Just one ancient

I know nothing about ancient coins except that I would like to have just one. For the collectors of ancient coins please bear with me on this.

What would you advise someone like me to get? It has to be affordable, beautiful, and at least some history about it that is obtainable.

Anyone responding, thanks in advance. I have a tendency to think a Roman coin would be what I would like.

 

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MCL,
Although I am not a collector of ancients and do not know much of anything about them, I have often asked myself the same question.

This is the coin I always came up with .... it is not Roman but Greek !

ATTICA, Athens. Circa 460-404 BC. AR Tetradrachm

 

If you're looking for something more 'affordable' you can get some rather nice Constantinian bronzes for under 100 in fairly high grade.

 

I would go with Roman silver Denars.

 

try for one like this:

http://www.forumancientcoins.com/ca...6&fld=http://www.forumancientcoins.com/Coins/

Constantine the Great and his sons issued small bronze coins commemorating the old capitol, Rome, and the new capitol, Constantinople, to symbolize the equality of the two cities and the new importance of Constantinople to the empire.



stainless

 

It depends what you are looking for really, as well as your intended budget. Late Roman Antoninani and post Diocletian Reform bronzes tend to be cheap, because it was a period of hyperinflation and mass production of coins and they aren't as well known as the coins of the earlier Roman Empire, which are more expensive as a result (but not ridiculously so, usually).

 

I picked this one up pretty cheap(under$40)

whats your budget roughly and what period do you like the most?

 

If you are really intending to get just one roman coin (be careful, even just one can be VERY addictive :hug I would advise one with great historical significance such as a Julius Ceasar or Augustus denarius :

Q

 

Ionia, Miletos 1/12th staters, some of the very earliest coins and obtainable for under $50 each. They have a lion on one side and a star pattern on the reverse. They date from ca. 600 BC.

 

Uh, ONE Ancient is kinda like ONE Potato Chip, If you get one you will go for the whole bag!!!!!:bigeyes:

 

Like the others said, it depends on your price range and what exactly you're looking for. For instance, do you want something with a lot of history, or are you more interested in the coin itself being beautiful? Do you want a big coin or small? Do you want silver, gold, bronze, or does it not matter? Do you want something that looks exotic? I'm going to advise on Roman coins, as I don't know much about other areas.

On the lowest end for things that are attractive, try looking into bronzes of Constantine or his sons, particularly Constantius II. You should be able to get some rather nice looking ones for under $30, though they will be on the small side.

If you want silver, the most affordable are the coins of the Severan dynasty or Gordian III. Gordian III is nice because his coins came just before the decline in the quality of coins in the third century caused by the inflationary problems of the empire, and you can easily find very nice, well preserved examples of his antoniniani. The antoninianus was a coin worth 2 denarii, and it was the biggest regularly produced silver coin from imperial Rome. I've gotten a couple of these for under $30, but both of mine had somewhat worn reverse dies. You can get some really well preserved ones for under $50. Sestertii, the largest bronze coins that Rome made (around 30mm in diameter in most periods) are also rather plentiful in this period, though they may be a little more expensive than the silver coins. The main problem with Gordian III coins is that we don't have much history for his reign, so there isn't all that much of a story behind what you have.

The Severans (Septimius Severus, Caracalla, Geta, Elagabalus, and Severus Alexander), on the other hand, have much more detailed histories available, so you will have more of a story with whatever you get. Antoniniani were introduced in this period, though they aren't as plentiful as those of the later century, so you will probably be stuck with denarii, which are dime sized or smaller if you have a low price range. There are some very beautiful coins of this era, and I say it's worth getting a coin of Septimius Severus for his amazing beard alone.

If you want something more exotic looking, you may want to look into getting a Parthian or Sasanian (also spelled Sassanian) coin, as they were really nice looking. I don't know enough about them to tell you much more than that, though.

In any case, go to VCoins and see what's available in your price range. If you are searching for stuff based on what I said here, then make sure you use the singular forms of the words for coins (sestertius, denarius, and antoninianus).

 

Affordable, beautiful and historical are all matters that can be enjoyed in various degrees but any coin that is very much one will be less of the others. It will be hard to get anything at all beautiful or historical for under $50 while $1000 will get a good degree of all three.

In the low price range, I agree with stainless' choice but prefer the Roma type to the Constantinople type as both more historical and more beautiful. They come in various levels of condition and artistic style with nice in both departments being under $100. Mine is worth less than that.


Another reasonable and very historical coin is the series issued by Emperor Philip I to honor the 1000th anniversary of the founding of Rome. Several show animals to be killed in the arena shows he threw. This one was issued in the name of his wife but there are several types with Philip himself if you prefer.


The most beautiful are the large Greek silvers and anything in that area that could be called both beautiful and affordable is very likely also to be fake. For that reason, I suggest anyone buying just one coin and not intending to learn about the topic stick to very reputable dealers as those on VCoins mentioned by GAO.

 

My favorite post 200 AD was the commemorative put out by Constantine the great. These can be had for a song. Traci :kewl: Whoops I just saw Doug posted the same coin.....

 

Wow. First, I don't collect coins, but I do study them.

Remember that Ancient Roman coinage spans more than six centuries. Acoording to David Vagi in his book Coinage and History of the Roman Empire, "...the first true Roman coins were produced sometime between 320 and 280 BC [during the Roman Republic]." The Roman Empire fell in AD 476, several centuries later. The early Byzantines thought of themselves as no less Roman than the Emperors Augustus and Marcus Aurelius from several centuries before. They referred to themselves as "Romans" for several centuries after the fall of the Western Roman Empire.

