AncientJoe's Top 15 of 2024

[AncientJoe]

2024 has been a surprisingly good year for my collection. Calling back to a thread from a few months ago, for me, this has been a year of "second chances" (or third chances in some cases), benefitting from a somewhat weaker market than in prior years and the cycle of collectors reselling coins.

I start each year hoping to add one good coin and somehow managed to cross off a huge swath of my wantlist, finding several coins which had been lingering on my list for 10+ years.

I've included 15 coins here rather than the customary 10 as I didn't want to say which of my coin children was my favorite.

Following form with many of the other Top "n" lists, I've made this a poll - let me know what your favorites are in the comments as well! I've greatly enjoyed how varied all of our top purchases of the year have been.

These aren't in an exact order but somewhat bucketed for narrative purposes. If you ask me hour by hour, the sequence will change. I hope you enjoy, and here's to a numismatically great 2025 for us all!

 

1) Carthage 5 Shekel / Dekadrachm, Jenkins Plate Coin

Decadrachm, Carthage circa 260, AR 38.04 g. Head of Tanit (Kore-Persephone) l., wearing barley wreath and earring. Rev. Pegasus flying r.; below, b'rst (in the land) in Punic characters. Kraay-Hirmer 211. SNG Fitzwilliam 1512 (this obverse die). SNG Lloyd 1665 (this obverse die). Jenkins, Punic Sicily IV, series 6, 446 (this coin), published 1972. Giacosa, Uomo e cavallo, pl. lxxxvii (this reverse illustrated), published 1971. Ex "Collection Y" (Jenkins); Ex NAC 9, 1996, 290; Leu 83, 2002, 129 and NAC 114, 2019, 109.

I've been trying to buy this exact coin since 2018 when I viewed upcoming lots in an NAC sale and was blown away by it in-hand. I was unfortunately outbid in the 2019 sale and thought it would be permanently off the market. But, it then resurfaced in 2023 (second chances!) but, alas, I was outbid again.

I've tried to buy a few others in the interim, including underbidding the cover coin at Noonans earlier this year. I realistically wouldn't have been happy enough with that coin and it ended up selling for nearly as much as this coin did last year. So, I assumed I was out of luck.

I later learned that a collector/dealer friend bought the NAC coin in 2023 and while it took some convincing (and profit) to get him to agree to sell it, I was able to buy it from him and finally cross it off my list.

This coin is in uncommonly fine style and condition. There's a lot to say about it artistically but most notable are the dotted border being used as a necklace with the engraver "painting outside the lines". The reverse is equally well-executed with individual hairs visible on the Pegasus and a remarkable 3D effect in the top portion of the wing. 

So, while it took three tries, I did finally manage to bring the coin home!

 

2) Galba sestertius, Ex. Sarti 1906

Ex. Sangiorgi sale 7th May 1906 Sarti, lot 97; Ex. Glendining November 16, 1977 lot 21; Ex. NAC Auction 18 March 29, 2000 lot 462

This coin was a private purchase and a pleasant surprise. It has a stunning portrait of Galba and a very artistic reverse, with remarkable metal quality throughout. I bought it without any pedigree but it looked like it should have one: I have since tracked it back over 100 years. Coincidentally, I was visiting the NAC offices in London and happened to spot my Galba's photo as decoration beneath the glass on their table: note to self, future pedigree hunts should start on NAC's furniture.

 

3) Judaea Capta aureus, Ex Biaggi / Boscoreale

Ex Samel Collection (Künker 334, 17 March 2020), lot 2285; Leu 22 (8 May 1979), lot 225; Leo Biaggi de Blasys Collection, purchased from M. Ratto in 1952; Boscoreale Hoard of 1895.

A  friend bought this coin in an auction right as the COVID lockdowns began and I was always hoping it would find its way back to market. He later found several great pedigrees and ended up selling it along with the rest of his coins. I was absolutely thrilled to buy it - it's dripping in history: Boscoreale, an incredibly historic moment in history, and a very refined portrait of Vespasian.

 

4) Aegypto Capta denarius

Ex Tkalec 9th May 2011, 134; NGSA 7, 2012, 323 and Kúnker 270, 8549 sales

A second "Capta" for the year. I was first offered this coin in 2011 and passed because of how strong the price was. I was kicking myself because it later sold for much more and I assumed it would be impossible to buy. It then came up earlier this year as part of the wonderful "Dioscuri" collection and I knew this was finally the time to jump on it. I ended up paying less than I was originally offered in 2011 so I made the right choice to wait.

