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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;TIF, post: 8115115, member: 56859&quot;]What a fun list and commentary!</p><p><br /></p><p>Regarding the holed coins and reasons, perhaps we should have a contest to see who can come up with the best story <img src="styles/default/xenforo/clear.png" class="mceSmilieSprite mceSmilie8" alt=":D" unselectable="on" unselectable="on" />.</p><p><br /></p><p>There&#039;s something interesting about each of these coins (obviously, or you wouldn&#039;t have bought them <img src="styles/default/xenforo/clear.png" class="mceSmilieSprite mceSmilie8" alt=":D" unselectable="on" unselectable="on" />) but my favorites are the Juba and the Themistokles.&nbsp; Of course I love the counterfeit Nero too, and the Apollo Sauroktonos, and the wanking satyr.&nbsp; The Marcus Aurelius Tiber is appealing to me because it looks like a provincial rather than an imperial <img src="styles/default/xenforo/clear.png" class="mceSmilieSprite mceSmilie52" alt=":hilarious:" unselectable="on" unselectable="on" />.</p><p><br /></p><p>Related coins from my collection:</p><p><br /></p><p>Wankers</p><p><img src="https://www.cointalk.com/attachments/thasos-wankingsatyr-best-rt-jpg.1228488/" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]1412190[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p>Nero contemporary counterfeit tetradrachm, ex Dattari</p><p><img src="https://www.cointalk.com/attachments/neroromatet-conterfeit-dattari-rt-jpg.1228486/" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" /></p><p><br /></p><p>Elagabalus, Laodicea ad Mare ... definitely not a bargain although it was sub-$100.&nbsp; I knowingly overpaid because I was so thrilled to find an ancient coin in a local store (local at that point was in the Virgin Islands).&nbsp; An ancient coin that wasn&#039;t set in jewelry, that is <img src="styles/default/xenforo/clear.png" class="mceSmilieSprite mceSmilie11" alt=":rolleyes:" unselectable="on" unselectable="on" />.&nbsp; This was from my first year collecting ancients.&nbsp; My mistakes tend to be more expensive now <img src="styles/default/xenforo/clear.png" class="mceSmilieSprite mceSmilie52" alt=":hilarious:" unselectable="on" unselectable="on" />.</p><p><img src="https://www.cointalk.com/attachments/elagabalus-laodiceaadmar-localshop-jpg.401872/" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" /></p><p><br /></p><p>Themistokles... purchased at a super bargain price by [USER=84744]@Severus Alexander[/USER] and bought by me for a <i>bit</i> more in AMCC1 <img src="styles/default/xenforo/clear.png" class="mceSmilieSprite mceSmilie8" alt=":D" unselectable="on" unselectable="on" />.&nbsp; Totally worth it though-- of <a href="https://www.cointalk.com/threads/poll-27-14-iamtiberius-vs-27-severus-alexander-round-3-cit-2018.323007/" class="internalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://www.cointalk.com/threads/poll-27-14-iamtiberius-vs-27-severus-alexander-round-3-cit-2018.323007/">Coin Imperator</a> fame and ex Sev <img src="styles/default/xenforo/clear.png" class="mceSmilieSprite mceSmilie1" alt=":)" unselectable="on" unselectable="on" />.&nbsp; I have failed at taking good pics of this tiny morsel so I&#039;ll just recycle Sev&#039;s for now:</p><p><img src="https://www.cointalk.com/attachments/sa-3-jpg.819945/" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" /></p><p><br /></p><p>Geta&#039;s brother with Apollo Sauroktonos</p><p><img src="https://www.cointalk.com/proxy.php?image=https%3A%2F%2Fstatic.wixstatic.com%2Fmedia%2Fae43f8_41ed639c24504f398f0257a9cf90a0ca%7Emv2.jpg%2Fv1%2Ffill%2Fw_1000%2Ch_625%2Cal_c%2Cq_90%2Fae43f8_41ed639c24504f398f0257a9cf90a0ca%7Emv2.jpg&amp;hash=152bd713d0f8bc62715c408ad6c19592" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>So far this year I&#039;ve bought 28 coins.