ANCIENTS: A very small coin show

Thanks again for you help, Doug (always a pleasure) ...

:high5:

 

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... ummm, how do I get in touch with this Dane person?

 

http://www.wildwinds.com/coins/
dane@wildwinds.com

Dane Kurth runs Wildwinds. She also has her personal project below which includes the spreadsheets so many use to avoid buying RIC.

http://www.catbikes.ch/coinstuff/coins-ric.htm

My favorite part is her photo set of her extensive falling horseman collection.

http://www.catbikes.ch/helvetica/feltemps.htm

 

I hope I'm not interjecting, but would you all mind referring me to a good Ancients for Dummies website (if one exists)? I'd love to learn some of the basics, like what does RIC mean? what are the price ranges for Ancients? are their scarcer issues than others or is it all about condition? etc. Thanks!

 

http://www.forumancientcoins.com/dougsmith/ is a good site for beginners...

Written by Dougsmit... Who posted right before you!


Forvm Ancient Coins is another great place....

Which is at http://www.forumancientcoins.com/.


RIC means Roman Imperial Coins...

A major tome on Ancient Roman coins from the time of the Empire...


I'll leave the rest for others.

 

Fantastic. I'll certainly start with Doug's site. Cheers!

 

Be warned that my (Doug's) site is terrible for people interested in how much their coins are 'worth'. The question of a proper price for ancients is nowhere near as well defined as it is for modern coins but is very much controlled by how bad the buyer wants to buy and how bad the seller wants to sell. I regularly buy coins for less than I would have paid and sometimes pay double what I think is fair just because I want to buy something and fear that I might not see it again anytime soon. The pages online are more on why you might want to buy a coin and less on how much you might pay.

 

Robert at www.calgarycoins.com also has some nice background info.

Also, just read some older threads here. Some of us here are just full of it!, (knowledge that is).

 

I agree Medoraman, you all are full of it.... knowledge that is. You all are the best.

 

RIC means Roman Imperial Coinage. Not much difference between Roman Imperial Coins, but it is the official title of the reference book set.

There is no such site but it might be a good one to make. I can give you a few pointers but if you're really interested there is a lot of learning to be done, hence a large learning curve.

Knowledge is the key to collecting ancient coins. Not to mention patience.

Doug's site is a good place to start to read about different types of ancients and regions, just to see what you're interested in. I myself decided to collect Roman Imperial coins because as a beginner I needed already well documented coins, easy to read, not to mention affordable for most common coins. There are many articles on his site that should help you, including how to grade the condition of a ancient coin, anywhere from normal wear, problem coins, conditions of preservation, manufacture, etc.

It's also good to learn how to attribute coins and know what you're looking at. In this case I suggest you read this page at FORVM Ancient Coins. Learning to read some languages would also help. Latin is what I study with Roman Imperial coins.

http://www.forumancientcoins.com/numiswiki/view.asp?key=Roman Coin Attribution 101

As far as prices are concerned. It's different than modern coins and I can see people getting confused when making the transition because I was also confused for awhile but not so much anymore.

ERIC II, a newer Roman Imperial reference book has a rarity list for Roman Imperial Rulers, that also gives average Ebay and auction prices. It's a general price on average, but does not cover all obverse and reverse types or varieties.

After looking around at the various markets, you will see and understand prices a lot better. For one, sellers sell coins at whatever they want to sell them for. But there is a limit to it. They won't be able to sell a common coin for too much more than it's worth. For example, if you have a $20 coin, one seller might try to sell it for double (yes, some will try it). That same coin might go on sale for $16-$18, or you can ask for a deal and get lucky to get it for $15. The thing is to look at coins for a particular type to see an average price for a particular grade. It can be tricky but you can get the hang of it.

There is so much to learn but it doesn't need to be learned by Tuesday. lol Take your time and enjoy it too. I only briefly covered a few things to get you started. What the others posted should help you as well.

 

I just sold a Julian with the bull reverse. Fun thing is, it had been cut down into a solidus weight!

 

That's quite unusual and very interesting. I would have preferred that the hole hadn't been plugged on this coin. It wasn't done well and it actually detracts from the eye appeal imo.

 

I know, I was going to remove it but I found a buyer within a few hours of listing it so I didn't have time, lol.

 

Oh well, I wouldn't have fooled with it myself - no expertise in that department.

Btw, I bought a coin from you recently, my Theodora AE15: super coin at a great price. Just thought I'd say thanks!

 

Thank you! I thought the name sounded familiar .

 

I too just recently bought a coin! My John I silver Byzantine miliaresion. Very pleased. Thanks!