I've volunteered to help put together an ancient Jewish coin display at my temple. I will have to put up some of the funds and the temple will probably help. I'm hoping the display will cost less than $500, but with some extra funding help from the temple, maybe it could go up to $1000. I envision getting a nice book (which would be opened to an appropriate page within the display) and several ancient coins. I'm hoping to get coins in the VF+ range so that the detail could be fairly evident. The coins should provide historic markers going back as far as possible in Jewish heritage which is over 3000 years. This could include ancient coins that could be related in some very relevant way to where Jewish society arose and moved. What book or books would you recommend for this type of display/collection? I would love to get advice as to which coins in particular I should look at acquiring (please note the approximate years and condition I should look for and about how much I should expect to pay). I am primarily a U.S. coin collector and know next to nothing about collecting ancients. When buying U.S. coins I have some idea how to get a decent coin for the money and yet have a decent resale value back to a dealer. I have no idea how this is done (or, if it's even done) in the world of ancient coin collecting. If possible, I don't want to pay the top end of "retail". Any help would be hugely appreciated. Thanks!
That sounds like a great project. I can't give you too much help, as I consider 1870 to be the dividing line between modern and ancient, and my collection is strictly modern. That said, if it were me, the display would definitely have to include one 1949 Israeli coin as a symbol of the ending of the diaspora. (The only coin listed in Krause with a 1948 date is an aluminum 25 mils. It wasn't actually released until April 6, 1949, so 1949 is truly the first year of coinage from the newly reconstituted Israel. In addition to the 25 mils, which is a little too pricey for your display budget anyhow, there are several 1949 coins with face values of 1-500 Prutah (1/2 Lira), all carrying catalog prices of $25 or less in Unc. Try an EBay search for Pruta/Prutah, as that denomination only lasted a few years. Good luck!
Prethen, I would suggest that you go to www.jerusalemcoins.com. Once there you can get a broad but quick visual coin history of the coins you seek. Then I would suggest that you go to that websites links section and click on The Hankbook of Biblical Numismatics. This website has one of the best index's that I ever seen and will make you an instant expert if you give the time to read any section.Glance at it first for reference and go back to it when you want to make your coin picks for information. After that I suggest you go back to the link section and go to Dave Garstangs home page. He has a time line of Jewish Holidays and events and what coins were circulated then. After that you should have a good idea on what type of collection you want and now for prices, www.commem.com has lower grade coins for very affordable prices. You can find ancient Judean coins there from 20 to 50 dollars if I remember correctly. www.coin has what can be considered a better selection of coins for higher but yet very affordable prices. Just click on ancient coins when you get there. www.stacks.com/categories has had my eye but I myself did not have the time to research them but you may get an idea of how the coins could go for more money based upon grade. Another website you should check out is www.coinsofisrael.com where if I remember correctly was a good site for coins and prices. Just type in Judean. If you wish to search other website dealers then go to www.coinresource.com and click on ancient coins. You will then have a list of dealers to explore. I would state that you should stay away from e-bay for there are alot of phony ancient coins hammered from places outside of Israel in the middle east that are sold as the real thing. Same thing with the Uzi , I believe China is the leading exporter now. Anyway hope you have fun with the search. I always found the hunt to be more fun then the conquest. Keep in touch.
These responses are great and exactly what I was looking for to get me going down the right path. Thanks guys!
1. Before you buy any coin, start with the literature and the books. The late Aaron Feldman is often quoted: "Buy the book before you buy the coin." The recommendations you got here so far are not bad. The area is very broad and very deep. You need to look around before you spend money. The book you need is Guide to Biblical Coins by David Hendin (values by Herbert Kreindler) 4th Edition. 2001. (About 10 years ago, I attributed a couple hundred Judaean coins for a dealer who had purchased a bulk lot. I am pretty good with languages, but had never done Hebrew coins, so I worked with a Baptist minister from my local coin club. This was one of the few times that I did not write an article based on an effort like that. It is a pretty complicated area for me, and one that is well-developed by others.) You should also investigate a subscription to The Celator. The Celator (www.celator.com) is the monthly magazine for ancient coins and Judaica is a very important part of that. The magazine's 100 advertisers are a great place to start shopping. 2. Among the many fine dealers in these areas are: Bill Rosenblum http://www.rosenblumcoins.com/ and Jonathan Kern http://www.jkerncoins.com/ You can find others by starting at the ANA website (www.money.org), and using the searches under Money Market Dealers. The ANA Code of Ethics puts a safety net under you. Also, some of these ANA dealers are also members of the Professional Numismatists Guild and the International Association of Professional Numismatists, which also provides you with some assurances. As for that 3000 years of history, we make the broad claim that coins were invented about 650-600 BC, which was during the Babylonian Captivity. Technically, Judaean coinage only begins after Alexander the Great. Also, the commandment against "graven images" limited exactly what came from a "Jewish" mint. (Four kingdoms, a "pentopolis," etc., etc.) However, the coins and banknotes of modern Israel include many commemorative issues that will allow you pin-point some of those archaic events. Also, the common advice is to buy the hardest finds first. Perhaps the hardest to find are the earliest "Yehud" issues struck under the Persians. These do, of course, alter the easy claim that there were no Judaean coins before Alexander. Obviously, not everyone was locked up in Babylon. The coins of the Second Revolt (Masada, Bar-Kochba, and all that) are the ones everyone wants. The small coppers of the Hasmoneans ("Maccabees" to some of us) are easy to find, and are inexpensive, but do constitute a plentiful array of types. So, you won't get them all, but you can cover the history from the Refounding of the Temple to the Roman occupation pretty easily. That brings up another problem: Judaea Capta -- Roman coins of the Flavians emperors who reduced Jerusalem. You might want one; you might not. It goes good next to a Bar Kochba shekel.
This response I'm sure will prove to be extremely helpful in my new quest. Thank you...thank you...thank you. By any chance, are they any dealers in particular that you really like that specialize in this area (and that hopefully will turn out to be pretty fair, as well)? Thanks, again! I truly appreciate your insights and assistance.