&nbsp; When calculating the all-in price (hammer, BP, currency conversion and fees, shipping), 6 were under $100 USD.&nbsp; I&#039;m happy with all of them even though some weren&#039;t necessarily bargains.&nbsp; &nbsp; Here are the five that have arrived, with their all-in costs in USD:</p><p><br /></p><p><b>$47</b></p><p>[ATTACH=full]1412194[/ATTACH]</p><p><b>ASIA MINOR, Uncertain</b></p><p>2nd-3rd centuries</p><p>Pb tessera 11 mm, 1.41 gm</p><p>Obv:&nbsp; Hare (?) standing right on uncertain object.</p><p>Rev:&nbsp;&nbsp; Blank</p><p><i>Apparently unpublished</i></p><p><br /></p><p>The auction description questions the type of animal and doesn&#039;t hazard a guess regarding the object, but I suspect it is a field mouse sitting on a wheat grain.&nbsp; The auction this came from (Leu) had a ton of lead tesserae and amulets and I had more than a dozen targets.&nbsp; I missed my main targets despite bidding aggressively (thus overpaying for a couple I did win) but picked this one up comparatively cheaply.&nbsp; I did get a total of 5 Pb tesserae/amulets in that auction and plan to do a post on tesserae at some point.&nbsp; Just keeping up with year-end posts, photographing and organizing my own coins, and work/life keeps getting in the way.</p><p><br /></p><p><b>$55</b></p><p>[ATTACH=full]1412202[/ATTACH]</p><p><b>MACEDON (Roman Protectorate), Republican period</b></p><p>Transitional bronze issue, circa 167-165 BCE (or 142-141 BCE)</p><p>Æ 22 mm, 8.62 gm</p><p>Obv:&nbsp; Facing mask of Silenos, wearing ivy wreath</p><p>Rev:&nbsp; MAKE/ΔONΩN in two lines, D above; all within oak wreath</p><p>Ref:&nbsp; SNG Copenhagen 1324-6, HGC 3(1) 1117</p><p><i>ex [USER=99531]@Nvb[/USER], AMCC3 lot 98, 24 July 2021</i></p><p><br /></p><p>I just can&#039;t stop buying this type <img src="styles/default/xenforo/clear.png" class="mceSmilieSprite mceSmilie8" alt=":D" unselectable="on" unselectable="on" />.&nbsp; This is the fourth and least expensive.&nbsp; The obverse is quite good.&nbsp; I may try cleaning it up a bit and should definitely at least reshoot it after cleaning off the lint (lint... the bane of coin photography!).&nbsp; Reasons for buying:</p><p>1.&nbsp; Love the type</p><p>2.&nbsp; CT coin friend pedigree <img src="styles/default/xenforo/clear.png" class="mceSmilieSprite mceSmilie1" alt=":)" unselectable="on" unselectable="on" /></p><p>3.&nbsp; Good price</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><b>$55</b></p><p>[ATTACH=full]1412210[/ATTACH]</p><p><b>JUDAEA, Aelia Capitolina (Jerusalem)</b></p><p>Antoninus Pius (138-161)</p><p>AE 23mm, 10.31 gm</p><p>Obv: Laureate, draped and cuirassed bust right, seen from behind</p><p>Rev: The Dioscuri standing facing, heads turned toward one another, each holding spear.</p><p>Ref:&nbsp; Meshorer 23; Rosenberger 14; Kadman 23; RPC temp. 6403.</p><p><i>Ex [USER=86498]@Terence Cheesman[/USER] (aka The Maple Leaf collection), AMCC3 lot 66, 24 July 2021</i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p>Three reasons for buying this coin:</p><p>1.&nbsp; I had no coins from Aelia Capitolina and wanted one</p><p>2.&nbsp; I wanted an ex Cheesman coin (I&#039;d like to have at least one coin from every possible CT friend... a CT pedigree subcollection <img src="styles/default/xenforo/clear.png" class="mceSmilieSprite mceSmilie1" alt=":)" unselectable="on" unselectable="on" />).</p><p>3.&nbsp; It was inexpensive.