Kazuma78

Thar coin really is excellent in person, the surfaces truly are as struck. It's a beautiful coin. I REALLY enjoy celtic coinage. Especially the better styled pieces. They don't tend to get as much love as the Greek but they are really fascinating and artistic also. Well described and put! I really enjoyed reading your feedback and specificity of those types and why you liked them and I must say I agree! Thanks Joe! I'd love to catch up with you soon and see what you were able to add this year. Your additions are always spectacular and stunning. Thanks!

Thanks! It was hard to pick my top for the year. I'm always happy when it's a struggle to rank them because I like them all! Thanks! I was super thrilled to add that one. It's a type I thought an attractive example of might be out of reach, but I shockingly was able to win that one this year. I love the realistic elephant on it. Thanks! Thanks! Thanks! You had a great year too Donna! I like your example a lot too Rob. And NGC did a great job photographing it. It's a very attractive example of the type. Between both of our coins I think we could make the perfect example. I like different elements of both coins better. Thanks! I really enjoy the Teos also. That one is now sitting in a tray and I'm hoping it picks up a little iridescent cabinet toning. I'd be thrilled if that happened. Thanks! That's high praise coming from you Al! You have a great eye for coins too!

#11) KINGS OF MACEDON. Alexander III ‘the Great’, 336-323 BC. AR Tetradrachm (25 mm, 17.24 g), Amphipolis, struck under Antipater, circa 325-323/2. Head of Herakles to right, wearing lion skin headdress. Rev. AΛEΞANΔPOY Zeus seated left on low throne, holding long scepter in his left hand and eagle standing right with closed wings in his right; in field to left, crescent. Price 89. A fresh, clear and well struck lustrous example with some light cabinet toning. Mint State. Ex. Ed Waddell FPL 36, lot 26 (January 1989) #12) Sicily, Syracuse, AR litra, c. 466-460 BC, ΣΥΡΑ, pearl-diademed head of Arethusa right wearing earring and necklace, rev., octopus, 0.81g, die axis 3.00 (Boehringer 449-467, dies unlisted; SNG Ashmolean 1952; SNG ANS 130), toned, sharp and extremely fine Ex. Munzen & Medaillen Auction 494 (11/1/1986) lot 23 #13) Lucania, Velia AR Stater. Circa 300-280 BC. 7.46g, Philistion group. Helmeted head of Athena to right, helmet decorated with wing; AH monogram behind neck guard, Φ before neck / Lion standing to right; above, grain ear between Φ and I, Π beneath lion; YEΛHTΩN in exergue. Williams 478 (O238/R337); SNG Copenhagen 1578 (same dies); SNG ANS 1379 (same dies); HN Italy 1309. Beautifully toned with original luster remaining. EF. Ex. Dr. Busso Peus Nachf Auction 353 (10/29/97) lot 29

