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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;SeptimusT, post: 3269292, member: 91240&quot;]Well, here we are at the end of the year, and since many of you have been sharing your favorite acquisitions of the year with us, I figured I would do the same. 2018 has been a fantastic year for my collection and it will be hard to top. It’s difficult enough for me to find ‘only’ 10 favorites, let alone rank those, so take the order with a grain of salt. There are far more than 10 coins that I acquired this year which I love.</p><p><br /></p><p>These coins cover a wide range of prices, going to show that price really has nothing to do with the appeal of our favorite coins. Even if some of them have vastly ‘better’ eye appeal or condition, great historical associations or just plain old subjective fancy has a lot to do with it too, and so I see no contradiction in listing my beautifully struck and toned P. Licinius Nerva denarius alongside a far more humble tetradrachm of Hadrian.</p><p><br /></p><p>But since this thread is going to be long enough as it is with all of the picture I’ve included, I’ll shut up and let you see for yourself. By all means please share any coins you have that you think go well with these, or just feel like sharing – after all, that’s what this is about.</p><p><br /></p><p><b>Pontus Amisos under Mithradates VI</b></p><p><b>[ATTACH=full]861958[/ATTACH] </b></p><p>While I only have a few Greek coins, this one features a magnificent scene from mythology, plus a fairly good strike for this type. Besides that it has a nice connection to Mithradates VI, who is quite important historically. The ‘patina’ might turn some off, but I am very happy with this nice, chunky bronze.</p><p><br /></p><p><b>Augustus AE As from Lugdunum</b></p><p><b>[ATTACH=full]861952[/ATTACH] </b></p><p>I think this coin has a fantastic portrait of Augustus (Augustan asses, even the Rome issues, often don’t seem to have the best portraiture) and an overall attractive look, even if the ‘patina’ isn’t for everyone. I acquired this coin to add to my now complete set of Julio-Claduian asses (that is, I have one coin of each ruler), which recently received a new addition <a href="https://www.cointalk.com/threads/secret-saturnalia-2018.326383/page-10" class="internalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://www.cointalk.com/threads/secret-saturnalia-2018.326383/page-10">from my Secret Saturnalia gifter </a>in the form of a lovely Nero from the Rome mint, which inspired me to set a new goal: a Rome mint as from each ruler.</p><p><img src="https://puu.sh/CjLHA/6b0afed7ea.png" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" /></p><p><br /></p><p><b>Marcus Aurelius de Germ Denarius</b></p><p>[ATTACH=full]861956[/ATTACH]</p><p>While this one is quite humble compared to some others here, the unusual iconography on the reverse is quite appealing to me. The reverse imagery and inscription (‘de’ being short for <i>devictis</i>, defeat, or subdual) commemorates the Triumph of Marcus Aurelius in 176, which honored their victories against the Germans and Sarmations. Some day I hope to acquire its twin, with the inscription <i>De Sarm</i>.</p><p><br /></p><p><b>Julius Caesar Denarius</b></p><p><b>[ATTACH=full]861954[/ATTACH] </b></p><p>It isn’t a lifetime portrait denarius, but it’s still pretty awesome to have a coin that was struck in one of Julius Caesar’s military camps, and no doubt passed through the hands of the soldiers in his army. I got this from Frank Robinson’s auction, and while it has some crystallization/roughness, it’s <i>far</i>less noticeable in hand than in photographs, I am glad for the opportunity to have it.</p><p><br /></p><p><b>Horus and Isis Drachm of Antoninus Pius</b></p><p>[ATTACH=full]861959[/ATTACH]</p><p>This beauty was badly infested with bronze disease when I got it, and I am very proud of how well it turned out once that was removed. Here’s hoping the treatment holds. The iconography on the back is simply beautiful, it has a beautiful red and green patina, and it is in sterling condition for an Alexandrian drachm.</p><p><br /></p><p><b>Ptah-Sokar-Osiris (mummy!) Tetradrachm of Hadrian</b></p><p>[ATTACH=full]861953[/ATTACH]</p><p>While not the best specimen (it might respond to cleaning, but I don’t dare attempt it), this is a coin that I never imagined I would have an opportunity to own, so I’m not complaining. To me, the imagery on this coin really is the most iconic Egyptian iconography in Alexandrian coinage. I had doubts about its authenticity when I acquired it, since it really did seem too good to be true, but after asking here and at FORVM I was much relieved to find that most didn’t find it overly suspicious. Thanks is due to [USER=70512]@Okidoki[/USER] for helping me investigate its authenticity.</p><p><br /></p><p><b>Osiris Canopus Tetradrachm of Hadrian</b></p><p>[ATTACH=full]861955[/ATTACH]</p><p>If the Ptah-Sokar tetradrachm is the quintessential Egyptian coin, then this coin and other issues depicting the Canopus of Isis and Osiris must be close runners up. While the research I’ve done indicates that it depicts a form of Osiris which was worshipped in the city of Canopus, and a favorite deity of Hadrian’s, rather than the ‘canopic jars’ used in mummification, it’s still a lovely issue for those fascinated by Egyptian imagery.</p><p><br /></p><p><b>Augustus and Agrippa As of Nemausus </b></p><p><b>[ATTACH=full]861957[/ATTACH] </b></p><p>I’ve posted it a few times recently, but I can’t show off this wonderful Nemausus as that I acquired from [USER=83956]@Gavin Richardson[/USER]. It has a magnificent patina with lovely portraits of Augustus and Agrippa that come to life with shifting light, and seems to reveal a new aspect of beauty from every angle.</p><p><br /></p><p><b>Anonymous 2nd Punic War Denarius</b></p><p>[ATTACH=full]861962[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p>I believe that the reasons I love this one are simple: it has great history behind it, has fantastic eye appeal, and thanks to a more or less invisible defect (the flan is slightly bent, but even in hand it’s hardly noticeable), I got it at a fantastic price. It has <i>fantastic </i>toning, and my photograph actually came out quite nice for once. It was my phone wallpaper for many months.</p><p><br /></p><p><b>Denarius of P. Licinius Nerva</b>[ATTACH=full]861961[/ATTACH]</p><p>I had coveted this issue for as long as I knew it existed. A voting scene really is about as Republican as you can get. This one is very beautifully struck, with great toning, even overlooking the weird &#039;alien arm&#039; of the voter. This one was part of the collection Hildebrecht Hommel, a German scholar, so it came with a great provenance to boot. Someday I hope to add a Cassius Longinus voting denarius as its twin.</p><p><br /></p><p><b>Honorable Mentions</b></p><p><b><br /></b></p><p>Since it was hard to pick just ten favorites, here are a few runners up. I could&#039;ve picked a completely different 5, but these caught my eye first. I won’t go into detail on them (an few have been posted before), but I won’t leave them out. The types are probably recognizable to most, so I won’t go into detail on them unless asked, though I will say that I love one of them for a <a href="https://www.cointalk.com/threads/sometimes-a-hole-makes-it-cooler.309389/" class="internalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://www.cointalk.com/threads/sometimes-a-hole-makes-it-cooler.309389/">very peculiar reason</a>.</p><p><br /></p><p><img src="https://puu.sh/CjLHi/0b6832ac61.png" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" />[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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