 

5) Circus Maximus sestertius, Ex. Sternberg 1977

Ex. Sternberg VII, Nov 24 1977, lot 713; Ex Numismatic Fine Arts, "Publication 4" Fixed Price List. January 1978; Ex. NFA XVIII lot 51

This is a classic case of a coin coming completely out of the blue. I was at the ANA show in August, walking around booths, somewhat resenting paying the exorbitant Early Bird fee as many dealers weren't set up. I made it all the way to the back of the room, well past the academic exhibits and organizations, into the nosebleed section where people were set up selling storage supplies and overpriced hotdogs.

Lo and behold, there was a lone dealer selling a handful of ancients... including this coin! I asked him if the numbers on his ticket were references or a pedigree: he didn't know. I opted to buy it anyway and brought it home to do some further research.

I've since tracked it back to 1977 and an NFA FPL where they spent a few pages talking about it, offering it "POR" (I'd hate to know how much they charged for it back then...)

It goes to show that it's worth being ready to jump on opportunities when they arise as coins can come out of the strangest places.

 

6) Claudius De Britann aureus, Ex. Sir Arthur Evans / Boscoreale

From the Wetmore Collection of Gold and Electrum. Ex Classical Numismatic Group, private sale (30 July 2005), lot 758328; Sir Arthur Evans Collection (Ars Classica, Auction XVII, 3 October 1934), lot 1251; Bourgey (2 March 1925), lot 124.

I've been an underbidder on the last several DE BRITANN aurei and could never quite justify pushing higher as the recent coins have been lacking in one way or another. This coin showed up at auction and I knew I had to put in a strong bid: the Boscoreale toning and pedigree to Sir Arthur Evans made it a perfect fit for me, even if it's a quarter grade lower than some other coins.

This rare issue depicts the triumphal Arch of Claudius, commissioned in AD 43, dedicated in AD 51. It was a conversion of one of the arches of the Aqua Virgo aqueduct where it crossed the Via Flaminia. The arch no longer exists, but a fragment of the inscription is housed in the Capitoline Museum.

 

 

7) Pentakaidekadrachm, Ex. John Whitney Walter

Ex Heritage 3102 (2 November 2022), lot 31030; WTR Collection (Heritage 3097, 10 January 2022), lot 30039; John Whitney Walter Collection (Stack's Bowers Galleries, 16 August 2018), lot 20085; Stack's (2 December 1997), lot 644.

When I first met Harlan Berk at his office in 2010, he placed a pentakaidekadrachm in my hand and I have never forgotten what that felt like: it is a comically large denomination - 41.5 mm, 51.8 grams. I've wanted an example since then and most of them just haven't "spoken" to me. This coin was offered privately by CNG after they expertly removed some deep encrustations, making it look much less distracting. On top of that, they tracked back where John Whitney Walter purchased the coin in a 1997 auction which always helps.

The type is difficult to price: there are only a small number of known examples and they've jumped around dramatically in price. They tend to have a severe crack and a wide range of metal quality, so, there is always a tradeoff. I may end up upgrading this coin at some point but it's at least very satisfying to finally own an example!

 

8 ) Arsinoe dekadrachm, Ex. Burton Berry

Ex NFA XVIII, 1987, 261 and Triton XXII, 2019 sales. From the Burton Y. Berry collection (published in 1962)

This was clearly the year of large coins for me, with the 5 Shekel (38g), Pentakaidekadrachm (51g), and now this Arsinoe dekadrachm at 36 grams. I owned one example of this type before but was bothered by a few marks in the fields. I was watching in 2019 when this coin was sold for a strong price and wasn't planning on bidding when it just resold a few weeks ago. But, having sat through hours of an auction already, it was worth sticking around as it sold at a much more reasonable level.

 

9) Acanthus tetradrachm, Ex. David Walsh

Ex Numismatica Ars Classica 77 (26 May 2014), lot 26; David Walsh Collection; Giessener Münzhandlung 96 (7 June 1999), lot 93

I was bidding on this at 35,000 feet on my way to the NYINC show. It was another "second chance" coin: I was the underbidder in 2014 when it sold from the David Walsh collection at NAC: I was frustrated as I thought I had an extremely strong bid then but it only takes two. There has since been a fairly large hoard of Acanthus tetradrachms in the last handful of years which has cratered the price of many other coins. However, this coin isn't from that hoard and indeed, an earlier pedigree was found since the NAC sale.

