Year End list 2019 - dougsmit

This year has been unusual for my collection in several ways so I am presenting my Ten Best list not ordered by my preferences. I know which is my favorite and those who have read my posts here over the last few years might be able to guess but the others really are pretty much even. I have numbered them for convenience but the numbers are otherwise insignificant as to rank. I order the coins as they are in my collection (Greek > Other > Roman > Medieval).



1. My first coin came to me in January from the X6 collection from the collection of our old Coin Talk friend Steve who sold off his entire his collection. I recall the coin when Steve bought it but thought he paid too much. I paid less but still too much according to conventional wisdom. I like overstruck coins and this one is quite a mess with a 3/4 head of Demeter over a horse running (downward) and Poseidon standing left with on foot on a rock over Herakles head right. I'll paste here Steve's description as it appeared on Coin Talk in 2015. I find the coin interesting based on the general theory that overstrikes are better really messy as long as you can tell what is underneath. You won't get this much detail on the rest of my offerings. I'm too lazy.

Boeotia Federal Coinage overstruck on Antigonos Gonatas
Circa 220s BC
Diameter: 17.5 mm
Weight: 5.11 grams
Obverse: Head of Demeter or Kore (Persephone) three-quarter face right, wearing corn-wreath
Reverse: Poseidon, naked, standing left, resting right foot on rock and leaning on trident; to right, ΒΟΙΩΤ[ΩΝ] downward
Reference: BCD Boiotia 108 (this coin); HGC 4, 1182. VF, dark brown patina. Overstruck on Æ of Antigonos Gonatas of the type SNG Cop. 1214-1221
Other: 12h … the overstrikes are reversed on this coin, which is quite rare
Ex BCD Collection (Triton IX, 10 January 2006), lot 108.


2. I do not know a lot about Baktrian coins but was attracted to this one by the little elephant on the reverse. I knew nothing of Antialkidas before I got this coin in Frank Robinson's July sale. I suppose the portrait style, toning and reasonably good condition makes the coin desirable but I doubt I would have bought the coin were it not for the elephant.


Antialkidas, Baktria, 130-120 BC AR drachm Panjhir mint, 2.40g 12h bust in kausia/Zeus with Nike and elephant MACW 1841 ex Huston 158 lot 29


3. The April Robinson sale brought me a Parthian drachm with more than the usual points of interest from my standpoint. Oddly, the feature I find most interesting was unknown to me until the coin arrived. The auction photo was not clear enough to see the strange way the details were engraved with a series of dots and short curves which fascinated me. I also find the row of little stags on the helmet appealing. The coin is currently attributed to Sinatrukes but was given to Gotarzes I by earlier scholars. I have not yet put in the effort to understand the thoughts that led to the re-attribution.



Sinatrukes AR drachm 4.13g 12h bust left with stags on helmet / archer 5 line legend Sellwood 33.4 (Gotarzes I)


4. A September coin show brought me this coin from the stock of Andy Singer. Holes are major faults in our coins but the ancient patinated wire still attached restores an amount of interest to offset the damage. The obvious interest here are the vis-a-vis portraits of Titus and Domitian Caesars. The temple reverse and hole placement to do minimal damage are positives. While the legends are partial, at least the STOBEN city name is clear. This coin is not beautiful but has redeeming values that go a long way to justifying inclusion in my top ten.


Titus and Domitian, Stoben, Macedonia, AE24 / temple 7.85g 6h ancient hole with wire loop

5. Also from Andy Singer at the September show is an Elagabalus Provincial with no major strengths and no major weaknesses. It is just a well balanced coin with good style, interesting type, a nice portrait and reasonable eye appeal. In a great year, this coin would not have been top ten material but 2019 was not my finest year.


Elagabalus, Caesarea AE27 12.45g 6h / agalma of Mt. Argaeus on table, year 3

6. A small show in May have very few ancients dealers but one was Andy Singer who regularly has my kind of coins. In this case it is a denarius of Pescennius Niger the arch enemy of Septimius Severus (good) with a Minerva and owl reverse (better) at a price I could afford (best). Rather few coins of this ruler appear in great condition and they tend to have poor quality metal. This is not a coin that would appeal to many 'condition oriented' collectors. It is a hard number to fill for many one coin per ruler collectors. Few want to pay the price required for ugly coins of a man they do not know well. I am not a 'one per' collector and consider this man at least equally the just successor of Pertinax when compared to Septimius Severus. This is not my first, best, rarest or most interesting coin of this ruler but it is the one I got in 2019 and that is enough to make the ten.


