I have made a list of ancient coins for a beginner ancient collector, it covers the major geographical areas of ancient world. I know that one should focus on coins that they like and type-sets for ancient coins can be highly subjective compared to modern type-sets, regardless I made this, and want to know your opinion on what some other areas/coins that are affordable and interesting for an ancient beginner (who already has some background knowledge on numismatics in general). This is my set: 1. Greek- an iconic drachma of Alexander III 2. Roman- an Imperial denarius 3. Persia- a coin from any of the Achaemenid/Parthia/Sassanians 4. A coin from the city of Alexandria 5. A coin from Judea 6. A coin from Byzantium 7. Arabic/Islamic coin 8. India- preferably a coin from a native Hindu kingdom 9. Chinese cash coin 10. Medieval Europe (can be from a region of your interest, I chose England). The coin set below is worth around 200 usd.
Actually, such a set would make a great gift towards an impressionable youth (a relative in most cases) that one plans to hook into collecting ancients. Pair these with your fancy labels, and as a cherry on top you could add brief print-outs that introduce the fascinating aspects of those civilizations. If this doesn't get the recipient interested in ancient coin collecting, nothing will!
Cool idea!....Maybe add Iberic and Celtic examples? Set looks really nice showing the different metals and fabrics used.
I thought about adding Celts too, but I guess they can be intimidating at first, so many varieties, and abstractness! however I guess one can start off with Celtic-imitated tetradrachms, they're more general and a cheap way to get chunky piece of an ancient silver!
After I clean and identify a coin I generate a page like below that is included in my coin album. The page and the coin will have an associated number. Constantius II, AE3, 326-328, Thessalonica, Officina 2 FL IVL CONSTANTIVS NOB C Laureate, draped, cuirassed bust right PROVIDEN_TIAE CAESS Campgate with six rows, two turrets, no doors, star above, top and bottom row empty blocks SMTSB in exergue 19mm x 20mm, 3.96g RIC VII, 158 Retains nearly all of the silvered surfaces
I collect mainly Imperial Roman and Carthaginian but now you have me interested in this approach. Thanks!
This is basically the way that I collect. I like to move between periods and coin types. If the greatest reward of collecting is knowledge, you choose which kind of knowledge you want to gain: Broad and general, or narrow and deep. I prefer the broad perspective. Right now I find Asian and Islamic coins more interesting than Roman, for example. I started out like most do: Album pages of similar coins in the highest grade possible. That soon became monotonous for me. It’s a good thing we’re different.
This is one of those things that if you really wanted to, you could get coins in bulk, uncleaned or cleaned, make little sets, and sell them off as a "starter kit" or something. I'm sure something like that would pull a few bucks.
That is a very reasonable list to get started. I’d consider Celtic as mentioned above. If you wanted to expand with some more precise coin types that can still be had very reasonably I suggest some of the following. Proto-money A coin of an empress or other female leader A coin showing a building that still stands A small coin with impressive style A coin that references a specific historical event