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Message:: [QUOTE="dougsmit, post: 3095116, member: 19463"]I believe were I forced to declare on the matter, I would say AJ's Akragas obol is the finest example of die engraving I have seen.  I admit that I do like the Akragas dekadrachms as well but they simply do not have the millimeter to millimeter excellence of this little coin.  This thread is on the wonders of 'Greek' coins but I have a particular fondness for the Italian and Sicilian flavors of 'Greek'.  They do have some dies that are better than others and the vast majority of the coins we see entering the market lack anything approaching the preservation of this coin.  Still, on average, the pedestrian grade coins in my price bracket still show a distant kinship to AJ's Akragas obol, a kinship that survives wear and the ravages of time. Most of us probably have coins that we would like to upgrade.  In my case, I would most like better specimens of the tiny treasures.  These are not my best coins but they are the ones I wish had come through the ages as they were when struck. Syracuse AR hexas (1/6 litra) Arathusa head but badly laminated[ATTACH=full]781900[/ATTACH] This tetartemorion of Hekatomnos also has been ruined by lamination but the die work on the 3/4 facing head on the reverse still shines (until I find a better one). [ATTACH=full]781917[/ATTACH][/QUOTE]