Top 5 of 2016 -- Ides of March

While my 2016 wasn't as prolific as most of the collectors on this site, it was nevertheless a banner year for me. Despite a small hiccup with a forgery of a Hadrian travel aureus (documented in another thread on this site), I was quite pleased with 2016 and found an area to branch out from my almost-complete 12 Caesars collection.

5. Augustus / Octavian Dupondius (?)



OCTAVIAN (as AUGUSTUS)
AE Dupondius (?) (20.33 g.) Rome 7 B.C. RIC 429
CAESAR AVGVST PONT MAX TRI – BVNIC POT Laureate head l., crowned by Victory stg. behind and holding cornucopiae. Rev. M SALVIVS OTHO III VIR A A A F F around S C. From the Gasvoda collection


4. Hadrian Africa Aureus



HADRIAN 117 - 138 A.D.
AV Aureus (7.15 g.) Rome ca. 134 - 138 A.D. RIC -- cf. 298g
HADRIANVS AVG COS III P P bare head of Hadrian r. Rev. Africa, draped, wearing elephant-skin headdress, recl. L, r. hand on neck of lion stg. L. grain ears behind

3. Hadrian Africa Sestertius



HADRIAN 117 - 138 A.D.
AE Sestertius (25.62 g.) Rome ca. 134 - 138 A.D. RIC 840
HADRIANVS AVG COS III P P Laureate head of Hadrian r. Rev. Africa, draped, wearing elephant-skin headdress, recl. L, r. hand holding scorpion, cornucopia behind

2. Hadrian She-Wolf Aureus



HADRIAN 117 - 138 A.D.
AV Aureus (6.87 g.) Rome ca. 124 - 128 A.D. RIC II 193d
HADRIANVS AVGVSTVS Laureate bust right, drapery on l. shoulder. Rev. She-wolf stg. Left, suckling Romulus and Remus; COS above, III in exergue. Biaggi 598

1. Caligula Three Sisters Sestertius



GAIUS (CALIGULA) 37 - 41 A.D.
AE Sestertius (28.56 g.) Rome c. 37 - 38 A.D. RIC 33
C CAESAR AVG GERMANICVS PON M TR POT Laureate bust l. Rev. AGRIPPINA – DRVSILLA – IVLIA Sisters standing: Agrippina as Securitas holds cornucopiae; Drusilla as Concordia holds patera and cornucopiae; Julia as Fortuna, holds rudder and cornucopiae. In exergue, S·C. From the Gasvoda collection

 

Log in or Sign up to hide this ad.

WOW!!!

Simply gorgeous!

I note that the 'Bronze' of Augustus seems to be listed a a 'Dupondius' on acsearch...and way out of my price range LOL

https://www.acsearch.info/search.ht...s=1&currency=usd&thesaurus=1&order=0&company=

 

Stunning! The Hadrian Africa pieces, just wow.

 

Damn!

 

Amazing coins. The gold is great but I am drawn to the 3 sisters.

All your coins are exceptional.

 

All are fantastic, but #1 must be one of the finest examples of a storied type that would be wonderful to own in almost any grade. It'll be fun to see what joins your collection in 2017.

 

The Hadrian gold is sooooo sweet! Congrats to you!

 

Very nice @IdesOfMarch01 . I like them all. I am very partial to the 2 Africas and the She-Wolf. Thanks for your posting!

 

There's not one that's not beautiful and desirable. Way to go!

 

Absolutely stunning! All of them museum pieces, but the Calligula with the three sisters reverse is my favorite.

 

I still can't decide which is my favorite, but I'll go out on a limb and agree with your #1 listing and with Roman Collector----Caligula and the Three Sisters!!

 

sweet collection

 

wonderful coins!
You are a dedicated collector to weather the small hiccup and continue buying high grade masterpieces.

 

Great coins, especially like the two Hadrian Africa.

 

A pack of winners! Can't pick one over the another!

I have the same problem when viewing the other "top shelf" collections, it's hard to pick a favorite.

 

From a style standpoint, #3 is especially appealing. All are great coins but not all dies are equal to this Hadrian's level.

 

Kudos! I wish you could post 10 instead of 5 to complete the charming set of the year.

 

#4 is amazing ... so is #3 ... and

Ehhh, they're all incredible

 

Certainly a very discerning assortment! The Three Sisters sestertius is my favorite too.

 

Thanks to everyone for all the compliments.

Prior to this year, I hadn't noticed the consistently high quality of Hadrian's imperial coins. His travel series combines great obverse portraiture with historically interesting reverses that include exotic animals, well depicted and equally well engraved. So it was natural for me to extend my collecting interests to his coinage, and I hope to continue finding great coins from his reign.