Ten Favorite 2018 Additions : the $1 - $100 List

Here's a year-end list variant originally devised by Doug that I've become fond of doing. The idea is to show ten coins purchased in 2018 costing between $1 and $100, each your favorite one in its price range, working your way up from the $1-$10 category until you get to $91-$100.

I haven't had the time to share many of the coins that I've picked up this year, so this list includes 8 coins not before shown on CT. Here they are, from the lowest priced to highest...


Category : $1 - $10

CONSTANTINOPOLIS, City Commemorative. AE4. Rome mint.
($6.30)
Outside of group lots, I only picked up a few coins in this price range this year, with this one being the favorite. It is a bit of a sight for sore eyes (as in, a sight that made my eyes sore ), but there is something to it that makes it a little special. Not enough to call it a bargain, even at this price, but would anyone want to hazard a guess as to why I wanted to buy this Constantinopolis?


Category : $11 - $20

MAGNENTIUS. AE2. Lugdunum mint. Felicitas reverse.
($12)
I didn't have this reverse for Magnentius and this one had a nice green and black patina, as well as a decent portrait that the seller remarked was "rather unlike some of the almost surreal Klingon-like representations that characterize much of Magnentius' coinage". I'm actually partial to the "Klingon-like" ones, but this more human-like one works for me too.

Category : $21 - $30

CARACALLA. THRACE, Trajanopolis. AE16. Baby Herakles.
($28)
I spotted this Caracalla provincial by chance in the fixed price list of a dealer I had never bought from before. I was surprised it had been unsold for more than two months as it had an interesting and very uncommon reverse type. The seller had it described as "2 erotes wrestling", and the cardboard holder it came in said "Herakles wrestling lion". I know the coin is not in the best shape, but obviously both of those descriptions are incorrect; the reverse actually shows Baby Herakles the Snake-Strangler, or Herakliskos Drakonopignon, to give him his fancy pants name. The type appears to be unpublished, and the only other example that I've found online sold for $600 in a CNG auction a few years ago. It's much nicer that mine, but I suppose there's a reason why Clio wins his coins and I win mine.


Category : $31 - $40

MACEDON, as Roman Protectorate. AE23. Fourth Meris.
($31)
The large silver tetradrachms of the First Meris (or district) of Macedon under Roman Rule are fairly familiar and relatively plentiful, but how often do you see an issue from any of the other merides? The reverse legend of this coin spells out TETAPTHΣ, for 'Fourth'. The Fourth Meris seems to have issued only bronze coins, all rare, making even one as worn as this one collectible. No coins of the Third Meris have been found. I'd love to have one of the super-rare silver issues from the Second Meris, but they're typically priced out of my reach.


Category : $41 - $50

VALENTINIAN III. AE4. VOT PVB campgate.
($45)
I'm fond of campgates and I've always wanted a decent Valentinian III, one of the last of the type struck in the Western Roman Empire. This one is actually a pretty nice example, particularly the well-centered reverse with the bold campgate and largely legible legend.


Category : $51 - $60

HADRIAN. Denarius. ROMVLO CONDITORI.
($51)
We had a recent thread about coins bought because of their reverses. This is one I probably wouldn't have considered buying at all if not for the reverse. I have a mental list of interesting Hadrian types that I'd like to check off, and this was one of them. It's on the scarce side and has a reverse legend unique to Hadrian, which names Romulus as founder of the Empire.


Category : $61 - $70

THESSALY, Larissa. Hemidrachm. Taurokathapsia type. Ex BCD Collection.
($64)
These taurokathapsia (bull-wrestling) hemidrachms of Larissa are a lot less popular than their famous drachms with the nymph's head and grazing horse, but the upside to that is that they can be picked up a lot cheaper. It's sometimes still hard for me to wrap my head around the fact that you can buy something as ancient, lovely, and historically interesting as this in this price range. This coin was one of my entries in this year's CoinTalk Imperator Tournament.


Category : $71 - $80

TRAJAN. Denarius. Ex Michael Kelly Collection; Ex John A. Seeger Collection.
($71)
Hard price category in which to pick a winner! There were a few coins that I really really liked, but this one just had a little bit more going for it. Beyond the nice provenance and the fact that it's a rare bust variant of this issue, there's also the strong and super-high relief portrait of Trajan, and the darkly beautiful cabinet toning. I'm not much of a looks-focused collector (as evident from some of my choices above), but coins like this one make me question if a change is in order. For a pleasant moment or two, anyway.


Category : $81 - $90

CARAUSIUS. AE Antoninianus. PAX AVGGG. Ex James Pickering Collection.
($86)
I haven't received the coin yet, but I can't imagine not recognizing it as my clear favorite in this price range. For some years, I'd been looking at each Carausius I'd come across as my potential first coin of that important Romano-British rogue ruler. Nothing clicked until this beauty came up in Ancient & Medieval Coins Canada's first auction two weeks ago. It has a great portrait, is perfectly centered, has the important two extra G's in the reverse legend, and is, IMHO, just a solid example in all other respects. I almost feel embarrassed to have paid as little as I did for this gem from the excellent @jamesicus's collection.


