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<p>[QUOTE="zumbly, post: 3934323, member: 57495"]<b>CATEGORY $51 - $60</b></p><p><b><br /></b></p><p><b>FAVORITE: DIVA MARINIANA. AR Antoninianus. Consecratio. Ex Doug Smith Collection</b></p><p>$52 (AMCC 2, November 2019)</p><p><b>[ATTACH=full]1036953[/ATTACH] </b></p><p>Another AMCC 2 win, and another ex [USER=19463]@dougsmit[/USER] coin. Looking at this Diva Mariniana (just received yesterday!), I'd like to tell Doug that if he ever feels a coin is too homely for him, he should not hesitate to send it to me. While I didn't get this Mariniana for free, I did get it at a price I was more than happy to pay to check off a long empty empress box. Thanks, Doug!</p><p><br /></p><p><b>RUNNER-UP: TRAJAN DECIUS. AR Antoninianus. Heavy specimen. </b></p><p>$52 (Gorny & Mosch Auction 263, March 2019)</p><p>[ATTACH=full]1036954[/ATTACH]</p><p>Another pretty homely 3rd century antoninianus. To me the curious thing about it is its weight of 6.56g, about 60% heavier than the expected average of 4g for an antoninianus of Decius. It would be interesting if this were a case where two blanks got fused together and then struck, but I'm not sure I see any evidence of this. I think it's more likely that a heavier than normal blank was accidentally made and just slipped past quality control.</p><p><br /></p><p>-----------------</p><p><br /></p><p><b>CATEGORY $61 - $70</b></p><p><b><br /></b></p><p><b>FAVORITE: CORINTHIA, Corinth. AR Drachm. Double struck bust. Ex JB Collection</b></p><p>$61 (AMCC 2, November 2019)</p><p>[ATTACH=full]1036955[/ATTACH]</p><p>Talk about your dramatic double strikes! This was one of my absolute favorites of all the coins offered in AMCC 2, and I was really pleased to win it at what I think is a really great price. It's a lovely coin in hand, made unique by an error at the mint that produced a clear double of Aphrodite's face, giving the coin's reverse an illusory jugate head design. It was a pretty striking (pun intended) effect that I had expected to pay extra for, but instead it came in at a fair bit below my max bid.</p><p><br /></p><p><b>RUNNER-UP: ROMAN REPUBLIC. L. Julius Bursio. AR Denarius. Rare control symbol. </b></p><p>$69 (Lockdales Auction 162, January 2019)</p><p>[ATTACH=full]1036956[/ATTACH]</p><p>When browsing through auction catalogs, I have an internal alarm that tends to go off whenever I spot an interesting control symbol or minor device. I remember the alarm blaring "BUY IT! BUY IT!" rather strongly for this Bursio denarius with its small but well-formed bearded head (most likely Silenus's or Pan's) behind the bust of Apollo Vejovis. De Ruyter in his die analysis lists 454 obverse control mark varieties for this issue. I looked through all of them and came to the inevitable conclusion that mine's the coolest. <img src="styles/default/xenforo/clear.png" class="mceSmilieSprite mceSmilie33" alt=":cigar:" unselectable="on" unselectable="on" /></p><p><br /></p><p>-----------------</p><p><br /></p><p><b>CATEGORY $71 - $80</b></p><p><b><br /></b></p><p><b>FAVORITE: ROMAN REPUBLIC. L. Livineius Regulus. AR Denarius. Bestiarii and animals. </b></p><p>$78 (Leu Web Auction 7, February 2019)</p><p>[ATTACH=full]1036957[/ATTACH]</p><p>Another box checker at a price I couldn't say no to. The coin has its issues, but the devices are fairly clear - a gladiatorial venatio scene, with two bestiarii fighting a lion, panther and bear. This type was struck during the time of the Second Triumvirate, and the reverse likely commemorates the five-day venatio that was part of the extravagant games held by Julius Caesar in 45 BC at the Circus Maximus. For this venatio, Caesar had 400 lions imported from North Africa and Syria, and also introduced bears and giraffes to the hunt for the first time.