So far I’ve only read unpopular opinions on modern world/US coins and bullions. But wondering what you guys think in regards to ancient coins?
I picked up one on the cheap. I know next to nothing about them but they are interesting. Some of the better engraved/struck ones are very interesting. Mine is neither of these
My unpopular opinion would have been that Byzantine coins are underrated. However, the market over the last few months has changed and seems to agree with me. More people are picking up Byzantine coins which is great for the coins/history but bad for me.
My opinion is that the ancient coin market is only through the roof for large dealers/launders. Regular folks like me can barely sell a high grade ant for $12. There's no reason that a silver Gallienus sells for $200 at Auction House X while normal folks can barely unload it for a loss.
Hello Group, I don't know if it's just the ancients I chose, but all the greek tetradrachmas I purchased (less than a dozen), when I was actively collecting 10 years ago, have increased in market value at least 3X the U.S. Keys and semi-keys I purchased at the same time. As noted, It just may be I chose wisely at the time. J.T.
- 8 of 10 ancient coin books are relatively useless these days (looking at you Sear Roman and Greek volumes) with the majority of information more easily found online. (Saying this as a person who loves coin books and has several bookshelves full) - Early imperial coinage is great but overrated / over valued.
I believe ALL of my Ancients are incredibly undervalued. However, everyone else’s Ancients for sale are incredibly overvalued! That needs to stop.
I guess my unpopular opinion is for those of us who choose to collect ancients for their quirks and uniqueness rather than those choosing premium grade coins. I have gotten countless hours of enjoyment out of seeking out and identifying lesser known and lesser grade coins, but to @hotwheelsearl's point, this approach makes it difficult to recoup your investment down the road. It's always a balance pursuing well-known and available coins that everyone is chasing (especially in today's feeding frenzy) versus exploring the roads less travelled... sometimes, you run the risk of becoming so specialized that the collector pool becomes limited or non-existent. Not that I would have ever done anything differently, of course.
There are just as many beautiful medieval coins as there are ancients (just a different type of beautiful). I’m not sure I can think of any other unpopular opinion I hold…
My son recently shipped a football card worth $13,000. So, yes, I believe all ancient coins are undervalued. Personally, I'm looking for mostly obscure Greek bronzes right now, and when I find one I'm usually able to procure it, though there have been some exceptions. Obviously your picture-perfect tetradrachms have been going sky-high. Are they undervalued/overvalued? Who knows. The way things are going, I expect there's some more room for growth, but they won't increase forever. There have been a number of coins lately that went for fair prices, but I couldn't pick up due to budgeting. For those of us who are willing to compromise on coins, there are still deals to be had.
1) Limes denarii are criminally underrated and under-priced 2) Late antique / early medieval Central Asia is the most interesting collection focus 3. Syracuse is way over-hyped and I've never been fond of the aesthetics of the "common" tetra/dekadrachm 4. Gadhaiya are boring, ugly coins and everyone needs to stop bidding on them immediately! 5. Honestly, high grade LRBs are undervalued. I'm up to about 8 binder pages of coins I can't unload at an acceptable price (e.g. more than like $5-10) 6. Ebay is a totally acceptable place to buy ancients worth less than about $200
@Fin235 Those are some great coins. All of them. The limes denarius, Gadhaiya, and the GLORIA EXERCITVS are my favorites.