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<p>[QUOTE="Mr.MonkeySwag96, post: 11169948, member: 100951"]I was collecting US coins for over a decade before I got into ancients. Reading about ancient history was one of my main hobbies. It was easy for me to transition from US coins to ancient coins due to my prior knowledge of Greco-Roman history. </p><p><br /></p><p>I suggest studying classical history to aid in collecting ancient coins. By knowing the historical context, you can understand why some coins are scarce or common. For example, the emperor Otho reigned for only a few months so his coins are quite scarce. In contrast, emperor Septimius Severus reigned for nearly two decades so his coins are among the most common. Roman Imperial coins often list an emperor’s titles & political offices, such as “consul”, “imperator”, “tribune”, “censor”, “augustus” etc. It’s useful to know these Latin terms to understand what message is expressed on your coin. In particular, Roman Imperial coins can be dated according to how many terms the emperor served as consul.</p><p><br /></p><p>There are many different categories of ancient coins. These categories are:</p><p><br /></p><p>Greek: Greek coins are subdivided into different time periods such as Archaic, Classical, & Hellenistic. Archaic era coins include the earliest coins ever minted. Classical era coins represent the peak of ancient coin artistry. Hellenistic era coins are those minted by Alexander the Great & his successors.</p><p><br /></p><p>Roman Republic: Rome was a Republic before it became an Empire. Republican coins include the earliest Roman coins. Republican era coinage circulated during the Punic Wars, Spartacus’s revolt, & Julius Caesar’s dictatorship.</p><p><br /></p><p>Roman Imperial: These are the coins of the Roman Empire. Roman Imperial coinage began when Augustus became Rome’s first emperor. Roman Imperial coinage is subdivided into “Early Imperial” & “Late Imperial”. Early Imperial coinage is based upon the monetary system established by Augustus and lasts from the 1st-3rd centuries AD. Late Imperial coinage was established by emperor Diocletian, who reformed the monetary system after the “Crisis of the 3rd Century”. Late Imperial coinage extends from the 4th-5th centuries AD. Early Imperial coinage & Late Imperial coinage are distinguished by their differing denominations.</p><p><br /></p><p>Roman Provincial: The Roman emperors often granted permission to cities & towns to strike their own coinage for local circulation. Thus, Provincial coins only circulated within the confines of a particular city or region. Most Provincial coinage were minted in the Greek speaking provinces. Roman Provincial coins often have Greek legends, in contrast to Roman Imperial coins which always have Latin legends. For this reason, Roman Provincial coins are alternately known as “Greek Imperial” coins. Most Provincial coins are made of bronze, however major cities such as Antioch & Alexandria were permitted to strike silver tetradrachms.</p><p><br /></p><p>Byzantine: The “Byzantine Empire” was the surviving Eastern remnant of the Roman Empire. Thus, the citizens of Byzantium identified themselves as Romans. However, the Byzantine empire’s official language was Greek. Early Byzantine coins initially have Latin legends. Over time, the legends evolved to consist of Greek words written in Latin script. Although Byzantine coins are collected as “ancient coins”, technically Byzantine coins are medieval coins as the empire collapsed in 1453, forty years before Columbus discovered the New World.</p><p><br /></p><p>Oriental: this category consists of miscellaneous Eastern civilizations such as Ancient China, Indian empires (Maurya, Kushan, Gupta), Parthian Empire, and Sassanid Empire.</p><p><br /></p><p>The best online guide for beginners is this website run by Doug Smith, a CoinTalk member:</p><p><br /></p><p><a href="https://www.forumancientcoins.com/dougsmith/" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://www.forumancientcoins.com/dougsmith/" rel="nofollow">https://www.forumancientcoins.com/dougsmith/</a></p><p><br /></p><p>The Classical Numismatics YouTube channel has a playlist of informative videos about the basics of ancient coin collecting:</p><p><br /></p><p><a href="https://m.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLMqG2CEiCUTOLPUuHxAVuhcUIiNO8udHR" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://m.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLMqG2CEiCUTOLPUuHxAVuhcUIiNO8udHR" rel="nofollow">https://m.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLMqG2CEiCUTOLPUuHxAVuhcUIiNO8udHR</a>[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>
[QUOTE="Mr.MonkeySwag96, post: 11169948, member: 100951"]I was collecting US coins for over a decade before I got into ancients. Reading about ancient history was one of my main hobbies. It was easy for me to transition from US coins to ancient coins due to my prior knowledge of Greco-Roman history. I suggest studying classical history to aid in collecting ancient coins. By knowing the historical context, you can understand why some coins are scarce or common. For example, the emperor Otho reigned for only a few months so his coins are quite scarce. In contrast, emperor Septimius Severus reigned for nearly two decades so his coins are among the most common. Roman Imperial coins often list an emperor’s titles & political offices, such as “consul”, “imperator”, “tribune”, “censor”, “augustus” etc. It’s useful to know these Latin terms to understand what message is expressed on your coin. In particular, Roman Imperial coins can be dated according to how many terms the emperor served as consul. There are many different categories of ancient coins. These categories are: Greek: Greek coins are subdivided into different time periods such as Archaic, Classical, & Hellenistic. Archaic era coins include the earliest coins ever minted. Classical era coins represent the peak of ancient coin artistry. Hellenistic era coins are those minted by Alexander the Great & his successors. Roman Republic: Rome was a Republic before it became an Empire. Republican coins include the earliest Roman coins. Republican era coinage circulated during the Punic Wars, Spartacus’s revolt, & Julius Caesar’s dictatorship. Roman Imperial: These are the coins of the Roman Empire. Roman Imperial coinage began when Augustus became Rome’s first emperor. Roman Imperial coinage is subdivided into “Early Imperial” & “Late Imperial”. Early Imperial coinage is based upon the monetary system established by Augustus and lasts from the 1st-3rd centuries AD. Late Imperial coinage was established by emperor Diocletian, who reformed the monetary system after the “Crisis of the 3rd Century”. Late Imperial coinage extends from the 4th-5th centuries AD. Early Imperial coinage & Late Imperial coinage are distinguished by their differing denominations. Roman Provincial: The Roman emperors often granted permission to cities & towns to strike their own coinage for local circulation. Thus, Provincial coins only circulated within the confines of a particular city or region. Most Provincial coinage were minted in the Greek speaking provinces. Roman Provincial coins often have Greek legends, in contrast to Roman Imperial coins which always have Latin legends. For this reason, Roman Provincial coins are alternately known as “Greek Imperial” coins. Most Provincial coins are made of bronze, however major cities such as Antioch & Alexandria were permitted to strike silver tetradrachms. Byzantine: The “Byzantine Empire” was the surviving Eastern remnant of the Roman Empire. Thus, the citizens of Byzantium identified themselves as Romans. However, the Byzantine empire’s official language was Greek. Early Byzantine coins initially have Latin legends. Over time, the legends evolved to consist of Greek words written in Latin script. Although Byzantine coins are collected as “ancient coins”, technically Byzantine coins are medieval coins as the empire collapsed in 1453, forty years before Columbus discovered the New World. Oriental: this category consists of miscellaneous Eastern civilizations such as Ancient China, Indian empires (Maurya, Kushan, Gupta), Parthian Empire, and Sassanid Empire. The best online guide for beginners is this website run by Doug Smith, a CoinTalk member: [URL]https://www.forumancientcoins.com/dougsmith/[/URL] The Classical Numismatics YouTube channel has a playlist of informative videos about the basics of ancient coin collecting: [URL]https://m.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLMqG2CEiCUTOLPUuHxAVuhcUIiNO8udHR[/URL][/QUOTE]
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