</p><p><br /></p><p><b>$59</b></p><p>[ATTACH=full]1412193[/ATTACH]</p><p><b>MESOPOTAMIA, Rhesaena. Elagabalus</b></p><p>Æ 19 mm, 4.13 gm</p><p>Obv: Laureate, draped and cuirassed bust right, holding spear.</p><p>Rev: Centaur advancing right, drawing bow; behind, two vexilla; to left, bull(?) head right.</p><p>Ref:&nbsp; <a href="http://numismatics.org/digitallibrary/ark:/53695/nnan8633" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://numismatics.org/digitallibrary/ark:/53695/nnan8633" rel="nofollow">Cf. Castelin 14-6</a>. Rare</p><p><br /></p><p>I hear what you&#039;re thinking... yes, it&#039;s ugly but in a crude and interesting way.&nbsp; I really like it and was very happy to pick it up.&nbsp; It deserves a writeup.&nbsp; Plus, centaur <img src="styles/default/xenforo/clear.png" class="mceSmilieSprite mceSmilie8" alt=":D" unselectable="on" unselectable="on" />.</p><p><br /></p><p><b>$77</b></p><p>[ATTACH=full]1412195[/ATTACH]</p><p><b>EGYPT, Uncertain</b></p><p>Gnostic amulet, circa 2nd-4th centuries CE</p><p>Pb 18 mm, 2.55 gm</p><p>Obv:&nbsp; IAⲰ Abrasax facing, with the head of a rooster and snakes for legs, holding a whip in his right hand and a shield in his left</p><p>Rev: ABPA-CAΞ Star-in-crescent</p><p>Ref:&nbsp; Cheynet, Istanbul 9.34. Leu 3 (2018), 194. Leu Web Auction 12 (2020), 1009. Leu Web Auction 13 (2020), 1066</p><p><br /></p><p>I failed to acquire a gnostic amulet depicting Abrasax in earlier auctions.&nbsp; Weird cult figure?&nbsp; Check.&nbsp; Head of rooster, legs of snakes, holding a whip?&nbsp; Yes please!&nbsp; <img src="styles/default/xenforo/clear.png" class="mceSmilieSprite mceSmilie8" alt=":D" unselectable="on" unselectable="on" />&nbsp; This Leu auction had several and this holed example was earlier in the lineup.&nbsp; Fearing a repeat of previous failed acquisitions, I bid on this one even though I intended to bid on other better examples later in the auction (and won one, perhaps to be included in this year&#039;s top 10).&nbsp; This was not a super deal but I really wanted to ensure an Abrasax amulet would be acquired.</p><p><br /></p><p>Leu has a nice writeup about these so I&#039;ll just copy it here:</p><p><br /></p><p><span style="color: #0000ff">So-called Gnostic amulets not only survive in the form of hardstone gems: they were also produced in the form of lead pendants, rings, beads and tesserae to meet the needs of less wealthy clients. The worship of the ancient demon Abrasax (or Abraxas) rose to great prominence in Roman times through the teachings of the Christian Gnostic Basilides of Alexandria (circa 85-145 AD), who called Abrasax the &#039;great archon&#039; and the first of the 365 Gnostic Aeons. The etymology of his name is still unclear: it may go back to the Egyptian words &#039;abrak&#039; and &#039;sax&#039;, translating as &#039;the honorable and hallowed word&#039;, but it is noteworthy that the letters of his name, in Greek isopsephy, add up to 365, the amount of days in a solar year: Α = 1, Β = 2, Ρ = 100, Α = 1, Σ = 200, Α = 1, Ξ = 60, thus: 1+2+100+1+200+1+60 = 365. Basilides&#039; followers believed, among other things, that Abrasax sent Christ as a ghost to the world, which lead to sharp refutations by Early Church Fathers such as Hippolytus of Rome, Clement of Alexandria and Eusebius of Caesarea. The popularity of Basilidianism was mostly restrained to Egypt, where a vivid Gnostic sect is attested in the 2nd-4th centuries, but its legacy still lives on today, as one compelling theory proclaims, in the famous magic word &#039;abracadabra!&#039;.</span>[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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