Right now I collect US coins but I'd like to maybe buy a few Ancient Roman or Greek coins to expand my coin collection and make it more interesting. What is a good way to learn about these coins (their history, value, how to tell if they are genuine, where to buy them) and what coin should I start off with?? Thanks =)
Jonathan, For starters try www.forumancientcoins.com It's a great site to get GENUINE ancient coins, and there is lots of educational material as well. I myself collect predominantly Roman, as well as world coins. I'm working a family tree on the adoptive emperors of Rome.
Ahh I don't know if I'm so up for ancients now. There is such a large variety and they are all so expensive. The only ones I've seen that are affordable (at least to me) are honestly pretty ugly =/
Ancients can be VERY expensive but they can also be surprisingly affordable. Just like more modern coinage the value relates to rarity and condition. Also coinage that has portraits of, or are minted during the reign of familiar historical figures can also command a premium. For example I'd love to own a coin with a portrait of Alexander the Great on it- problem is alot of other folks want one too. His coins seem to always be very pricey. For my first ancient I bought a silver denarius from the reign of Septimius Severus. The prices for coins from that era were a little more in my price range. The coins from the Constantinian era are also reasonably priced. Dumanyu (who has an awesome coin pictured as his avatar-BTW!) made a good suggestion with the Forvm.com. That's where I got my first (but hopefully not last) ancient coin. Good Luck! Andy
Think of it this way - to get a good collection of MS Mercury dimes, you need 40 or 50 pieces. Even at 20 a piece, that's pricey. With ancients, you only need one to have a great collection. Don't let the variety daunt you, let it help you!
Well last time I went to the flea market one of the dealers there has an entire book of decent-looking ancients with most of them priced from $10 to $30. Is there any way to tell if they are authentic or fakes? And this is off topic but I just noticed your location alc864. I'm from central NC too
There is no simple way to recognize a fake. However, becoming acquainted with the style of genuine coins and comparing that with fake coins helps greatly. Go here: http://www.forumancientcoins.com/fakes/index.php Failing that, you can post it here and we can help. ;-D
forum is pricy...you can also try places like Vcoins, tantalus, or ancient coins canada. ...certainly good ancients have gone up in price quite a bit in the last few years but you can still get some nice ones for under 20-30 bucks. bought the coin below for less than 20 dollars recently:
Jonathon, first off, welcome. I would buy the book called Ancient Coin Collecting by Wayne G. Sayles. This was my first ancient book and will give you a good general overview of the topic. You also may be able to narrow down what you'd like to get into, i.e. Roman Imperial, Greek, etc. I don't have a very big collection, but I've bought many nice coins for under $100. Now, I know that all things are relative, but under $100 isn't too bad for a nice coin. Many nice mid to late Roman Imperial coins can be had in the $15-$50 range. Please post if you'd like any more ideas. Also, as for the guy at the flea market...if he is a coin dealer and seems to know what he's doing, maybe you could buy one relatively inexpensive coin from him, then post it on here to see what we think of it. Don't go and buy his whole book of ancient coins right off the bat. If he's just a junk dealer there that happens to have a book of ancient coins, I'd probably steer clear until you know what you're doing.
Winston-Salem here. This weekend I'll probably go to the flea market and buy a cheaper ancient. Last time i was there I saw a nice looking ancient Roman coin that was only $14. I dont remember exactly what it was but he had a sticker with a date on it that something around 200AD and it was about the size of a nickel and silver. If I get it i'll post a picture and you guys can tell me what you think
Winston-Salem's a nice city. I'm up in that neck of the woods quite often. Good luck with the flea market purchase! Andy
