Top Ten 2021 - dougsmit

I really was not sure that I would have a list to post this year but I have participated every time since 2013 when I started off with a top 5 list of the 107 coins I bought that year. 2021 ended up with 14 new coins so picking 10 means some will be not so great. It was my worst coin year since I retired from the Army in 1988. This is my unlucky 13th list and easily my worst. I feel compelled to post it anyway. Will there be a 2022 list?



https://www.cointalk.com/threads/ancients-top-10-index.351239/

The odd part here is there is not a single Greek coin. I like Greek coins. Only one is silver. Six came from the coin show I attended last Saturday when I felt pressured to buy at least enough coins that would allow a top ten. The countdown:



10. Many Postumus double sestertii are overstruck on earlier coins but this one is on another Postumus. It has been posted here before. I bought it hoping I could prove to my satisfaction that the two obverses were the same die making this possibly a demonstration of the theory (which I believe correct) posted by Curtis Clay that striking teams alternated between two reverses sharing one anvil obverse. This proof eludes me. The coin shows a single figure of Victory overstriking two Victories facing each other. It is not a pretty coin but would climb the list were I able to prove the die match. As it is, the coin is an ugly mess and barely #10.


9. From the show Saturday is an AE25 Provincial of Julia Domna from Thessalonika with Nike reverse. It is my only coin of Domna this year. There were no Septimius Severus additions. I thought 2020 was bad with just 3 SS and 1 JD.



8. My only silver to make the list is a Trajan denarius with Abundentia or Annona (depending on where you look) standing with a child. Under them is ALIM ITAL referencing the Alimentalia program through which Trajan fed poor children in Italy. I have a few others of the Trajan types with exergual legends explaining the type so this one was not too much of a stretch but still only #8.


7. The main appeal of the Maximus as was the fact that it was an as rather than the more often seen sestertius and used the more full obverse legend C IVL VERVS MAXIMVS CAES. The reverse showing priestly implements is common for him.



6. This as of Severus Alexander was explained more fully today in the thread wishing our friend Severus Alexander Victory over cancer. When I bought it I thought it was just another decent looking as.



5. From the other show earlier this year came this sestertius of Aelius. It could be better looking but I had no sestertius of Aelius and this has some appeal despite having the common Concordia reverse.



4. From here on down are the four coins I bought this year that I think I would have liked in a 'normal' year when I could find more coins that I liked. I have long wanted a sestertius of Nerva. I would have preferred one with a more interesting reverse, no damage on the reverse and a more excessive nose but few Nerva sestertii show up in my price bracket and I felt lucky that this one was not taken by those of you who pay EF prices for F coins. In most years, I might have considered this a 'space filler' but in 2021 it made #4.



3. I saw several things of appeal on this consecration issue for the Divine Galerius from the mint at Thessalonika. The obverse legend DIVO MAXIMIANO requires care in cataloging to avoid confusion with Maximianus. The reverse shows his tomb. The coin is said to have been issued by Licinius who may also have been the only person who thought Galerius deserved consecration. There are surviving accounts of people (mostly Christians?) who thought his agonizing death was what he deserved. The coin has some damage but is not all that bad looking and something I did not have. I also like the fact that all the letters A have the open top common in this period from some mints.


2. From a CNG sale a couple months ago is my Alexandria billon tetradrachm of Gordian III as Caesar. It is listed as a common type but I value any coin from the short period Gordian was Caesar under Balbinus and Pupienus of some interest.



1. Top spot for 2021 is another Alexandrian tetradrachm but this is one I had been wanting. It is Nero year three (his first year for Alexandrian coins) and show a much younger portrait that the common, later coins with 'fat Nero' faces. The reverse is the serpent god as described in the legend ΝΕΟΑΓΑΘΔΑΙΜ dated LΓ. Agathodaimon is shown rearing up from the grain. I like "good luck" snake coins. The sad part is that the dealer had two very similar for the same price. I selected this year 3 which had slightly more clear legends over the year 6 with a slightly older portrait. Mine is an R1 (most common) in Emmett while the other is R4. I should have bought them both (and given one to a friend?). These are not rare but not seen as often as the ones with old Nero.



Do feel free to disagree with my order and show your similar coins. Wish me better coining in2022.

 

Log in or Sign up to hide this ad.

Very nice and very informative

 

Nice selections, Doug.

Your Julia Domna, Galerius, and Alexandrian tetradrachm are my favorites. I don't have any Galerius, but here is a Julia Domna provincial and a Mysia bronze with snake theme.

Julia Domna:

Julia Domna Æ 33mm of Mopsus, Cilicia. 194-195 AD.
Obv: IOVΛIA ΔOMNA CEBACTH, draped bust to right
Rev: [AΔΡΙ]ΑΝѠΝ ΜΟYЄ[ΑΤ]ѠN, Tyche standing to left, wearing kalathos,
holding rudder and cornucopiae; ЄΤ BΞC (date) across fields.
SNG Pfalz 933; BMC -; SNG France -; SNG Levante -.
26.79g, 33mm, 7h.
Rare.

Mysia Coin with Snake:

Mysia, Pergamon, c. 133-27 BC. Æ
20.5mm, 7.47g, 12h.
Obv: Laureate head of Asklepios r.
Rev: Serpent coiled aroundomphalos.
SNG BnF 1815.

 

#1 snake.

