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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;zumbly, post: 2292371, member: 57495&quot;]I may have a few more coins to pick up before the year is out, but as none are likely to threaten my Top 10 of 2015, I&#039;ll just go ahead and post the final list.&nbsp; In any case, 10 is just a convenient number to show; I like many coins ranked 11 - 20 almost as much as those in the following list, and next month a few could easily swap places.&nbsp; </p><p><br /></p><p>2015 was a great year in this hobby for me, not just in terms of the acquisition of knowledge and coins, but also by being part of the community here at CoinTalk.&nbsp; I&#039;ve not been around as long as some other members, but it&#039;s been truly rewarding to see it go from just a part of the combined World/Ancients forum, to being split into its own category, and now become what is probably the busiest forum on the whole board, and IMHO, the best place to share and talk about ancients on the internet.&nbsp; So, with thanks to Peter and the mods, and members of the ancients forum both old and new, here are my Top 10 coins of 2015!</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><b>10. MARCUS AURELIUS</b> - AE Sestertius</p><p>Rome mint, AD 173</p><p>[ATTACH=full]459574[/ATTACH]</p><p>This coin&#039;s attraction for me was its (possible) link with the so-called Rain Miracle of Marcus Aurelius&#039;s campaigns against the Marcomanni and Quadi.&nbsp; It&#039;s an interesting temple reverse to accompany an interesting story.&nbsp; The type is fairly scarce, and that I managed to score an example this year was a bit of a miracle too - it came up for auction at a venue I rarely visit, but for some reason I decided to check in on it just a few days prior to the sale.&nbsp; I spotted this coin, put in a bid, and won it.</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><b>9. ELAGABALUS</b> - AE28</p><p>PHOENICIA, Tyre, circa AD 218-222</p><p>[ATTACH=full]459575[/ATTACH]</p><p>... and then there are those you need more than a miracle to get your hands on.&nbsp; When these turn up, they&#039;re almost always in abominable condition, and even then they&#039;re collectable enough that you&#039;re likely to face some competition if you want it.&nbsp; The reverse scene of this type shows Queen Dido supervising her minions in the building of Carthage.&nbsp; How cool is that?&nbsp; This particular example is Ex TIF Collection.&nbsp; How cool is <i>THAT</i>?</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><b>8. ROMAN REPUBLIC, C. Hosidius Geta </b>- AR Denarius</p><p>Rome mint, 64 BC</p><p>[ATTACH=full]459576[/ATTACH]</p><p>I wish I could take credit for handpicking this coin, but it came to me as part of a particularly great group lot I bought.&nbsp; The Calydonian boar totally dominates here... it&#039;s beastly, bristly, and looks ready to charge off the coin and cause a bit of carnage.&nbsp; Watch out, bacon lovers!&nbsp; </p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><b>7. SICILY, Syracuse </b>- AE Dilitron </p><p>Timoleon and the Third Democracy, circa 336-317 BC</p><p>[ATTACH=full]459577[/ATTACH]</p><p>Another nice surprise found in a group lot purchased early this year.&nbsp; I had to treat it for some scattered surface BD, but underneath that I found this magnificent head of Zeus.&nbsp; It&#039;s a solid example of an unusually artistic series of Greek bronzes issued at Syracuse during Corinthian general Timoleon&#039;s de facto rule.&nbsp; </p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><b>6. ROMAN REPUBLIC, C. Cossutius Sabula</b> - AR Denarius</p><p>Rome mint, 71 BC</p><p>[ATTACH=full]459578[/ATTACH]</p><p>Who or what exactly is being celebrated here on the obverse of a coin of the Roman Republic?&nbsp; Some say it&#039;s <a href="https://www.cointalk.com/threads/mother-and-child-reunion-roman-republican-medusa-and-pegasos.264621/#post-2168161" class="internalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://www.cointalk.com/threads/mother-and-child-reunion-roman-republican-medusa-and-pegasos.264621/#post-2168161">Elvis</a>, but conventional thought is that it&#039;s the winged head of Medusa.