CONTEST: For New Ancient Coin Collectors

A few years ago I won a contest here on CoinTalk created by our excellent member @Orfew - the prize was an older copy of "Roman Coins and Their Values" by David Sear.. this is the much older version from 1981. The book is hardcover (in very good shape) - about 400 pages and spans from The Republic to the fall of the Roman Empire. This volume has since been expanded in the early 2000's to (I think?) five much more in-depth volumes. I own three of these now and do not use this older copy at this point.
At the time I won the contest I had a few uncleaned coins that I was faithfully scrubbing and owned no books on the subject. This was my bible for quite awhile and really expanded my interest in the hobby.

So - why let this gather dust on a shelf? Perhaps it can help someone?

I messaged @Orfew and he is very much supportive of moving this volume on to someone who will use it.



So.. if you are interested please respond to this post explaining how you became interested in Ancient Coins, what excites you about the subject and touch on how a book like this would help you.
***ADDED BONUS: I will throw in a few LRBs for you to attribute***

I will discuss any entries with @Orfew, select a winner, and ship to you for free (worldwide).

With Saturnalia and the holidays happening at the moment I will let this contest ride until January 16th .. then announce a winner.

Just looking to pass on @Orfew 's generosity and help any new collector out there.

Thank you - and good luck. New collectors should always feel welcome and appreciated!

Cheers!

 

Log in or Sign up to hide this ad.

This is not an entry post (I was a new ancient coins collector...40 years ago).

Congrats on a wonderful idea : transmitting to others what you have previously beneficiated of !

Q

 

Great idea and I am sure it will be very helpful for beginners.

 

I began collecting ancients a few months ago, so I think I still qualify as a new collector.
I have always been fascinated by ancient history, and I had been collecting world coins for a few years, so this spring, with not much else to do, since I was stuck at home because of the pandemic, I went on the internet and purchased some uncleaned Roman coins. While there wasn't anything special in those lots, it was still a very fun experience, and in the span of a few weeks I had already learnt a lot through various websites and I had also begun working on specializing in the coinage of the Crisis of the Third Century and of the Late Empire in general.
There are a few reasons that made me switch from modern coins to ancient ones: first of all, I think that it's very immersive to hold in hand artifacts belonging to a time period you like, and I also love the fact that each one of your coins has a story that stretches back thousands of years - the legends, the deisgns and the metal composition all allow you to draw a picture of the time period a coin belongs to. Modern coins, while undoubtedly pretty and well-made, don't have the same effect, at least on me. Secondly, I feel like that collecting ancient coins is something way more vibrant than modern ones, because there's always an element of mistery and discovery, and few things are as thrilling as finding a rare variant that might not come up again for sale for a very long time.
Despite the fact that my coin collection has been growing steadily, I still don't have any physical reference books. I think that Sear's book, in particular, would prove to be especially useful, since it lists most of the various legends and designs in one accessible and easy-to-use volume, and I also believe that it would look very impressive on any library. I'd also really enjoy getting a few more unattributed coins to work on, since it's something that, while very enjoyable, I haven't done in quite a while.
I'd like to thank both @Orfew and @Clavdivs for the opportunity of participating in this contest.

 

I mean, the book did come out the very year I was born. So, that like makes me new(ish)

 

For me, I began collecting ancient coins late last year. There were several factors that sparked my initial interest in this particular field of numismatics. When I initially joined Cointalk in January of 2019, I knew nothing of ancient coins, and to me, they were little more than a curiosity. Fast-forwarding several months later, one of my college history courses dealt heavily with the ancient and medieval world. That, combined with my interest in numismatics, left me wanting to add some ancient coins to my collection, such as this Gordian III antoninianus that I bought a week after the end of that semester.

Since then, I've gradually found myself primarily attracted to Roman coins of the 3rd century, from the Military Anarchy (235-284 AD) and those of the Nerva-Antonine Dynasty. As of now, my ancient coin collection consists of two-dozen coins from Nero to Arcadius. Arguably what excites me the most about collecting ancient coins and Roman Imperial issues, in particular, is how one can hold in their hands a coin of some of history's most prolific or obscure rulers. For starters, have any of you ever heard of some Roman Emperors such as Aemillian and Quintillus outside of the classroom or the Cointalk Ancient Coins forum? When it comes to the book being offered, the reason I'd like to have such a book is simple. As a novice ancient coin collector, I've come to rely heavily on online sources such as Wildwinds and forums such as this. However, I'd also like to have a convenient reference book on the subject as well. After all, your average bookstore doesn't have much in the way of coin-related materials, and many numismatic reference books aren't exactly the most budget-friendly. Besides, I'd also like to say that late Roman bronze coins aren't exactly my strong suit, and the opportunity to practice my attribution skills would be most welcome if I were indeed selected as the winner. Regardless, I'd like to think @Orfew and @Clavdivs for the opportunity.

 

I started collecting early in 2020 and it's been a real trip. I first got interested in ancient coins on a whim, when I was here on CT mostly for US coins and foreign paper money.

I bought some uncleaneds a few years back and was disappointed.

But this year I decided to truly take the plunge. It's been pretty fun spending (wasting) lots of money on the school of hard knocks, learning what I do and do not like.

I have found myself slowly gravitating towards LRB and large provincial coins, for various reasons (mainly cost!)

As for the book - I have used Tesorillo and Wildwinds religiously to help identify and attribute coins - but these are so heavily image-based that without an image to compare with, I am pretty much lost in terms of IDing a coin.

