Whats Your Favorite Ancient Thats Costs 50-200$?

I love Republican Rome coins so here's my favorite in that range from that era:



A Republican Rome denarius minted in Rome in 84 BC. 3.961g, 20.7mm,

Obverse: diademed and cloaked bust of Apollo (possibly Vejovius) left, from behind, brandishing thunderbolt

Reverse: Minerva in quadriga right, holding spear and shield, C•LICINIVS•L•F / MACER in ex

I love coins with non-standard obverses, and for Republican Denarii this is a great example.

Here's another nice Republican Denarius in that price range. On this one it isn't so much the specific design I like (although I do like it), but the detail on it is amazing. It goes to show the quality you can get in the range you mentioned. Of course you can get even better looking Imperial Roman coins for less money, but those tend to have smelly real people on them instead of idealized entities :D



A Roman Republic Denarius minted in Rome between 111-110 BC. 3.811 g, 17.6 mm

Obverse: helmeted head of Roma right, circular symbol or device behind

Reverse: Victory in a triga right, AP•CL•T•MAL•Q•VR (MAL and VR in monogram) in ex

Also note this one has the relatively rare "triga" (three horses) as opposed to the more common quadriga (four horses.)

This is a difficult question! I have many from that price range-- most of my collection so far consists of coins in the ~$15-$200 range. I love them all. Admittedly though, many coins in my collection came from large mixed lots so the price is low due to quantity (and quality is not high). More recently I've moved to acquiring fewer coins of higher quality and/or rarity.

Instead of showing one favorite or recommendation, I've somewhat randomly selected fifteen of my coins which are in that price range. Images are not to relative scale.



Left to right, top to bottom:

1. SICILY, Syracuse. AE tetras, 14mm. 390 BC
2. THRACE, Chersonesos. AR hemidrachm, 13mm, 400-350 BC
3. EUBOIA, Histiaia. AR tetrobol, 13mm. 340-330 BC
4. ARGOLIS, Argos. AR hemidrachm, 13mm. 330-270 BC
5. SELEUKID KINGS, Seleukos I. AR tetradrachm in the style of Alexander the Great, 27 mm. 295-291 BC
6. IONIA, Klazomenai. AR diobol, 9mm. 499-494 BC
7. PTOLEMAIC KINGDOM OF EGYPT, Ptolemy II. AE obol, 22 mm. 285-246 BC
8. KINGDOM OF PERSIS, Unknown king, possibly Vadfradad (Autophradates) II. AR hemidrachm. Mid-second century BC
9. ROMAN REPUBLIC, moneyer L. Postumius. AR denarius. 131 BC
10. PHOENICIA, Arados. Trajan. AE 22mm. 116/7 AD
11. THRACE, Pautalia. Caracalla. AE 29mm, 198-217 AD
12. MOESIA INFERIOR, Marcianopolis. Macrinus, with Diadumenian. AE 27mm. 217/8 AD
13. EGYPT, Alexandria. Antoninus Pius billion tetradrachm, 24 mm. 138/9 AD
14. EGYPT, Alexandria. Claudius II Gothicus potin tetradrachm. 268 AD
15. ROMAN IMPERIAL, Trajan. AR denarius, 18 mm. 101-102 AD

For some reason I left out a slew of my favorite Ptolemaic bronzes. Those certainly give a lot of bang for the buck. I love the type and have a dozen or more. Unless you're shooting for super quality or gargantuan size (>40mm) you will be able to find scores of examples in your desired price range. Here's an example of a 42mm from Ptolemy VI although it did cost more than your desired price. I must've misfiled my other pictures of similar examples from your price range.



Edited to add: of the pictured coins, only two were "blind" purchases from large mixed lots (the Trajan denarius and the Postumius denarius, which cost ~$15 each).

This is a tough one....



VasuDeva of Zabulistan Turko-Hephthalite
Hunnic Afghanistan ca.685 AD
AR Drachm Senmerv Crown Type. Tri-lingual.
Nezak (Nspk) Huns Kingdom of Zabul
Vakhu (Vasu)-Deva, Sub-ruler of Shahi Tigin
Circa 720-738 AD
Ref. Göbl Hunnen Em. 244
31.8 mm x 3.28g.
Die position=12h
Obverse: Bust of Vasu Deva right in Persian style. Bull head above crown ; 'thunderbolt' countermark, Gold plug countermark. Brahmi legend in field. Cursive Bactrian Greek Legend around.
Reverse: Zoroastrian fire altar and attendants. Pahlavi legend in fields, Cursive Bactrian Greek Legend around.
Note: Holed. Gold Plugged in antiquity.

Nicer and clearer than a similar coin a paid a little more for.

Really, the amount you pay for a coin is less dependent on what the coin is/condition and more dependent on how patient you're willing to be to get it.

My favourite (cost $15) is a recently attributed 1/12 Stater from Lesbos. Confronted Boars Heads. AR8, .5 gm (Until the next unidentified becomes attributed).

ThisIsFun--wow, that's a really nice group--good eye!
My favorite in that range is one of my favorites of all, this Litra from Greek Syracuse.


Sicily, Syracuse. Agathokles. 317-289 BC. AE24 Litra. Period 4, circa 295 BC. SWTEIRA, head of Artemis right, in triple-pendant earring & necklace, quiver over shoulder. Reverse, Winged thunderbolt, AGAQOKLEOS above, BASILEOS below 9.58 gr