Hello All, I just want to say I am thrilled to be making my first post. Several weeks ago a vending machine at work spat a silver war nickel as change and I ended up at Cointalk and have been lurking "What's it worth" for several hours a day. I've been trying to figure out what I want to collect as I won't have the time to be an expert on many things. I have always liked ancient history particularly important battles. For example I can explain the significance of Marathon, Cannae, Cenescophalae (sp?), Vercengetorix, etc. etc. So it seems to me this will be more interesting and fruitful than trying to outgrade people on Morgan's or roll searching. That being said I don't know too much about old coins. I have not started lurking this forum yet although I will soon. I know there are a ton of different niches of ancient coins out there. What I would like to know is what would be the best possible types for me. I am probably going to spend between $10 - 20 a month at least at first. I want to get coins that look at least decent. I don't particularly care about rarity but I would prefer not to buy something that looks like a lump with some surfaces on it. I will largely be buying for what I like the looks of. However, I would also like to at least have the opportunity, especially once I know some things, to make some value purchases. So I guess if people can recommend different niches (i.e. I realize "Roman coins" is too general") where the coins are relatively inexpensive, decent looking, and with enough trading going on that there may be some deals that would be great. Also, I would love any kind of "here's the basics of ancients" lists or tips, for example on the other forums "don't clean your coins, here's what a slabbed coin is, etc." Thanks guys I'm looking forward to any kind of feedback! Geoff
Geoff, the best I would recommend in a $10-20 price range would be late romans. They are very doable in that price range to get very nice looking, clean, readable coins. You are very wise to wish to collect only nice, readable coins and not the dreck on Ebay. Any coin you cannot read or looks like a lump of dirt will never be worth anything, and you will regret buying it forever. As for learning about them, I would recommend getting David Sear's "Roman coins and their Values" 1988 edition, (pink cover). This is the last one volume edition he did. Don't worry about the prices, at least they will show you in a relative manner what is common and what is rare. Another idea would be Aorta by Suarez. Plus, do not just use this book for looking up coins, READ IT. The first 40 pages of Sear are full of great information about Roman coins. Once you get going in ancients, I am sure you will branch out and find your niche. Just take your time and enjoy the ride. If you love history by gosh, you are going to REALLY love collecting ancient coins! Edit: For full disclosure, I just bought over 500 late romans and MAY be offering some on the For Sale section. I do not beleive that would change my answer to you as to what ancients to collect in the $10-20 price range, but wanted to be open as to any conflicts I may have. (Btw, yeah, I know, the hoarder thinking about SELLING something, weird huh?)
Thank you very much for your reply. I will definitely look into getting those two books. So if I am going to be avoiding the dreck on ebay, are there some reputable stores online where I could browse around? Should I assume any local stores aren't even worth stopping by (I'm in Memphis)? Also medoraman I noticed yesterday in one of your posts from a couple years ago you said (paraphrased) : "you are more likely to find sellers that don't know the worth of their coins if they are selling ancients." Is this just in general, or are you more likely to find these kinds of sellers on ebay? Or is ebay just worthless for the most part? Again I'm not going into this trying to make a profit, but I do think it would be neat to be able to know something and get a good bargain. And yes I agree I am going to love it. On the one hand it is amazing that there are so many affordable coins that have been in the ground for hundreds and hundreds of years. But it does make sense when you think about how widespread the Roman empire was and how long it was around. Anyway thanks again!
Yeah, Constantine and his immediate successors (Constans, Constantius II, and Constantine II) and maybe Valens and Valentinian are your best bet in your price range. In particular, given your interest in battles, you might be interested in the fallen horseman type that was primarily produced by Constantius II. It depicts a Roman soldier about to stab a barbarian who is either on a horse that's falling over or on the ground next to a horse. This image is surrounded by the words "FEL TEMP REPARATIO" which is a rough equivalent of "Happy days are here again." These coins are some of the most common ancient coins available, so you should be able to find a decent one in your price range. As for where to look for cheap coins like this, I'd suggest VCoins, which is a collection of dealers that conventiently allows you to search through by price range, and Bargain Bin Ancients. And for information on ancient coins, Doug Smith's site is always my first recommendation, but you also might want to check out What I Like About Ancient Coins. And while there are some experts on ancients here (including Doug Smith), you might also want to check out the boards at Forvm, which probably has the biggest community of ancient coin collectors online.
Try www.bargainbinancients.com Quarter of my collection is from that site and the dealer is wonderful to deal with.
