SimonW Posted July 21 · Member Share Posted July 21 (edited) Out of curiosity, what search term did you use, @Salomons Cat? When searching for an RIC number or similar, I recommend to us the proximity operator (e.g. Julia Domna Denar "RIC 263"~3). This will usually yield better results 🙂 For more useful search operators, check out the How To page: https://www.acsearch.info/howto.html. Edited July 21 by SimonW 3 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Salomons Cat Posted July 21 · Member Author Share Posted July 21 Just now, SimonW said: Out of curiosity, what search term did you use, @Salomons Cat? When searching for an RIC number or similar, I recommend to us the proximity operator (e.g. Julia Domna Denar "RIC 263"~3). This will usually yield better results 🙂 For more useful search operators, check out the How to page: https://www.acsearch.info/howto.html. I corrected it - I had a very long day and Domna was an accident. I meant Maesa. But Coryssa still provided the better results than acsearch for this question 🙂 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SimonW Posted July 21 · Member Share Posted July 21 5 minutes ago, Salomons Cat said: I corrected it - I had a very long day and Domna was an accident. I meant Maesa. But Coryssa still provided the better results than acsearch for this question 🙂 No worries, happens to all of us 🙂 Can you share the URLs of your searches on both databases? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Salomons Cat Posted July 21 · Member Author Share Posted July 21 1 minute ago, SimonW said: No worries, happens to all of us 🙂 Can you share the URLs of your searches on both databases? I no longer have this open, but I searched for "Julia Domna RIC 263" and "Severus Alexander RIC 133" in both databases, sorting by highest price first. I assume you will get the same results as I did. May I ask why you are interested in my search strategy? 🙂 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SimonW Posted July 21 · Member Share Posted July 21 9 minutes ago, Salomons Cat said: I no longer have this open, but I searched for "Julia Domna RIC 263" and "Severus Alexander RIC 133" in both databases, sorting by highest price first. I assume you will get the same results as I did. May I ask why you are interested in my search strategy? 🙂 I was wondering if the difference in search results was due to a malformed search term or some other reason. Always looking for ways to improve acsearch. No bad intentions, I promise 🙂 In any case, try using the proximity search operator as described above. This will help to ensure that only results with the "RIC" and the corresponding RIC number close to each other will be displayed, thus giving much better results. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Salomons Cat Posted July 21 · Member Author Share Posted July 21 (edited) @SimonW, now I got it! acsearch is yours. Yes, acsearch provided great results, I use it constantly. But this time, I found the best coins on Coryssa. You already get my appreciation because I give you some of my money each month 😄 Which is well deserved. I would recommend acsearch to anyone, it's a very good investment. Edited July 21 by Salomons Cat Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SimonW Posted July 21 · Member Share Posted July 21 1 minute ago, Salomons Cat said: @SimonW, now I got it! acsearch is yours. Yes, acsearch provided great results, I use it constantly. But this time, I found the best coins on Coryssa. You already get my appreciation because I give you some of my money each month 😄 Which is well deserved. I wasn't looking for appreciation, although your membership is most welcome of course 🙂 I was just trying to understand the differences and help, that's all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Salomons Cat Posted July 21 · Member Author Share Posted July 21 2 minutes ago, SimonW said: I wasn't looking for appreciation, although your membership is most welcome of course 🙂 I was just trying to understand the differences and help, that's all. I think the difference is simply that Coryssa and acsearch include distinct sources. It seems that Gallery51 and Pecuneum are not on acsearch. And by accident, the coins that I identified as top specimens for the types that I mentioned were there. I think that's the answer. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bonshaw Posted July 21 · Supporter Share Posted July 21 (edited) I am particularly interested in the unsigned Lydia lions, minted under Alyattes. This interest is motivated by a longstanding desire to understand the nature of fiat currency, but before that, currency which has value at least partially independent of the bullion content. In this post, I will call this "legal tender" currency, but which still has bullion value. The electrum Lydia lions are often considered to be the first coins with value greater than their bullion content, which derived a fixed value from the cycle of royal issue, army expenditure, with the loop closed by royal taxation. There are many other electrum types from early Ionia and Lydia that are also very interesting, but none of them have as clear a mapping to a legal tender currency as Alyattes' Lydia lions. I will note here that this is my opinion only! You can make a case for striated, or blank trites, or some others as being older legal tender currency, but it isn't as convincing to me. There are