 

I like this selection. My personal favorites would be
#5 Aelius - great portrait and I really like the color of the coin
#9 Domna - very nice overall look, perfectly centered and expressive portrait
#7 Maximus - a coin that in my eyes has aged graciously and I am a fan of pontifical implements reverses, but I only have denarii with this reverse (and a Tetricus II antoninianus)
These coins (and not only them) would have made it in my Top 10.

 

Very nice coins, I like Domna from Thessalonica, Alexander Severus and Nero tetradrachm.
I have Julia Domna from Thrace, Deultum:

 

interesting coins, thanks for posting, my favorite is skinny Nero & snakes

 

Cheers dougsmit
It was a pleasure viewing your purchases and learning the reason behind them. Totally agree with your number one but think all have nice qualities. Makes me think I should put up a top 10 even though i've only recently left the "buying every ancient coin I see within price range" stage of my development. Here is my Trajan copper As
27mm
Mint:Rome 100A.D
Victory alighting with shield
I think it may have been harshly cleaned at some point. Still really like it

 

I'm glad you were able to put together a year-end list, and certainly hope there will be a 2022 list! Yours is one I always look out for not just for the coins but for the reasons that they were purchased and made the list.

I'd like an ALIM ITAL and Nerva sestertius one day too, but my favorites here are your Top 3. The Shrine of Galerius has nice detail, and if you had bought the other Nero, I certainly would have been happy to take it off your hands.

I don't have a Gordie III as caesar from Alexandria, but I do have a Gordie I!


GORDIAN I
Potin Tetradrachm. 11.87g, 22.9mm. EGYPT, Alexandria, RY 1 (AD 238). Emmett 3340; Dattari 12387. O: A K M AN ΓOPΔIANOC CЄM AΦP ЄVCЄB, laureate, draped and cuirassed bust right. R: L-A, Athena standing facing, head left, holding spear and Nike, one hand resting on shield.

 

Is it my imagination or do the two portraits resemble each other? At Rome, the earliest GIII portraits seem to resemble Balbinus but Alexandria (never having seen the boy) may have considered him as looking like his grandfather. I wish there were records of when the word about the various places learned about changes needed due to the start of a reign or a death. How long after Gordian I died did Rome hear the news? I do wonder about the considerations that led a mint to use a specific portrait for a specific person. We can never know what these 'very short term' people really looked like. For those in Rome, I would expect the Rome mint versions to be close. What contributed to the Alexandria version, I do not know.
Gordian III as Caesar, Rome mint sestertius

 

I have always liked this coin. I have so far failed to get one like this. There are three coins, IMO, needed for the set. First, there are 'plain' ones like yours. There is also a version with an owl cut into the reverse die above the snake. My only example has the owl added by countermark. I do not know the reason for the snake addition to the coins one way or the other.

 

I hope 2022 brings more coins your way, if you want them . I suspect you have plenty of coin-related activities to keep you busy even if you don't add more.

Of course I like the Alexandrians in your group. Nice Nero year 3. I have one from that year and unfortunately the obverse isn't very nice:


EGYPT, Alexandria. Nero
year 3, CE 56/7
tetradrachm
Obv: NEPKΛAYKAIΣΣEBΓEPAYTO; laureate head right
Rev: Demos of Romans standing right with sceptre and cornucopia; ΔHMOΣPΩ-MAIΩN; LΓ
Ref: Emmett 116.3, Milne 141

The Trajan is an interesting type and I'm putting it on my find list .

The divo Galerius: what an interesting tomb!

 

Yes, some resemblance I think! I wouldn't be surprised if they lacked a bust or any other image to copy from when they first started issuing those as caesar, and working with a Gordian I or II might just have been the expedient thing to do.

 

@dougsmit I would consider your "unlucky 13" year an absolutely top-notch year for a collector like me!
That JD is beautiful! Then I saw the Severus Alexander. I really like the DIVO MAXIMIANO as well since I've not seen one like it. having a hard time picking my favorite. FFIVN likes the Nero with the snake hands down he says.

If your 2022 is better or the even the same as your 2021, I'm sure there will be a great "Top 10" to look forward to.

Ok now off to the orthodontist!

 

I really love Trajan's coins that reference historical projects, therefore your ALIM ITAL coin gets my vote. I recently ordered a VIA TRAIANA coin for the same reason!

Second for me is the DIVO of Galerius, very hard to come by. I do believe that Maxentius issued one for Galerius after his death to further tie himself to the Imperial College.

 

While this may have been a ‘down’ year for you Doug, I think you nabbed some gems! Loving the Alexandrians (and the look on the Divine Galerius’s face is priceless)!

 

That expression makes you think of someone afflicted as reported in
Lactantius. Don't read this if you are squeamish. Lactantius has been criticized for embellishing the suffering of the Christian persecutors to make his point. Galerius may have died of a simple wound infection but that would not have made nearly as a good story for his intended audience.
https://hekint.org/2018/06/07/the-most-loathsome-disease-of-the-emperor-galerius/

 

There's also the theory that it really was that bad! Due to it being so bad, Lactantius furthered the idea in his work that the persecution must have been primarily Galerius' fault rather than Diocletian's because of how bad the Christian God had seemingly punished Galerius.

 

Nice selection Doug You had a great 2021/ I am wishing You and Your Loved Ones a Merry Christmas and a r
great 2022 coin year!!!!
John

 

There have been a few years recently where I've managed to add only a coin or two above 10. It sounds small but that still means adding one coin a month which takes a fair amount of hunting/seeking time.

And to your list, your #3 tomb reverse is incredible.