I'm interested in expanding my collection and getting some ancient Roman or Medieval coins.Any suggestions where to start?
As ziggy mentioned, forum ancient coins has some helpful info, especially their Numiswiki section. Also, try Ancient Coin Collecting by Wayne Sayles. And, of course...we can answer most of your questions here. Is there any area you are interested in? Biblical, Constantine I, Republican, ET? stainless
While I agree with the Vcoins suggestion, I'd also suggest checking to see if there are any large city coin shows that are close enough to visit. There is no substitute to seeing potential purchases in person and the experience is worth a couple hours drive. I do not know your area but finding a local club or local show that attracts ancient specialist dealers can be very helpful.
I'd like to get a few from each.I'm mainly looking at Ancient Rome because I've heard you can get some good ones real inexpensive.
When it comes to being inexpensive, there are examples in each of the categories. You hear about ancient Greek silver that sells for thousands but there are little Greek bronzes that are available in quantity for little money. Most of the cheap ones are from cities you have not heard of (Athens costs more) and many are a bit ugly but even the ones offered on eBay are usually genuine (as opposed to the large Greek silver which is very attractive to fakers). Some are a bit hard to identify. There are interesting people represented on coins of India, the Sassanian Empire and other far off places if you are willing to stretch your definition of 'ancient' into the medieval period and are not bothered by legends in languages you did not know existed. When it comes to old and cheap, there is always China and other places that made millions of 'cash' (round coins with square holes). Real ones abound and fakes are even more numerous so care is suggested. In general, if a coin is beautiful, interesting and rare there are fakes. We are even getting fakes of late Roman bronzes so it is best to buy from trusted sources but quite a collection of genuine coins over a thousand years old can be built in the $5 to $50 range. Just don't expect to find $500 stuff in the $5-50 box. Have fun.
History you can hold in your hand If you read some Roman history first -- the books of Michael Grant, for instance -- you will have a better idea what you are looking at and why they are priced as they are. Like just for instance... I am not a big collector of much and Rome is not my thing, but, OK, I got two denarii from Hadrian and Trajan because they were among the Five Good Emperors during the Pax Romana, the highpoint of the empire, maximum extent, and as the name says, Peaceful. Times were good. But it is not just the emperor. The Reverse Type is important -- some are rare -- and again, for myself, I chose a Concordia with a Globe. (Ancient Coins Show: They Knew It Was Round.) The other is another astronomical theme, a crescent moon with a star (planet). But you can get Abundance, Liberty, Hilarity (honest), and more. My other is a bronze, a sesterius of Marcus Aurelius, the Philosopher Emperor and the reverse is Minerva, goddess of Wisdom and War, as Marcus Aurelius spent a lot of time suffering in the snows of Austria holding off the Germans. In the movie The Fall of the Roman Empire (1964), he was played by Sir Alec Guiness, who later played another philosopher general, Obi Wan Kinobi. (I also have a copy of his Meditations, Marcus's, not Alec's or Ben's...) The other philosopher emperor which I do not have is Julian the Apostate. Read about him. Shiny ones in high grade are easy enough. What counts is why you want the coin. And the Republic is not the Empire ... (It's an old story...) Republican coins are often cheaper than equivalent imperial coins because most people with any interest in Rome are into the glory, not the hard work. Again, one more, for myself, a little quinarius, like a 3-cent silver, struck by Cato, Marcus Porcius Cato, the Younger. He resisted Julius Caesar's usurpation and took his own life at Utica -- whence Utica, New York; Utica, Michigan, etc. etc. -- and gave his name to other anti-imperialist republicans (see here).
kudegras, I mean no offense at all, but I don't know how else to word this. When I see questions saying what should I collect, I am baffled. I collect coins from the periods of history I study and that I am interested in. The coins then just come naturally. For me, the coins follow my historic interest. I would suggest thinking about what periods of history you are interested in. Ancient Roman or Greek? The Crusades? etc etc When you're watching the History Channel shows, what times interest you the most? What history books do you read? Then I think you will know what coins to consider. If you are not really interested in ancient history then the coins may not mean much to you once you have them. If not, maybe look to a more modern time that you are enthusiastic about. Early American history? World War II? etc, etc.
Kude.... I think Greek & Roman coins are the place to start. I recomend this book, "Handbook of Ancient Greek & Roman coins" by Zander Klawans. Enjoy. Traci
History you can hold in your hand I agree that it is generalization that collectors of ancients in particular and world in general know more and care more about history than US collectors of US materials. At a recent show, we had ANACS set up and the line was long and stretched in front of the book seller's table and he was miffed. The people for ANACS were blocking his table. I mean, wouldn't you think that he would see them as customers?? No. He knows his business. People who want to slab coins don't read books because they don't care about the history or even the numismatics: they just want the upgrade. It is an unfair generalization, of course. Many times I have discovered a coin or note unknown to me, often in a dealer's junk box, and then learned about its time and place and context. That applies as well to ancients. Buying the coin can be the motivation to buying the book. Being interested in a historical period is not a precondition of collecting. It can work the other way around.
I’d say that for me it’s the rule, rather than the exception, to become interested in a coin I know little about and then research it and learn. There is a very peculiar thrill to having a coin featuring a person you’re unfamiliar with, from a time you’re unsure of, perhaps in a language you don’t even recognize…and then coaxing it into telling you a series of interconnected stories.