early signed Lydia lions, which are very interesting, inscribed in Lydian script with WALWET (Lydian for Alyattes), and also KUKALIM. These signed trites were at one time considered to predate the unsigned lions, but it is now understood by die linkage that they were contemporary with the unsigned varieties. The signed trites are also quite rare relative to the dominant unsigned Lydia lion trites, and it is not clear how successful the signed varieties were in use. I consider the signed trites important, and contemporary with the unsigned trites, but my interest focuses on the unsigned varieties that seem to have been produced in dominant numbers relative to any other early electrum coin. They seem to have been used as legal tender, with fixed value approximately being one month of a laborer's time. The unsigned Lydia lions are divided into two categories, the earlier unsigned Lydia lions (Weidauer XV) and the later ones (Weidauer XVI). They have been extensively studied, and a number of reverse-punch die linkages have been established in Weidauer XV trites. Now we are entering the realm of my opinion, not peer reviewed (at least yet). I believe that one of the two reverse punches was used throughout the entire Weidauer XV trite series, but as it wore, smoothed, and cracked, it was identified as different punches. I further believe that it is possible to identify the very earliest obverse Lydia lion die by studying the reverse punch wear pattern. The first obverse die was matched to the common reverse punch in its earliest stage of wear. There are around ten coins with this first Lydia lion obverse die that have come up to auction or have been otherwise reported (I have a database but need to update it to say the exact number). It is also a coin that doesn't fall under Weidauer's XV A,B,C sub-type designations, so I think of it as 'type D' Weidauer XV. It is characterized by three rays at roughly 45 degrees from each other protruding from the brow of the lion, rather than the 'cross' that characterizes most Weidauer XV dies. There were two different obverse dies of this very first type D that differed only in details. Here I talk about the first of these two dies, call it "D1." The second die, which I refer to as "D2" is represented by around 20 extant coins. Now we come to this thread. "Do you believe you possess one of the finest examples of a certain coin type? Or one of the most beautiful? Or you think that it's just "the best" in any other way?" I believe that the below is the finest known coin struck by the very first obverse die of "type D" (my nomenclature) of Weidauer XV unsigned Lydia lion trites, which I consider the first clear 'legal tender' coins (contemporary with the signed trites). This is my opinion of course, and others are welcome to theirs! I will note that there is at least one coin struck with a fresher Weidauer XV Type D obverse die than this coin, but it was imperfectly struck. The one I show below combines a quite fresh die (probably the second freshest of the ~10 known coins, so the second of them to be struck). But it is also a complete strike, and in very nice condition, nicer than any of the rest of the die-matched coins that I am aware of. I present the finest coin of this first die, a candidate for the very earliest coin whose legal tender value was set by the state as a royal issue, and which was collected as royal taxes. Lydia, 1/3 stater (trite) EL, Weidauer XV, Type D, Die D1, Alyattes, late 7th century BCE, obv. lion's head right, sun with 3 rays protruding from brow, 4.71 g. Edited July 21 by Bonshaw 13 1 1 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Salomons Cat Posted July 21 · Member Author Share Posted July 21 1 hour ago, Bonshaw said: I present the finest coin of this first die, a candidate for the very earliest coin whose fixed value was set by the state as a royal issue, and which was collected as royal taxes. Lydia, 1/3 stater (trite) EL, Weidauer XV, Type D, Die D1, Alyattes, late 7th century BCE, obv. lion's head right, sun with 3 rays protruding from brow, 4.71 g. Incredible! After your explanation, I’m tempted to believe this is one of the best coins in existence. This truly shows how much our perception of coins depends on our perspective. Thanks for this. 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CPK Posted July 21 · Supporter Share Posted July 21 Here's one that, while it isn't the very best of its type, is certainly one of the better ones out there: TITUS, AD 79-81 AR Denarius (18.54mm, 3.34g, 6h) Struck September-December, AD 79. Rome mint Obverse: IMP TITVS CAES VESPASIAN AVG P M, laureate head of Titus right Reverse: TR P VIIII IMP XV COS VII P P, bound captive kneeling under trophy of arms and armor References: RIC II 49, RCV 2511 var. (obv. leg.) A choice specimen, sharply struck with a superb portrait. "The reverse type refers either to the victory in Judaea or, alternatively, may be associated with the activities in northern Britain of the celebrated governor Gnaeus Julius Agricola, father-in-law of the historian Tacitus." - David R. Sear (Roman Coins and Their Values, Vol. I, p. 465) 8 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Benefactor Simon Posted July 22 · Benefactor Benefactor Share Posted July 22 This 12th century Christian coin is rare, not many are known, this one is by far the nicest example. My thoughts on its rarity is that it was a coin minted in or for