Your top 10 coin list?

shirohniichan

If you had to limit your collection to 10 coins and could not sell or trade them, what would you choose simply for numismatic interest? What coins would showcase the hobby to others? Why?

Ever since I borrowed my first book on coin collecting back in elementary school, I've been intrigued by the Athenian tetradrachm with the owl reverse. Other coins have tugged at my heartstrings over the years, and, fortunately, I could actually afford to buy some of them.

1) Athenian tetradrachm (nope, I don't have one, yet)
This is one coin I know very little about, but have been drawn to strictly for aesthetic reasons. Nice ones make my hear pitter-patter.
2) Spanish pillar dollar
If I could have multiples of this, I'd get an Aussie holy dollar (and the dump), a Greenland pillar dollar, a cob 8 reales (if they ever made any), and other variations. This coin stands as the great trade coin of the Western world. Collectors from Spain, former Spanish possessions, the UK, Australia, China, the US, and elsewhere can all find times when these coins circulated in their countries.
3) 1839 Una and the Lion
My aunt and uncle gave me a book on beautiful world coins when I was 10 or 11, and my jaw dropped when I saw a big photo of this coin. Stunning! OK, so it's a pattern.
4) Japanese koban
Sure, I'd like to have one of the really old ones (late 16th century), but perhaps some day I'll buy one of the more common Tempoh or later issues. They just look cool (just like the ones in the samurai movies I watched since I was a kid). What I'd really like even more would be a 16th century silver choh-gin from the Iwami silver mines under the Mohri clan's control. These were used to buy Motonari a title from the emperor.
5) 1848 CAL half eagle
This is a wonderful price from the California gold rush, and arguably the first US commemorative coin.

I'll have to think of the last 6.

ajaan

In no particular order:

1. Alexander the Great tetradrachm - why? nice design and it's ALEXANDER the GREAT!!!!

2. Gothic Crown - just a beautiful design

3. Any British VIP proof coin. Scarce, low mintage, and made for a dignitary.

4. US Flowing Hair Dollar - new nation and all that. Always like this design.

more to be added later as I give it more thought.

newsman

Here's my list, in approximate chronological order. Most were chosen based on my interest in the history behind them:

1. Athenian tetradrachm
2. Judaea Capta denarius of Vespasian
3. Shekel from the 1st Jewish revolt
4. Abbasid gold dinar
5. Denar from the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem
6. Silver coin of Philip IV from the Kingdom of Naples
7. Spanish pillar dollar
8. 1773 Virginia halfpenny
9. 1792 half disme
10. 1861 Confederate half dollar (one of the four originals)

worldcoinguy

I could answer differently depending on the day of the week, but my list would probably be all silver and include a mix of countries and price ranges:
1). Russia - 1796 albertus rouble - most beautiful of all russian roubles
2). Russia - 1912 Alexander III rouble - striking design
3). Russia - 1912 Defeat of Napolean rouble - beautiful design
4). US - 1794 dollar - historical significance
5). US - 1776 Continental pewter dollar due to milestone in history and exquisite design
6). German States - Huge 4 or 5 taler piece from Brunswick - Wolfenbuttel due to intricate designs
7). German States - 1715 Trier / 1719 Paderborn / 1788 Fulda taler - a nice sede vacante piece
8). German States - Nice 18th century mining taler due to the exquisite designs
9). Papal States - early 17th century piastra (many beautiful designs to pick from - dav 4064, dav 4061, dav 4106, dav 4058, etc)
10). Mexico - Nice early pillar dollar

Dawg144

1. Holey Dollar -- I'm an Aussie at heart, and this is by far the coolest numismatic counter-minting ever done.
2. Dump -- See above
3. $20 Saint -- Always loved the design
4. Papal States gold -- I'm a Roman Catholic, and the medieval papacy was a very interesting presence
5. Any proof bust U.S. coin -- Many of these are real stunners

Sapyx

"Top Ten" coins would have to have both beauty and history in their own right, and be a significant part of the broader history of coins and coin collecting. So for me, in chronological order, I would suggest:

1. The electrum stater of Lydia, c. 650 BC - the earliest known "coins" in the modern Western sense of the word.

2. The silver didrachm of Rhodes, c. 290 BC - not the one in my avatar, the later one where Helios has a spiky crown. Not only were they the dominant trade coin of their day, but 1500 years later, Christian pilgrims were snapping them up as holy relics.

3. The Roman silver denarius, either of Augustus or a "tribute penny" of Tiberius, from the period of time that saw the beginnings of both the Roman Empire and Christianity.

4. The Islamic gold dinar of the Umayyad Calliphate, circa 700 AD. A reminder that the "Dark Ages" were not so Dark everywhere.

5. A Chinese copper cash coin of the Song dynasty circa 1100 AD, widely regarded as the height of Chinese calligraphy on the cash coinage.

6. The English hammered "long cross" silver penny, circa 1250 AD. From the dawn of England as a European power.

7. The Joachimsthaler, issued by Austrian-ruled Bohemia in the early 1500's, was the first large silver coin to be issued in quantity, and thus became the precursor of the German thaler, Spanish piece-of-eight and the American dollar.

8. The Spanish-American silver pillar dollar or 8 reales of the mid-1700's - not only was it the trade coin most widely circulated and accepted throughout the seven seas, and symbol of the age of pirates and buccaneers, but the imagery used on the coin is deeply symbolic of the impact that European colonization of the Americas would have, not only on the Americas but worldwide.

9. The British gold sovereign, St George and Dragon design, issued from mints throughout the British Empire in the late 1800's and early 1900's. It became in a very real sense the world's gold coin of choice.

10. The USA St Gaudens $20 gold coin - not only the most beautiful coin to come from that country, but it has fascinating stories associated with it from first issue to final recall.

shirohniichan

Sapxy has convinced me-- I'll add the Lydian electrum stater, denarius of Tiberius, and Joachimstaler.

Now I only have two to go.

worldcoinguy

ttt

I found the thread to be thought provoking......

coinkat

I am not able to limit the list to ten...