(Sulla80) Top 10 List for 2021

This week marked the third year from my first post on CT and I keep returning for new information, access to experts, ancient coin humor (sometimes hard to recognize) and interesting coins. It is also nearly end of year again, when CT members will start to post their top 10 lists. This year, I sold more coins than I bought. Although it seemed that I was the under-bidder all of this year, a look back shows a better picture. As I assembled my Top 10, I was surprised to see that the list was complete by the end of July.

Five Roman Republican (RR) coins made the Top 10 list, the top coin is an RR denarius, and I added enough RR denarii this year that I could have made an all RR top 10. Several coins didn't make the list and can be found in my Notes pages:
- Sulla's Uncle or Grandfather
- The Right of Appeal
- Grain and Civil Unrest in the Republic
- Coins of the Second Triumvirate
- Cato the Younger

#10 Galatians in Egypt (and Sicily)
I am going to stretch "Top 10" with this pair, required to tell the story. One a Ptolemy issued in Egypt the other issued by Hieron in Sicily, both referencing Galatian mercenaries. Why would Hieron issue coins under the name of Ptolemy II?

Top: Ptolemaic Kingdom of Egypt, Ptolemy II Philadelphos (285-246 BC), AR Tetradrachm, Ptolemais-Ake mint, struck circa 275-262/1 BC
Obv: Diademed head to right, [wearing aegis]
Rev: ΠΤΟΛEΜΑΙOΥ BAΣΙΛEΩΣ, eagle with closed wings standing to left on thunderbolt; ΠT over two monograms to left, Galatian shield to right
Ref: CPE 441; Svoronos 544; SNG Copenhagen 521 (Uncertain Phoenician mint)

Bottom: Sicily, Syracuse, Æ Obol (17.0g, 27.3mm, 12h), time of Hieron II, circa 285-246 BC, imitative issue in the types of Ptolemy II Philadelphos of Egypt
Obv: Laureate head of Zeus to right
Rev: ΠΤΟΛΕΜΑΙΟΥ ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ, eagle standing to left on thunderbolt, with wings spread; Galatian shield to left
Ref: CPE B289; Svoronos 610; Wolf & Lorber, 'Alexandrian' Style, P57–71; SNG Copenhagen 114.
More in this coin in my Notes: Galatians in Egypt

#9 Fonteius' Ship a wonderful ship on the reverse

C. Fonteius, 114-113 BC, AR denarius, 3.82g, Rome mint
Obv: Laureate, janiform head of Fons (or Fontus); two dots below, V to left, * [mark of value] to right
Rev: Galley left with three rowers, gubernator at stern
Ref: Crawford 290/1; Sydenham 555; Fonteia 1
More on this coin in my Notes: Ancient Ships

#8 Genius of the Roman People a coin that came with undeclared provenance from Shaeffer die project and @Andrew McCabe - and gave me an excuse to decode some of the cryptic notes in Crawford RRC.

P. Cornelius Lentulus Marcellinus, 100 BC, AR Denarius (17.5mm, 3.08 g, 11h), Rome mint
Obv: Bareheaded bust of young Hercules right, seen from behind, wearing lion skin and holding club; to left, shield and •/R /
Rev: LENT.MAR.F. Roma standing facing, holding spear, being crowned by Genius of the Roman People, holding wreath and cornucopia; •/R between them; all within laurel wreath
Ref: Crawford 329/1a; Sydenham 604; Cornelia 25; RBW 1186 var. (control letter)
Note: ex CNG, from the "Benito Collection", formed by the Spanish ambassador Ramón Sáenz de Heredia y Alonso, who passed away in 2016.
For more on this coin in my Notes: Unencrypting Crawford

#7 Pompeians in Africa
I was thrilled to pick up this coin this year, a type that has been long on my list and hard to find for price/quality that I liked. This coins issued by the adopted son of one of Sulla's co-consuls. Issued from a military mint in Africa, it is from the civil wars that concluded with the end of the Republic and the start of the empire.

