Edited: Language i am thinking about go for silver, i can see on silver that it is tooled i have alot of problems with bronze coins, iff i go to buy bronze, then there is tooling fake patina ec problems what i dont see And offcourse bronze desease
Ro, you may have better luck with silver. I agree it is much easier to tell if its been tooled, but there are some cool bronze pieces. Maybe you'd have better luck though if you changed your shopping method. Know your dealer or atleast their background & trust worthiness, and research the coin you're considering buying before you purchase it. Edited: Language.
I only collect ancient silver, and the occasional high quality billon coin with a decent amount of silver in it. After 103 ancient and medieval silver and billon coins, here's the downside to silver. 1. 3rd Century Roman silver is somewhat debased, and while the risk of bronze decease is less than on a bronze coin, there is still a chance that it could happen due to the large base metal content. Same applies to billon coins. In other words, you should still inspect these coins once in a while just in case. 2. Silver has other issues bronze may not have. Crystalization of the silver and porosity come to mind. While bronze may pit due to corrosion underground, silver can literally turn into glass-like state (especially the inside of the coin). While this is mostly not an aesthetic issue, it can be an issue if you mishandle the coin or drop it...causing it to chatter like glass. Another condition, porosity, can also make silver quite brittle. None of that should be much of a problem if you handle your coins carefully and always over a soft surface. 3. Not always, but in many cases silver is much more expensive. There are tons of LRB coins and even earlier provincial coins for 30 dollars or less. You won't find much of anything in silver at those prices, and in most cases it is an added expense to your hobby to go exclusively silver. 4. You are missing out on 2/3 or more of the ancient coins ever made. You won't believe how many times I regret my "silver and billon only" policy when I see some of the outstanding bronze pieces many of the members here have. There are tons of amazing bronze pieces out there you'll be passing on. This is probably the main reason why I will be adding bronze coins to my collection before the year is out. Silver is fun to collect, but it's too limiting.
Quote Edited: Not appropriate LOL, Uuummm, no! My Experience: On my second marriage (and LAST!), have 6 daughters, 3 of 6 Grandkids are Granddaughters... Conclusion: Women are NOT cheaper. Guaranteed based on volume and many years experience. LOL @Pishpash ! Thank you for validating!
Yep, that's been my experience too. Even if you get a frugal woman, once you have kids, all bets are off and things get pricey. Kids are very expensive!
Ro, From what I have observed, you appear to have quite a few exceptional bronze pieces that form the basis of an enviable collection. It would be a shame to stop bronze collecting in order to focus on silver. I find that the back and forth of collecting both keeps me from going into a rut and is in many respects a complementary activity. Since I'm in "advice" mode, I will go full bore and suggest something that helped me immensely which was to hold off on purchasing coins and focus on acquiring useful reference literature. Besides gaining interesting historic or technical knowledge, I found that books brought about a higher level of confidence when making a purchase or deciding on which coin to pursue. That was my entire advice allotment for the weekend, guess I'll go hide in my workshop... Best of luck!
Quote edited: Silver has its problems too. Its not about switching to something easier but it should be about learning what to look for and what to buy. @ro1974 Maybe you can get a few books too. Sorry I don't have suggestions for books to look for authenticity, but the books I have are ones by David Sears on Roman and Greek coins.
http://www.forumancientcoins.com/fakes/displayimage.php?pos=-2233 A coin that was fake in 2015 is still fake in 2017. As long as you buy coins from sources that are not trustworthy, it makes no difference which metal they are. The coin is listed in BMC page 64 footnote + as a type they do not accept as genuine.