AncientCoinnoisseur's Top 10 (+3) Ancient Coins of 2024

[AncientCoinnoisseur]

So, since this year I bought a grand total of 13 ancient coins and I don't know which ones I should choose, I'll go with all of them 🙂 

You can vote for more than one coin. I'll try to keep the post short, so I'll just list all the coins in chronological order and explain why I got them:

 

1 - Histiaia tetrobol (I liked the reverse design and the rainbow toning) [VIDEO]

 

 

2 - Bruttium, Rhegion AE (I liked Artemis and the kithara / 7-stringed lyre. Only 5-6 examples on ACsearch, the others have 5 strings or fewer) [VIDEO]

 

 

 

3 - Rhodos Plinthophoric Drachm (It has an amazing obverse for such a small coin, and a rainbow toning. I like the fact that it might represent the Colossus) [VIDEO] [INFOGRAPHIC]

 

 

 

4 - Macedon First Meris Tetradrachm (Really like the shield idea on the obverse. The reverse is also in great condition!) [VIDEO]

 

 

 

5 - Lucius Cassius Longinus Denarius (Love the voting man and the whole story behind the coin) [VIDEO] [INFOGRAPHIC]

 

 

 

6 - Quintus Cassius Longinus Denarius (Same reasons as above: nice reverse and nice story about the Trial of the Vestal Virgins) [VIDEO] [INFOGRAPHIC]

 

 

 

7 - Julius Caesar Elephant Denarius (A bit beat up, but this coin needs no introduction) [VIDEO] [INFOGRAPHIC]

 

 

 

8 - T. Carisius Denarius (I like the idea of the mintong tools on the reverse and Juno Moneta on the obverse, where the name for 'money' comes from) [VIDEO] [INFOGRAPHIC]

 

 

 

9 - Vespasian Capricorn Denarius (I really like capricorns and this coin had both fantastic obverse and reverse, and a nice golden toning) [VIDEO]

 

 

 

10 - Titus Dolphin and Anchor Denarius (I got this coin because of its ties with Aldus Manutius and his imprint / logo. I will make an infographic about this coin in the future, since it has a really cool backstory) [VIDEO]

 

 

 

11 - Antoninus Pius Pharos Drachm (I got this because I wanted a coin representing the Lighthouse of Alexandria. Among the best preserved of this type, it's a plate coin for the printed RPC and it belonged to Dattari (1853-1923). Another coin with an upcoming infographic) [VIDEO]

 

 

 

12 - Septimius Severus Neptune Denarius (I just liked the fact that it was basically FDC/MS. One of the best Severus with Neptune reverse) [VIDEO]

 

 

 

13 - Philip I Antoninianus (Minted for the 1000th anniversary of Rome) [VIDEO]

 

 

 

[DonnaML]

A very impressive group! It was difficult to choose, but I voted for the Rhodes and Macedon coins, as well as the Roman Republican Cassius Longinus with the Temple of Vesta on the reverse -- a type I've wanted for a long time, but have never been able to find for an amount I'm willing to spend!

[AncientCoinnoisseur]

@DonnaML all excellent choices, the Rhodos is a tiny gem and I would never sell it, and the Macedon has an impressive relief (it really pops up in the video!) Good luck with your search! I got a bit carried away with my temple of Vesta, since I really wanted it to complete my collection of the Trial of the Vestal Virgins and it hammered for 395€, so it ended up costing 475€. Ouch! But I like it regardless, in the video it’s better 🙂

[Ordinary-Ride-1595]

As a member of team Ptolemy, I think I have to vote Pharos. Would love to have this and your Rhodos drachma in my collection 😀

[JayAg47]

Great coins, great colouring! 
I like the expressive bust of Vespasian in particular, and of course the light house of Alexandria. 

[AncientCoinnoisseur]

@Ordinary-Ride-1595 those are among my favourites as well! The artistry is just something else. If I only had to keep a few coins, those two would 100% make the list. If you want them, though, I might exchange them for a certain deka… 😉 

@JayAg47 yes, that Vespasian is truly remarkable, there is something so ‘real’ about him, and it’s even more impressive considering the small size of a denarius vs. a sestertius for example! The Lighthouse is another favourite of mine! I’m working on an animated version of the reverse, I’ll probably post it in a few days/weeks!

