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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;Valentinian, post: 2168349, member: 44316&quot;]I was going through some old files and found notes on the costs of Roman imperial coins offered by one of my favorite dealers (Empire Coins, no longer in the coin business) in 1995 and earlier.&nbsp; In those days dealers sent out illustrated &quot;fixed-price lists.&quot;&nbsp; Remember, this was pre-internet. By taking notes on each ruler, the condition of each coin, and the asking price I was able to build an up-to-date list of coin values. I looked at it tonight and thought it was interesting enough to report to you. The listing was by ruler and included every third and fourth century person and a few earlier. I still have the lists and can see how the grades in my notes compare to what I think now about grades. </p><p><br /></p><p>My conclusion is that almost every ruler (and spouse) could be bought as cheaply now in 2015 as twenty years ago in 1995 or earlier (in nominal dollars, not counting inflation), and some are distinctly cheaper now (Vetranio, Procopius, Julian II, Jovian, many inexpensive late Roman AE types in high grade). </p><p><br /></p><p>My interpretation is that the cost of printing photographs, composing and printing paper catalogs, and mailing them was rather high and forced dealers to mark coins up more than than now, and the ability of amateurs to market coins in competition with professionals was nil (eBay did not exist). Dedicated collectors had to deal with an apparent scarcity of supply. However, now collectors have the ability to see the the stock of hundreds of dealers. Some scarcity remains. Not every type you want is available all the time. But the scarcity is nothing like it was before 1995 when collectors saw only the coins in a few paper catalogs per month. </p><p><br /></p><p>So, I don&#039;t think you new collectors have to regret that you missed a golden age of cheaper coins. Not so. Coins are cheaper now in real terms than they were in the 1990s, and I think that is true for earlier decades as well.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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