It was another fantastic and fun year . Most purchases were Greek, Roman Republican, and Provincial. Of course I love artistic dies, great strikes, and eye appeal but I also love the often gnarly Roman Egyptian coins. Coins with good or long pedigrees also pique my interest. Picking a top ten was difficult. Does anyone else feel guilty about leaving some coins off their Top Ten lists? . In reverse order, although the top four top five are really a tie. I should just label them all #1. 10. Antinous lead tessera from Antinoöpolis (not previously posted to CoinTalk). Something depicting Antinous has been on my hit list for a couple of years. An Alexandrian drachm would be nice but this lead tessera a perfectly acceptable substitute. Until this, I had no lead coins or tesserae. Added bonus: unrecorded reverse. EGYPT, Antinoöpolis. Antinous 2nd-3rd centuries CE PB tessera, 25 mm, 7.63 gm, 11h Obv: draped bust of Antinous right, wearing hem-hem crown; crescent before, AN behind Rev: Serapis standing right, head left, raising hand and holding scepter; to left, ЄYC/YBA/[...] Ref: Milne –; Dattari (Savio) –;Köln – Per CNG: "A previously unseen reverse legend and unpublished tessera. Though difficult to read, the reverse legend appears to be some variation of the word Εὐσεβής (“pious")." 9. Lucius Verus with Serapis Pantheos reverse (not previously posted to CoinTalk). A year ago I failed to acquire the Emmett plate drachm of Antoninus Pius and Serapis Pantheos. It still hurts but this tetradrachm has mitigated the loss. EGYPT, Alexandria. Lucius Verus year 4, CE 163/4 billion tetradrachm, 24 mm, 13.51 gm Obv: ΛAVPHΛI OVHPOCCEB; bareheaded, draped, and cuirassed bust left Rev: Radiate and draped bust of Serapis-Pantheos right, wearing calathus and horn of Ammon; trident behind shoulder; ∆/L in right field Ref: Emmett 2360 (4), R1; Köln 2148; Dattari (Savio) 9420; K&G 39.77 8. Mussidius Longus denarius. I already had one of each type of Venus Cloacina (Sewer Goddess) denarius but this represents a very nice upgrade to the Concordia version. It was markedly less expensive than the one I bought at the 2014 Chicago ANA show. That was unexpected and welcome! L. Mussidius Longus, 42 BCE AR denarius, Rome mint. Obv: Diademed and veiled head of Concordia right; CONCORDIA upwards behind; star in right field under chin Rev: Shrine of Venus Cloacina: Circular platform surmounted by two statues of the goddess, each resting right hand on cippus, the platform inscribed CLOACIN and ornamented with trellis-pattern balustrade, flight of steps and portico on left; L • MVSSIDIVS • LONGVS around above. Ref: Crawford 494/42b; Bab. 6; BMC 4244; Crawf. 494/42 b; Syd. 1093a 7. Fourrée mule denarius. Now I can join the ZCC (Zombie Coin Club), and it is a mule to boot. Mules are not terribly uncommon among Roman Republican fourrees but I was happy to get one. This coin also fits a subset I’m working on: coins showing odd modes of transportation. A goat biga, in this case. Roman Republic fourrée mule denarius L. Antestius Gragulus, 136 BCE, and C. Renius, 138 BCE ancient forgery, 3.18 gm Obv: Roma helmeted head right, * below chin, GRAG behind Rev: Juno Caprotina in a biga of goats, C・RENI below, ROMA in exergue Ref: Obverse S.115, Cr.238/1, Syd.451, RSC Antestia 9; Reverse S.108, Cr.231/1, Syd.432, RSc Renia 1 6. Sikyon stater. As with the Aegina, I can’t buy the one I really want (AJ’s, of course). This one has good eye appeal and didn’t break the bank. SIKYONIA, Sikyon 335-330 BCE AR stater, 23 mm, 12.3 gm Obv: Chimera standing left; wreath above, ΣE below Rev: Dove flying left; A to left; all within wreath Ref: BCD Peloponnesos 220; Traité III 775, pl. CCXX, 11 CNG 342, from the "collection of a Southern Pathologist, purchased from C.H. Wolfe, 3 May 1989" 5. Aegina stater. These are readily available at auction and in fixed price stores. It took a while to find the right one at a reasonable price and I think this one hit that sweet spot. I wanted the turtle to be completely on flan, preferably with no banker’s marks on the shell. While greater detail on the shell would be nice, the price would not be nice. ISLANDS off ATTICA, Aegina 456/45-431 BCE AR stater; 20mm, 12.32 g Obv: land tortoise, head in profile, with segmented shell Rev: large square incuse with skew pattern Ref: SNG Delepierre 1774ff; BMC Taf. 24.11 4. Sauromates II EL stater. Once again from an extremely competitive auction. I was shot down on every coin except for this. Fortunately, there were many coins I dearly wanted and realistically I could only buy one or two, so this was definitely not a consolation price. Added bonus: it is ex Buddy Ebsen (aka Jed Clampett). KINGS OF BOSPORUS, Sauromates II Bosporan Era 495 (CE 198/9) EL stater, 19 mm, 7.72 gm, 12h Obv: BACIΛЄωC CAVPOMATOV; diademed and draped bust of Sauromates right Rev: laureate head of Septimius Severus right; pellet to right; ЄЧV (date) below Ref: Frolova p. 177 and pl. XXXIII, 9-10 (same dies as illustrations); Anokhin 576a; MacDonald 506/2 ex Dr. Lawrence A. Adams collection