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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;dougsmit, post: 1347516, member: 19463&quot;]Ancient coins changed weight standards with some regularity resulting in some issues being hoarded not long after production.&nbsp; Large sums that we would pay on credit cards or checks were represented only by coins so, for example, an Athenian tetradrachm might have never been spent as a single but have been in jar of 1000 and buried in new condition.&nbsp; A few ancients circulated for 100 years and got worn out but many did not.&nbsp; Given that there were millions and millions made, a percentage made it as struck.&nbsp; Coin dealers don&#039;t show the 90% that suffered badly as often as they do the 10% that are good looking so we may forget that there once were many more that did not survive being melted as bullion.&nbsp; Within the last century we have seen some poor grade silver ancients sold for about their metal value.&nbsp; Since the dogs were not legal tender any more and not in demand by collectors, they got melted.&nbsp; I collected for 30 years before I ever saw coins of the grade Randy shows above.&nbsp; Now there seems to be a demand for them that was not as common before the eBay era.</p><p><br /></p><p>I suspect there are many other factors not mentioned here but that is what comes to mind.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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