Just looking for some advice. I've done very well recently with some of my coin/paper money deals and I have some spare cash burning a hole in my pocket. I've been intrigued by some of the ancient and medieval gold coins I've been seeing on some of the more reliable ancient coin sites. My local coin shops don't carry these and when they do get them they are usually over-priced, poor examples of ones that I can purchase on the internet sites for sometimes far less. I was thinking of collecting examples from different time periods (Roman Empire, Greek, Celtic, Byzantine Empire etc.) just to have a representation, similar to making a type set. I'm looking to spend about $500-$700 each. Would something like this be possible for relatively good examples of xf and better? Also, should I stick strickly with gold solidus coins or would gold hyperpyron coins be so different that they would be out of place in such a collection?
Can't speak about ancients at all - know absolutely nothing about them. Medieval, I know a bit. My question to you is - what is your goal ?
For 500-700, you're extremely limited with ancients. You can definitely get a late-Roman solidus, maybe even a Constantinian one, and a Byzantine solidus with that budget, but forget about the good coins. You've encountered one of the best parts of collecting ancient coins, a part of what makes it so free. YOU get to define the set. If it were me, this is what I would include: Greek: - electrum hemihekte from Ionia, c. 400 BC - $900-1100 - Alexander the Great stater - about $1200 Celtic: - stater, probably of one of the British tribes - $1500 or so Roman: - aureus of the early empire - $2500 (could be less, but definitely found for this price) - solidus of the Constantinian dynasty - $900-1100 - tremissis of the late empire - $300 Byzantine: - solidus of Heraclius & son - $650 - hyperypron - $300
Thanks. This is essentially what I was looking for. The cost of the coins would only mean I would have to extend the length of time it would take to assemble a collection like this. (I'm in no hurry) For the later years, AD.1000 to AD. 1600/1700, I was thinking of French, Italian, British, and the Netherlands. I would have a country represent one time period. Perhaps a half dozen coins in all. It would depend on what was available at what price (within budget and condition). My original thought was to have 12-16 coins that spanned the ages that showed the various types of coinage. I'll give this some more thought but I think the idea is beginning to gel.
My eyes are bigger than my wallet after researching some of the Roman coins. I think I have to stick to my plan and go with the grades I can afford. I was planning on spending about 8K-10K on the ancients and about the same for the Medievals over the next couple/three years. (of course a lot will depend on what happens with the price of gold). I'd be disappointed if I had to drop a grade or two.