</p><p><br /></p><p><b>RUNNER-UP: ROMAN REPUBLIC. L. Mussidius Longus. AR Denarius. Shrine of Venus Cloacina. </b></p><p>$71 (CNG E-Auction 441, April 2019)</p><p>[ATTACH=full]1036958[/ATTACH]</p><p>This is an iconic type, at least here on CT, thanks in no small part to [USER=56859]@TIF[/USER]'s <a href="https://www.cointalk.com/threads/ancients-a-deity-worthy-of-respect.251682/#post-1980616" class="internalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://www.cointalk.com/threads/ancients-a-deity-worthy-of-respect.251682/#post-1980616">epic writeup</a> on it. She and a few other members have seriously pretty examples of the type, but to be absolutely honest, I'm not sure I'm 100% down with that. To my mind, a coin dedicated to the Goddess of the Great Sewer ought to ideally be the most banged up, grunkiest one out there. It ought to look like it went through the Sewer itself and got spat back out. In short, it ought to look like mine. Or [USER=91461]@Ryro[/USER]'s. <img src="styles/default/xenforo/clear.png" class="mceSmilieSprite mceSmilie93" alt=":troll:" unselectable="on" unselectable="on" /> It only took five years of dedicated searching to find this example, and yes, I just made up a word back there (grungy + junky = grunky). Pretty proud of myself. <img src="styles/default/xenforo/clear.png" class="mceSmilieSprite mceSmilie85" alt=":smuggrin:" unselectable="on" unselectable="on" /></p><p><br /></p><p>-----------------</p><p><br /></p><p><b>CATEGORY $81 - $90</b></p><p><b><br /></b></p><p><b>FAVORITE: GORDIAN III. CILICIA, Seleucia ad Calycadnum. AE Tetrassarion. Gigantomachy. </b></p><p>$90 (Leu Web 7, February 2019)</p><p>[ATTACH=full]1036960[/ATTACH]</p><p>I'm fond of mythological reverses, and really like this type, which features a scene from the mother of all mythological battles - the Gigantomachy. In the battle, the Olympian gods came together to war against and ultimately defeat the one hundred Giant offspring of Gaia (the Earth) and Uranus (the Sky), and by doing so, established their supremacy over the cosmos. This specific scene depicts Athena laying her divine and wrathful smackdown on an anguiped (serpent-legged) giant named Enceladus. The coin itself is not bad too, I think.</p><p><br /></p><p><b>RUNNER-UP: VITELLIUS. AR Denarius. Anepigraphic reverse. </b></p><p>$90 (Noble Numismatics Sale 121, August 2019)</p><p>[ATTACH=full]1036959[/ATTACH]</p><p>I'd been looking for a decent, affordable Vitellius replacement for my collection ever since selling my old one last year. I really liked this for its bold, bareheaded portrait of Caesar #9, and also for its less common anepigraphic reverse.</p><p><br /></p><p>-----------------</p><p><br /></p><p><b>CATEGORY $91 - $100</b></p><p><br /></p><p>And.... *DRUMROLL*... here it is, folks, the promised pot of gold at the end of the rainbow... my first Byzantine AV solidus!</p><p><br /></p><p><b>FAVORITE: BYZANTINE EMPIRE. Constantine VII & Romanus II. AV Solidus. </b></p><p>$97 (Leu Numismatik Web 10, December 2019)</p><p>[ATTACH=full]1036961[/ATTACH]</p><p>Errr... so yeah, I suppose I should have said "<i>spot</i>" rather than "<i>pot</i>" of gold. <img src="styles/default/xenforo/clear.png" class="mceSmilieSprite mceSmilie82" alt=":shy:" unselectable="on" unselectable="on" /> Where you might expect a solidus of Constantine VII to be between 18-20mm and around 4.4g, this teeny bit of yellow is all of 10mm and just 1.2g! So what happened here? The auction cataloger suggests that it was "<i>clipped down to a small medallion of Christ and likely worn as a religious pendant or earring.</i>" I think that's plausible, and I'm more than willing to go with that theory, since I think it makes this mini-coin a truly fascinating relic of its times. So, that's it, my big foray into Byzantine gold. As far from mint state as it gets, and still something to love, IMHO.</p><p><br /></p><p><b>RUNNER-UP: CORINTHIA, Corinth. AR Stater. Overstruck early issue, circa 515-450 BC. </b></p><p>$98 (Naville 52, September 2019)</p><p>[ATTACH=full]1036962[/ATTACH]</p><p>Runner-up in this final category is a coin made a bit more special because it was overstruck on another coin, the clearest evidence of which is a ghost of a design below the body of the pegasos. Corinthian staters, being plentiful, were frequently recycled by other cities to strike their own types. Conversely, a Corinthian stater showing traces of having been overstruck on the coin of another city would be pretty remarkable as well as an outright rarity. While the undertype here is not at all clear, I imagine I see the tail and lower body of a dolphin, from a didrachm of Tarentum. Being that it would be super-cool if that were truly the case, a couple of months ago, I wrote to François de Callatay, an authority on the subject of Greek overstrikes, hoping to get a confirmation of what I thought I was seeing. While he agreed it looked overstruck, he was politely non-committal about the possible undertype. Basically, I think he thought I was seeing things. <img src="styles/default/xenforo/clear.png" class="mceSmilieSprite mceSmilie45" alt=":eggface:" unselectable="on" unselectable="on" /> Oh well, I think I'll carry on imagining... and perhaps next time ask a <i>real</i> expert about it. <img src="styles/default/xenforo/clear.png" class="mceSmilieSprite mceSmilie7" alt=":p" unselectable="on" unselectable="on" /></p><p><br /></p><p>-----------------</p><p><br /></p><p>Thank you if you've made it this far. I'd be happy to read any comments you have about this list or the coins on it, and also if you'd like to show any related coins or make your own $1-$100 list as some other members have already done.