TIF's 2018 recap-- Top Ten Favorite Alexandrians

Wow, what a hectic year-- especially here at the end. It hasn't been a pleasant year at all with one difficult thing after another, but coins and CoinTalk remain a bright and happy place in my life. Thank you all, CoinTalk family, for making this such a wonderful place . Many of the following coins have not previously been posted to CT. I meant to do detailed writeups of each but life kept getting in the way. Maybe next year I'll be able to give them the writeups they deserve.

My primary area of interest has become Provincials, and in particular, coins of Roman Egypt. Within that realm my favorite coins are those with Egypt-specific reverses or other unusual reverses. Here are my 10 favorites. I feel terrible for not posting every last one, like I've slighted the other coins .

1. Domitian diobol/Agathodaemon riding a horse. This is not only a favorite for the year but of all years. This coin is just so wonderful I can hardly stand it . Beautiful portrait, supremely weird reverse, great condition, illustrated in Emmett (twice!), awesome pedigree... what a special coin. I'm lucky to have it.

EGYPT, Alexandria. Domitian
Æ diobol; 25 mm, 10.86 gm
Regnal year 10, CE 90/91.
Obv: AVT KAICAP ΔΟ ΜΙΤ CEB ΓΕΡΜ, laureate head right
Rev: Agathodaemon serpent, wearing the skhent crown (emblematic of upper and lower Egypt), on horseback galloping left; L I (date) below
Ref: Köln –; Dattari (Savio) –; K&G 24.109; RPC II 2585; SNG Copenhagen 214; Emmett 277.10 (R5).
Ex Giovanni Maria Staffieri Collection
Ex West Coast/Lloyd Beauchaine Collection (Classical Numismatic Group 41, 19 March 1997), lot 1110
Ex Classical Numismatic Review Vol. XVI, No. 1 (January 1991), lot 31
Ex Numismatic Fine Arts Fall Mail Bid Sale (18 October 1990), lot 2365
Appearances:
Staffieri, Alexandria In Nummis 39 (this coin)
Obverse illustrated in Emmett as the header for the Domitian section, p. 24 (this coin)
Fully illustrated in Emmett, p. 26 (this coin, discussing the unusual reverse).
https://www.cointalk.com/threads/so-these-exist-snake-cowboys.314032/



2. Marcus Aurelius diobol/foot of Serapis. Not previously shown on CoinTalk, this coin was another unexpected and wonderful pick up. It is also fully illustrated in Emmett. Numismatist Willam E. Metcalf (former Chief Curator for the American Numismatic Society) describes this as "one of the homeliest coin types every devised" . The meaning of the reverse is not known with certainty but it may be a representation of the colossal statue of Serapis in ancient Alexandria.

EGYPT, Alexandria. Marcus Aurelius
AE diobol, 22.8 mm, 8.33 gm
RY 17 (176/7 CE)
Obv: MAVPHΛIOCANTωNINOC; laureate head right
Rev: right foot and ankle (of a statue of Serapis?), pointing right; draped bust right of Serapis above, wearing kalathos; LI[Z] in right field
Ref: Dattari (Savio) 3516; Emmett 2254.17 (this coin illustrated, p. 96); K&G 37.411 (this coin illustrated). Extremely rare. None in CoinArchives.
Ex WRG Collection
Ex Kerry K. Wetterstrom Collection (Part II, Classical Numismatic Auctions XIII, 4 December 1990), lot 130.

From the auction writeup:
An enigmatic type that most likely represents the colossal statue of Sarapis by Bryaxis, which is “always described as a colossus, the god’s right foot and ankle were the only parts of the statue which were within reach of the worshipper.” Since a statue of a god was “no less potent than the god himself,” and touching it “could effect a cure,” then the coin type “merely portrays a familiar but distinctive piece of religious apparatus.”

Perhaps Monty Python's Foot of God is actually the Foot of Serapis?

​

3. Trajan drachm/Triptolemos. Because I can't resist chariots being drawn by things other than horses and this Triptolemos reverse is particularly well preserved. The portrait is quite nice too.

EGYPT. Alexandria. Trajan
AE drachm, 33.5 mm, 22.09 g
Uncertain regnal year
Obv: [AYT] TPAIANCE BΓEPM∆AKIK; Laureate bust of Trajan to right
Rev: Triptolemos in a chariot drawn right by two winged Agathodaemon serpents
Ref: Emmett 601; RPC III 4336.4

The leaned-back posture of the serpents looked familiar somehow... then it clicked. R. Crumb's "Keep On Truckin" dudes!! If you were alive in the late 1960s or early 1970s you'll remember it...

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4. Trajan drachm/elephant quadriga. Despite the large array of "alternate modes of transportation" I've accumulated, I lacked an elephant quad until now. This one is very well preserved. Egyptian drachms circulated for a long time so finding one with such crisp devices is always a delight. This one is also ex Dattari and a plate coin . The only reason it didn't rank higher in this favorites list is that elephant quadrigas are not particularly unusual across a swath of ancient coin issuers.

