Ok, my interest in ancients comes and goes. One minute I want a Morgan, the next it's currency, now I'm back looking at ancients! Every time I start reading a book about them, that's all I want to collect. lol I still have yet to purchase one. I'm not sure what you guys "officially" call one of these but this is one of my favorites and I want to get one: http://www.ebay.com/itm/130838030831?_trksid=p5197.c0.m619 (It's not mine, I have no affiliation with the seller and I'm not planning on buying that one.) Is that price in the ballpark for one in that condition? The prices are all over the place. It seems way more chaotic than regular US coinage. What do you use for a price guide to look up something like that? Even a redbook type guide would help me because I don't know if that should be in $100 range or 1000 range. Are these relatively common? I can't believe the market is there for some of the prices people want. Maybe I'd be better off looking somewhere else?
These are very common. Be sure you distinguish between the small drachm as sold here and the larger and more popular tetradrachm (about 16g,) which sells for more even though it is probably more common. There are thousands of minor variations of these coins including some rare ones and the book (by Martin Price) needed to ID them sells for several hundred $ used now. I don't see this at $179 as any particular bargain or terribly excessive either. Common midgrade Alexanders in slabs have little demand among ancient collectors and are marketed to people who don't really care about or plan on learning about ancients. If that is you, perhaps this was the coin for you. Searching on the words Alexander and Drachm on vCoins shows about 200 currently for sale including many nicer and more expensive down to some worn slick and cheap. You will always have some selection as long as you are not looking for one specific mint or minor types.
I'm not an expert on greek coins but I have had a couple of these, I would not pay $179 for that. To me that is a rip off! Also the pointless plastic around it annoys me.
Thanks for the info. I was not aware there was a small and large version. Sent from my Motorola Electrify using Tapatalk 2
Always pay very close attention to the denomination. It will tell you the size. A tetradrachm is a nice large coin, thicker and most are a little larger than a quarter. A drachm is much smaller, like a thicker nickel. Also with these there is a big difference between lifetime issues of posthumous ones. Lifetime issues, (struck during Alexander's lifetime), are much more desired. To me I thought that was too high because of the quality. I found it too mushy to justify that price. I am cheap though. Go to CICF in April in Chicago man. You can meet me there and we can find a better one for less or the same money. I can also show you my favorites, the pick boxes. Even if you don't buy anything there, going to the CICF and seeing all of these ancients in person, handling them, talking to dealers, is about the best thing to "get you up to speed" that I can think of. You are lucky you live in Il, (for that reason at least ).