Cyprus. An interesting theory was presented for coins minted during the Comnenus reign. The island was important, it has a couple of issues of tetartera that seem to be found exclusively there. Even though I cannot prove that with this example I did acquire a second example in just Fine condition that was misattributed, it came from a Cyprus dealer. However, wherever it was minted this example is beautiful. JOHN II AE Tetarteron S-NL DOC 15 CLBC 3.4.4 OBV Bust of Christ, bearded and nimbate, wearing tunic and kolobion; holds gospels open in l. hand REV. Bust of emperor wearing stemma, divitision and jeweled loros of a traditional type; holds in r. labarum on a long shaft and in l. Globus cruciger. Size 16.85mm Weight 3.4gm Not very much is known of this coin, Hendy included it in DOC because one example in a private collection. Since then at least 6 other examples besides this has come to light. This coin is by far is in the best condition between the known examples. Another personal observation, because of the thick fabric, it would be easily be put into the Constantinople mint instead of Thessalonica. However, I believe it to have circulated exclusively in Cyprus. Without knowing about this coin, David Metcalf mentioned in an article regarding Isaac Comnenus tetartera he proposed some coins being minted in the capital and sent for exclusive use in Cyprus, if true, this example might be one of the coins with limited circulation and also would explain the rarity of this coin. The only way to prove this theory is if this coin had a silver content like the other City tetartera. This coin is not listed in Sear or Greirson. 7 2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil Anthos Posted July 22 · Member Share Posted July 22 This coin is not beautiful, but since there are allegedly only two known with this reverse I figure it must be at least the second best known specimen... Marcus Aurelius / Poseidon Cassandreia, Macedonia 161-180 AD AE21 (21mm, 6.78g) O: Laureate head right; M AVR ANTON AVG. R: Poseidon nude, standing slightly right; trident in right hand, dolphin in extended left hand; COL IVL AVG CASS. RPC Online IV 10319; Leake HN 3722 corr. (same coin); Varbanov III 2791 (R6) var. (Poseidon left) Extremely Rare ex Forvm Ancient Coins One of only two known examples with Poseidon standing right. 7 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrMonkeySwag96 Posted July 22 · Member Share Posted July 22 My prettiest Republican denarius: 7 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrMonkeySwag96 Posted July 22 · Member Share Posted July 22 (edited) Some honorable mentions. Not the best in the world, but these are the better Republican denarii in my collection: Edited July 22 by MrMonkeySwag96 3 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rasiel Posted July 22 · Member Share Posted July 22 9 hours ago, Salomons Cat said: I no longer have this open, but I searched for "Julia Domna RIC 263" and "Severus Alexander RIC 133" in both databases, sorting by highest price first. I assume you will get the same results as I did. May I ask why you are interested in my search strategy? 🙂 You will get better results if you treat Coryssa more like Amazon or Ebay than a search engine. Doing the search "Julia Domna RIC 263" from the landing page you get 120+ records most of which are not what you intended. If instead you click on Home >Roman Imperial >All Auctions >Julia Domna and use the Type pulldown to select Pietas you'll get hundreds of these. This is because on the one hand the search is not yet optimized for RIC attributions and on the other because a large portion of auctions don't bother with RIC at all. Generally speaking, it's often best to navigate your way to the most appropriate area before starting your search. Well, at least for Roman and Byzantine. Greek's a mess. Rasiel 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Finn235 Posted July 22 · Member Share Posted July 22 I tend to be a thrifty shopper, but I have a few in my collection that are likely the best of a particularly rare issue Greek- Kyme Aiolis AR diobol (or trihemiobol by some accounts). Formerly unique, I think 4 or 5 additional examples surfaced since The next best example I could find: https://www.acsearch.info/search.html?id=813447 Achaemenid satraps of Cilicia, unknown city and satrap AR Obol. My photo, sold the coin back in 2018 Not the best surfaces, but it was the most detailed example of a very rare type I've ever seen Roman - Augustus with Rhoemetalkes While not the best condition-wise, it's a contender for one of the best styled examples I've ever seen, and may be one of the few realist portraits of Augustus from this era. Lucius Caesar, AE13 from Antioch ad Maeandrum The second ever sold when I bought it, from a series that had not yet been formally recognized. About a dozen more have surfaced, and mine remains the best known, and the only with distinct hair details. Germanicus and Drusus, AE16 from Sardes To my knowledge, this is the most detailed lifetime portrait of Germanicus on a coin. Most have flat spots and/or a very thick patina that obscures details like his sideburns and eyes. 9 1 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Benefactor jdmKY Posted July 22 · Benefactor Benefactor Share Posted July 22 I’ve always thought that these 3 were near the “top of the heap” for their respective issues: Saserna, 48 BC Palikanus, 45 BC Julius