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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;Severus Alexander, post: 2939506, member: 84744&quot;]Here&#039;s my second year-in-review post (see <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/">my first one</a> for my posting plan, and my excuse for posting more than one list!)&nbsp; Each coin is accompanied by a brief explanation of why I like it so much.&nbsp; Again, I will be excluding coins that made it into another list, like the al-Hakam II dirham in my first list.&nbsp; It would have ranked somewhere in the middle here.</p><p><br /></p><p>There&#039;s a small but inspiring group of medieval and Byzantine fans on CoinTalk.&nbsp; This post is for you!&nbsp; In reverse order:</p><p><br /></p><p>10) I&#039;m taking my start date as 500, which just snags this diminutive 4 nummi of the Vandals, issued from 523-533:</p><p>[ATTACH=full]715462[/ATTACH]</p><p>I&#039;ve been looking for a distinctive coin of the Vandals for a while, but too many of them are grotty little nondescript slugs.&nbsp; This one I think has some eye appeal, and I like the bust with the unusual proffering of a palm.&nbsp; According to Hahn, this coin was a royal issue, and I wonder if this might not be a portrait of the peaceful Hilderic, a descendant of Valentinian III, friend to Justinian, and supporter of Catholicism (unusual for the normally Arian Vandals). This coin fits nicely with the Justinian on my budget list, which comes from the very beginning of the Byzantine reconquest of Africa: this one was minted just before it, at the tail end of the Vandal occupation.</p><p><br /></p><p>9) Basil II (976-1025) miliaresion:</p><p>[ATTACH=full]715481[/ATTACH]</p><p>I&#039;ve been chasing one of these for a while too, but they always went for more than I was willing to pay.&nbsp; It&#039;s a bit silly to insist on emperor portraits for this era of Byzantine, because they pretty much all look the same!&nbsp; But I do insist, especially for a major figure like Basil II, conqueror of the Bulgars and initiator of serious diplomatic and dynastic relations with the Kievan Rus.&nbsp; Since you&#039;re a collector too I know you&#039;ll understand. <img src="styles/default/xenforo/clear.png" class="mceSmilieSprite mceSmilie1" alt=":)" unselectable="on" unselectable="on" /> I also love the feel of these silvers in hand; while they&#039;re slightly lighter than a denarius, they&#039;re also larger (20-24mm).</p><p><br /></p><p>8) Follis of Leo IV (775-780), Constantinople:</p><p>[ATTACH=full]715484[/ATTACH]</p><p>My first foray beyond Roman Imperial was into Byzantine AE, and I still have a soft spot for &#039;em.&nbsp; It&#039;s hard to find this coin with four clear portraits (at least they&#039;re not all four <i>exactly</i> the same!), and I just like the design and concept of this issue a lot.&nbsp; It&#039;s ultra-dynastic, with emperor and son (Constantine VI) on the obverse, and dad (Constantine V, on the right) and granddad (Leo III, left) on the reverse.&nbsp; So cool!!&nbsp; (This coin is ex the Christov Family collection.&nbsp; They seem to have had a really awesome bunch of Byzantine.)</p><p><br /></p><p>7) Did I mention I like the feel of a miliaresion in hand?&nbsp; This is a newfound pleasure.&nbsp; The Basil II was only my second miliaresion, this John I Tzimisces (969-976) was my first:</p><p>[ATTACH=full]715485[/ATTACH]</p><p>While these have some heft in hand, they&#039;re also small enough that the engraving is quite charming. I encourage those of you who haven&#039;t been able to get into Byzantine to try a miliaresion.&nbsp; Hey, from a certain point of view, it&#039;s Greek silver, isn&#039;t it?&nbsp; I think these may be the gateway drug...</p><p><br /></p><p>6) At first glance (well, not really... I struggle to ID Islamic coins) this appears to be a 1/4 dinar of the Fatimid caliph al-&#039;Aziz, 975-996 (AH 365-386), Siqilliya (Sicily) mint:</p><p>[ATTACH=full]715585[/ATTACH]</p><p>It is actually an imitation, however, probably produced in one of the Lombard states of southern Italy around the time of the first appearance of Normans in the area, who were destined to take over and drive the Fatimids out of Sicily.&nbsp; The tensions among the Lombards, Fatimids, Byzantines, Normans, and northern Italians make for fascinating history of a region in transition.&nbsp; I have a lot more research to do on this coin, which is one of the reasons I love it.&nbsp; Plus it&#039;s gold, and I got it in a group lot at 16 bucks per coin!&nbsp; (Though my proportionally weighted cost for this was close to 100.)</p><p><br /></p><p>5) Justin II (565-578) half siliqua, Carthage, issued 567-574:</p><p>[ATTACH=full]715591[/ATTACH]</p><p>I was pleased to obtain an example of this rare western coin, my only half siliqua.