Now that 2023 is through, I'll post my top 10 list here for posterity, even though I haven't been on the forums much this year and spend more of my time in the specialized ancients Facebook groups. I was able to add about 36 coins this year for my collection and there were lots of runners up for the last few slots, so I'll sneak in a couple extra above my top 10. Feeling blessed for all the pieces I was able to add! #1) SICILY, Syracuse. Agathokles. 317-289 BC. AR Tetradrachm (24mm, 17.05 g). Struck circa 317-310 BC. Wreathed head of Arethousa left; three dolphins around; ΦI below neck / Charioteer driving quadriga left; triskeles above, AI monogram in exergue. Ierardi 73 (O13/R47); BAR Issue 2; HGC 2, 1348; SNG München 1209 (same dies). Beautifully toned and with lustrous surfaces. Ex. Gorny & Mosch Auction 114, Lot 26 (March 4, 2002) #2) Zeugitania, Carthage. Time of Hannibal (213-210 BC). AR half-shekel (3.44g, 19mm). Second Punic War issue, for the Sicilian campaign. Carthage or uncertain mint in Sicily, ca. 213-210 BC. Laureate male head left (Melqart, Hannibal, or Mago?); dotted border Reverse: African elephant advancing right; alef (Phoenician) in exergue, linear border. A. Burnett, SNR 62 (1983), 123. E. S. G. Robinson, "Punic Coins of Spain and their Bearing on the Roman Republican Series,"Essays Mattingly series 8b, pl. III (Gades). SNG Copenhagen 383. Solidly struck from fine style dies, with deep colorful iridescent cabinet toning on excellent metal. Superb Extremely Fine. From the Century Collection. Ex Stack's (10 June 1996), 147. #3) Macedonian Kingdom, Demetrius I Poliorcetes (306-283 BC). AR tetradrachm (29mm, 17.21 gm). Pella, 294-293 BC. Nike standing left on prow of galley left, sounding trumpet in right hand, stylis cradled in left arm; eye on prow, waves below / ΔΗΜΗΤΡΙΟΥ-ΒΑ-ΣΙΛΕΩ-Σ, Poseidon, nude, striding left, seen from behind, net draped over extended left arm, preparing to throw trident with right hand; ZΩ monogram in left field, dolphin left above eight-pointed star in right field. Dewing 1196. Newell Demetrius, 68 and pl. VI, 18. Lustrous flan with areas of golden toning. Ex. CNG Mail Bid Sale 60 (May 22, 2002), Lot 361 #4) IONIA. Teos. Ca. 460-420 BC. AR stater (25mm, 11.76 gm). T-H-I-O-N (N retrograde), griffin seated right on ground line, left foreleg raised, beak open; panther head seen from above below raised foreleg / Quadripartite incuse square with stippled surfaces. Balcer, SNR 47, 103. BMC 19. A magnificent example of the type boasting devices struck from fresh Fine Style dies on lustrous surfaces and excellent metal. Virtually as struck and almost FDC. Ex. NAC Sale 10 (1996), lot 241. #5) Greek, Kings of Lydia. Alyattes to Kroisos, circa 610-546 BC. Trite (Electrum, 11 mm, 4.74 g), Sardes. Head of a lion with sun and rays on its forehead to right. Rev. Two incuse squares, one larger than the other. SNG Kayhan 1013. SNG von Aulock 2868-9. Weidauer 86-9. A very well centered and unusually complete example. EF. #6) Kings of Pontos. Mithradates VI Eupator AV Stater (20mm, 8.61 g). First Mithradatic War issue. In the name and types of Lysimachos of Thrace. Byzantion mint. Struck circa 88-86 BC. Diademed head of the deified Alexander right, with horn of Ammon / Athena Nikephoros seated left, left arm resting on shield, spear diagonally in background; monogram to inner left; in exergue, ornate trident left with dolphins above and below trident shaft. Callataÿ p. 142, dies D4/R3(?). Superb Mint State and high relief. Ex. Ed Waddell Auction 101 (December 19, 2005) Lot 4 #7) Thessaly, Larissa, drachm, c. 350-300 BC, head of nymph Larissa facing three-quarters left, wearing diadem and plain necklace, rev., ΛΑΡΙΣ-ΑΙΩΝ, horse feeding to right, left foreleg raised, 6.10g, die axis 10.00 (BMC 58; SNG Copenhagen 121), toned and extremely fine. Ex. NFA 18 (3/31/87) Lot 139 #8) Central Europe, East Noricum AR Tetradrachm. 12.91g, 23mm, Warasdin Type A. Circa 2nd - 1st century BC. Male ('Apollo') head wearing three-strand pearl diadem to left / Horse prancing to left; Venetian script above. Göbl, TKN pl. 19, 6 (same dies) [21/77]; Lanz 154, Kostial 154, Flesche 510. EF with beautiful iridescent cabinet tone highlighting some of the devices and with an old unidentified dealer ticket. Very Rare. #9) Kings of Thrace, Lysimachos. 305-281 BC. AR Tetradrachm (28mm, 17.21 g). Pella mint. Struck circa 286/5-282/1 BC. Diademed head of the deified Alexander right, with horn of Ammon / Athena Nikephoros seated left, left arm resting on shield, spear behind; HP monogram to outer left, monogram to outer right. Thompson 248; Müller 353 var. (position of outer right monogram). Lustrous with some iridescent toning. Ex. Gorny and Mosch Auction 112, lot 4066 (October 2001) Ex. Jonathan Kern with old dealers tag #10) SICILY. Syracuse. Fifth Republic (Democracy). 214-212 BC. AR 8-litrai (22mm, 6.79 gm, 3h). Head of Athena left, hair flowing in waves, tied at back and upswept at temple, wearing pendant earring and beaded necklace with crested Corinthian helmet pushed back on head / ΣΥΡΑΚΟΣΙΩΝ, winged thunderbolt; ΞΑ below. SNG Copenhagen 880. SNG ANS 1046. SNG Lockett 1023

