus Alexander, post: 2950170, member: 84744&quot;]During my first year of Coin Talk, dozens of regulars have opened my eyes to numismatic vistas my poor benighted former self couldn&#039;t even imagine.&nbsp; In honour of all of you, here is my top 10 <b>I</b>f it <b>H</b>adn&#039;t <b>B</b>een for <b>C</b>oin <b>T</b>alk coins!</p><p><br /></p><p>(This is my third list of favourites this year, the previous two were <a href="https://www.cointalk.com/threads/sas-favourites-2017-top-10-medieval-incl-byzantine.307661/" class="internalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://www.cointalk.com/threads/sas-favourites-2017-top-10-medieval-incl-byzantine.307661/">medieval</a> and <a href="https://www.cointalk.com/threads/sas-favourites-2017-1-to-100-list.307382/" class="internalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://www.cointalk.com/threads/sas-favourites-2017-1-to-100-list.307382/">under $100</a>.)</p><p><br /></p><p><b><span style="color: #0000ff">Please post your own IHBCT acquisitions, from any year!</span></b></p><p><b><span style="color: #0000ff"><br /></span></b></p><p><span style="color: #000000">10) Back in June, [USER=42773]@John Anthony[/USER] started <a href="https://www.cointalk.com/threads/reading-phoenician-numerals.298305/" class="internalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://www.cointalk.com/threads/reading-phoenician-numerals.298305/">a cool thread</a> on dated Phoenician bronzes.&nbsp; A few months later this nice example showed up in an auction, and I had to have it!</span></p><p><span style="color: #000000">[ATTACH=full]720389[/ATTACH] </span></p><p><span style="color: #000000">Arados, AE16, Zeus/prow</span></p><p><span style="color: #000000"><br /></span></p><p><span style="color: #000000">Arados, a small island completely occupied by a walled city, was one of the oldest republics in the world and an important trading centre.&nbsp; Reading from right to left under the prow, the first two characters mean &quot;year&quot;, the next two mean 1 x 100, then 1 x 10 for the next two, then four strokes for 4 = CY 114 = 146/5 BCE.&nbsp; 146 was the year that Rome destroyed Carthage and won the battle of Corinth, subjugating all of Greece.&nbsp; The Seleukids, the Ptolemies, and Rome were all vying for power and influence in Phoenicia, and Arados may well have enjoyed relative autonomy during this period.&nbsp; Perhaps that&#039;s why the Seleukid name is dropped on this coin in favour of the ancient name, abbreviated above the prow:&nbsp; = &quot;Aynook&quot;.</span></p><p><span style="color: #000000"><br /></span></p><p><span style="color: #000000">9) In the years BCT (Before Coin Talk) I paid little attention to Alexandrian provincial coins, I think because they struck me as rather crude.&nbsp; Many friends here (I might mention [USER=56859]@TIF[/USER] and [USER=21445]@Mat[/USER] in particular) have cured me of this attitude, and I now own a handful and intend to get more.&nbsp; Often it&#039;s the cool reverses on these coins that attract, but in this case it was the portrait of a 13 year old Severus Alexander that grabbed me:</span></p><p><span style="color: #000000">[ATTACH=full]720393[/ATTACH] </span></p><p><span style="color: #000000">Alexandria tetradrachm issued 222/3 (year 2). Obv: A KAI MAP AVP CEVHP AΛEΞANΔPOC EVCEB. Rev: Dikaiosyne (= Aequitas)</span></p><p><span style="color: #000000"><br /></span></p><p><span style="color: #000000">I also like how the tail end of the obverse legend is crammed under the bust.&nbsp; Crude?&nbsp; Well, maybe, but also charming!&nbsp; And there&#039;s certainly nothing crude about that portrait.</span></p><p><span style="color: #000000"><br /></span></p><p><span style="color: #000000">8) Another failing of my previous self was insufficient attention paid to fabric, minting techniques, and the oddities that can sometimes result when things go wrong. Things definitely went wrong when this Gallienus antoninianus was produced in in 258 or 9 in Cologne:</span></p><p><span style="color: #000000"><img src="https://www.cointalk.com/attachments/screen-shot-2017-10-15-at-12-17-26-pm-png.690214/" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" /> </span></p><p><span style="color: #000000"><img src="https://www.cointalk.com/attachments/screen-shot-2017-10-15-at-12-12-59-pm-png.690215/" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" /> </span></p><p><span style="color: #000000">As you can see in the bottom image, which shows this coin on the left and an ordinary ant. on the right, it is double-thick.&nbsp; It is also double the weight of an ordinary ant., at 6.29g.&nbsp; This is because two flans were somehow struck together!&nbsp; Maybe two blanks were accidentally placed on the bottom die, or perhaps a struck coin was left in the top die and a new flan put in place, producing a stuck-together brockage.