SimonW's Top 10 Coins of 2022

[SimonW]

2022 has been an unexpected successful year in terms of finding new coins for my fractions collection. Although competition was extremely strong on many of the coins I've bought, I am very happy with every single coin a did manage to buy.

Here are my top 10. Although some are not particularly beautiful to look at, their rarity more than makes up for it.

 

Titus, Quadrans (15 mm, 2.96 g), Rome, 80-81 AD.
Obv. IMP T VESP AVG COS VIII, head of Minerva, helmeted, r. Rev. S C, within laurel-wreath. RIC 254 (C).
Ex Münzhandlung Basel, Auction 1 (28.06.1934), Lot 445; Collection of Christian August, Prince of Waldeck and Pyrmont (1744-1798).

 

Domitianus, Quadrans (18 mm, 2.81 g), Rome, 84-85 AD.
Obv. Rhinoceros stg. l. Rev. IMP DOMIT AVG GERM (starts low l.), surrounding large S C. RIC 250 (C).
Ex Salton Collection.
Very rare in this condition.

 

Traianus, Semis (18 mm, 2.90 g), Rome, 107-109 AD.
Obv. IMP CAES NERVA TRAIAN AVG GER DAC, bust of Traianus, laureate, r., draped left shoulder. Rev. S C (ex.), table decorated with panels and gryphons bearing a smaller wreath left, a vase with palm in the middle and a bigger wreath right. Woytek 596b-1 (RIC 688).
Ex Salton Collection.
Extremely rare with two wreaths.

 

Hadrianus, Semis (19 mm, 3.74 g), Rome, 119-123 AD.
Obv. IMP CAESAR TRAIAN HADRIANVS AVG, head of Hadrianus, laureate, r. Rev. P M TR P COS III / S – C, scales balanced on cornucopia. RIC 629 (C).
Ex Salton Collection.

 

Antoninus Pius, Semis or offstrike (20 mm, 5.36 g), Rome, 139 AD.
Obv. ANTONINVS AVG PIVS P P, bare head of Antoninus Pius r. Rev. TR POT COS II, modius with two corn ears and poppy. RIC -, cf. 58 (denarius).

 

Anonymous, Quadrans (16 mm, 2.57 g), Rome, 81-161 AD.
Obv. Bust of Tiber, crowned with reeds, bearded, r.. Rev. S C (ex.), she-wolf and twins r. in cave. RIC 17 (R) var. (no cave).
Apparently unpublished.

 

Anonymous, Quadrans (15 mm, 3.03 g), Rome, 81-161 AD.
Obv. Head of Tiber, crowned with reeds, bearded, l. Rev. S C (ex.), she-wolf and twins r. RIC 18 (R).
Ex Salton Collection; Ars Classica, Auction 13 (27.06.1928), Lot 1547; Allatini Collection.
Extremely rare with Tiber left.

 

Anonymous, Quadrans (15 mm, 2.78 g), Rome, 81-161 AD.
Obv. Bust of Mercury, draped, wearing winged petasus, r., caduceus behind. Rev. S – C, rooster r. RIC 29 (C).
Despite RIC rating this as "common", this is an extremely rare type.

 

Anonymous, Tessera (13 mm, 0.48 g), Moesia Inferior, Nicopolis ad Istrum (?), 3rd-4th century AD.
Obv. Bust of Athena, draped, helmeted, r.. Rev. Crescent and three stars. HrHJ (2021) 8.0.48.8.

 

Anonymous, Tessera (20 mm, 1.24 g), Asia Minor, uncertain, 3rd-4th century AD (?).
Obv. Julian-Claudian head, laureate, left (Tiberius?); left, crayfish (?); right, dolphin. Rev. Blank.

 

 

I hope at least some of you find these as interesting as I do 🙃 and look forward to get to know your favorites.

Edited December 27, 2022 by SimonW

[panzerman]

Lovely coins/ many from the famous Salton Collection/ sold thru Künker Auctions. My picks are the Rhinoceros/ She-Wolf/ Rooster. Thanks for sharing/ John

[Di Nomos]

The rhinoceros is definitely my favourite. The second she wolf coin with Tiber left would be next. And your first coin is nice too and has a great provenance. Well done.

[sand]

Interesting coins. My favorite is the rhinoceros semis.

[happy_collector]

Nice selections. My favorites are the Titus and rhino semis. 

[ambr0zie]

Congrats on a great year! 

I like the rhino quadrans (managed to get an example myself and it also made it in my top 10 - your example is better!). But what I liked the most are the Trajan semis (great strike and details), the tessera and the Tiber facing left. 

Edited December 27, 2022 by ambr0zie

[Hughie Dwyer]

5 hours ago, SimonW said:

I hope at least some of you find these as interesting as I do 🙃 and look forward to get to know your favorites.

