So recently I've been looking at ancient Roman coinage, and while at my LCS decided to purchase a small copper coin. So here is my question. I honestly don't know much about roman currency and feel it's going to be a long process to learn the tons of Emperors and different denominations; so I'm asking if there is a way to quickly identify Roman coins? Maybe a website or some kind of catalog? Also what is the best way to acquire coins? Someone said coin shows are useful.
Wildwinds.com is a big database with lots of pictures. It is very good for most any classical ancient coin you’ll come across.
Welcome to the world of ancients, @YoloBagels You'll probably get more replies if this is moved to the Ancients board (I've asked the mods to do so). As for "quick"... well... perhaps for some coins. Your coin is what is commonly called a "late Roman bronze" (abbreviated LRB) and there are indeed some handy "quick" guides to identification of those. Try Tesorillo's website. You won't be able to pin down that particular coin beyond the basics though. It's too far gone. Several CT members have excellent educational websites for learning about ancient coins. Try Doug Smith's pages (dougsmit on CT) , and Warren Esty's site (Valentinian on CT). Victor Clark (same CT name) maintains a site about LRBs, http://www.constantinethegreatcoins.com/. Many more. Forum Ancient Coins is an extensive website with vast resources. Check out their Numiswiki. As for acquiring coins, try Vcoins.com. Local coin shows might be an opportunity but often there aren't many ancients dealers and you'll need to have some knowledge or else a good internet connection and knowledge of where to look for comparisons. Some CT members also regularly sell their extras (private auctions, the CT "for sale" board, and in their own virtual coin stores).
I’ll second Vcoins. I am a US collector that had a quizzical interest in the ancients. Made a small purchase with Vcoins. I get a weekly email historical piece from them that is concise enough to read in my office and gain some knowledge. And made a new friend or two there as well.
Anything relating to ancients should be posted on the ancient forum. I'm new at them as well and they are a great bunch that are more than willing to assist you. Welcome to what's known as "The Dark Side".