EGYPT. Alexandria. Trajan
AE drachm, 32.3 mm, 19.8 gm
Regnal year 14 (110/11 CE)
Obv: AYT TPAIANC EBΓEPM∆AKIK; laureate bust right, with aegis on left shoulder
Rev: Trajan, laureate, wearing a toga and holding an eagle-tipped sceptre and branch, standing in an elephant quadriga right; LIΔ above.
Ref: Emmett 462.14; Dattari-Savio Pl. 31, 766 (this coin); RPC 4510.3 (this coin)
ex Dattari collection (Giovanni Dattari, 1858-1923)

5. Aelius tetradrachm/Homonoia. This was my 2018 Secret Saturn gift and I was completely blown away. I could only imagine it coming from a few people and I correctly guessed... @Theodosius was my Saturn. I'm still stunned at this incredible gift and will always treasure it!!

EGYPT, Alexandria. Aelius
137 CE
Billon tetradrachm; 23 mm, 13.16 gm
Obv: ΛAIΛIOCKAICAP; bare head right
Rev: ΔHM EΞOVC VΠAT B; Homonoia standing left, holding cornucopiae and patera over garlanded altar
Ref: Emmett 1350.2; Köln 1271; Milne 1539
Ex Theodosius Collection
Ex John A. Seeger Collection

6. Trajan drachm/centaur biga. I have a Domitian centaur biga but this reverse is much better (not that I consider this acquisition redundant!!). It's from T.J. Buggey's collection. I wish I'd realize his Alexandrian coins were being sold sooner. I have a couple of his now but missed out on the bulk of them. Trajan looks unusually handsome and youthful in this portrait.

Egypt, Alexandria. Trajan
AE drachm, 34.73 mm, 21.18 gm
Regnal year 12 (108/9 CE)
Obv: [AVT TRAIAN] CEB ΓE[PM ΔA]KIK, laureate and draped bust of Trajan right, seen from behind
Rev: Trajan, raising hand and holding scepter, driving biga of centaurs right; above, L IB
Ref: Emmett 464.12 (R4).
Ex Tom Buggey Collection
Ex Jean Elsen

7. Trajan drachm/Harpokrates with lower body of a crocodile (let's call this a "Harpodile" ). I had tried and failed to acquire one of these in the past; the examples were heartbreakingly awesome. I don't mind this rougher coin as an alternative though because these oddball reverse types can get very pricey! It's from the Tom Buggey collection.

Egypt, Alexandria. Trajan
AE drachm, 32.07 mm, 18.28 gm, 1 h
Regnal year 15 (111/12 CE)
Obv: [AVT T]PAIAN C-ЄB ΓЄ[PM ΔAKIK]; laureate bust of Trajan right, drapery on left shoulder
Rev: Harpocrates of Canopus with hindparts of a crocodile, standing left, pointing finger at mouth and holding cornucopiae; LI - E across field
Ref: Emmett 500.15; Milne 659
ex Tom Buggey Collection

8. Antoninus Pius drachm/harbor scene with Isis Euploia. I've drooled over this type ever since seeing @PeteB's spectacular example (please post it here, Pete!). One day an example came up for auction. The condition was terrible but I targeted the coin anyway-- there might not be another for a while! Soon after (before that coin came up for auction), another example came to auction! What to do, what to do? I had to bid on both, of course . I preferred the second coin (shown below) but couldn't count on winning it. I ended up with both. Here's the second coin, marginally better than the first one:

EGYPT. Alexandria. Antoninus Pius
AE drachm; 31 mm, 16.76 gm
Regnal year 18 (154/5 CE)-- probable date
Obv: [ΑVΤ Κ Τ ΑΙΛ ΑΔΡ ΑΝΤωΝΙΝΟС СЄΒ ЄVC]; laureate bust right
Rev: The Harbor of Alexandria: Isis Euploia standing left, holding grain ears and rudder; to left, prow above Euthenia seated right, propping herself up on hand; to right, stern above Nilus reclining left, holding rudder; L I/H (date) to upper right.
Ref: Emmett 1589.18; RPC IV online 13846; Dattari (Savio) 8772; K&G 35.661.

9. Trajan tetradrachm/Nilus. This is one of those "better in hand" coins, probably because my aging eyes make the surfaces look better . It's a heavy little thing-- these tets still had quite a bit of silver at this time, apparently. Another ex Dattari .

