My Top 25 Coins (Maybe)

#6 Aspendos, Pamphylia, AR stater 4th century BC 10.8g

This is a common Greek silver coin and bears a relatively common countermark of a bull. It has long (purchases 1990) been a favorite of mine because it combined the design and the countermark so well. The wrestlers and slinger make the coin popular with sports collectors so this Olympic year should make them sell for a bit more. I like the coin but what I really like is the countermark.



The bull is made a little unclear by noise from the dotted border but above it is a legend LUY. Read right to left, this is the name of the god Ba'al, infamous from Bible mention. It is unusual for the legend on a countermark to be this clear. It is unusual for a countermark to be well struck and do so little damage to the opposite side. As has become too common on my list of 25, I'll show for comparison a 'loser' coin that could have been in the 25 but for a little problem. In the case of this stater of Tarsos, the same countermark is just not as clearly struck so the coin missed the high regard I lavish on coin #6.


Why were these large silver coins countermarked with the name of the god? We don't know but I like the theory that the coin was sacrificed or donated to the temple of the god and marked as his property. I wonder if that made the coin certified acceptable for a purpose or marked as 'used' and therefore not acceptable for a second use. We just don't know but I do like that ba'al bull.

Wow => and the absolute "best part" about your coin is:



=> I'm pretty sure that my "unknown Bull" is related to this bad-boy!!?

Museums are a bad place to look for nice coins. A few have great collections but more are unwilling to spend the money curating them that they end up in a drawer in the back room. People buy tickets to see poor statues not nice coins.

I took Latin in high school and discovered the local coin store had a pick out pot of ancients. The rest is history. Two (#16 and #1) of the 25 coins featured here have been in my possession since at least 1963 but I don't have an exact start date. I have decided to declare January 2013 the start of my second 50 years in the hobby but it was more likely sometime in the summer before. I sold most of my coins in the mid 1970's but kept the interest until I could afford to resume buying. That sale was a big mistake. I have never seen one of my coins back on the market (I have photos or aluminum foil pressings of many). I should have given up eating that year.

#5 Aurelian AE Antoninianus with lion 'mintmark'

I have prettier coins; I have coins in better condition; I have rarer coins; I have coins that raise more profound questions. Why do I like this coins so much that it raised to the top of my non Severan collection? I don't know why but I have loved that lion for a dozen years now. I paid more than it was worth in 2000 ($75) but would expect another one today to sell for more. Wildwinds shows two of workshop VII and I recall seeing one or two others. Just as an exercise see how many you can show me for sale or not. Mine is 'not'.

Why did they put a lion on this series? I have not the slightest idea. Educate me.

As I mentioned above, there are 4 coins left and all four come from my specialty collection from 193-196 AD (all might be from 194, a very good year). You may be bored but we all need our biases in collection and these are mine.

I can see why you love this coin. I would as well. Beautiful, almost as struck I would think. I have never seen the lion in exergue before. That alone would make me want this coin.

Very interesting mintmark

http://www.ma-shops.com/sondermann/item.php5?id=29

The vcoins one is one that is on wildwinds on the market again but the others are new to me. the last link given by bobbyhelmet is a great site which will someday lead to an updated RIC.