An extremely interesting and successful top ten. My favourites are the Traianus Semis and Hadrianus Semis! Congrats! 😀

[Al Kowsky]

6 hours ago, SimonW said:

2022 has been an unexpected successful year in terms of finding new coins for my fractions collection. Although competition was extremely strong on many of the coins I've bought, I am very happy with every single coin a did manage to buy.

Here are my top 10. Although some are not particularly beautiful to look at, their rarity more than makes up for it.

 

Titus, Quadrans (15 mm, 2.96 g), Rome, 80-81 AD.
Obv. IMP T VESP AVG COS VIII, head of Minerva, helmeted, r. Rev. S C, within laurel-wreath. RIC 254 (C).
Ex Münzhandlung Basel, Auction 1 (28.06.1934), Lot 445; Collection of Christian August, Prince of Waldeck and Pyrmont (1744-1798).

 

Domitianus, Quadrans (18 mm, 2.81 g), Rome, 84-85 AD.
Obv. Rhinoceros stg. l. Rev. IMP DOMIT AVG GERM (starts low l.), surrounding large S C. RIC 250 (C).
Ex Salton Collection.
Very rare in this condition.

 

Traianus, Semis (18 mm, 2.90 g), Rome, 107-109 AD.
Obv. IMP CAES NERVA TRAIAN AVG GER DAC, bust of Traianus, laureate, r., draped left shoulder. Rev. S C (ex.), table decorated with panels and gryphons bearing a smaller wreath left, a vase with palm in the middle and a bigger wreath right. Woytek 596b-1 (RIC 688).
Ex Salton Collection.
Extremely rare with two wreaths.

 

Hadrianus, Semis (19 mm, 3.74 g), Rome, 119-123 AD.
Obv. IMP CAESAR TRAIAN HADRIANVS AVG, head of Hadrianus, laureate, r. Rev. P M TR P COS III / S – C, scales balanced on cornucopia. RIC 629 (C).
Ex Salton Collection.

 

Antoninus Pius, Semis or offstrike (20 mm, 5.36 g), Rome, 139 AD.
Obv. ANTONINVS AVG PIVS P P, bare head of Antoninus Pius r. Rev. TR POT COS II, modius with two corn ears and poppy. RIC -, cf. 58 (denarius).

 

Anonymous, Quadrans (16 mm, 2.57 g), Rome, 81-161 AD.
Obv. Bust of Tiber, crowned with reeds, bearded, r.. Rev. S C (ex.), she-wolf and twins r. in cave. RIC 17 (R) var. (no cave).
Apparently unpublished.

 

Anonymous, Quadrans (15 mm, 3.03 g), Rome, 81-161 AD.
Obv. Head of Tiber, crowned with reeds, bearded, l. Rev. S C (ex.), she-wolf and twins r. RIC 18 (R).
Ex Salton Collection; Ars Classica, Auction 13 (27.06.1928), Lot 1547; Allatini Collection.
Extremely rare with Tiber left.

 

Anonymous, Quadrans (15 mm, 2.78 g), Rome, 81-161 AD.
Obv. Bust of Mercury, draped, wearing winged petasus, r., caduceus behind. Rev. S – C, rooster r. RIC 29 (C).
Despite RIC rating this as "common", this is an extremely rare type.

 

Anonymous, Tessera (13 mm, 0.48 g), Moesia Inferior, Nicopolis ad Istrum (?), 3rd-4th century AD.
Obv. Bust of Athena, draped, helmeted, r.. Rev. Crescent and three stars. HrHJ (2021) 8.0.48.8.

 

Anonymous, Tessera (20 mm, 1.24 g), Asia Minor, uncertain, 3rd-4th century AD (?).
Obv. Julian-Claudian head, laureate, left (Tiberius?); left, crayfish (?); right, dolphin. Rev. Blank.

 

 

I hope at least some of you find these as interesting as I do 🙃 and look forward to get to know your favorites.

The rhino quadrans is a gem 🤩!

[DonnaML]

I think my favorite has to be the rhinoceros, but I also really like the rooster and the table with the vase on it. They're all extremely interesting. Not what one sees every day!

Edited December 28, 2022 by DonnaML

[Spaniard]

@SimonW...What an interesting selection!...Some I've not seen before...Love the rhino and the Hadrian semi with scales but my favourite is the Tiber portrait!

Congrats on a great collecting year and thanks for sharing. 

[Sulla80]

@SimonW I like the unusual collection of reverses - the Hadrian with scales on cornucopia I find particularly interesting - how would this have been read by an ancient recipient?  Aequitas? just distribution of abundance?  best wishes for 2023!