Pescennius Niger, Antioch, AR denarius 193 AD, IMPCAESCPE SCNIGERIVA / MINE RV ICTRIS Minerva with owl 2.83g 12h

7. V-coins seller Aegaen listed in February an "Emesa" mint denarius with a variation of the Minerva reverse that I did not have. Minerva in any variation is scarce from this mint so I tend to want those that are different from those I have. This one is relatively simple with hand on hip and holding a long staff. Two dots follow the reverse legend. I have long been convinced that the coins with one or two dots in this position have some coded meaning but I do not know that meaning. Some scholars write these off as space fillers and meaningless. As a result, I like to obtain these coins of types I do not already have. I doubt I will live to see the major questions of the Eastern coins of Septimius made the subject of a serious study. Meanwhile I gather coins of interest and hope someday they will be better understood.


Septimius Severus AR denarius 'Emesa' mint 194-195 AD / MINER VICT.. stg left with staff 2.61g 12h


8. From a December trade with Severus Alexander of CT and AMCC fame came still another "Emesa" denarius of Septimius Severus. This is only a minor die variation of coins I have but the VICTOR SEVER AVG coins hold a special place in my heart for a reason not everyone will appreciate. In the early 1960's I bought (from Joel Malter for $13.50) a rare reverse VICTOR IVST AVG denarius. When perceived poverty led me to sell my coins in 1974, I kept three including the IVST. Since Pescennius Niger was known as IVSTVS, someone at the mint realized the inappropriateness of the coin for Septimius and changed to VICTOR SEVER AVG. I would love to know if anyone lost their head over this problem. Today, I still am seeking all the variations of both of these legends that cross my path. This is a minor one based on the two dots on the obverse dismissed as a 'typo' in the AK collection as sold by CNG. Like the dots on coin 7, this may be of no importance but I find this a pretty coin and welcome it into my collection of things I admit I do not understand. Yes, as a matter of fact I am ranking two coins in my top ten partly because they have two dots rather than one or none. To show I am not totally crazy, I am not currently speculating on any possible meaning of the top of the reverse just outside of the dotted border. That may come later. Who knows?

The inset is a crop from the same file that was reduced in size for the paired image. My old camera was overkill for what I needed to show coins online and the new one is ridiculous. Instead of buying coins in 2020, I may be reshooting more of my old ones. It is my hobby.

Septimius Severus AR denarius 'Emesa' mint 194-195 AD IMPCAELSEPSE..VPERTAVGCOSII / VICTOR SEVER AVG Victory walks left


9. From the same December trade with Severus Alexander also came a well used but rare Alexandria mint denarius of Julia Domna with the Venus from the rear reverse. All coins of Domna from Alexandria are at least scarce and of interest to me to the point that I would consider buying duplicates. This reverse had eluded me for Domna but one of my favorite coins is my denarius of Septimius using this reverse type. Sev was so kind as to realize this coin 'should' be united with her mate in my collection. I guarantee that 99% of collectors would prefer what I gave him in trade but that is not important. I am a 1%er in a collecting sense. I would love to upgrade this coin but I am happy to have it as-is horn silver and all. . This coin is identified by style without doubt to Alexandria despite the fact that the auction house did not recognize it. The ignorance found in so called professional numismatists is disturbing but beneficial to those who do not have to compete with people who do not see the difference without prompting. . I am thankful that Sev recognized it and bid. I am more thankful that he saw fit to let me have it.


Julia Domna 193-195 AD AR denarius Alexandria mint /VENERI VICTR ex Tom Callaway, ex Roma Auction eSale 64 lot 777 (as Rome mint)


10. My final listing represents a period in the middle of the year when I tried with limited success to develop an interest in English hammered coins. I bought several pieces in July including this one from Holding History on eBay. I became aware of many minor variations that experts use to date and classify these coins but can not say I developed a real interest. I was more attracted t the idea of moneyers being required to sign their work with name and city separated by 'on' (where we might have said 'in' or 'of'). I was attracted to the idea that the coins were designed to allow accurate cutting into halves and quarters to provide small change. The example here appealed to me since it was the quarter that included the WA of Walter who worked for king John at the mint in London. There were names that appear in more than one city and letters that could have been continued to make more than one name of those known to have worked as moneyer but, fortunately, the WA is enough to identify this coin. There is what I consider the most attractive part of the obverse portrait given the fact it is a cut piece. I doubt I would have purchased the piece of this coin that showed only a forehead and the letters ON from the reverse. The reverse cross insured all cut quarters (farthings) would be equal but some quarters definitely are more equal than others from a collector standpoint. This coin serves more as a recognition of my 'medieval month' than as a certain, single favorite from the year.


John, England, 1199-1216 AD London AR cut farthing 0.30g 3h Walter on London

 

Log in or Sign up to hide this ad.