To my surprise, I was able to buy it in Triton for well under half of my 2014 bid. It goes to show that it's necessary to look at the market as a whole when pricing coins.

 

10) Augustus Comet Denarius

Ex NFA XXV, 1990, 325; NAC-Spink Taisei 16th November 1994, Steinberg, 138 and Triton XIV, 2011, 613 sales

This is now the fourth Augustus Comet denarius that I've owned and I most likely will be unable to upgrade it further. It was poorly photographed when it sold in a CNG sale in 2011 and the image in this NAC sale makes it look very flat: I viewed it in-person and it jumped out of the tray. Additionally, a decent NFA pedigree was found in the interim. It is remarkably difficult to get all of the detail on the reverse so I was prepared with a nuclear bid but pleasantly surprised to buy it comparatively cheaply.

 

11) Elagabalus Emesa Stone aureus, Ex Huntington

Ex NAC sale 67, 2012, Huntington part I, 197. Ex HSA 8054

I purchased this Emesa stone aureus at the ANA show from a dealer's stock. It has a few minor marks but a 100+ year pedigree makes that more acceptable. It's a very interesting and historic type: this variety was minted in Antioch and shows the over-land journey from Emesa to Rome, carrying what was almost certainly a meteorite on a chariot drawn by a quadriga.

 

12) Philip I Alphabet bronze

Ex Triton sale XXIII, 2019, 729

I was walking through Paddington Station in London in 2018 when David Guest randomly recognized me and we chatted for a bit. He told me of a very exciting coin they'd just gotten in for Triton so I stopped by CNG's London office to take a look. It depicts the mythological moment when the Phoenician prince Cadmus passed his knowledge of the art of alphabetic writing to the Greeks.

I ultimately ended up focusing on other coins in the sale but this coin stuck with me. In the auction room, I saw which dealer ended up buying it and came up to him at the break to see if he was bidding for himself or a client: it was for a client, unfortunately.

So, I assumed the coin was gone and off the market. Fast forward to earlier this year and I saw the coin coming up when lotviewing NAC and knew I needed to buy it this time around.

 

13) Philetairos tetradrachm, Ex. Hunt

The first part of the Hunt Collection has an incredible array of ancient coins. Hunt hoarded thousands of coins - many nice, many not so nice - but the first catalog is undeniably filled with many masterpieces, from the famous Alpheus Hadrian sestertius, the Woodward Eid Mar, the Flamininus stater, and the Agrigentum dekadrachm on the front cover.

This Philetairos is now the second coin I own from that first part of the catalog. When I was first building my wantlist 15+ years ago of an aspirational view of what a collection could be, I singled out this exact coin for its artistic portrait. It's incredible to actually own it now! 

I nearly didn't get it though: it was in the M&E auction last year where dealers bought most of the sale for stock. I was bidding along online but it was selling far too cheaply, a fraction of what it sold for in 1990 (and there hasn't been a large hoard which could hold down prices). 

I hadn't seen the coin in-hand but I assumed it must have been messed with at that level so I didn't bid. I later heard that it was good from multiple sources so I was kicking myself for not jumping in and bidding more.

Thankfully, a dealer did buy it and I tried to get in touch with them but technology was getting in the way (tried via VCoins, their website contact, emailing directly...) I ordinarily would have given up but I wanted the coin so I finally found a Whatsapp phone number and managed to get in touch with them, and bought the coin. It was worth the battle to have finally crossed off from my list.

 

14) Julia Mamaea Zodiac bronze

Bronze, Tium (Bithynia) circa 222-235, Æ 34 mm, 23.01 g. ΙΟΥΛΙΑ ΜΑΜΑΙΑ ΑΥΓ Diademed and draped bust r. Rev. ΤΙΑΝΩΝ Zeus, standing facing, head l., holding patera and sceptre; in l. field, eagle; in field, Gaia and Thalassa; around, the twelve signs of the Zodiac.

Ex Leu auction 50, 1990, lot 347; RPC Online 30121 (this coin)

 

Geoffrey Cope was a friend and when he passed away, I was hoping his collection would be treated with the care it deserved. Thankfully it was, being sold via a complex set of auctions between NAC, NGSA, and CNG. We spoke often about his coins and he particularly loved this Zodiac bronze. The broad flan and ability to clearly see every one of the Zodiac symbols is remarkable, not to mention that the coin itself is unique.