The Pompeians, Q. Caecilius Metellus Pius Scipio, AR Denarius, military mint traveling with Scipio in Africa, 47-46 BC. Eppius, legate
Obv: Head of Africa right, wearing elephant skin headdress; grain ear before, plough below, Q•METELL downwards to right, SCIPIO•IMP upwards to left
Rev: Hercules standing facing, right hand on hip, leaning on club draped with lion skin and set on rock; LEG•F•C upwards to left, EPPIVS downwards to right
Ref: Crawford 461/1
More on this coin in my Notes: Julius Caesar v. Pompeians

#6 Julius Caesar a coin that I didn't know existed until I saw it, and could not let go of once I did, my first portrait coin of Julius Caesar and a coin to complete a 12 Caesar's set.

Macedon, Thessalonica or Unknown Asia Minor mint, Augustus, with Divus Julius Caesar, 27 BC-AD 14, Æ (21mm, 8.66g, 6h)
Obv: ΘEOC, bare head of Divus Julius Caesar right
Rev: CEBACTOY ΘE, bare head of Augustus right
Ref: BMC 61; Varbanov 4154; RPC I 5421 (uncertain mint)
Rarity: 12 specimen are listed in in RPC online and my example is the second heaviest and nicer condition and style, in my view, than the other examples with photos. Varbanov lists the coin 4154 as R5 = 100-200 examples.
More on this coin with 11 companions in my Notes: Not the Usual "12 Caesars"

#5 Faustina II a coin with no explanation other than "I liked it"

Faustina II, AR denarius (3.59g, 18mm), Augusta, AD 147-175, Rome, under Antoninus Pius, circa AD December 147 and March 149
Obv: FAVSTINAE AVG PII AVG FIL, draped bust of Faustina II right, hair tied in bun at back of head, single circlet of pearls around
Rev: V-E-NVS, Venus standing facing, head left, holding apple and rudder with dolphin entwined
Ref: RIC 515a; Strack 520; BMC 1067; RSC 261
More on this coin in my Notes: Faustina the Younger

#4 Phokis Bull one of several where I drifted into earlier Greek coins

Phokis, federal coinage, circa 357-354 BC, AR Triobol/Hemidrachm, Philomelos, strategos
Obv: facing head of bull
Rev: Head of Artemis right; branch to left
Ref: Williams 303 (O220/R189); BCD Lokris 463.1 (these dies); HGC 4, 1046
More on this coin in my Notes: Greeks and Cattle

#3 Chalkis Nymph another Greek coin that captured my attention
Euboia, Chalkis, circa 338-308 BC, AR Drachm, (16.9mm, 3.68g, 12h)
Obv: Head of nymph Chalkis left
Rev: Eagle left, holding serpent in talons; torch to right
Ref: Picard Emission 1
Note: this coin came with a book "Chalcis et la Confédération Eubéenne Etude de Numismatique et D'Histoire (IVe - Ier Siécle)" Olivier Picard 1979

#2 A Perfect Frugi the scorpion and elegant portrait were the draw on this early example of C Calpurnius Frugi

C. Calpurnius L.f. Frugi, 61 BC, Denarius, Rome
Obv: Laureate head of Apollo to right; behind, standing eagle behind
Rev: C PISO L F FRVGI Horseman galloping right, winged, not wearing a hat, carrying nothing, with scorpion behind
Ref: Babelon (Calpurnia) 24. Crawford 408/1b. RBW, 319 in Hersh's 1976 catalogue of die combinations which is Obverse die 4 with Reverse die 1000 from Hersh C. (1976). A Study of the Coinage of the Moneyer C. Calpurnius Piso L. F. Frugi. The Numismatic Chronicle (1966-),16 (136), 7-63.
More on this coin in my Notes: FRVGI, Father and Son

#1 Temple of Eryx an unusual coin with an interesting story and amazing perspective landscape in beautiful condition

C. Considius Nonianus, 56 BC, AR Denarius (17mm, 4.0g, 12h), Rome mint
Obv: Laureate and draped bust of Venus Erycina right, wearing stephane and earring; C • CONSIDI • NONIANI downward to left, S • C upward to right
Rev: Temple on summit of rocky mountain surrounded by wall with towers on each side and gate in center; ERVC above gate
Ref: Crawford 424/1; Sydenham 886; Considia 1
More on this coin in my Notes: The Temple on Mt. Eryx

Comments, additional references and corrections are always appreciated. Post anything you find interesting or entertaining - take the poll to vote for your top picks in the list.