Wow! You selected some beautiful coins! And just as impressive are the provenance you were able to dig up for so many of them! I am legitimately impressed!

Gorgeous coin! Nice to have some great images of it too!

Looks great and is coming along nicely! I like that you have all 3 metal compositions in the set.

Interesting! Well I shall await their call I suppose!

Last time this happened to me FedEx sent me a bill after the coin had been delivered. It was not truly an import or customs fee, just a fee that FedEx made up of their own, so I laughed, threw away the bill and moved on with my life. The time before that, they would not release the coin without the fee so I had to pay what was essentially a "ransom" fee they made up. It was around $40. It was the only way to get my coin at that point.

Thank you! Thanks! I love both sides but the style of the elephant I think is beautiful and it's a wonderful symbol of Hannibal. I really love the style of portrait on this one too. I can see it being Melqart, Heracles or Hannibal. Thank you! Yours is also a beautiful coin! A type I would love to eventually add also!

Thanks! I am very excited about adding it and can't wait to see it in person. I really like the fine style of portrait and the strike and toning.

Thanks! I was very happy to be able to win it! I can see that! I blame it on the multiverse of madness?... Thanks!

I've been pretty busy with life and work lately so I haven't been on here to post much, but I was very excited to win this coin yesterday and wanted to show it off. Zeugitania, Carthage. Silver 1/2 Shekel (3.44 g), ca. 220-205 BC. Second Punic War issue. For the Sicilian campaign, ca. 213-210 BC. Laureate head of Melkart left. Reverse: Elephant advancing right; in exergue, Punic 'A'. MAA -; Enna Hoard 123; SNG Copenhagen 383. A superb and finely detailed portrait. Attractive old cabinet toning. Superb Extremely Fine. From the Century Collection. Ex Stack's (10 June 1996), 147.

Yep! I know fractions aren't as popular, but I really enjoy them and this auction was really fun to see pop up. Really hoping to add 1 or 2 more from this collection. In some ways, fractions are more impressive to me when they are well engraved because of their size and the necessary skill of the engraver to get fine details on such a small canvas. Super cool, in my opinion. Here are a few of my small gold/silver fractions that I've really enjoyed picking up so far:

I really enjoy coins from Argos and like seeing everyone else's examples. Here is the only example I have at this time, picked up earlier this year. ARGOLIS. Argos. Circa 330-270 BC. Silver obol (10mm, .86 g). Head of wolf left, teeth bared, Σ (retrograde) above / large A, Π — Ρ across upper field, club left below, all within incuse square. BMC-94, BCD Peloponnesos 1090-1091. Extremely fine with attractive iridescent toning and luster remaining. Ex. Freeman & Sear Manhattan Sale III (January 3, 2012) lot 130 Ex Dr. Charles L. Ruby Collection (Superior, Part 2, 17-22 June 1974, lot 218).