Cut Off Point For Ancient Coins

On a timetable it is not one size fits all.
If the culture that produced the coin was an ancient culture, its coins are ancient until the culture is no more. The nub, however, is how do you tell when a culture ceases to be?
My interest is limited to Imperial Roman. The Western Roman Empire faded out before the Eastern Roman Empire. The residual Eastern Roman Empire gradually became a distinct culture during 5th century A.D., so the coinage reform of Anastasius I in 491 marks a good stopping point for what was Roman Coinage. The tiny follis/nummus is replaced by the enormous new follis which follows a very distinctive design scheme. I have a set of the new denominations as the marker for the end of an era. After that, what was Roman gives way to Romaion (aka Byzantine). For me the first is truly ancient, with its continuous connections all the way back to the advent of coins of the Roman Republic. The second, not so much.

That is just one way to look at Roman Imperial culture, but it is sufficient to give me a reasonable rationale for saying (to myself) "thus far and no further." You can do the same thing for any culture group that was connected to an earlier epoch.

 

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I would be in agreement with this as well. But as other's have said it is a fairly fluid line.

 

i've just learned the the cut off date for the European middle ages was with the battle of Mohacs' and death of this fella, Louie ll, king of Hungary, August 29th of the year of the coin...as for the OP question..there's some space for gray area, but we know 500BC is not 1500AD.....take it from there

 

I don't have a wife, but I do have a budget, so I approve of this message.

As for the main question, I don't really bother having a cut-off where I say "this coin is ancient, and this coin isn't." If it's a coin, and I like it, I might buy it. If not, then no.

On the opposite side, I do think of the "modern era" of coinage as beginning around the time milled coinage started superseding hammered and cast coins. That seems to be around the mid 17th century. I know hammered and cast coins exist after that (and I own a couple), but I kind of consider them relics of a prior age.

Looking at it another way, what kinds of coins could you post in the ancient coin section without getting laughed out of the forum? Probably pretty much any hammered or cast coin would probably get a pass here. I know I enjoy seeing them.