</p><p><br /></p><p>My Top 10 list is still in the works, awaiting the arrival of one final coin that just has to be in it. I'm hoping it'll get here before the end of the year![/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>
[QUOTE="zumbly, post: 3934323, member: 57495"][B]CATEGORY $51 - $60 FAVORITE: DIVA MARINIANA. AR Antoninianus. Consecratio. Ex Doug Smith Collection[/B] $52 (AMCC 2, November 2019) [B][ATTACH=full]1036953[/ATTACH] [/B] Another AMCC 2 win, and another ex [USER=19463]@dougsmit[/USER] coin. Looking at this Diva Mariniana (just received yesterday!), I'd like to tell Doug that if he ever feels a coin is too homely for him, he should not hesitate to send it to me. While I didn't get this Mariniana for free, I did get it at a price I was more than happy to pay to check off a long empty empress box. Thanks, Doug! [B]RUNNER-UP: TRAJAN DECIUS. AR Antoninianus. Heavy specimen. [/B] $52 (Gorny & Mosch Auction 263, March 2019) [ATTACH=full]1036954[/ATTACH] Another pretty homely 3rd century antoninianus. To me the curious thing about it is its weight of 6.56g, about 60% heavier than the expected average of 4g for an antoninianus of Decius. It would be interesting if this were a case where two blanks got fused together and then struck, but I'm not sure I see any evidence of this. I think it's more likely that a heavier than normal blank was accidentally made and just slipped past quality control. ----------------- [B]CATEGORY $61 - $70 FAVORITE: CORINTHIA, Corinth. AR Drachm. Double struck bust. Ex JB Collection[/B] $61 (AMCC 2, November 2019) [ATTACH=full]1036955[/ATTACH] Talk about your dramatic double strikes! This was one of my absolute favorites of all the coins offered in AMCC 2, and I was really pleased to win it at what I think is a really great price. It's a lovely coin in hand, made unique by an error at the mint that produced a clear double of Aphrodite's face, giving the coin's reverse an illusory jugate head design. It was a pretty striking (pun intended) effect that I had expected to pay extra for, but instead it came in at a fair bit below my max bid. [B]RUNNER-UP: ROMAN REPUBLIC. L. Julius Bursio. AR Denarius. Rare control symbol. [/B] $69 (Lockdales Auction 162, January 2019) [ATTACH=full]1036956[/ATTACH] When browsing through auction catalogs, I have an internal alarm that tends to go off whenever I spot an interesting control symbol or minor device. I remember the alarm blaring "BUY IT! BUY IT!" rather strongly for this Bursio denarius with its small but well-formed bearded head (most likely Silenus's or Pan's) behind the bust of Apollo Vejovis. De Ruyter in his die analysis lists 454 obverse control mark varieties for this issue. I looked through all of them and came to the inevitable conclusion that mine's the coolest. :cigar: ----------------- [B]CATEGORY $71 - $80 FAVORITE: ROMAN REPUBLIC. L. Livineius Regulus. AR Denarius. Bestiarii and animals. [/B] $78 (Leu Web Auction 7, February 2019) [ATTACH=full]1036957[/ATTACH] Another box checker at a price I couldn't say no to. The coin has its issues, but the devices are fairly clear - a gladiatorial venatio scene, with two bestiarii fighting a lion, panther and bear. This type was struck during the time of the Second Triumvirate, and the reverse likely commemorates the five-day venatio that was part of the extravagant games held by Julius Caesar in 45 BC at the Circus Maximus. For this venatio, Caesar had 400 lions imported from North Africa and Syria, and also introduced bears and giraffes to the hunt for the first time. [B]RUNNER-UP: ROMAN REPUBLIC. L. Mussidius Longus. AR Denarius. Shrine of Venus Cloacina. [/B] $71 (CNG E-Auction 441, April 2019) [ATTACH=full]1036958[/ATTACH] This is an iconic type, at least here on CT, thanks in no small part to [USER=56859]@TIF[/USER]'s [URL='https://www.cointalk.com/threads/ancients-a-deity-worthy-of-respect.251682/#post-1980616']epic