 

[AncientJoe]

Your Pharos drachm is definitely my favorite of the group. Congrats!

[AncientCoinnoisseur]

@AncientJoe Thanks! It’s my favourite too, although it can’t compare to yours, but I did what I could with my budget 🙂 I just posted a short animation too, with a moving Isis Pharia 😁 Very crude, but it brings the coin to life!

 

[David Atherton]

The Pharos drachm is my favourite, but the temple of Vesta denarius is a close second. Excellent list!

[Romancollector]

Wonderfull additions! The Vespasian capricorn and the Bruttium ae are lovely, but the Pius pharos drachm takes the cake! 

[AncientCoinnoisseur]

@David Atherton @Romancollector Yes, the Pharos is my favourite as well, but exactly for the fact that you might like more than one coin I allowed multiple selections 🙂 

@David Atherton The temple of Vesta is very sharp, I like it! Too bad for the small defect on the obverse! 
 

@Romancollector Same for the Bruttium Æ, it’s a little gem and not very common. I bought it on a whim, I was undecided between that and this Agathokles, which ended up hammering for more than I wanted to pay, so I went for the Bruttium (and the Kithara is cooler IMHO!). And yes, the Vespasian capricorn is among my favourites as well!

[panzerman]

I love them all equally as much/ cannot pick. So I will go with all of them.

Thanks for sharing....

 

John

 

 

[AncientCoinnoisseur]

@panzerman glad you liked them! Next year I’ll slow down a bit, I spent way more than I should have 🙂

[panzerman]

2 hours ago, AncientCoinnoisseur said:

@panzerman glad you liked them! Next year I’ll slow down a bit, I spent way more than I should have 🙂

Money very well spent😇!

[Qcumbor]

Beautiful coins. The ones I like the most are the Rhodos, then Pharos and Bruttium.

I agree with 

On 12/11/2024 at 2:28 AM, panzerman said:

Money very well spent😇!

Q

[AncientCoinnoisseur]

@Qcumbor Yes, those are among my favourites as well! Thanks!

[MrMonkeySwag96]

I have a bias towards Roman Republic and Imperatorial coinage, so my pick is the L. Cassius Longinus because of the well rendered, attractive portrait of Vesta

[savitale]

A wonderful selection! It would be hard to choose, but the pharos drachm is iconic so I was immediately drawn to that one.

[CassiusMarcus]

Great coins, for me it would be the Vespasian, I'm a sucker for the Flavians and that one has a cool reverse 

[Roman Collector]

All wonderful, but whose heart doesn't melt over a big Isis Pharia?! 

[AncientCoinnoisseur]

@MrMonkeySwag96 Yes, I particularly like how my coin has a much more pleasant Vesta compared to the ‘alien-looking’ ones you usually see:

vs:

which has the veil modelled as hair, in a rare variety.

@savitale @Roman Collector the Pharos with Isis has such a charming and mysterious design, I cannot stop looking at it!

@CassiusMarcus I was looking for a capricorn and I wish I had a nice Augustus with capricorn, but so far I’ll have to be happy  with my ring bezel:

[Sulla80]

@AncientCoinnoisseur, congratulations on an excellent year - your colorizing technique is fun and very well done! Love the "no coins harmed" approach. Perhaps not surprising that the colorized RR denarii are high in my selections from your list:  11, 8 & 6 from a whole list of stand-out coins. Best wishes for a colorful 2025!

[Al Kowsky]

I voted for the handsome Vespasian-Capricorn denarius 😊. All these coins are exceptional & don't need colorizing to enhance them 😉.

[robinjojo]

I really like the large drachms of Alexandria under the Romans, so #11, with the lighthouse is my pick. The reverse side of #1 is really nice!  Nice coins!

[AncientCoinnoisseur]

@Sulla80 thank you so much! Best wishes for you too! By the way, many people, when first seeing my colorisations, thought I had manually painted on the coins. Now I wonder if anyone has ever done that in the past, who knows!

@Al Kowsky Yes, I try to go for quality over quantity, and that Vespasian for sure is a quality piece!

@robinjojo Yes, can’t go wrong with the lighthouse, and I agree, that Histiaia is pretty cool!