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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;TypeCoin971793, post: 3258103, member: 78244&quot;]I think only one of us has bothered to put one together so far this year, so I will open the flood gates.</p><p><br /></p><p>I bought a lot of really nice, historic coins this year and missed out on a few. Paring down the list to a top 20 was easy, but a top 10 was much more difficult. Here is my top 10 is a somewhat ascending order.</p><p><br /></p><p>10. 1589 Half Leeuwendaalder (Lion Thaler) of Holland. This was minted rather shortly after Holland gained its independence from Spain in 1574, so it is an early Dutch issue. But what maked it special is that I bought it in Utrecht with [USER=87271]@AnYangMan[/USER] when I was visiting him. Not only that, this coin has a magnificent strike that is just not seen on the type and is accented with lovely cabinet toning.</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]856473[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p>9. King John Penny. When looking for coins for my “one medieval/hammered/ancient/etc coin minted in each city I visited” collection, I decided to go for a silver penny with the archaic spelling LVNDE for London. In addition, I have a fondness for coins struck under infamous rulers, and King John certainly qualifies. I am quite happy with the quality of this example, especially at £70. <img src="styles/default/xenforo/clear.png" class="mceSmilieSprite mceSmilie1" alt=":)" unselectable="on" unselectable="on" /></p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]856474[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p>8. Dang Jin Spade. When Q. David Bowers sold his collection of ancient Chinese coins, I knew that I had to get one of them just for the provenance. I woke up at 3 AM France time to participate in the auction in Hong Kong. This coin was actually not my main target, so I passed it in favor of freeing up cash in later lots. Well, I got obliterated on all of those, so I came back to this one, happy to see that no one else had bid on it. This example has one of the nicer patinas for the type (most are completely stripped of their patinas; I have only seen a couple others with patinas this nice. One is in Bob Reis’ inventory.) and was priced at about 1/2 to 2/3 the going rate. But best of all, it replaced the example with questionable authenticity that was in my collection.</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]856475[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p>7. Constantine I Follis struck in Trier. Trier, Germany was one of my favorite cities that I visited in Europe. Much of the Roman and medieval architecture is still standing and is available to be explored. The most prominent Roman buildings were built under Constantine I as Trier was his residence for a period of time. Therefore I had to get a Constantine I coin struck in Trier. Then this example showed up in one of JA’s auctions, and I was struck by the fine styling and glossy luster. I still love looking at this coin.</p><p><br /></p><p>Here is a writeup on the Roman history of Trier (with lots of pictures!):</p><p><br /></p><p><a href="https://www.cointalk.com/threads/trier-part-ii-with-some-roman-newps.310954/" class="internalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://www.cointalk.com/threads/trier-part-ii-with-some-roman-newps.310954/">https://www.cointalk.com/threads/trier-part-ii-with-some-roman-newps.310954/</a></p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]856476[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p>6. Ancient Chinese ant-nose coin with an undeciphered inscription. I was extremely exctied to be able to finally get one of these for my set of ant-nose inscriptions. It is by far the rarest of the 9 inscriptions with only about 6 total known in private and museum collections (according to [USER=87271]@AnYangMan[/USER] ‘s tally). This was actually a gift from a friend I met through [USER=87271]@AnYangMan[/USER] , making it very special. The inscription is currently undeciphered (though the current guess is “Yong”), but I am getting an etymological dictionary soon. <img src="styles/default/xenforo/clear.png" class="mceSmilieSprite mceSmilie1" alt=":)" unselectable="on" unselectable="on" /></p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]856477[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p>5. Obol of Archbishop Rainald von Dassel of Cologne. I bought this coin for my “one medieval/hammered/ancient/etc coin minted in each city I visited” collection because it captured the single most historic event in Cologne’s history. Of all of the things I learned about Cologne while I was there, the story of the Archbishop acquiring the bones of the three magi and turning Cologne into a major pilgrimage site was the thing that stood out to me the most. Here is my writeup on this coin:</p><p><br /></p><p><a href="https://www.cointalk.com/threads/new-medieval-putting-cologne-on-the-map.322916/" class="internalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://www.cointalk.com/threads/new-medieval-putting-cologne-on-the-map.322916/">https://www.cointalk.com/threads/new-medieval-putting-cologne-on-the-map.322916/</a></p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]856478[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p>4. Marcus Sergius Silus denarius. I bought this coin at this year’s London Coin Fair. As I was rifling through the dealer’s Roman Republican coins, I saw this and knew exactly what it was thanks to this forum. <img src="styles/default/xenforo/clear.png" class="mceSmilieSprite mceSmilie1" alt=":)" unselectable="on" unselectable="on" /> I happily paid the dealer’s asking price and considered the show to be a great success.