My Top 25 Coins (Maybe)

Hmmm, ya know, I'm already the same way => I already have a super-cool binder with nice crisp close-ups and some background info on all of my coins, etc ... so sadly, it's sometimes a bit of an anti-climactic-event when you decide to show someone the "actual" coin ...

=> regardless => obviously, I'm hooked and I love seeing the actual coins as well (the most)!

... funny though ... I don't have a photo album of my Dominion of Canada coins and/or bills (is that odd?)

This coin left circulation just in time to preserve all the details, although worn a bit they're all there.

It's a great pick and keen observation. I'm wondering what the little circular object is in the lower right of the reverse figure?

#17 Constantius Gallus Falling Horseman of Siscia overstruck on Constantius II Two Captives of Aquileia AE2

Coin #17 is the most recently added coin in my top 25. I got it in March 2012 at the Baltimore show. I hope its reign as the newest is very hort because tomorrow I am going to a local show and would love to find a Top 25 candidate. Likely? Not really. It has taken me 49 years to accumulate these 25 so the chance of getting two this year is only a dream.

The coin was struck twice at different times in different mints. The second use of the flan upgraded the middle denomination of the original series to the only denomination after a change in weight standards. I suspect many coins were melted and reminted into the new series but this one took a shortcut. The top half of the illustration is set to feature the undertype. On the original obverse is the bust of Constantius II facing left. You can see the top of his head and a tip of his nose but strongest is the entire original obverse legend DN CONSTAN TIVS PF AVG. Following the AVG is a bit of the back shoulder of the portrait. On the reverse we see just the feet of the two captives (the soldier with them is missing) but underneath is the full AQP. mintmark. To the left are the small letters FE which run into the larger letters TIVSIVNN from the overstrike obverse. Beyond that, at the right, we see small letters again REPARATIO. In general the undertype won the edge lettering battle but lost the central details.


The lower part of the illustration shows the same photos rotated and reversed now to feature the overstrike. On the obverse all we see is that TIVSIVNN from DNCONSTANTIVSIVNNOBC with just a trace of the final C showing if you care to see it. The reverse scene is pretty full with only MPRE from FEL TEMP RE PARATIO showing. There is perhaps a trace of one s from the SIS mintmark just besides the S of the obverse name but most of the mint ID here is provided by the II in the field and the style.

I like overstrikes when the details can be sorted out and identified. Jumbled messes of indecipherable parts sell for less than normal coins but the dealer that had this one thought it was special and worth a premium approaching the cost of the two coins that made it sold separately. I agreed and this coin became #17 (at least until I get a better offer at the show tomorrow?).

Doug, you have some very interesting coin--thanks for showing us!
Your website is always a good read too--I would take reading your site over being on Facebook any day.

that's a crazy coin....crazy cool.

The only time they are common is in Byzantine. Around the time of Focas, it is almost hard to get a bronze without undertype noise.

Someone may be picking up on the fact that a coin needs to be just a bit odd to get on my good side. Sure I have a certain number of round and shiny coins but that is not what makes a coin stand out in my mind. There are people who collect ancients using the same mentality applied to MS66+ slabs where they feel it necessary to apologize if a MS65 sneaks into a collection but I'm not one of them. Many of my coins and all of my favorites would be recognizable if stirred into a pot full of the same type and same catalog numbers. I like coins with personality. So far we have seen overstruck, oddly shaped, first, last and rare. Unique is harder. I can not imagine collecting coins that are available by the roll or by the bag with every one being exactly like its 5000 brothers. That is why I like ancients.

Doug, that's why I sold all my other coins and soley collect ancients. There is so much more to learn from them than from modern coins.