Common Roman coins are surprisingly cheap (just a few dollars). Nicer coins, of course, can run into the thousands of dollars.

I have, however, accumulated many Roman coins from the Third Century AD, known as the "Century of Crisis." Why? These coins are relatively inexpensive. Also, the portraits on these coins and their inscriptions are sometimes the only known historical evidence for this poorly documented period of instability and chaos in the Roman Empire. There were more than forty recognized emperors and usurpers during this tumultuous century. It was a time of disease, insurrection, political instability, hyperinflation, over taxation, rampant corruption, and barbarian invasions. (And we think we have problems.)

Anyway, pick an emperor or period of Roman history that interests you. Study and learn about your area of interest. Buy yourself a nice certified coin: ICG, ANACS, and the now preferred NGC (Ancients). And study some more.

One can find a nice certified billon follis of the Emperor Galerius (AD 305-311), the last major persecutor of the Christians, for under $60.

I have seen several certified gold coins of Zeno and Justinian I, early emperors of the Eastern Byzantine Empire after the collapse of Rome, for under $500.

Enjoy and good luck.

guy

 

I'm just going to say that you shouldn't be concerned about whether a third party service certified the coin. To my understanding, most don't actually authenticate anything ancient, and I have never found a dealer who regularly bothers submitting them. If you insist on only getting slabbed stuff, you'll miss out on just about everyone at vcoins as well as the guys at Forvm and really most dealers of ancients.

 

Here are a few I have

I have a few that you may like 1st one is Greek around 100 BC and the 2nd one is Roman Gallienus 250 AD and the 3rd one is I believe Khusroe 1st Ransom coin from around 531 to 579 AD. I agree I think everyone should own one. Couldn't fit the Rev of the 3rd one sorry.
Hope you like them
Bob

 

Here is the REV. of the 3rd one

I had to add a new post to add the REV. of the 3rd coin. Some old nice silver.
Thanks
Bob

 

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I agree that most Ancient specialists don't slab their coins. At the recent ANA convention in LA, many of the more reputable dealers did, however, slab some of their more expensive coins.

NGC (Ancients) only authenticates them to the best of their ability...but does not guarantee anything. From their web site:

"Authenticity — NGC Ancients will only grade coins that it believes to be genuine. Authenticity and attribution represent the opinion of NGC Ancients and are not guaranteed, nor is any guarantee implied. Please see the NGC Ancients Coin Grading Guarantee for complete information."

I'm cheap and paranoid, however. If I were going to spend over $200 on a coin that I'm only vaguely familiar with (which probably includes every coin, both Ancient and modern), I want it authenticated by some TPGer. Of course, for coins under $200, the slabbing fee is too expensive and not worth the effort. I agree that with slabbing, one loses the tactile joys of collecting.

If I collected high priced Ancient coins (which I don't), however, I would want some sort of authentication-slabbed or not.

There is no medicine strong enough to suppress my raging paranoia.


guy

 

no slabs

Most collectors of ancient coins avoid slabbed coins. There is absolutely nothing wrong with a third party certification but the better ones for ancients issue opinions with a photograph rather than a slab. After a coin is in a slab, it is much harder to tell whether it is genuine or not and I simply do not trust this call to anonymous graders. Since ancients do not fall mechanically into grades as easily as modern coins, terms like MS-65 mean a lot less and I'd never buy a coin based on a slab label.

However, slabbers are opening the market for ancients to a completely different market. They could care less that I would not touch their product but hope to sell to people coming to ancients from the modern slab and digital grading mentality. They may be exactly what you seek and whatever feeling of security you gain may offset the liklihood you are paying double for the coin compared to a mainstream dealer. So far, I have not seen a coin I want in a slab. I hope this continues to be the case. If I do feel the need to own a slab, I will have to set the coin free and absorb the financial loss. In ancients, this is not such a big thing since most of us realize that we will bay $100 to get one coin and $20 to get another that we consider of equal merit. With US, there is always another identical or better coin being offered but there are ancients fairly worth $50 that I have been seeking for decades. I'll buy one when it shows up for $20 or $200.

The other problem with ancients is that I do not know any one person whose opinion I would accept without question for any large percentage of coins. I know people who I would consider fully on top of the Gallienus shown above and other (different) people who could handle the Sassanian. There are a few dealers that I'd trust with 90% of the commonly seen ancients (Greek and Roman) but I doubt that even they themselves would have the gall to offer an opinion on some Central Asian or other remote fringes of the hobby. Since, for the most part, I do not know who is looking at the slabbed ancients, I'll need to wonder whether their opinion outranks mine. I feel confident 'expertising' about 10% of ancient coins. Given another 40 years, I hope to double that number. Certainly most slab services of any possible value will be body bagging any coins submitted that do not fall in the area of expertise of their staff --- I hope they will, anyway.

If you are buying an ancient from a respectable dealer (like VCoins) you expect to get a lifetime guarantee of authenticity. Those seeking one ancient coin should buy from one of those dealers. I buy many coins from sources that do not offer this level of protection and realize that I foul up on ocassion. Let me assure you that when I decide I want a $500 coin that I know next to nothing about, I will buy it from a full service, full guarantee dealer who I believe has enough background in that specific area that his opinion makes the guarantee very unlikely to be needed.

 

Itsall....I love your first coin the Bactrian Azez II, coin of the Magi 35 BC to 5 AD.