There are a type of ancient Roman exonumia called spintria which were most likely used as brothel tokens. There is some historical debate on this...
This is a case in point: privatization always beats government intervention.
It's a well-known fact that tons of silver coins were melted down during the '80s silver boom.
If you own a coin, you should be able to do whatever you like with it. Clean it, melt it down or use it for target practice, whatever you want as...
Generally I would agree with you, but in the case of a 1943 copper cent found in circulation, the odds are so overwhelmingly against that it is...
This is, of course, false. If a coin has been cleaned it has been cleaned. If a coin is cleaned it is cleaned. This is a simple tautology. It...
The best thing to do in order to tip the scales in your favor is to make friends with a teller at a nearby bank and get them to hold onto...
This is the most impressive pedigree for a coin that I've seen mentioned so far, by a long shot.
I try to go to banks in different sized cities and small towns as often as possible, but I really haven't seen any difference. I had the same...
Hi folks, I have a question for the ancient collectors out there. How do you stay abreast of developments in ancient numismatics? Are there any...
I applaud your ethical conduct in that transaction.
If a coin has been dipped, even a so-called proper dipping, it has been cleaned, end of story. Any and all cleaning, whether harsh or otherwise,...
Interesting. I have been thinking about this a lot recently myself. I read an article by Peter Schiff about it that is very pessimistic about...
I had a skunk box of dimes just yesterday. It was my first box of dimes I'd done since February or March. I hope skunk boxes aren't the new...
I hope that is helpful. I've got a small collection of French and Vietnamese coins, nothing from the French Indochina period. It's a neat coin....
The proper monetary designation of a French Indochina hundredth-piastre is a "centime." Thus this coin is 5 cetimes. Centieme is the fraction,...
I beg to differ. Centième does indeed mean "hundredth," but the monetary unit in quesiton is the "centime." See the "centime" wiki entry: "Le...
Numista lists them as "centimes." http://en.numista.com/catalogue/indochine-1.html Your particular coin is here:...
Actually, what I meant was that there was a shift in collector sensibilities as far as coin grading, with worn coins being more acceptable and...
That isn't really drawing a line, it's circular reasoning. As somebody just said above, what does it mean to harm a coin? "Harsh" cleaning or...
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