EGYPT, Alexandria. Trajan
Regnal year 18 (114/5 CE)
billion tetradrachm, 24 mm, 12.8 gm
Obv: AVTTPAIANAPICEBΓEPMΔAKIK; laureate bust right, star in right field
Rev: draped bust of Nilus right, crowned with taenia and lotus bud; cornucopia at left shoulder; LI-H
Ref: Dattari 670 (this coin); Dattari-Savio plate 26 #670 (this coin); RPC 4851.16 (this coin cited); Emmett 387.18, R4.
ex Dattari collection (Giovanni Dattari, 1858-1923)

10. Maximian tetradrachm/Herakles. I seems appropriate to have a Herakles reverse for Maximianus Herculius yet somehow I lacked one until @Justin Lee put his up for auction in AMCC1. I feel like I stole it but am delighted to have the coin!

EGYPT, Alexandria. Maximianus
tetradrachm; 20 mm, 8.78 gm
Obv: MAΞIMIANOCCЄB; laureate, draped, and cuirassed bust right
Rev: Herakles standing facing, head left, holding apple in right hand and club in left; star in upper right field; L-S across fields
Ref: Emmett 4131.6; Dattari 5915
Ex Justin Lee collection

...

It was another great year for my collection. Apologies ahead of time for hogging the board, but in the next couple of days I hope to post my top non-Alexandrian favorites and all of the amazing gifts I received this year from other CT members! This place really is amazing .

Happy New Year, everyone!

 

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A fantastic selection @TIF

I love them all but am particularly attracted to the Trajan/Nilus coin.

 

I salivate.

 

Great Agathodaemons and the A.pius with Isis steering the ship is beautiful. What provenances and plate coins!

 

Great coins @TIF number 7 may be a combination of Harpocrates and Sobek (or Sobek-Ra) the crocodile god.

Wikipedia has this to say about Harpocrates and crocodiles...

Anyway, it may be Sobek

 

With the quality of your posts, "hog" away TIF!

Lesbos. Uncertain mint circa
500-450 BC.
Obol BI
8mm., 0,89g.
Confronted boars' heads /
Quadripartite incuse square.
very fine
Klein 348
(If I had one of your pink Floyd flying hogs I woulda posted that. Not that cool...yet)

 

I feel lucky to know someone who has this great diobol. Emmett is a good book but it is really poor when it comes to illustrations. I think the members of CT could set up a website consisting of nothing but illustrations of coins as listed in Emmett that would make the book a lot more fun. Printing Emmett with a thousand added photos would make something too expensive for the market demand. I don't know if it would be possible to get permission to add dealer images to such a project but that would greatly expand the coverage. Perhaps we really don't want to do something like that since we have enough competition for these coins as it is.

 

Not quite what you had in mind, but I'm working on an index of illustrated coins in Emmett. Despite the multitude of indexes in that book, he doesn't have one for the illustrated coins! That plus organizing my collection and updating my website are my primary projects for this holiday season. Of those tasks, making the Emmett illustration index might be the easiest.

 

Really nice selection TIF! As someone relatively newly converted to Alexandrine coins I totally get now why they are so addicting lol. If I do make a top 10 (not sure yet if I want to) it will certainly include at least a couple of my Alexandrine coins

 

Great coins TIF! Roman Egypt had such cool and weird coin reverses, especially earlier on.

Snake-cowboy is my fav. I don’t know if you’ve seen the movie Rango but I’d guess their (snake-cowboy and Rango’s) personalities are similar. Haha...

 

Great coins! There is so much variety in all those coins and of course my top 1 would be your top 1 as well but no.3 and 4 are awesome too.

 

I don't know ancients at all, but those 2 snakes are so cool looking.

I liked the animation and fun pictures too.

 

Stunning coins, all, @TIF ! Enviable collection! May 2019 treat you well numismatically AND personally!

 

Although it is well known on this forum I'll say it again. You have the best eye for coins. Fantastic selection.

 

What an absolutely fantastic set of Alexandrian coins, especially love all your Trajan Drachme, and in top condition not an easy task when it comes Alexandrian coinage. I congratulate you on building upon an already great specialty collection.

 

Superb #5

 

Beautiful coins as always TIF! Here’s hoping 2019 will be just as fruitful on the coin front, and less stressful on the personal front!

 

I really like the GIFS and artwork! Fun stuff well executed!

The coins are ok too. (joking here.)

Happy New Year.....

 

TIF's coins are a sampling of the better Alexandrians which probably peaked in the time of Antoninus Pius who issued more super rare and super interesting reverses than anyone. Most of my coins are the regular 'someone standing there' types that outnumber the good stuff by quite a bit. I consider the best Alexandrians to be those that show something Egyptian rather than the common Greek gods and personifications. One I like is the man headed snake god Agathodaemon (good spirit) on this Antoninus Pius drachm.

 

I love them all @TIF but that Aelius tetradrachm is my favorite.

I know what you mean about feeling bad for not having time to research each and every coin in a timely manner. I was the same way this year. At least these Top 10 lists force us all to think about why we like all our favorites in a fun way. Great year!