I don't know anything about ancient coins

I don't know anything about ancient coins, but I'm intrigued. I'm a firm believer in "buy the book before the coin".... so, which book should I buy? I would love to get a general guide or two which encompasses a very wide range of material, sort of the like the "Red Book" for ancients. I'd even be ok with a couple of books (one for Greece, one for Rome, etc). I just need someplace to start learning, so I can see what is out there and what I may like.

Ready. Go.

 

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this one is a good, cheap, beginners guide to ancient greeks ....

http://www.amazon.com/Collecting-Greek-Coins-John-Anthony/dp/0582503108

 

Its great you are interested, but there is no such thing as a Redbook for ancients. We literally have hundreds of thousands more types than US collectors, let alone dates. Envision all 5 Krause world coin catalogs and all of the coins in there. Peanuts.

One great place to start is websites. Two great ones are written by members here:

http://www.esty.ancients.info/
http://www.forumancientcoins.com/dougsmith/

These two sites I read as a beginner, and both have tremendous value. I pretty much memorized Warren's site starting out.

There ARE great book recommendations, but read these two sites first and we can talk about it.

 

When I started buying ancients years ago, I just went into a coin shop that sold them. I just saw a tray of them, they looked fascinating to me, so I bought a few. Later on, I figured I should buy a book to help me learn about ancient coins, but I could not find any books to help me out much. I was naive about the whole thing, but I still loved my ancients.

 

heres another site for u to explore...http://www.wildwinds.com/coins/index.html

 

Hello physics-fan,

I recommend this book recommended by chrsmat71. It is a fun read. Also, there is another inexpensive book "Handbook of Ancient Greek and Roman Coins: An Official Whitman Guidebook" by Zander H. Klawans.

Once you are hooked on ancient coins, you can consider buying a couple more expensive books by Mr. Sear. The Sear books catalog a vast number of ancient coins & they include price listings (Of course, the price listings were obsolete the moment the books were published & the books were published many years ago).

Search "recommended books" at CT in the ancient section.

 

I strongly recommend this baby!! ...

 

I knew you'd be asking soon error or later...

http://www.forumancientcoins.com/numiswiki/view.asp?key=Ancient Coin Collecting 101

This helped me a bunch. In fact the entire Numiswiki at FORVM has helped me a tremendous amount.

I'm a new collector to ancients too and have only been at it seriously for a few months. It's lots of fun.

 

Wow Jwt708, thanks for the cool link ...

man, if I'd only had that baby a few years ago!! ... *geesh* (I need more coins)

 

That will fix it!

 

I found the very worst thing about Greek coins is that they are catalogued by area. Where to even start looking?

If you can get hold of a copy, see Richard Plant: Greek Coin Types and their Identification. It is a must have.

http://www.amazon.com/Greek-Coin-Types-Their-Identification/dp/0900652470

Keep an eye out on ebay to see if you can get it cheaper.

 

I'll go against the grain here and suggest that you simply buy a few ancient coins which appeal to you and which are not too expensive (whatever "expensive" means to your budget). Buy from a reputable dealer. Then, study them. See if you want to buy more of that type (whether Greek, Roman Republic, Provincial, whatever). Test the water with a few coins. Read whatever you can from online/free resources.

Having at least a few coins in hand will make the learning much more fun! Once you get a little time and reading under your belt, refine your wish list, consider buying books about the general types/eras/cultures of interest, then buy more coins. Repeat repeat repeat

Compared to US coins, most ancients are an incredible bargain. You can buy some amazing coins at a fraction of the price of monotonous US coins.

 

While my site is linked from the above 101 site, I'll promote one section of a half dozen pages I call the Vocabulary of Ancient coins:
http://www.forumancientcoins.com/dougsmith/voc.html
Of course I'd be happy if you read all of my hundred-some pages. I'd even be happy if anyone read the latest addition or wrote to me suggesting what the next addition should be. There was a time that there was not much online about ancient coins but that has changed and there is now enough that I suggest not spending too much on books until you have digested the free material online. I do love the Anthony book on Greek especially because it is NOT a catalog pretending to enable you to ID your coins. There are so many ancients that catalogs either are very abridged general lists like Sear/Seaby or volumes that cover only a short span of time and cost quite a bit. There are still many ancients that have not yet made it into a catalog and the chance that you might run across one of them is not all that remote. When you are stumped, we are here to help.