&nbsp; You can see the line separating the two flans snaking along the rim.</span></p><p><span style="color: #000000"><br /></span></p><p><span style="color: #000000">I would not have looked twice at this coin last year, so thanks for showing me how cool this kind of thing is!&nbsp; Special thanks to [USER=19463]@dougsmit[/USER] who has been primarily responsible for bringing out the engineering nerd in me (and no doubt others of us too). <img src="styles/default/xenforo/clear.png" class="mceSmilieSprite mceSmilie1" alt=":)" unselectable="on" unselectable="on" /></span></p><p><span style="color: #000000"><br /></span></p><p><span style="color: #000000">7) Previously, my eyes tended to glaze over when I saw 4th century Genio types, so much so that I somehow failed to notice the varieties that Coin Talk has christened &quot;head-on-a-platter.&quot;&nbsp; I mean, how cool is that!?&nbsp; Here&#039;s the one I picked up this year:</span></p><p><span style="color: #000000">[ATTACH=full]720405[/ATTACH] </span></p><p><span style="color: #000000">Maximinus II (“Daia”) (308-313), follis, Alexandria mint. Rev: Genius standing left, <b>holding head of Serapis </b>and cornucopia; N over palm.</span></p><p><span style="color: #000000"><br /></span></p><p><span style="color: #000000">It is also ex-Dattari, a neat provenance that was also brought to my attention via Coin Talk.&nbsp; (Special thanks to [USER=57495]@zumbly[/USER] on this one!)</span></p><p><span style="color: #000000"><br /></span></p><p><span style="color: #000000">6) The bizarre horn featured on some portraits of Elagabalus has come up a few times this year, for example in <a href="https://www.cointalk.com/threads/1st-elagabalus-denarius.296946/" class="internalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://www.cointalk.com/threads/1st-elagabalus-denarius.296946/">this thread</a>.&nbsp; While I&#039;m highly skeptical of the bull penis theory(!), it was obviously something I had to have!&nbsp; (The coin, not the bull penis.)&nbsp; So here it is:</span></p><p><span style="color: #000000">[ATTACH=full]720409[/ATTACH] </span></p><p><span style="color: #000000">Elagabalus denarius, Rome mint. Obv: Draped bust r., <b>with horn</b>. Rev: Emperor, standing l., sacrificing with patera over tripod (?) and holding branch; in field r., star. On r. on ground, unidentified object (cap or horn). RIC 87.</span></p><p><span style="color: #000000"><br /></span></p><p><span style="color: #000000">RIC 87 appears to be rare (brought to my attention by [USER=31620]@maridvnvm[/USER]), but the main reason I like this is the portrait and its crisp reverse.&nbsp; (Maybe with the horn visible there too?)</span></p><p><span style="color: #000000"><br /></span></p><p><span style="color: #000000">5) This coin and the next are tiny Greek fractions, which are both charming and apparently under-researched... and I was unaware of both of these big pluses until this year.&nbsp; I also didn&#039;t realize quite how tiny they get!&nbsp; This tetartemorion is only 6mm and 0.18g:</span></p><p><span style="color: #000000">[ATTACH=full]720411[/ATTACH] </span></p><p><span style="color: #000000">I purchased this coin unidentified, but after some research I now have a pretty secure ID: Lampsakos (a wealthy and strategically important city in the northern Troad that was part of the Delian league, aka the Athenian empire.)&nbsp; Less securely, I have hypothesized that it was issued right at the transition of small change from tiny silver fractions to more practical bronze coins; you can check out my reasoning <a href="https://www.cointalk.com/threads/a-unique-tiny-coin-from-lampsakos.302076/" class="internalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://www.cointalk.com/threads/a-unique-tiny-coin-from-lampsakos.302076/">here</a>.&nbsp; As far as I know, this coin is unique with its right-facing Athena.&nbsp; In short, I&#039;ve had a lot of fun with this coin, all thanks to Coin Talk! <img src="styles/default/xenforo/clear.png" class="mceSmilieSprite mceSmilie1" alt=":)" unselectable="on" unselectable="on" /></span></p><p><span style="color: #000000"><br /></span></p><p><span style="color: #000000">4) Here&#039;s my newest tiny fraction (never posted before), also purchased unidentified:</span></p><p><span style="color: #000000">[ATTACH=full]720417[/ATTACH] </span></p><p><span style="color: #000000">I don&#039;t know about you, but I think that lion is pretty awesome for a 5mm flan!&nbsp; I haven&#039;t yet researched this coin thoroughly, but my best guess at the moment is that is was issued by a Thraco-Macedonian tribe around 500 BCE.&nbsp; (It&#039;s similar to <a href="https://www.acsearch.info/search.html?id=4302261" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://www.acsearch.info/search.html?id=4302261" rel="nofollow">this coin</a>, except without the dots in the incuse square.)