Zumbly's Top 10 Coins of 2020

zumbly, You did well again this year ! My #1 favorite is the drachm of Antinous. What a lovely example, & the coin has more importance being minted in Egypt, where he tragically died. My 2nd favorite is the stater from Gortyna. The artwork on this coin speaks loudly without the use of inscriptions . My 3rd favorite would be the cistophorus of Titus, for its eye appeal & historical importance .

 

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Wonderful top ten
I LOVE your vast knowledge of history and how it influences your collecting. Not only are your coins beautiful but they are of philosophers, Cleopatra Selene II and even Hadrian's boyfriend (that is a wonderful Antinous)! But that Gortyna stater is surreal

 

Very nice top 10. #1 Gortyna stater and #5 with Cleopatra Selene II are my favorites.

There is surely a lot of engravings on the #8 coin reverse.

 

Absolutely fantastic group of coins, WOW what a year of collecting you had I love them all, but the detail on the Titus temple is the best I've seen and wonderful portrait but the Gortyna stater with it's great eye appeal and is in an unique field of its own. Congrats on a brilliant set of coins.

 

A great year Zumbly, and your Chrysippus has blown me away. Hope your 2021 is just as fruitful.

 

This obviously is a stellar list, and the Gortyna stater in my eyes is its absolute highlight – what a fantastic depiction of Europa!

Yet, the Rhegion hare, your Titus cistophorus and the Antinous drachm also must be mentioned. These are exceptional coins. You obviously had a great collecting year.

 

Bet you buy more ancients before the end of the year... Nice top 10 thanks for posting them.

 

Great story on the one that didn't get away the second time! it is a beautiful coin. Juba II & Cleopatra Selene II catch my eye, Herakles on Herakles brings a smile and your write-ups bring all of the coins to life.

 

The Gortyna is superb! I fell in love with the type many years ago when I saw an example in a little side case at the Met, where it was described as one of the most artistic of greek coins. It's one of those types that I still have trouble believing is ownable.

The Cleopatra Selene and Antinous are both favorites too. I got examples of each this year, which will both be on my top 10 list when it comes. Yours however are undoubtedly nicer.

7 & 8 are delightful too, and for me represent collecting specialties I've neglected and want to start respectively.

Overall a wonderful list! You have fantastic taste.

 

I would have regretted losing the Valerian.

 

What to expect from someone whose Antinoüs coin isn't their year's number one ?
An absolute winner !
The pose of Europa, the gentle and soft depiction of the tree, the exquisite combination of wear and toning, everything is just wonder.


As a side note, the coins you had to sell would all have made it in my top ten I guess

Congratulations my friend
Q

 

Nice selection, Zumbly

I like the "waffles" coin, neat design, the Cleopatra's daughter one is rarely seen, at least for me. You had a fine collecting year Wish you a great 2021 coin year!
John

 

A very interesting list @zumbly. It seems many of your coins tell a very interesting piece of history, which I really enjoy reading (including your write-ups the past year).
I enjoy your coin no. 9, I mean, a Herakles counterstamp on a Heraklas portrait, too funny!
For eye appeal, I vote for Titus. Great portait, and even better reverse!
But I can see why your no. 1 is your no. 1. I've not seen that type before. It's a very intruiging coin! I don't know, but the figure of Europa has something eery going on. Or is it something calm, peaceful even...? I don't know, I just can't stop looking!

 

Very nice coins, especially the Gortyna. AR Stater and the Commodus AE 24 with its unusual reverse.

Was the Gortyna stater struck over an earlier coin? I think I see traces on the reverse but can't be sure.

 

A great list of great coins @zumbly. Of course my favourite has to be that wonderful Titus. I managed to acquire a Titus Cisto as well this year.

 

Glad you guys found it amusing too!

Yes! Beautiful, gentle, creepy, peaceful, melancholy, contemplative, quizzical... so many different moods or feelings can be associated with the scene and figure, I think. I even see Europa as being in the quarantine we can hopefully all get out of soon.

I'm sure the example at the Met was a beautiful one! I'm looking forward to your year end list. You have a knack for finding interesting and captivating coins, even in areas I don't collect.

It's a great coin that on paper ticked many boxes for me, but for some reason, I just didn't get the same feeling for it in hand. It fetched the second highest hammer in the group (~$660), so I'm pleased with the result and hope that the new owner will be happy with it too.

 

@zumbly, they're all so cool that it's difficult to choose among them, but my favorites are 5, 4, 2, and 1. Wow.

 

Amazing list @zumbly! You got a very nice year.

My nr. 1 is your nr. 1, what a great stater from Gortyna. I enjoy collecting coins from the Greek islands, with Crete being one of them, and I think a stater is a must have. Nice to see Europa clearly visible as well.

 

It's great you got a second chance and managed to get the gortyna! It's a very interesting coin. Did you try to find which is the undertype? It looks like the neck of a bull or the mane of a lion from akanthos. It could be also the hair of a nymph's head. I know of a gortyna stater which is overstruck on a sikyon stater. Others were struck on kyrene. The weight is limiting possibilities. It's a good riddle which I hope you will solve to unlock the entire history of this coin!

I wish one day to get the ancient version for the time I only have a modern commemorative

 

Thanks for the question about the overstriking. I might apply myself to the question some day, but it's hard to puzzle out the undertype on most of these, and I reckon this one will be really challenging for me. For this piece CNG went with "overstruck on uncertain type (as usual)". It seems the overstrikes for Gortynian staters of this period were mainly on coins of Kyrene and Knossos. On my other stater, it is a Knossos minotaur/labyrinth type. Frederico Carbone has a paper available on Researchgate that gives a good overview on the topic, including a table that breaks down a sample of undertypes and which cities they were from. I see that two were identified as being from Sikyon.