Aaron Berk on YouTube

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCSk89CgWpTqEYS_EjZZjv1w
Those not aware of it already might enjoy the above YouTube channel by Aaron Berk. As I type this he only has four videos up but, for the most part, I agree with what he says to his audience of very rich collectors especially regarding the fact that not all MS 5/5 5/5 coins are created equal and that it is common for people to pay way too much for way too little. I hope someday he addresses the hobby as the poor and non-investors among us can participate. He does not allow comments on the videos. Bad sign?

 

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Thanks for posting that, @dougsmit. I was unaware of Aaron's podcasts.

While we're at it, I'd like to give a shout out to Monedaslimpias, which means "cleaned coins" in English. This channel is in Spanish. It covers many areas of coin cleaning and restoration. For example, here is a video about restoring a sestertius of Faustina the Elder suffering from bronze disease on the empress' chin.



Regardless of how you feel about the ethics of using Renaissance Wax and graphite on the surface of coins, the channel is educational.

And here's my example of a sestertius of the same type in the video.

 

Hi Doug. I am partnered with Aaron on The Ancient Coin Podcast.

if you have feedback or suggestions, they are welcome. I will turn the YouTube comments on, we were unaware, but mostly because YouTube is a secondary outlet.

you can find the videos on our Facebook group (ancient coin podcast) and our website at hjbltd.com

if you have anything you’d like to suggest, you can pm me or email me: miken@hjbltd.com

 

Thanks Doug! This one on their "black cabinet" shows over 50 years of them pulling fakes off the market and is pretty eye opening:
And a sad use of a beautiful coin cabinet, but appreciate them doing it.

 

I also agree with the grading sentiment, and you kind of make the point above "very rich collectors", but it's probably worth reiterating.

I watched the podcast, and found it very interesting and informative. But, in large part, it essentially amounts to an infomercial selling, "Why it's important to pay a dealer (himself) to help build your collections". We have to evaluate what's being said through that lens, as it would be in his best interest to downplay the value of slab labels.

That would be nice! But unfortunately there's probably no money in it, so we shouldn't hold our breath

This isn't meant to denigrate Aaron Berk in the slightest. He comes across as a genuinely nice guy that is extremely knowledgeable and probably provides a very worthwhile service to his clients. But, it is important to keep in mind that he plays in a very different ballgame from most of the rest of us. He's talking about sales of individual coins with values that FAR exceed the value that my collection will ever attain in it's entirety! We are like kids opening wax packs at the dollar store while he is providing advice for buying high grade Babe Ruths, Mickey Mantles, and Honus Wagners....... interesting to be sure, but advice that is not all that applicable in our worlds.

As an example, if I followed his Rule #1 "Don't buy common coins at auction", then I wouldn't have a collection at all. This is because, by his definition, every coin in my collection is "Common", and auctions are my only avenue for purchase.

 

hey Mike - will these ever be released as podcasts like your other show?

 

I'm not quite sure that I follow your question...

They have been released as podcasts... unless you're referring to audio only... on youtube and our webpage at hjbltd.com

 

I did a search for Berk on Facebook and failed to find the group. My Facebook skills are not stellar. I admire Harlan Berk for two things: 1. He admitted that he did not know everything about ancient coins and hired some really good staff to cover that. Of course, doing that ended the good old days when I could buy 'sleepers' from his stock. 2. He somehow managed to have a son willing and able to go into the business. Some of us would really, really like to have a kid who wanted our coins when we are gone. Harlan Berk covered that matter nicely.

 

If you know me and my podcasts, they always have an educational component to them. I know virtually nothing about ancient coins, so we decided to put my learning process on display for the world to see and hopefully, others will learn along with me.

Yes, we talk about some big-time coins at auction, but we also talk about basic buying strategy and what to look for in an ancient coin.

This podcast is not about making money for us, it's about expanding the collector base in ancient coins. A very broad base, and not one you could describe in one word.