</span></p><p><span style="color: #000000"><br /></span></p><p><span style="color: #000000">I&#039;m very grateful to all the Coin Talk folks for showing me the pleasures that come in tiny packages!</span></p><p><span style="color: #000000"><br /></span></p><p><span style="color: #000000">3) As demonstrated by [USER=44316]@Valentinian[/USER], Tacitus issued some rare &quot;double antoninianii&quot; with twice the amount of silver found in the usual issues. Without the discussion these received on Coin Talk, I never would have been able to spot this one from Antioch, which was represented in the auction as just an ordinary ant.:</span></p><p><span style="color: #000000">[ATTACH=full]720452[/ATTACH] </span></p><p><span style="color: #000000">It&#039;s a particularly nice example of this rare coin.&nbsp; I did have to pay a premium over the usual expectation for an ant., so I wasn&#039;t the only one to notice the significance of the &quot;XI&quot; in the exergue (the usual, lower silver content ants are often marked with the familiar &quot;XXI&quot;).&nbsp; Still, I got a good deal, thanks to y&#039;all!</span></p><p><span style="color: #000000"><br /></span></p><p><span style="color: #000000">2) I already mentioned my previous neglect of Alexandrian provincials... this is my favourite from the handful I acquired this year:</span></p><p><span style="color: #000000">[ATTACH=full]720459[/ATTACH] </span></p><p><span style="color: #000000">Maximianus (286-305), AE tetradrachm of Alexandria, year 11 (295-6). Elpis advancing left, flower in right hand, hitching skirt w/ left.</span></p><p><span style="color: #000000"><br /></span></p><p><span style="color: #000000">I really enjoy firsts and lasts.&nbsp; This coin is from the very last year that Alexandrian tetradrachms and associated denominations were issued, before Diocletian&#039;s massive reform of the coinage.&nbsp; As such, I think it&#039;s very numismatically significant.&nbsp; A special bonus is that it is ex Keith Emmett.&nbsp; (Its Emmett number is 4114.)&nbsp; The funky pink highlights are pretty cool too. <img src="styles/default/xenforo/clear.png" class="mceSmilieSprite mceSmilie6" alt=":cool:" unselectable="on" unselectable="on" /></span></p><p><span style="color: #000000"><br /></span></p><p><span style="color: #000000">1) Another area I had previously neglected was fourrées.&nbsp; I did have ancient imitations, but for some reason I always stayed away from plated... for no good reason!&nbsp; (Did I think they were ugly?&nbsp; Well, I suppose sometimes they are, but I think Byzantine bronze is beautiful, so how could I turn my nose up at fourrées?)&nbsp; I became so enthusiastic about fourrées after seeing many on Coin Talk that I could easily have produced a top 10 just in that category!&nbsp; One from Ionia at the dawn of coinage, Stevex6&#039;s famous Zombie Jesus (to check its fame just google it!), a sweet Gordian from JAZ... I could go on.&nbsp; But tops has got to be this one (new photo):</span></p><p><span style="color: #000000">[ATTACH=full]720466[/ATTACH] </span></p><p><span style="color: #000000">Gallienus, joint reign (253-60), fourrée antoninianus; source coin not in RIC.</span></p><p><span style="color: #000000"><br /></span></p><p><span style="color: #000000">The silver content of antoninianii from this period is so low that a counterfeiting operation would have produced extremely meagre profits, if any.&nbsp; In his study of them, the latest fourrée [USER=44316]@Valentinian[/USER] had seen (before this one) was a Trebonianus Gallus; this one is at least 3 years later (since the copied obverse comes from 256). See Valentinian in action, helping me out with this coin <a href="https://www.cointalk.com/threads/group-lot-goodies-83-x-fun-plus-a-draw.305663/page-7#post-2906000" class="internalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://www.cointalk.com/threads/group-lot-goodies-83-x-fun-plus-a-draw.305663/page-7#post-2906000">here</a>... thank you so much!! Thanks also to [USER=57495]@zumbly[/USER] who got me to take a second look at a lot coin that I thought was a dud.&nbsp; I&#039;m elated to own what is possibly the latest existing fourrée antoninianus from the 3rd century crisis.&nbsp; (Did I mention I like firsts and lasts??)</span></p><p><span style="color: #000000"><br /></span></p><p><span style="color: #000000">OK, that&#039;s a wrap.&nbsp; (There were 3 other coins that would have been on this list, except I like them so much they made my top 15...TBA.)&nbsp; </span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0)"><b>Thank you, thank you, thank you... you are all awesome!!!</b></span>[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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