 

15) Lysimachos stater, Ex. Lockett

Ex Glendining’s 12 February 1958, Lockett part VI, 1164 (referencing Ex. Salonika Find of 1919); Stack’s 29 April- 1 May 1987, 1147; Stack’s 2 December 1997, A.F. Lovejoy and H.M. Singer, 312 and Ira & Larry Goldberg 46, 2008, Millennia, 23 sales.

Another second chance coin: I underbid this coin in an NAC auction a few years ago and saw it in a dealer's stock after being outbid on another example and was able to buy it privately. I originally didn't bid stronger because I was bothered by a slight planchet flaw on the reverse but ultimately the obverse portrait has haunted me ever since. Pedigreed coins have also become increasingly important and this coin being ex. Lockett is meaningful.

 

This sets a record for a long post for me - if you've made it this far, thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed this tome! Let me know if you have any questions or feedback. Here's to a happy and healthy 2025!

[shanxi]

Wow. Wow.Wow.

[Nerosmyfavorite68]

I agree. Wow!  It's impossible to pick a favorite.  They're all stately and great.

[Rand]

Carthage 5 Shekel is just captivating; it must be stunning in hand.

Boscoreale toning of the Judea Capta aureus does add thoughts about the journey of a coin already full of history.

Congratulations!

[Ryro]

As always, thanks for sharing your incredible coins and coin knowledge AJ. It's refreshing to see a "budget" collector's top ten on here. As in, coins that I'd buy with a limitless budget. 

I went with #1, Incredible Pegasus, 6, and 9. Also, blown away with your Caracalla circus max. 

[John Conduitt]

Amazing coins. I like the attention to pedigree too.

Normally, my preferences don't overlap (thank goodness, otherwise I would be depressed at their unobtainability), but I would definitely like that De Britann aureus. Sir Arthur Evans is a bit of a controversial character but he knew how to get a stunning coin and his ownership is worth more than a higher grade, as is the toning. Oh well, at least they come in silver too...

[CPK]

Absolutely stunning selection as always! Wow! 😮

Trying to pick a favorite out of that lineup feels a bit pointless but a few that really stood out to me were #4) the AEGYPTO CAPTA denarius, #5) the Caracalla Circus Maximus sestertius, and #6) the Claudius DE BRITANN aureus. But my goodness, they are all simply without parallel. Congratulations on a great collecting year!

[Brennos]

Wow is the word !

in the poll Greeks VS Romans i vote 100% for the Greeks.  Fisrt place is for the 5 shekel of Carthage , Pegase is stunning. A special mention for Akanthos in second place and Lysimachos complete the podium of this olympian selection.  

Thank you for sharing and for the photos which sublimate the coins. The best tip for taking great photos: Buy great coins 🙂

[TIF]

How utterly insane to ask us to pick 3.  🤣

Another banner year, AJ!  WOW.  

Carthage 5 shekel is #1 for me.  After that, a massive tie!

[Nerosmyfavorite68]

Yeah, they're about as 'ordinary' as Ordinary Ride's coins.  Out of the stunning lot the zodiac one was my personal favorite.

The reverse figures are also nicely rendered on the Philip.

[kirispupis]

Wow! Absolutely stunning coins. I voted for the Carthage 5 shekel, but they're all tremendous.

[DonnaML]

Wow indeed! Thank you so much for sharing these magnificent coins. It would be too easy to vote for gold, so instead I voted for #'s 1 (no need to say more!), 2 (the best Galba portrait I've ever seen), and 4 (the Aegypto Capta, a wonderful example of one of my favorite Imperial types). 

[JayAg47]

Spectacular coins as always! In particular I love the Aegypto Capta denarius of Augustus, and the Stone of Emesa Aureus of Elagabalus, so much history on these!

[MrMonkeySwag96]

That 5 Shekel/Dekadrachm has one of the best looking Pegasus ive ever seen on a coin. Overall, I can’t pick a favorite 

[panzerman]

Like most said before me/ its hard to pick three....

My three/ 

Aegypto Capta Denarius/ I always loved the crocodile reverse on the Augustus denarius/ aureus

Carthage Dekadrachm....gorgeous design!

Galba Sestertius......outstanding portrait!

