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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;Bart9349, post: 675798, member: 5682&quot;]Wow. First, I don&#039;t collect coins, but I do study them.</p><p><br /></p><p>Remember that Ancient Roman coinage spans more than six centuries. Acoording to David Vagi in his book <u>Coinage and History of the Roman Empire,</u> &quot;...the first true Roman coins were produced sometime between 320 and 280 BC [during the Roman Republic].&quot; The Roman Empire fell in AD 476, several centuries later. The early Byzantines thought of themselves as no less Roman than the Emperors Augustus and Marcus Aurelius from several centuries before. They referred to themselves as &quot;Romans&quot; for several centuries after the fall of the Western Roman Empire.</p><p><br /></p><p>Common Roman coins are surprisingly cheap (just a few dollars). Nicer coins, of course, can run into the thousands of dollars.</p><p><br /></p><p>I have, however, accumulated many Roman coins from the Third Century AD, known as the &quot;Century of Crisis.&quot;&nbsp; Why? These coins are relatively inexpensive. Also, the portraits on these coins and their inscriptions are sometimes the only known historical evidence for this poorly documented period of instability and chaos in the Roman Empire. There were more than forty recognized emperors and usurpers during this tumultuous century. It was a time of disease, insurrection, political instability, hyperinflation, over taxation, rampant corruption, and barbarian invasions. (And we think we have problems.)</p><p><br /></p><p>Anyway, pick an emperor or period of Roman history that interests you. Study and learn about your area of interest. Buy yourself a nice certified coin: ICG, ANACS, and the now preferred NGC (Ancients). And study some more.</p><p><br /></p><p>One can find a nice certified billon follis of the Emperor Galerius (AD 305-311), the last major persecutor of the Christians, for under $60. </p><p><br /></p><p>I have seen several certified gold coins of Zeno and Justinian I, early emperors of the Eastern Byzantine Empire after the collapse of Rome, for under $500.</p><p><br /></p><p>Enjoy and good luck.</p><p><br /></p><p>guy[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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