Your lists are always interesting and educational, Doug. I suspect I know your #1 coin and it's probably mine too-- the Alexandrian Domna.

The ex X6 overstrike is a favorite.

The portrait is much better than most Elagabalus provincials.

That is cool!

 

All are extremely interesting but the Titus/Domitian and the cut farthing are fascinating. The ancient modifications add an extra layer of possibilities in my imagination.

 

Those are some great coins Doug. I'm not sure which is my absolute favorite. Here are my favorites and to quote you: "I have numbered them for convenience but the numbers are otherwise insignificant as to rank".
1. Julia Domna
2. Septimius Severus with Victory reverse
3. Pescennius Niger
4. Overstrike

 

Some great coins Doug! I like #2 the most.

 

I always enjoy reading and learning from your posts, and the year end list is no exception. All interesting, my favorites :
- two dots intrigue
- Sinatrukes with BAΣ closeup revealing the engravers hand
- coin with ancient wire
Best wishes for 2020's interesting finds!

 

Getting to read your coin curations is always abit like wandering into a neighbourhood cafe and discovering that the guy on the guitar singing with his hat pulled low is Bob Dylan. I love the Sinatrukes, Antialkidas with elephant, and Titus/Domitian, but have to say that I think without @Severus Alexander's wonderful gesture, your set list would have been missing its "Like a Rolling Stone".

 

Fascinating coins, @dougsmit , and you explain what attracted you to each one. My favorite is the holed STOBEN coin of Titus and Domitian, but I also like the Antialkidas one because of the elephant. I hope next year is good to you.

 

Interesting collection, thanks for sharing. The Big Buck helmet (that my deer hunting relatives would like) and X6 overstrike coins are super. The best to me -

Whoever found that coin was right to leave the wire.

 

Even though we don't collect in the same way, I'm always fascinated with the reasons why you've chosen this or that and the story that they tell us : back to childhood, listening to mum's stories before bedtime

Thank you for that Doug
Q

 

Beautiful coins, my favorite are 4 & 5,
Love that they left the wire...


Thomas,

 

Excellent list with good explanations of why they made the cut. I particularly like the Elagabalus and the Alexandrian Domna. Runner-up of course would be the Stoben Titus/Domitian.

 

Original coins indeed.. Venus is most exciting. Cheers...

 

A nice selection, my favorites are the Bactrian micro-elephant, Julia Donna with Venus mooning, and the Sinatrukes.

 

The hole with wire in #4 is fascinating. I wish we could know the backstory of who wanted to wear this particular coin.

And, as always, your macro photography in #3 is jaw dropping. It really feels as if I'm looking at the coin under a nice quality loupe.

 

That's a great list Doug! My favorites are #8 and #9 for the interesting legend, and the well-rendered rear-end, respectively

 

I have read through this list several times and every time I come away with the same impression. The curation of the list just seems so sophisticated. There are so many points of interest I would have missed without being shown. Great year Doug. I really enjoyed reading your Top 10.

#1 - x6 overstrike - What a fabulous overstrike. The undertype looks clear enough that it wouldn’t be out of the question to find a die match for it. What a cool coin.

#4 - ancient wire - I have never seen this before where the wire from an ancient jewelry conversion survives. Fascinating.

#9 - J Domna denarius - This is a nice coin with a very interesting reverse type. Coins that come from friends and fellow collections that we know also seem to be more enjoyable (at least to me).

I also think it appropriate to give a mention to your fabulous macro photos. That is a wonderful photo showing the die engraving technique on coin #3.

 

A list by a man who knows exactly what he’s looking for just as soon as he finds it.

The coin retaining the wire is my favorite. The Julia Domna Venus is a close second, and I can’t even properly appreciate the scarcity.

 

Lovely coins @dougsmit. I like that you aim for the not so usual specimens but the oddities that tell a story and are worth collecting.
My favorite is no.4 with the wire. Is it as old as the coin? Someone actually would wear it? Why? So many questions.

 

I am a bit surprised at the popularity of the Domna but suspect few realize that the type is not what makes it special as much as the mint. I mentioned my very rare example with Septimius obverse but will show it here again for those new here.


The coin is very common for Julia from Rome. Several of our CT members have nicer ones from Rome than I do.


Venus from the rear is somewhat common from the Eastern mint formerly known as "Emesa" where it comes with several variations in style and legend. The one below is rare but others with different spellings (usually VICTOR) are available with a little looking.


I have no idea of the purpose for the wire in the hole in #4 but feel it rather heavy gauge for jewelry. I am quite sure that the coin would drop in interest/value by 90% if the hole were empty.

Thanks to all who commented.