You never really know until you look. Modern coin dealers sometimes have a handful of ancients that came with some of the collections they've purchased. I wouldn't trust them too far for identification and authenticity on anything expensive, but sometimes you can find something nice for a reasonable price. For instance, I found this coin for $5 at a flea market in Massachusetts: [TABLE="class: tableb, width: 100%"] Claudius Gothicus Libertas 60 Claudius II Gothicus AD 268-270 Antoninianus Rome Mint RIC V-1, 60 Rome O:IMP C CLAVDIVS AVG, Radiate draped bust right R: LIBERT AVG, Libertas standing left, holding pileus and scepter [/TABLE]
Honestly, for ancients its 100% about knowledge. I have bought coins from almost every conceivable situation, but most times I run across an ancient I do not buy. That is because way too many people, when they hear their coin is 1500 years old, think "holy crap! I know a Morgan is worth $40 and they are only 100 years old, so my coin must be worth hundreds at least!". Trying to figure out where to get the best deals is also very wise of you, (I can already tell you will be around here for a while and fit in very well ). I buy from Ebay all of the time, its just 99% of everything on Ebay is overpriced or too low of quality for what I am looking for. Unfortunately I am a strict grader and cheap. You just never know in life. I bought some groups on Ebay a few weeks ago, and the seller happened to be in my city. I told him to let me know if he ever gets any more ancients. Out of the blue Monday he emailed and said he had a large lot of Romans, and would I be interested. So, that is how that happened. Making contacts, and letting local dealers know you are interested in this stuff eventually will offer up opportunities as well long term. So will going to coin shows, joining coin clubs, etc. Ancients aren't just your checkbook. Many times I have wanted a "scarce" coin and simply found it not for sale at any price for a few years. Knowledge, patience, a good eye, and love of history are what I believe are required to truly love this hobby. I am in so deep I literally cannot fathom myself without my hundreds of books and thousands of coins. I truly do not know how I would live without having them.
Great guys thanks so much for making me feel welcome. Now between this forum, the various sites mentioned, and those books, I don't even know where to start first! I'm sure some questions will come up as I find out more so I may just start accumulating questions and unload a number of them all at once. Thanks again.
My two cents worth , always buy quality coins the best you can afford for two reasons 1) you get what you pay for 2) you can always sell your coins especially if they are quality when you buy them and Quality lasts a lifetime... if you go cheap , cheap is what you'll wind up with so don't be penny wise and dollar foolish just get what you like /want, but get Quality for your money ,it will go a long way in the hobby... Just my two cents worth... Welcome to cointalk , glad you're here... Grampa...:thumb:
Like most things in life, this is great to a degree. It always boils down to "that you can afford" phrase. Let's think of a millionaire who wants a few representational ancient coins. In this scenario he can spend 5 figures per coin. Now, what about a guy who loves ancients, wished to collect the myriad of varieties of late romans, but is on a budget. To say he can afford $240 a year so therefor should buy one ultra high grade late roman per year does him a grave disservice. He wishes to own a large variety of coins, and therefor if he buys good quality at $20 per can start to assemble a good collection in a few years, whereas if he spend $240 per coin it will take him decades to perform the same action. Like I said sir, I agree "to a degree". If you are talking about spending $5 more to buy a VF versus a F, I agree wholeheartedly. You will always appreciate a VF more than a F. I just find too many collectors take this worthy advice to an extreme. Then again, maybe I am just a hoarder and like volume.
I am no expert on ancients, but I do dabble from time to time. By far the best experience I've had is dealing with Ilya Zobin. His ebay page is http://www.ebay.com/sch/highrating_lowprice/m.html and he also has a website at www.trustedcoins.com. He has all sorts of coins from a few dollars up through the thousands. The nice thing is even the lower-priced stuff is all nice and problem-free. Shipping is quick, and you get a certificate with each coin that goes in great depth about what the coin is. He runs sales all the time too. Oh, and most all of the auctions have a best offer feature, and he will accept lower offers on top of the already good deals. Usually has like 5,000 or more items available too. Good luck!
Advice: Don't seek out coins that relate to history you know but instead learn the history of coins you buy. Things you already know cost a lot more because a thousand guys want a Caesar but it would be hard to find a thousand Latin teachers who know who Gallienus was. Don't pay extra for rarity. You are a beginner and you don't have any of the common coins either. It makes no sense to have one rare coin of a common ruler when you couldn't tell which one it was and why it was rare. Buy good looking, common coins and leave the ugly rarities for people who already have the common ones. Never pay extra for a coin based on someone telling you that it will have good resale value. Coins that have good resale value are the ones you never will want to sell so buy coins you like rather than what guys like me tell you to. At least in the beginning think of the money spent like you think of a restaurant meal. It is for immediate enjoyment, makes you happy for a moment but not resellable tomorrow. Yesterday I bought 4 coins from a dealer I had never dealt with before. Will I be happy with them? Stick around here and find out. Others here have recommended dealers I have bought from before. One I will probably never buy from again and one I check regularly for new coins. You will have to decide which you agree with but a budget of $10-20 per coin will eliminate 95% of ancient coin specialist dealers from your consideration. I have bought at least 50 coins in the last year under $20 and maybe ten under $10. You can, too, but only if you shop wisely.
Hi, Congrats on your interest in Roman. I've been collecting 39 years although my interests have shifted many times. I like foreign as rare USA stuff is really expensive in terms of nice coins for the price. I like the Roman 3rd century AD as the 4th century Constantine's seem harder to keep straight. I'm not saying not to buy Constantines just that I like a big variety of eras. I have stuff from the early Republic (cast coins) to gold coins from the 5th century AD. Don't hold out waiting for a mint state piece: collect what appeals to you. Also research the types before you buy. Wildwinds and other on-line free services give auction prices realized for many pieces. Also a lot of stuff you buy when young will not be great investments but more learning pieces so don't hold out yet for expensive stuff until you get more experience. If at all possible go to a coin show where you can see stuff in person and talk to dealers.
Great guys thank you so much. I agree with pretty much all of the advice you have given here and am looking forward to my first purchase. I am probably going to browse for a bit before making it, but I will definitely inquire here first before pulling the trigger. I am going to start browsing the threads in this forum and the various websites that have been mentioned, so I am sure I will have some questions that come up