Please avoid the urge to buy coins in such bad condition that the ID process is hindered by not knowing which side is 'up'. There is a place in the hobby for low grade and mystery coins but they are easier if first you have some practice with coins that have detail.

Since others mentioned Warren's and my sites, let me point out that we are not at all competing. Warren's site has the absolute best coverage of the late Roman coins as listed in RIC volume IX and really great sections on old auction catalogs (great books in themselves) which I do not touch upon. My site is a rambling mess of what interested me since it began in 1997 and is 'best' at absolutely nothing but covers more things than most sites. Whether ours or the hundreds of other pages, I challenge you to find a hobby topic better served by free internet pages than ancient coins. Buy the books; love them. Accept the gifts to the hobby available online. If there is something you do not understand online, ask. Someone here will have asked that question before and be glad to share.

 

I've already got that part done. I bought an Alexander the Great Tetradrachm (my middle name is Alexander), I bought a Darius Siglos (I was leading a study at church about the book of Daniel at the time, and figured it would be a great illustration), and I bought a Widow's mite. These purchases have convinced me that I want to learn more!

My approach will be very similar to how I approach any other coins - learn all I can about them, and then buy the best I can afford - focusing on attractive, well struck, eye appealing examples.

 

Ummm, on second thought ....

=> STAY AWAY FROM ANIMAL COINS, THEY'RE ALL FAKE!!

 

Those are certainly very historic and interesting coins with which to start a collection!

With ancients, "sets" are far less prevalent and instead, you can collect whatever piques your curiosity. This makes it more free-form and flexible, attributes which I find very appealing (and which drove me to leave US collecting entirely).

As you read more about history and the context of coins, you'll start to appreciate them even more deeply. Ancient coins are also available at all price ranges, and there are often pieces which are historically identical but available at much lower prices, so don't let "sticker shock" push you away.

I'm a bit behind on updating my website with descriptions of more recent purchases but I've tried to write accessible historical descriptions with numismatic context for the first millennium of coinage, which may help show the types and history of coins: http://www.colosseocollection.com/p444364358 (the "View chronologically" link at the top can also be used if you wish to get a feel as to how coinage began and has progressed).

Regarding your username, I'm also a "physics fan" (to say the least) and there's something particularly appealing about seeing the same Ancient Greek symbols used in modern physics/mathematics as were inscribed on coins

 

You really do need to check out Ancient Joe's collection and essays. Can I join the physics club? My undergraduate degree is in physics.

 

I have only been collecting ancient coins since this past April. However, I was reading the online resources for months before that. I heartily recommend Doug's site. It was very helpful for a beginner. I also highly recommend the Forvm 101 site. Lots of great information for the new collector. There is a lot there so it will take some time but I do suggest that your time will be very well spent on that site.

After reading for a few months I went to my first coin show and purchased my first ancient coin. It was a denarius of Otho. I saw the coin at the show and spent a few hours talking with various people who knew much more about ancient coins than I ever will. I connected with one dealer in particular who had some beautiful gold ancients. I asked him about the Otho and he said it looked like a good coin. I told him what I could offer and he suggested that the price would be fair. I made the offer got the coin and took it back to my expert for confirmation.

Sorry for the long story, but the point is that I have now seen this dealer at several shows and he has never steered me wrong. It is important to meet with dealers you trust and establish relationships and possibly even friendships. This makes the hobby very rewarding and interesting.

 

Wow, seems as if there are a lot of physics guys (by education) here -- it was one of my undergraduate majors as well. But that was so long ago (about the time Dickens was putting the finishing touches on Great Expectations) I've forgotten most of it.