</p><p><br /></p><p>More info about the depicted figure as described in 77 AD in Pliny’s Natural History:</p><p><br /></p><p>“Nobody - at least in my opinion - can rightly rank any man above Marcus Sergius, although his great-grandson Catiline shames his name. In his second campaign Sergius lost his right hand. In two campaigns he was wounded twenty-three times, with the result that he had no use in either hand or either foot: only his spirit remained intact. Although disabled, Sergius served in many subsequent campaigns. He was twice captured by Hannibal - no ordinary foe- from whom twice he escaped, although kept in chains and shackles every day for twenty months. He fought four times with only his left hand, while two horses he was riding were stabbed beneath him.</p><p><br /></p><p>He had a right hand made of iron for him and, going into battle with this bound to his arm, raised the siege of Cremona, saved Placentia and captured twelve enemy camps in Gaul - all of which exploits were confirmed by the speech he made as praetor when his colleagues tried to debar him as infirm from the sacrifices. What piles of wreaths he would have amassed in the face of a different enemy!”</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]856480[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p>3. Medieval Metz gross. I bought this coin the day I was leaving for France, also making it the first Metz coin I bought. I lived in Metz for 4 months and absolutely loved the city, so I am quite partial to anything related to Metz. This particular coin has fine styling and great eye appeal as well as a nice, large flan.</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]856481[/ATTACH] </p><p><br /></p><p>2. Contemporary counterfeit value-1000 spade. I had been wanting a contemporary counterfeit fiduciary Wang Mang coin for a long time because of the desperation and risk it represents. The person who made this coin literally put his life and the lives of those around him on the line to make a quick buck. Coins like these are one of the reasons why Wang Mang’s monetary reforms failed so terribly. My writeup for this coin was in the second round of the CT Imperator contest this year. <img src="styles/default/xenforo/clear.png" class="mceSmilieSprite mceSmilie1" alt=":)" unselectable="on" unselectable="on" /></p><p><br /></p><p><a href="https://www.cointalk.com/threads/poll-17-15-jay-gt4-vs-31-typecoin-round-2-cit-2018.321866/" class="internalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://www.cointalk.com/threads/poll-17-15-jay-gt4-vs-31-typecoin-round-2-cit-2018.321866/">https://www.cointalk.com/threads/poll-17-15-jay-gt4-vs-31-typecoin-round-2-cit-2018.321866/</a></p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]856482[/ATTACH] </p><p><br /></p><p>1. Last but not least is a gold-inlaid knife coin cast by Wang Mang. I bought this with [USER=87271]@AnYangMan[/USER] from our mutual friend, and I was extremely excited to buy this coin, especially at the price I paid. It represents the cunning and tyrannical power wielded by Wang Mang to secure his position as emperor. But all of this was for naught as his advanced schemes and reforms only served to destroy China’s economy and starve a large portion of the population to death. And thus he earns a top spot in my collection of infamous rulers. </p><p><br /></p><p>Also this coin was owned by an ancient Chinese aristocrat. How cool is that? <img src="styles/default/xenforo/clear.png" class="mceSmilieSprite mceSmilie1" alt=":)" unselectable="on" unselectable="on" /></p><p><br /></p><p>Here is my writeup of this coin, which is a long but interesting read if you have not seen it yet.</p><p><br /></p><p><a href="https://www.cointalk.com/threads/gold-inlaid-knife-coin-the-fascinating-story-of-the-rise-and-fall-of-wang-mang.315047/" class="internalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://www.cointalk.com/threads/gold-inlaid-knife-coin-the-fascinating-story-of-the-rise-and-fall-of-wang-mang.315047/">https://www.cointalk.com/threads/gold-inlaid-knife-coin-the-fascinating-story-of-the-rise-and-fall-of-wang-mang.315047/</a></p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]856483[/ATTACH][/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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