&nbsp; (It seems to have been a year of Byzantine silver for me.)&nbsp; I&#039;m not sure if the <a href="https://www.cointalk.com/threads/just-for-fun-totally-looks-like-thread.238718/page-9#post-2932268" class="internalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://www.cointalk.com/threads/just-for-fun-totally-looks-like-thread.238718/page-9#post-2932268">portrait&#039;s resemblance to Mick Jagger</a> is a good thing or a bad thing, but I like it. <img src="styles/default/xenforo/clear.png" class="mceSmilieSprite mceSmilie1" alt=":)" unselectable="on" unselectable="on" />&nbsp; (While it&#039;s easy to get a full-length depiction of this emperor with his queen Sophia, a decent bust is more difficult unless you go for gold.)</p><p><br /></p><p>4) Abbasid Revolution (744-751), AR dirham of &#039;Abd Allah b. Mu&#039;awiya, Jayy mint, AH 129 (746-7). Album 206.1.</p><p>[ATTACH=full]715597[/ATTACH]</p><p>Here&#039;s another rare coin issued in the tumultuous period which saw the Abbasids overthrow the established Umayyad caliphate based in Damascus.&nbsp; &#039;Abd Allah b. Mu&#039;awiya was not a supporter of the Abbasids, though... he was the leader of the Aliid/Shia faction, and a descendant of Ali&#039;s brother (Muhammad&#039;s son in law).&nbsp; After he gained control of much of Persia, the Umayyads managed to defeat him, and he fled to the Abbasids only to be executed.&nbsp; However, without his revolt the Umayyads would not have had to divide their attention, and the Abbasid revolution may well have failed.&nbsp; This coin is much nicer in hand than the photo indicates.</p><p><br /></p><p>3) Philippicus (711-713), follis of Constantinople</p><p>[ATTACH=full]715595[/ATTACH]</p><p>The emperors around 700 are tough to get, so I was very happy to snag a nice portrait of Philippicus, despite there being not much legend left on this coin.&nbsp; The history surrounding the coin is another reason to like it, I wrote a bit about that <a href="https://www.cointalk.com/threads/a-couple-of-rarities.296483/#post-2740884" class="internalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://www.cointalk.com/threads/a-couple-of-rarities.296483/#post-2740884">here</a>.</p><p><br /></p><p>2) Anglo-Saxon sceat, Kent, issued c. 710 under king Wihtred (c. 690-725):</p><p>[ATTACH=full]715606[/ATTACH]</p><p>This tiny (11.8 mm, 1.11g), toned silver coin is a charmer.&nbsp; (Note that the dotted circle on the reverse is actually a snake biting its tail.)&nbsp; I&#039;m fascinated by the mysterious early middle ages, as Roman institutions were either upheld or destroyed by various invaders.&nbsp; Kent was one of the earliest Anglo-Saxon kingdoms, with a predominantly Jutish elite.&nbsp; Around 600, its king was also the first to convert to Christianity, under the influence of the famous Augustine of Canterbury, sent by Pope Gregory the Great.&nbsp; (Thus the location the English archbishopric.)&nbsp; Wihtred, who may have been a descendant of the famous (and possibly legendary) Hengist, established a peaceful reign after a series of troubles, including usurpers and an invasion from Wessex, in the late 600s.&nbsp; It was a high point of the Kentish kingdom, which was subjected to Mercian overlordship during the reign of his son Æðelberht II.&nbsp; It&#039;s a shame that Anglo-Saxon coinage is typically so expensive! (This one wasn&#039;t.)</p><p><br /></p><p>1) Milan: Gian Galeazzo Visconti, 1st Duke of Milan (1395-1402), AR grosso with coat of arms/St. Ambrose:</p><p>[ATTACH=full]715603[/ATTACH]</p><p>OK, even those of you with no interest in medieval have to admit this coin is super cool. It is not every day that you see a coin featuring a dragon eating somebody!&nbsp; This &quot;biscione&quot; of obscure origin is the Visconti coat of arms, still associated with Milan and even found in Alfa Romeo&#039;s logo:</p><p><img src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5e/Alfa_Romeo_159_2.4_JTDM_%283556722042%29.jpg/251px-Alfa_Romeo_159_2.4_JTDM_%283556722042%29.jpg" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" /></p><p>A similar coin belonging to Stevex6 inspired me to get this. The associated history is cool too.&nbsp; From his original small base in Pavia, Visconti used both guile and force of arms to take over a large portion of northern Italy.&nbsp; After paying 100,000 gold florins to the German king for the title Duke of Milan, he died in the process of trying to extend his dominion over Florence and Bologna.</p><p><br /></p><p>Hopefully there&#039;s something on that list that you like.&nbsp; Post anything related, and three cheers for Medieval!![/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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