&nbsp; I&#039;ve read no actual theories on why the moneyer chose the pairing of the beautiful Medusa and Bellerophon riding Pegasus on his coin, but I find the results quite bewitching.</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><b>5. THE TRIUMVIRS, Mark Antony</b> - AR Denarius</p><p>Military mint (Patrae?), autumn 32 - spring 31 BC</p><p>[ATTACH=full]459579[/ATTACH]</p><p>Several members whose opinion I sought have already seen this coin, but otherwise, this is its first showing on CT.&nbsp; It celebrates Antony&#039;s Praetorian Cohort, and is one of the more desirable varieties in his legionary series.&nbsp; The details on it are nice and well-preserved, but at the same time, the fabric of the coin demonstrates how the base the silver alloy for these issues could become... let&#039;s just say it&#039;s not what you&#039;d call &#039;good metal&#039;.&nbsp; Plate coin bonus : this example illustrates Sear 1483 in David Sear&#039;s <i>Roman Coins and their Values</i>, and that really is its own kind of neat.</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><b>4. SIKYONIA, Sikyon </b>- AR Stater</p><p>Circa 431-400 BC</p><p>[ATTACH=full]459580[/ATTACH]</p><p>I love everything about this coin - the tone and reticulation of the silver, the abundance of animal anatomy in the chimaera (goat&#039;s beard and fore limbs, lioness&#039;s teats, snake&#039;s head), the die engraver&#039;s work on it, and even the light graffito on the reverse showing that someone in this coin&#039;s past had marked it as their own.&nbsp; After seeing the great examples that some here have shared, it&#039;s good to finally have one of my own <img src="styles/default/xenforo/clear.png" class="mceSmilieSprite mceSmilie1" alt=":)" unselectable="on" unselectable="on" />.</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><b>3. COMMODUS </b>- AE25</p><p>MOESIA INFERIOR, Marcianopolis, circa AD 178-180</p><p>[ATTACH=full]459581[/ATTACH]</p><p>The Three Graces, the original party girls of the Greek pantheon, demanded appropriate representation in my collection, so I was relieved when I managed to win this very pleasing example that depicts them in all their divine willowiness.&nbsp; Ok, so perhaps they look a tad anorexic, they still supermodeled this coin into <i>Marcianopolis Illustrated</i> (aka Hristova &amp; Jekov&#039;s <i>Coins of Moesia Inferior I-III c. A.C. Marcianopolis</i>).&nbsp; Even Commodus seems to be looking on appreciatively <img src="styles/default/xenforo/clear.png" class="mceSmilieSprite mceSmilie8" alt=":D" unselectable="on" unselectable="on" />.&nbsp; </p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><b>2. AUGUSTUS</b> - AR Denarius</p><p>Moneyer&#039;s series, Rome mint, 19-18 BC </p><p>[ATTACH=full]459582[/ATTACH]</p><p>I suspect my top two shows my shallow bias for Roman Imperatorial and early Empire.&nbsp; I&#039;ve wanted one in silver for some years now, and while this may not be what some consider a classic Augustus portrait, it really beckoned to me.&nbsp; That, a nice deep strike, lovely cabinet toning, and my being a sucker for coins with Pegasus on them made this coin just about irresistible to me.&nbsp; </p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><b>1. JULIUS CAESAR </b>- AR Denarius</p><p>Rome mint, Feb - Mar 44 BC </p><p>[ATTACH=full]459583[/ATTACH]</p><p>Technically a 2014 purchase, but after a 3-month long trip around the world, I only received it into my collection in 2015.&nbsp; Quite apart from it being a stonking Julius Caesar portrait denarius, it has that incendiary legend, CAESAR DICT PERPETVO, that makes me believe it is the perfect companion piece to the EID MAR I&#039;ll never own.&nbsp; </p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>So that&#039;s my list... I feel grateful for the coins and camaraderie.&nbsp; Even if 2016 turns out to be only half as good, it&#039;d still be a good year![/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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