ex Buddy Ebsen Collection (Superior, 7 June 1987, lot 4114) 3. Corinth stater with rampant chimaera. This coin jumped off the webpage and said BUY ME. I love it . CORINTHIA, Corinth circa 375-300 BCE AR stater, 22 mm, 8.55 g, 1h Obv: Pegasus flying left; qoppa below Rev: helmeted head of Athena left; A-P flanking neck truncation; to right, chimaera standing left Ref: Ravel 1010; Pegasi 428; BCD Corinth 102; HGC 4, 1848 ex CNG Inventory 828126 (November, 2008) ex Gorny & Mosch 170 (13 October 2008), lot 1381 ex Giessener Münzhandlung 21 (22 March 1982), lot 37 2. Alexander the Great, lifetime tetradrachm. Great condition, strike, and toning; ex Colosseo Collection. I love it when AJ upgrades! KINGS OF MACEDON, Alexander III AR tetradrachm, 17.14 gm late lifetime issue, struck in Aradus c. 324/3 BCE Obv: Head of Herakles right, wearing lion skin headdress. Rev: BAΣIΛEΩΣ AΛΕΞΑΝΔΡΟΥ; Zeus seated left, holding eagle and scepter; I in left field; AP monogram below throne Ref: Price 3325 ex Colosseo Collection (images by Colosseo Collection) 1. Selinos litra. This was a tough auction and I am very happy to have won this coin despite paying more than initially planned. I missed earlier targets but that freed up money allowing me to bid higher. I do not regret it. It’s definitely a strong contender for the #1 spot: beautiful, rare, artistic; amazing detail for a 0.76 gm sliver of silver. Ex Money Museum, ex Athos Moretti collection. SICILY, Selinos Circa 410 BCE AR litra, 11mm, 0.76 g, 1h Obv: nymph seated left on rock, right hand raised above her head, extending her left hand to touch coiled serpent before her; selinon leaf above Rev: man-faced bull standing right; ΣEΛINONTIOΣ above; in exergue, fish right Ref: HGC 2, 1229; SNG ANS 711–2 var. (ethnic); SNG Ashmolean 1904–5; SNG Lloyd 1270 var. (same); Basel –; Dewing –; Rizzo pl. XXXIII, 6. Good VF, dark iridescent tone, some porosity. Rare. ex MoneyMuseum, Zurich; ex Leu 79 (31 October 2000), lot 404; ex Athos Moretti collection, #482, unpublished manuscript
Tough to call which one I like most. I am torn between the electrum stater the LV Egyptian and the Turtle stater
A few honorable mentions... Hadrian drachm with the Isis Pharia and the Lighthouse of Alexandria Oitaioi hemidrachm. It has the most extensive known pedigree of all my coins, thanks to the research by its most recent former owner, @Ardatirion. Gallienus tetradrachm, ex Museum of Fine arts, Boston, accessioned in 1888. Gorgeous Julia Maesa provincial bronze (Tyre, Phoenicia) Another Tyrian provincial, Trebonianus Gallus
Woooo Doggie, those are some sweet 2015 examples, my dear!! (they're all yummy) Ummm, I think 9, 3, 1 and the honorable-mention Hadrian are my favourites (but again, man, the tortoise and the chimera are also obviously total winners!!) you rock cheers
I've purchased or won several coins in recent weeks as well but won't be able to show them yet. I don't think any are top ten material but they're still nice. My most recent win was in this week's CNG auction. Knowing that my target was probably at risk for being Clio'd, in a Hail Mary move I changed my bidder name. IT WORKED! It's a Festivus Miracle!
Absolutely gorgeous coins in any order!!! Every one of them just jumps up at me and screams GET ONE JUST LIKE ME!!!! What a fabulous selection, by every conceivable measure!
Wow, you have been holding out on us TIF I couldn't pick one out of the lot, totally jealous of Antinous though.
First, I love your CNG handle! Awesome. Second, I love your photography. You've got that dancing above the water in perpetuity thing going like Ancient Joe, and I've gotta tell you, it's awesome! Last, I like your fourree mule the best. Great post TIF!
All are TIFtastic, but #1 is really special. I'm totally jealous of the Corinth stater and #4 is on my to-die-for list. What a year!
Hmm, that could be fun. I just wish he would make a website for his coins! Clio: Please please please start an online archive of your collection! We want to see them all. Making and maintaining such a site would likely be a full-time job for at least one person. I volunteer.
Amazing... fantastic pieces TIF, the photos sure speak for the coins. If the infamous Clio retired from numismatics, what would you do?
I'm not sure exactly what you meant so I'll answer for each context. 1. If he stopped collecting, I'd actually be sad. While I do get tired of having coins snatched in the last second*, there will always be other Clios ready to outbid me. Plus, I have my "CURSES, CLIO!" shriek down pat now. I'd hate for that to go to waste . Predicting which of our CNG targets will be Clio'd has become a game between several of my CoinTalk friends. 2. If you meant what would I do for work if I was his digital curator and then he retired, no problem. He must have a backlog of coins/work that would take me well to retirement age . * Edited to clarify. I also usually bid in the final seconds so what I really meant is that he (and others) place last-second bids far higher than mine. Humph. How dare they.