writeup[/URL] on it. She and a few other members have seriously pretty examples of the type, but to be absolutely honest, I'm not sure I'm 100% down with that. To my mind, a coin dedicated to the Goddess of the Great Sewer ought to ideally be the most banged up, grunkiest one out there. It ought to look like it went through the Sewer itself and got spat back out. In short, it ought to look like mine. Or [USER=91461]@Ryro[/USER]'s. :troll: It only took five years of dedicated searching to find this example, and yes, I just made up a word back there (grungy + junky = grunky). Pretty proud of myself. :smuggrin: ----------------- [B]CATEGORY $81 - $90 FAVORITE: GORDIAN III. CILICIA, Seleucia ad Calycadnum. AE Tetrassarion. Gigantomachy. [/B] $90 (Leu Web 7, February 2019) [ATTACH=full]1036960[/ATTACH] I'm fond of mythological reverses, and really like this type, which features a scene from the mother of all mythological battles - the Gigantomachy. In the battle, the Olympian gods came together to war against and ultimately defeat the one hundred Giant offspring of Gaia (the Earth) and Uranus (the Sky), and by doing so, established their supremacy over the cosmos. This specific scene depicts Athena laying her divine and wrathful smackdown on an anguiped (serpent-legged) giant named Enceladus. The coin itself is not bad too, I think. [B]RUNNER-UP: VITELLIUS. AR Denarius. Anepigraphic reverse. [/B] $90 (Noble Numismatics Sale 121, August 2019) [ATTACH=full]1036959[/ATTACH] I'd been looking for a decent, affordable Vitellius replacement for my collection ever since selling my old one last year. I really liked this for its bold, bareheaded portrait of Caesar #9, and also for its less common anepigraphic reverse. ----------------- [B]CATEGORY $91 - $100[/B] And.... *DRUMROLL*... here it is, folks, the promised pot of gold at the end of the rainbow... my first Byzantine AV solidus! [B]FAVORITE: BYZANTINE EMPIRE. Constantine VII & Romanus II. AV Solidus. [/B] $97 (Leu Numismatik Web 10, December 2019) [ATTACH=full]1036961[/ATTACH] Errr... so yeah, I suppose I should have said "[I]spot[/I]" rather than "[I]pot[/I]" of gold. :shy: Where you might expect a solidus of Constantine VII to be between 18-20mm and around 4.4g, this teeny bit of yellow is all of 10mm and just 1.2g! So what happened here? The auction cataloger suggests that it was "[I]clipped down to a small medallion of Christ and likely worn as a religious pendant or earring.[/I]" I think that's plausible, and I'm more than willing to go with that theory, since I think it makes this mini-coin a truly fascinating relic of its times. So, that's it, my big foray into Byzantine gold. As far from mint state as it gets, and still something to love, IMHO. [B]RUNNER-UP: CORINTHIA, Corinth. AR Stater. Overstruck early issue, circa 515-450 BC. [/B] $98 (Naville 52, September 2019) [ATTACH=full]1036962[/ATTACH] Runner-up in this final category is a coin made a bit more special because it was overstruck on another coin, the clearest evidence of which is a ghost of a design below the body of the pegasos. Corinthian staters, being plentiful, were frequently recycled by other cities to strike their own types. Conversely, a Corinthian stater showing traces of having been overstruck on the coin of another city would be pretty remarkable as well as an outright rarity. While the undertype here is not at all clear, I imagine I see the tail and lower body of a dolphin, from a didrachm of Tarentum. Being that it would be super-cool if that were truly the case, a couple of months ago, I wrote to François de Callatay, an authority on the subject of Greek overstrikes, hoping to get a confirmation of what I thought I was seeing. While he agreed it looked overstruck, he was politely non-committal about the possible undertype. Basically, I think he thought I was seeing things. :eggface: Oh well, I think I'll carry on imagining... and perhaps next time ask a [I]real[/I] expert about it. :p ----------------- Thank you if you've made it this far. I'd be happy to read any comments you have about this list or the coins on it, and also if you'd like to show any related coins or make your own $1-$100 list as some other members have already done. My Top 10 list is still in the works, awaiting the arrival of one final coin that just has to be in it. I'm hoping it'll get here before the end of the year![/QUOTE]
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