[Qcumbor]

I like the two wolves (the tiber the most) and the rooster. The rhino isn't bad either !

Cool selection of unusual denominations, congrats

Here's a Trajan Decius semis to stay on the subject

Q

[Limes]

Very interesting collecting theme, and some great additions, congratulations. Personally, I like the Domitian quadrans most. The Künker photo's don't do it justice, I imagine, it must a great piece in hand. 

[SimonW]

Thank you everyone for the nice comments 🙂 

On 12/28/2022 at 1:42 PM, Sulla80 said:

the Hadrian with scales on cornucopia I find particularly interesting - how would this have been read by an ancient recipient?  Aequitas? just distribution of abundance?

That's a good question. Both the cornucopiae and the scales are typical attributes for Aequitas and Moneta. I would probably interpret it as something like "abundance/wealth to everyone", which makes a great New Year's wish. In that spirit, I wish everyone a prosperous New Year.

On 12/29/2022 at 11:10 AM, Limes said:

Very interesting collecting theme, and some great additions, congratulations. Personally, I like the Domitian quadrans most. The Künker photo's don't do it justice, I imagine, it must a great piece in hand. 

The picture of the coin is quite accurate, I'd say. However, I had it cleaned in the meantime and all the minor encrustations are now gone 🙂 I'll share a new picture as soon as I have it photographed.

Edited December 30, 2022 by SimonW

[Limes]

9 hours ago, SimonW said:

The picture of the coin is quite accurate, I'd say. However, I had it cleaned in the meantime and all the minor encrustations are now gone 🙂 I'll share a new picture as soon as I have it photographed.

Nice, interested to see the photos! And could you provide some info on the cleaning job? I have a coin with lovely surfaces but also some hard dirt on it which requires tools other then the wooden toothpick, and I would like to have cleaned. But I do not dare to do it myself! 

[quant.geek]

I love that Rhinoceros!  It is in such a great state of preservation....

[Nap]

Nice group.  Love the rhino!  I see it’s a popular favorite

[singig]

Very nice !

[Severus Alexander]

I'm glad you had a stellar year despite the heavy competition!  Like many others here I love the rhino of course – looking forward to that new photo! – and wow, what a provenance on the Titus!  (Great coin too, excellent Minerva.)  Like @Sulla80 I wondered about the cornucopia/scales combo, I'm not sure I've seen that motif before. (Happy New Year to you too! 🙂) Great find on the wolf with cave, I hope you managed to snag that for a bargain because nobody else realized what it was.

My favourite, though, is the Mercury/rooster.  I'm wondering... might Mercury have the features of a young Marcus Aurelius?

[SimonW]

14 hours ago, Limes said:

Nice, interested to see the photos! And could you provide some info on the cleaning job? I have a coin with lovely surfaces but also some hard dirt on it which requires tools other then the wooden toothpick, and I would like to have cleaned. But I do not dare to do it myself! 

Here is a picture taken with my smartphone (until I have better pictures). I had it cleaned by a professional in Germany. I usually send in half a dozen of coins and get them back after a month or two and get charged by hour. The last batch of 9 or 10 coins (including the Rhino) took them 11 hours to clean.

 

5 hours ago, Severus Alexander said:

I'm glad you had a stellar year despite the heavy competition!  Like many others here I love the rhino of course – looking forward to that new photo! – and wow, what a provenance on the Titus!  (Great coin too, excellent Minerva.)  Like @Sulla80 I wondered about the cornucopia/scales combo, I'm not sure I've seen that motif before. (Happy New Year to you too! 🙂) Great find on the wolf with cave, I hope you managed to snag that for a bargain because nobody else realized what it was.

Thank you very much, @Severus Alexander! 🙂 The wolf with cave was indeed a bargain (at least IMO) as I was ready to bid quite a lot more for this rare piece. Van Heesch records two pieces in Vatican (#37 & 38) with Tiber left (another variation of this rare series), but none with Tiber right. Mine seems to be completely unrecorded.

 

5 hours ago, Severus Alexander said:

My favourite, though, is the Mercury/rooster.  I'm wondering... might Mercury have the features of a young Marcus Aurelius?

Yes, absolutely. By now I believe that all the anonymous fractions of that series were produced under A. Pius as many of the male gods (Jupiter, Tiber, Mars, Neptune) not infrequently bear the facial features of A. Pius. Mercury does indeed on many coins look like the young Marcus Aurelius. On one particular coin, Mercury looks just like Hadrian. I think it's very probably that they were minted in the first 10 or so years of A. Pius' reign.

Of course there's other evidence like the wolf in cave that first appeared on coins of A. Pius or the legend TEMPORVM FELICITAS that first appeared under A. Pius and is related to the four seasons Quadrantes.

Edited December 31, 2022 by SimonW