This book would help me better learn how to ID coins from texts, which are often more comprehensive than websites.

Whomever wins this book is going to really find themselves elevated in terms of knowledge and collecting prowess.

 

I get it.. its not worth much.. but I am throwing in a few LRBs and whatever shipping cost. So its not nothing.. I just really loved the book and hoped it may help someone get started.

 

You’re a true hero mr Claudius. Whoever gets this book will find their collecting skills really catapult to the next level. Texts are invaluable to a beginner, regardless of monetary resale value. Knowledge is power!

 

I started collecting at the venerable age of 5 (1990). My parents and grandparents gave me some modern foreign coins (no market value) to play with and I was fascinated, I gathered them in a box so every time they got a coin or banknote, especially foreign, I took it carefully, studied it and "archived" it.
I kept the habit and swapped with other kids until I was 12-13 and gave up.
15 years after this I went to a small numismatic fare by accident and I just remember I had some coins at home (I wasn't living in my home town for years). So I just restarted the hobby, this time a serious approach, learning about grading, catalogues, market value and having a clear goal - what I want in my collection.
I remember I was speaking with an arrogant seller from the fare, and I told him my goal is to have an almost complete collection of my country (I knew a complete collection is impossible as there are some examples one can never have). He thought it was funny.
After 7 years I reached my goal. Much faster than I was expecting, and with great financial efforts, but it made me really proud and happy.
When I made a wish list with what I want, there were some coins marked in red (my notes were - unlikely to find one and even if I do, it will be out of my budget). There were 11 coins listed. The list remained at 5 coins.

So I reached the end of my modern numismatic activity (of course there are still some missing from my goal, but those were never an option) and I decided to start on a new road.
And yes, I still have (and really cherish) my first coins and banknotes, the ones that made me a collector.


So in September 2020 I was discussing with a gentleman who sold me a lot of valuable modern coins during these years. He knew I like history and once or twice I mentioned I would love a Trajan coin so he showed me an auction and advised me to go for it. In fact it was Hadrian and I spotted this (he wasn't into ancients) but a very decent coin, with clear details, some luster, very attractive. I told him I don't think I can afford this.
I knew this is a totally different subject and requires lots of documentation. My only contact with the ancient coins world was a handful of LRBs (very bad conservation) - I got them out of curiosity. I thought better ancients, where you can read the legends and see the portraits clear, were quite expensive, not under 100$ for an example in F grade.
I experienced something I hadn't felt in years - a big desire to own a new coin, to study it, to learn about the background of the ruler. I found myself spending hours everyday reading about ancient coins. I knew what the coins are before I bid, even if I never saw a Denarius before. And I was never interested until that time. So I went for the auction and, to my surprise, won it. It was a lot of 3 Denarii and 1 Antoninianus, all in excellent condition, I didn't believe the price.
In the same auction I won another 2 lots - one consisting in 8 Denarii, in worse condition but still easy to attribute (I did it myself and just checked these days, I was correct). I was amazed. Vespasian, Julia Domna, Faustina I, Lucius Verus, Marcus Aurelius, Septimius Severus ... I remembered some names from history but having those was giving me goosebumps.
The 3rd lot was a batch of 34 coins, the hammer price was quite low, the picture was not OK, but I thought it would be an excellent way for me to learn how to attribute worn coins, to see if I can determine the period, the emperor... to my surprise the coins were all decent, some of them in excellent condition, some of them scarce or rare. It was the best numismatic surprise I ever had.
It was the first time I saw a Sestertius (it was a Titus) and I understood why the collectors like them.
So I continued. Not sure what was the situation with that auction house, the coins were just incredibly cheap that time, but this didn't happen in the future with them.
I found another auction house and since them (Oct-Dec 2020) took part in 3 auctions, adding another 64 coins in my album. All of them because they had something- I think you all know the feeling when you just stare at a coin and admire it.
It was a little overwhelming at first - my ambition is to attribute correctly and to recognize the emperor and the reverse type, this is sometimes difficult for a provincial coin (especially) but study and practice sure helps.
I wanted to expand my horizon to Greek coins, I also bought some I find iconic but I am a little discouraged of the large number of forgeries (and I am well aware this goes for Roman coins too...) I know many collectors sometimes buy a forgery just for academic purposes, but I personally hate them and I wouldn't spend 1 $ on one. For me, they just spoil the excitement.

For the future, my goal is to expand the collection and keep adding the same "type of coin" - the one I admire when seeing it available, so I check it 250 times a day to see if the bid increased, I set an alarm on my phone 5 minutes before the auction and, of course, the one I love studying when it finally arrives.

Most likely, I will buy less than in these 3 months, as my budget can't afford this rate, but you can't make an omelette without breaking eggs.

 

I apologize if it came off that way. It's a great giveaway and wonderful thing you are doing (I've given away several books of mine on here much less awesome than a Sear book).
I was only alluding to the fact that I would like the book and thought that it was kinda cool that it came out the same year I did.

 

..i think you read that wrong....

 

Perspective: The year I graduated University... I STILL feel like a NEWBIE!

(This is not an ENTRY, I would just give it away to another newbie.)

 

...those were the days my friend i thought they'd nev-er end we'd laugh & sing 4ever & a day......

 

Mary Hopkin, a Welsh gal... great tune.

 

Yes - I guess I did. Sorry @Ryro .. Happy New Year.

 

..yeah..i hadda go listen to it meself..

 

She was from the same County that I lived in Wales. West Glamorgan.

 

..kool...but heck, her & i went to separate schools together...