 

here's a link to our group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/298383628770827

 

Thank you. That helps a great deal. I fear my technology skill retired with me 19 years ago and I have never really warmed up to the new venues that have popped up in that time.
ex. HJB 1989 (and not the sort of thing he would recommend - It properly would sell for less today than it did then partly due to the poor style.) It was my first 'Laodicea' mint coin when I decided to branch out from 'Emesa' only.

 

Sounds great! Like I said, I enjoyed the first episode very much, and will be tuning in for subsequent episodes regardless of target audience. Although, content geared towards us little guys would be extra enjoyable .

I'm a bit OCD when it comes to ensuring that perspective is maintained when making generalizations or correlations, and I probably do not put enough effort into pretext and/or disclaimers. If what I said above felt like a criticism of the podcast in any way, then that wasn't the intent and was my mistake. The podcast is well-made, well-hosted, and could fill an important niche in the ancient coin collecting world that is currently unfilled.

 

I watched the first two Berk podcasts along with the "Black Box" podcast & enjoyed them. Over the years I've bought many fine coins from Harlan J. Berk Ltd. I do agree with Chard that the first podcast came off as slightly "self serving" for the reasons he stated. Aaron did bring up some good points about slabbed coins & why collectors need to know the coin in the slab & not buy the plastic, regardless if the coin is slabbed or raw. Aaron failed to mention important features about slabbed coins that are helpful to collectors like: has the coin been tooled or altered, has the coin been re-patinated, has it been brushed (removing much of the original surface), & most importantly is the coin fake. This is rather ironic after seeing hundreds of fake coins in his "Black Box" . In his second podcast he suggested that the gold Pantikapaion stater auctioned by Nomos AG should be slabbed after the buyer won the coin to insure another layer of confidence that the coin is genuine . With all the fakes on the market today many collectors want that extra opinion before they buy the coin & not after they buy it . His idea that collectors shouldn't buy common coins at auction is rather ironic too, since many of those "common" coins have been bought at auction by dealers . I did like Aaron's comment that ancient coin collectors should go to museums & see ancient art first hand. It's important to immerse yourself in ancient art & history before buying ancient coins .

 

yes. Podcasts are traditionally audio files, as opposed to a ‘vodcast’ or ‘video podcast’. I know you release an audio version of your other podcast, so I assumed you would do the same with this one. To my knowledge, podcast catchers can’t connect to Facebook or YouTube. And frankly I just don’t have time to watch a bunch of videos, but can multitask with audio shows. (Please don’t take this as a complaint - it’s your show, so do what you want)

 

I am sorry, I thought I had answered this question.

We had originally planned this as a podcast, but decided that the visual element would be too important and that the show would not be as valuable as an audio podcast only.

 

Thoroughly enjoyed your MASSIVE 3rd addition, that just dropped on youtube 2 days ago! Well over an hour of ancient coins!!!

(how do us fans that ain't on Facebook get in on a chance of winning a copy of that 100 Greatest coins part 2?)
Ps, LOVED your, slightly, hidden Beatles reference in the previous episode

 

An audio version would still be valuable for those folks in suburban and rural areas who have limited or metered bandwidth (me, for example). Many video podcasts offer an audio-only option for this reason.

 

Thanks for the link. I enjoyed the video. Particularly the part about how provenances can increase the value of the coin dramatically. I wish he had expounded a bit more on the “don’t buy common coins at auction” comment. The example he used would have been consistent with saying “don’t overpay for common coins at auction” but that’s not what he said.

 

I’ll try to explain that comment as best as I can… (at least this is how he has explained it to me)

The idea is that a common coin will likely cost you more at auction because of the excitement in the room. You will likely be able to find it elsewhere as cheap or cheaper from one of the many available sources that carry them.

At an auction, it is much more likely that the price will be higher than normal, especially if more than one bidder shows interest.

 

This explains that one thread where we talked about a Gordy III going so damn high and it wasn't really anything special.

The thread is around here somewhere, recent too.