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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;DiomedesofArgos, post: 5309808, member: 115035&quot;]I am a newbie collector this year.&nbsp; The pandemic was a factor since it&#039;s related to gold prices, but it is indeed gold rising that was a big push into ancient coins.&nbsp; My last purchase of bullion gold was at 1500/oz.&nbsp; As gold kept climbing, I thought to myself that maybe old, less nice condition coins could be had for somewhat close to spot.&nbsp; I guess I thought that maybe premiums on ancient gold would be higher when gold was cheaper and shrink as gold rises. </p><p><br /></p><p>If the difference in premiums between bullion and ancient gold weren&#039;t too much, why not just buy the older stuff?&nbsp; I guess you could say that the historical aspect makes justifying the purchase easier since paying 2000 for an ounce of gold feels icky.&nbsp; Prices could collapse once the vaccine is out (or maybe not with all the deficit spending?).&nbsp; If gold does drop, I&#039;d feel better with my expensive ancients that aren&#039;t fully related to the price of gold than with gold bullion that 100% follows the spot price.</p><p><br /></p><p>Ancient coins had been in the back of my mind for years though.&nbsp; I had a small collection of copies of some Ancient Greek coins that I had bought on vacations.&nbsp; I also had a few tiny (genuine?) coins I bought off of ebay that features Medusa and some Apollonia coins.&nbsp; Not too expensive so if they are fake, it&#039;s not the end of the world.&nbsp; In fact, it was learning about how often faked some of those coins are that probably delayed my getting more into ancient coins.&nbsp; With modern coins all looking the same with the same diameters and weight, I feel pretty confident picking out a fake (especially with a precious metals verifier).&nbsp; With ancient coins?&nbsp; I could fall for a fake easily I am sure.</p><p><br /></p><p>Also late 2019/early 2020, I started listening to The History of Ancient Greece and later the History of Byzantium podcasts.&nbsp; Of course, listening to the tales of these people/places/deeds made me want to have something from these times.&nbsp; As a kid, I signed up for a catalog of some business that sold antiquities.&nbsp; I couldn&#039;t afford anything, but I loved looking at these catalogs and wanted to own some Egyptian statues one day.&nbsp; Now, the day is here that I can afford old things, although my interest is less in the statues and more in the coins (and I was surprised to find the Egyptians didn&#039;t mint coins until the Ptolemies <img src="styles/default/xenforo/clear.png" class="mceSmilieSprite mceSmilie98" alt=":wacky:" unselectable="on" unselectable="on" />)</p><p><br /></p><p>So, to sum it up, take an already existing interest in history and antiquities, combine it with some history podcasts, throw in a dash of pandemic, and top it off with gold rising, and you have enough interest built to finally look into how one can start buying ancient coins safely.&nbsp; Once I discovered that many dealers offer lifetime guarantees on the authenticity of their coins, I was in.&nbsp; As I began to research coins, I gave up on the idea of buying cheaper beat up gold and just wanted to own decent examples of the coins I wanted at prices comparable with recent sales in various archives.</p><p><br /></p><p>I can&#039;t say for sure that I&#039;m a lifer at this point.&nbsp; Something else may well catch my collecting interest one day.&nbsp; But I&#039;ll be into this hobby for at least a few years though.&nbsp; Maybe my purchases will slow down as one loses the passion newbies often have, but there are such a variety of ancient coins and so much to learn, I have plenty to keep my attention.&nbsp; </p><p><br /></p><p>Not sure anyone wanted a novel, but if you want to know what motivates a newbie in 2020, hopefully it was worth reading <img src="styles/default/xenforo/clear.png" class="mceSmilieSprite mceSmilie8" alt=":D" unselectable="on" unselectable="on" />[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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