John

[Ordinary-Ride-1595]

I voted for the Carthaginian dekadrachm, the Berenice and the Lysimachos. These are just wonderful examples of fantastic issues. You are a lucky collector. 

[Di Nomos]

Awesome coins. I'm biased towards the Greeks, but I love all those Romans too.

Number 1 is easy, the Carthage 5 shekel stands above all others for me. And like you said, really interesting with the dotted border being used as the necklace. It's just an outstanding coin.

After that, I gave a vote to the Philetairos tetradrachm and Lysimachos stater for their wonderful portraits and excellent pedigrees.

I would love to hold that  pentakaidekadrachm though, hard to imagine just how big and heavy that is.

 

 

[AncientCoinnoisseur]

Hey, hey, hey, you say you cannot choose only 10 coins out of 15, but then you ask us to choose only up to 3 coins??? That’s not fair 😜

It’s a lot to take, I will read the descriptions better when I come back home, then I’ll try to give you my favourites! I’d vote for all of them but I’ll try to stick with just a few.

Congratulations for a spectacular year!!!

[I_v_a_n]

Incredible set of coins, many congratulations!

My votes was for Carthaginian dekadrachm, Egyptian pentakaidekadrachm and Lysimachus stater. The last one is stunning with its large flan diameter to keep complete design. This is a first example of this type impressed me so much.

[taja1948]

It is unfair to ask us to vote for only three coins! The Carthage dekadrachm is mind-boggling.

Congratulations on  a very successful year.

[Sulla80]

Always fun to see, @AncientJoe, quite a list!  for me 1, 4, and 8 were the picks - but ask me again and I would probably pick 3 others. Best wishes for 2025!

[David Atherton]

A spectacular coining year indeed!

I chose as my three favourites the Vespasian Judaea Capta aureus, Circus Maximus sestertius, and Elagabalus Emesa stone aureus ... but all of them are stupefyingly great.

[savitale]

As always, the highlight of the 2024 Top 10 season! I picked the Augustus Comet denarius, the Cadmus bronze, and the Pegasus 5 shekel. But beyond the eye candy, there is so much advice in this post for the quality over quantity collector.

 

17 hours ago, AncientJoe said:

I later learned that a collector/dealer friend bought the NAC coin in 2023 and while it took some convincing (and profit) to get him to agree to sell it, I was able to buy it from him and finally cross it off my list.

This is an important way to get special coins. Try to be part of the network. That being said the "collector/dealer" can frustrating; because they don't need to sell to earn a living they are sometimes running a museum where it takes a jackhammer to pry the coins out of their "inventory".

 

18 hours ago, AncientJoe said:

somewhat resenting paying the exorbitant Early Bird fee

This is so coin collector! The Early Bird fee is less than 10% of the Buyer's Premium on some of these coins! But it irks me too. One year I brought lunch rather than pay $8 for a hot dog. Why??

 

18 hours ago, AncientJoe said:

could never quite justify pushing higher as the recent coins have been lacking in one way or another

A smart choice. Regretting buying often ends up more painful than missing an opportunity. 

 

18 hours ago, AncientJoe said:

This is now the fourth Augustus Comet denarius that I've owned and I most likely will be unable to upgrade it further.

An exceptional coin! But if you do upgrade or change focus please keep me in mind for this one!

 

18 hours ago, AncientJoe said:

In the auction room, I saw which dealer ended up buying it and came up to him at the break

Alas, a technique that is probably not long for this world anymore.

 

18 hours ago, AncientJoe said:

I hadn't seen the coin in-hand but I assumed it must have been messed with at that level so I didn't bid.

For coins like these, in-person viewing is so valuable. I would have made exactly the same assumption in this situation. Viewing yourself, or through an agent, or via a third party grading service will save one from making significant mistakes or, more rarely, will identify opportunities.

 

 

[Romancollector]

All your additions are truly exceptional! I couldn't even possibly narrow it down to a top three. The Carthage 4 shekel, the pentekaideckadrachm, the emesa stone aureus, circus maximus sestertius...etc. Collectively, you acquisitions exhibit eye-appeal, excellent provenances and historical significance! 

[Al Kowsky]

Ancient Joe, A breathtaking selection as usual 🤩! My 3 favorites are: the Carthage 5 shekel, the Judaea Capta aureus, & the Augustus Comet denarius 😊. The Comet denarius is fabulous not only for its completeness, but also for the exceptional portrait of Augustus 😉.