I know nothing about ancients and was offered these.....they seem to be similar in colour and not sure I can see natural ageing....please help?
They have some value. They are in good-but-not-outstanding condition. Coins like these usually sell for between $5 and $15. The one on the far right looks like it might be a commemorative of Helena, minted by her grand-kids. This is much less common and might go for a few bucks more than the others.
I agree. Likely genuine, but common. I wouldn't say that. It's just that they have relatively modest value. As in, low 2-figures rather than 3- or 4-figures. Looks like the sort of stuff you could get from a $10 pick bin. Maybe even a $5 bin if you're lucky. So I would say $10-20-ish sort of material, unless there's some better variety there that I am unaware of. Someone will correct me if I am wrong. I profess no expertise in ancients, being only a casual, lower-intermediate level collector of them.
I'm not sure about the value. Probably $20-25 per coin. I've been seeing 4th century late roman bronze in good condition for $80-$100 each on vcoins and m-a shops fixed price lists recently. Though you can find them cheaper on facebook's ancient and medieval coins sales group.
As strange as it may seem the same coin in the same condition could be offered on the same day for $10 or $100. At a show, it might be in a $10 pick bin offered with no research, identification or other services while a table or two down the row might be a coin in a slab offered by a dealer happy to tell you why you need to buy it. In an auction that same coin might attract two bidders who want that particular item and fight each other for it but it could equally well be 'just another coin' by those looking and go unsold for the start price. Sellers with $10 pickout bins might 'wholesale' a group of fifty for $100 especially after that group was well picked over leaving coins no one wanted for $10 for no better reason than to raise money to buy another large lot from their sources. I have coins I paid $100 for that I would feel lucky to sell for $50 and others that I would not sell for $200 or more since I would have trouble finding another exactly like the one I have. Ancient coins do not have a Red Book value and are not available in rolls of identical specimens. All this makes a question about 'value' impossible to answer simply.
Hmm. Egypt is a good place to dig coins out of the ground, but is also a fake epicenter. however, the relatively low value of the coins, $5-20 bucks, makes them LESS likely to be forged. however, keep in mind that $20 usd goes father in Egypt than it does in LA or NY...
Well, the lady wouldn't sell them to me as my offer wasn't high enough....I have made bad purchases when I delve into unfamiliar areas of numismatics, hence the thread. Bought 3 albums of Notegeld for about £430, not sure what that is in dollars...but they were almost worthless...ouch......returned them to be resold. Vcoins and MAcoins both offer coins for daft prices....
I guess that’s what happens when you’re a well known dealer. People WILL pay $100 for a standard Constantine Follis (for example) that I struggle to sell for $15 or $20 on eBay. sigh
Prices for ancient coins on eBay tend to be about 1/2 what dealer would charge. Of course, the overhead is lower on eBay that it is for a brick-and-mortar store. A pristine, mint state follis of Constantine is probably worth $100. A well-struck VF with nice surfaces is probably worth much less, even if the difference in appearance seems trivial.
