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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;SeptimusT, post: 3964748, member: 91240&quot;]<b>Runner-ups </b></p><p><b><br /></b></p><p>Picking 10 favorite coins for a whole year is hard, and so I have to consider this list with a grain of salt. They’re definitely favorites, but there are some close ones that didn’t get included. The numbering is probably nearly meaningless, depending on my mood. Here’s a few more that I especially like this year, but didn’t quite make it onto this top 10. In some cases, that’s just because I couldn’t pick between them!</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]1043979[/ATTACH]</p><p><b>Egyptian Tessera </b></p><p>I was hesitant to include this one since it is debatable whether it was actually currency (it probably was); it’s also not much of a looker. However, it has some absolutely striking imagery, showing the divine triad of Demeter, Sarapis and Tyche-Isis, along with Cerberus and an eagle. It shows a fantastic amount of syncretism, with these deities combining elements of Nepthys, Osiris, Sarapis, Isis, Tyche, Demeter, Zeus, and Pluto. I have not been able to find a tessera like this, and it does not appear to be in Dattari (the only reference I have for these).</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]1043976[/ATTACH]</p><p><b>Tetradrachm of Kanishka Kushan</b></p><p>I love the feel of heavy tetradrachms, and this one does not disappoint. For a Kushan coin, the condition is beyond fantastic.</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]1043977[/ATTACH]</p><p><b>Sea Monster of Caria, Kindya, ex Baldwin Maull</b></p><p>For my collection, this is a very early coin, and the style of manufacture, with its abstract and deeply incuse reverse, fits nicely with my interest in the history of money. To me, it invokes early Gandharan coinage. </p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]1043968[/ATTACH]</p><p><b>Hermanubis</b></p><p>I didn’t include these simply because I didn’t want to fill my entire list with Alexandria, and because I honestly couldn’t pick a favorite. I somehow acquired three coins with Hermanubis this year, paying less than $100 for all three. Picking a favorite out of the three would be difficult.</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]1043978[/ATTACH]</p><p><b>Egyptian Wolf and Twins, Severus Alexander</b></p><p>Another Alexandrian which I am quite fond of, this one is unusual for featuring a distinctly Roman reverse type, with the wolf and twins. It appears on a few other Alexandrian issues, but is overall quite unusual.</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]1043970[/ATTACH]</p><p><b>Central Asian currencies </b></p><p>Truth be told, these are all pretty ugly, but they sure are interesting. No single one is nice enough to make the list, but as a whole I find them captivating. These coins come from modern day Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan, once home to a number of wealthy Silk Road principalities, and date from late antiquity to the early Middle Ages. They demonstrate a fascinating mix of Hellenistic, Byzantine, Indian, Iranian, Turkic, and Chinese iconographic and economic influences, creating something totally unique to this region while at the same time reminding us of ancient ‘globalization.’[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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