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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;kaparthy, post: 90246, member: 57463&quot;]<b>You get what you pay for.</b></p><p><br /></p><p>&quot;Really nice ancients&quot; usually do not come from uncleaned lots.</p><p><br /></p><p>What is there about ancients that interests you?&nbsp; Typically, a collector of ancients has some affinity or appreciation for some time or place.&nbsp; If you are an American who understands the checks and balances in the Constitution, you might prefer the coins of the Roman Republic, just for instance. </p><p><br /></p><p>The uncleaned coins -- and uncleaned does not mean &quot;unsearched&quot; or &quot;unidentified&quot; -- tend to be from 350 AD or so, about 400 years after the Republic.</p><p><br /></p><p>&quot;Ancients&quot; run from 600 BC to 500 AD on three continents.&nbsp; You have Greeks, and Romans and Celts and Jews and Persians, and others as well.</p><p><br /></p><p>If you had a new interest in &quot;coins&quot; and wanted to own &quot;just one&quot; what would you prefer?&nbsp; A Mercury Dime?&nbsp; A Bust Half?&nbsp; One of the new Marine Corps Commemoratives?&nbsp; It is kind of like the mathematical paradox of Infinity that the area of &quot;ancients&quot; is as large as the area of &quot;coins.&quot;</p><p><br /></p><p>My personal recommendation is to start with reading ... at least websites, if not books.&nbsp; Try here for current sales:</p><p><a href="http://www.vcoins.com" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://www.vcoins.com" rel="nofollow">VCOINS</a></p><p><br /></p><p>or here for historical archives:</p><p><a href="http://www.wildwinds.com" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://www.wildwinds.com" rel="nofollow">WILDWINDS</a></p><p><br /></p><p>The leading magazine for this is The Celator (<a href="http://www.celator.com" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://www.celator.com" rel="nofollow">The Celator</a>) which you can read about here:&nbsp; <a href="http://www.coin-newbies.com/articles/celator.html" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://www.coin-newbies.com/articles/celator.html" rel="nofollow">(review of The Celator) </a></p><p><br /></p><p>As convenient as these all are, the real knowledge is hidden in books.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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