Caesar, 46-45 BC 13 1 1 5 2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Salomons Cat Posted July 23 · Member Author Share Posted July 23 (edited) @jdmKY yes, and I have to say that I was waiting for you to show your Gallia here 😁 I have checked all Hostilius Saserna/Gallia on acsearch and I also find yours the most attractive. I have a few nice Hercules Commodi that I believe are among the finest. It must be a few weeks already since I showed them the last time. I have probably displayed them too frequently already. I'm a bit crazy about this type, that's why I have 2 more than I would have "needed". But I also believe that it is currently a bit undervalued. They‘re not as common in good condition as people usually seem to think. My impression is that they might be on par with the Elagabalus stone of Emesa denarius, which commands much higher prices. One of my favorite coins. Despite the flan flaw on the reverse I found only 1 specimen that appeared similarly attractive to me on acsearch. And when I hold this coin in hand, it has exceptional eye appeal with high relief and beautiful golden/copper color toning. Therefore, I would probably not exchange it for the other specimen. At least not without having seen it in person. Ex Jeremy from nvmis forvms. The denarii of Commodus as Hercules don't come much better than this. Ex Graham collection and ex Yothr collection. Here is PdS's write-up. @Curtisimo has one that is certainly among the best of this type, too. Edited July 23 by Salomons Cat 8 1 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Taras69 Posted July 23 · Member Share Posted July 23 Hello all I‘m new to this forum. I focus on Magna Graecia and especially on Tarentum. This is why I show you a Didrachm from there which I think deserves to be shown here. Haven’t found a better one from that group 36 (365-355 BC, according to Fischer-Bossert) yet, very good centering and style, also the toning is absolutely stunning and it’s from the Vlasto Collection. FB 567a = Vlasto 409. 20 mm, 7,93 g. Hope you like it! 10 1 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CPK Posted July 23 · Supporter Share Posted July 23 Coming in strong, @Taras69 - that is a beautiful specimen. Welcome to the Forum! 1 1 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hrefn Posted July 23 · Supporter Share Posted July 23 Two candidates for best of type. The first is an imitative/?barbaric/?Germanic copy of a solidus of Julian II of the Lugdunum mint. One of two examples known, this is the better of the two. Ex: Dr. E. Poncet collection,(Bourgey, 15 March 1926, lot #71) The second is an imitative tremissis of Leo. The entire reverse is retrograde. I have never seen another one, so I guess this is best of type. 15 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akeady Posted July 24 · Supporter Share Posted July 24 (edited) I like this coin - the girl on the reverse is missing her head, otherwise it's nice and sharp. It's apparently from the Mesagne Hoard was was sold by Leu in 2002, but is not included in the main article about the hoard (which didn't include all the coins). Cr. 412/1. Other than that - this a rare coin of Nero (RIC 220 - rated S(carce) in RIC, but there's only one on acsearch and this is much better than that example. It's not illustrated on OCRE. It's an old photo', I need to take something better. ATB, Aidan. Edited July 24 by akeady 13 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TIF Posted July 24 · Supporter Share Posted July 24 (edited) I just posted this in the "post your latest" thread, quite by accident 🤦♀️. One of my first purchase, not the most recent. Moving it here 🙂. I have a lot of best-of-types... mainly because they are the only example of the type. A fun side effect of focusing on provincials! 😀 Here's one that's not a provincial and although not very nice by grading standards, it is certainly one of the best... although they are all pretty awful in terms of strike and condition. It remains a favorite coin, purchase in my first few months of collecting. Total luck-- the seller (or seller's estate) picked the wrong venue to sell this hockey puck. I studied and planned (not much to study-- not a lot of comps at that point) and plotted my bidding strategy, fretted over how early or late to bid, how high to go, etc... and I was the only bidder! I doubt that would happen now because others are now aware of the occasional interesting coin or bargain to be had on that site. ZEUGITANA, Carthage early 2nd century BCE AE 15-shekel, 45 mm, 95 gm Obv: wreathed head of Tanit left Rev: horse standing right, left foreleg up; solar disk with uraei (or is that the Flying Spaghetti Monster?) above Ref: Alexandropoulos J (2000) Les monnaies de l'Afrique Antique, 103; Müller L (1861) Numismatique de L'Ancienne Afrique, 131; Luynes 3782; Jenkins GK and Lewis RB (1963) Carthaginian Gold and Electrum Coins, Royal Numismatic Society, London, pl. 28 12 Affectionately called "the PBC" because it resembles a Reese's Peanut Butter Cup 😄. It was graded by NGC (as are all coins sold by Great Collections), but it was not slabbed due to size. It did come with a laminated photo certificate: Edited July 24 by TIF 14 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bailathacl Posted July 24 · Member Share Posted July 24 95 grams? Respect. 2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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