 

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How can anyone choose from such a wonderful list of coins. I vote for 1-10!

 

Fantastic acquisitions for your collection! Hard to choose (apart from the Faustina, of course) between them! All of them are worthy of a place in one's numophylacium!

 

Great Collection but all I don't have anything like this in my possession.
S

 

These are all wonderful selections, @Sulla80.

I enjoy reading all the background information you prepared for your coins, including the 5 that didn't made into the list.

 

WOW, @Sulla80! What a fantastic year and outstanding curation! Each coin is not only interesting in its general type but also for reasons specific to the exact coin you chose. The lingering mystery of the Ptolemaic pair, the outstanding portrait of Faustina Jr, the scorpion control mark on the Frugi, the eye appeal of the Phokis...

I can't even begin to rank them, much less choose a favorite!

 

Great selections of coins. I like 2 and 9.

 

Bravo!
I voted the 3 coins I liked the most, although it was difficult.
I like the M. Anthony and Laepidus denarius mentioned. I would like one of those.

I wanted to prepare my top 10 this weekend also but FedEx managed to delay my last package for 2021.
It will not be like yours, in 2021 I bought a lot of coins, all interesting for me, but nothing "heavy".

 

Nice coins there and some great acquisitions.

 

@Roman Collector, thank you for adding a new word to my ancient coin vocabulary: numophylacium - φυλακή root wasn't my first guess

 

Very nice collection Sulla, congrats.
Not easy to pick 3 favourites. I choose 8-4-2
similar Ptolemy II from my collection:

 

All fantastic, terrific acquisitions for me the favorite is the temple on Eryx, and your Blog about it, also love the Julius portrait. Congrats on a great year.

 

What a year! When I saw that Pompeians in Africa at #7 I knew I was in for some fun eye candy...ok,OK,. One I saw it was a Sulla post I knew I was in for a treat
Here are a couple of the types that I also picked up this year:

 

I really love the Phokis bull. You can just sense the emotion of the bull, ready to jump out of the coin. Eventually, I hope to pick up one of these.

 

I'll take the whole bunch please.
Would you wrap them for me ?

Q

 

Fantastic Top 10 @Sulla80 ! Top 10 time already? Where did the year go!

All of the coins are worthy of being favorites. I went with the following 3 for my votes
#1: Great and unusual architecture type!
#2: Simply beautiful!
#5: Wonderful style portrait!

As I said though I like them all. Here is my Ptolemy I Soter example in honor of your wonderful #10

 

Here is my fave of 2021:

Ptolemy Philopator, (Lover of his Father)

PTOLEMAIC EMPIRE

EGYPT. ALEXANDRIA.

Ptolemy IV 221-205 BC AE Drachma. (75.52g, 41mm, 12h)

Obverse: Bust of Zeus Ammon right

Reverse: ΠΤΟΛΕΜΑΙΟΥ ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ, Eagle standing left on thunderbolt, cornucopiae in front, ΛΙ between legs

Reference: SNG Cop 199.

 

Wonderful coins, all! I voted for the Phokis bull (it's beautiful), and for two Republicans: the Fonteius galley and the C. Calpurnius L.f. Frugi. I'm pretty sure that my Fonteius galley was in my own Top 10 last year, and my Frugi will be in my Top 10* this year. I really love both types, and your examples are outstanding.

*I've already confessed that I'm planning to cheat again this year when I'm ready to work on mine (there's still at least one more auction I might bid in next month): like last year, I'm going to have one Top 10 list consisting entirely of Roman Republican coins, and at least one more Top 10 list for Roman Imperial, Provincial (mostly Roman Alexandrian), and Greek coins (specifically, the Aspendos stater I bought from Harlan J. Berk). It's going to be difficult enough to narrow things down that far, and there's no way I can do more than that, even though I did end up buying fewer coins this year than last. It's like choosing among my children!

 

@Sulla80 .....Lovely selection!
Very very difficult to choose but in the end I went for 7, 9 and 6.
Congratulations on an interesting and varied collecting year....
Ps...I also quite understand why you went for the Faustina....Beautiful portrait.

 

Wow, a winged horseman. Great coins.