Category : $91 - $100

VESPASIAN. Denarius. Ephesus mint. Ex Michael Kelly Collection.
($92)
Perhaps the only reason why this coin won this cateogory is that it allows me to stop looking on in abject envy whenever I see a wonderful Ephesian denarius of Vespasian being shown here on CT (you guys who are to blame know who you are). Nah, I'm kidding... I love everything about this coin. From the bold, unmistakable style of the portrait, to the clear Φ mintmark on the reverse. I just hope it doesn't start a new collecting area. Generalists have it hard.


I'm waiting on the arrival of a few more coins and am still working on my year-end list proper, but am in the meantime looking forward to seeing everyone else's list! If you want to play along with this $1 - $100, please feel free to add on in this thread, or start your own.

 

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Great additions for 2018, I like that Vespasian denarius a lot, great portrait and I like nike on the back.

And lovely Larissa hemidrachm, I realised over the time I started collecting that ancient coins are actually an amazing source of historical information, not only the different gods, symbol of the city-states are seen but also activities from the everyday's life of a Ancient person, for example bull-wrestling in this case. It is not something we can know 2500 years later, only by finding coins, figurines and in more rare cases fresco's and writings we discovered these activities, it's pretty cool. The first country a person thinks of with bull-wrestling is Spain/Mexico and not Ancient Greece Anyway, that one is definitely going on my wishlist!

I will post my top 10 somewhere later this month as still some additions need to arrive.

 

Great coins Z. I like the Trajan a lot but my favorite is your Larissa. A plus of course is that it is a tested verteran of the Imperator Tournament


Never waste a good gif

Here is my newest Trajan. It would definitely make my list of great value purchases.

Ex AMCC 1

 

I love the Vespasian of Ephesus. There is something very special about the celators who worked on the portraits for these coins. I find the style to be very attractive. Whenever someone asks "What does 'fine' style mean?" you should show this coin. Style can be elusive to define, but this coin has lots of it.

 

Great list!

 

Great budget buying zumbly, you have a great eye for bargains, especially like your Ephesus denarius terrific coin and price.

 

Excellent pickups, I like the AR Denarius from Trajan I picked up two coins in 2018 that cost under $200@ and they are really nice to boot. Both are mint state AR Denari.

 

Those are all nice coins @zumbly congrats on getting so many interesting and good looking coins. I particularly like the Trajan denarius and the Valentinian III AE4 campgate. Trajan has a great bust and the campgate is just really pleasing to the eye, great buy.


I have a few coins that fall into your categories.
Category: $41-$50

Yes, it is half of a coin. But, it is from the Carlisle mint for Henry III, which is the rarest mint that struck coins in his name. These coins rarely comeup for sale, and when they do command high prices. To get even a half for $44 was a great purchase.

Category: $51-$60

This class 3 Henry III penny is from the Oxford mint, but was listed as London. While not rare, Oxford is a lot less common than London or Canterbury, so to get it for $55 was a nice win.

Category: $71-$80

There is nothing special about this coin other than a really nice portrait. It is great in hand and has a very nice tone to it.

 

Wow, Z, you sure know how to pick 'em. The baby Hercules is an amazing buy, I love the Fourth Meris (never mind the third, how often do you see these?!?), fantastic reverses on the Val III and the Hadrian, the Larissa is one of my faves of the tournament (including the writeup), the portrait styles on the Trajan & Vespasian are awfully hard to beat (as you know I'm a portrait guy), and of course I love the Carausius.

Celebrating the new capital but minted in the old? (Or the rarity of the star/leaf combo?)

 

Thanks for all the kind comments, guys, I appreciate them.

I love this comment and wholeheartedly agree! I have to wonder where all these masterful dieworkers went when the mint was closed.

There’s certainly that, and related to the fact that this is a Rome issue, these rare varieties without the break in the obverse legend were apparently only struck there. A little curiosity that’s worth the price, I reckon.

 

Some great bargains there, especially the Vespasian!

 

That Vespasian strikes me as a bargain at the price. Perhaps twice the price? I would not pay extra for the Michael Kelly provenance but I have several of his coins. I wonder how many of our number know who he was or why I have kept two copies of his sale catalog.

 

I’m going to show that Val III campgate some love. I wrote a piece on campgates earlier this year and looked an awful lot at late/fifth-century campgates. This one is by far better than most. They are typically pretty rough. Nice pick up.

 

I’ll bite. Can anyone educate me on the significance of Michael Kelly? I assume he isn’t the mandolin maker...

 

Love that Caracalla with baby Hercules! Well done Zumbly!

 

In other words, I was totally wrong! It was the legend break. As good a reason as any! (Nice job pretending I was sorta right though.)

 

I’m in the dark as well. I see from a quick online search that he is (was?) a coin dealer and organiser of coin shows in Ireland. Beyond that, all I know is that he had an excellent collection of coins that were ill-served by bad auction photographs, which was probably why many didn’t fetch the prices they should have. I have a few other ex Kelly coins that will almost certainly make my other year-end list.

 

Baby Hercules taking down that snake is AWESOME! but I've got to give the win to Thessally rodeo, great art and cool crystallization make for some nice coin eye candy!

 

I know you've had a banner year, Z. Just how many coins did you acquire... or have you been brave enough to count them?

Of the handful shown, like @Curtisimo I'm fond of the Larissa for reasons beyond the coin itself. It now has an additional bit of historical interest... its entry in the 2018 Imperator competition .

The Ephesus Vespasian is wonderful... someday I hope to get some Ephesus Flavians.