I've been looking around online at various ancient coins ranging from 13-14th century French coins and jetons, to 870-1030 AD silver Amirs of Sind coins. Despite their age, most of the coins I'm browsing are in the $20-$50 range. Are ancient coins usually this cheap?
Just like US coins there is a large difference in prices. Look for an Athenian Owl in high grade. Ancients won't look so cheap then
Another question, how can you tell if they are really ancient coins and not modern day made, using ancient methods?
The overall look. Strong strike - not cast Surfaces smooth - not raised bumps Experience - look at a lot of coins
I agree, but I'm talking about common coins. Let me rephrase, does the age of a coin increase the value? I've seen identified Roman coins from ~200 AD listed for only a couple dollars.
Not necessarily. Demand has more to do with pricing. Then things like style, wear, preservation, etc. factor as well. Poorly preserved but popular coins will still command a premium. Individual collectors will decide what flaws are worth paying for.
Nothing is that simple in a bubble. It's a curve based on Supply and Demand. Supply = How many are around now. Older usually means less around but not always. As is Ancients have so many more years then US coins and so many more countries to add to the pool Demand = How many want it. Ancients have a lot less people collecting them in the US and you can't really "make a set" or "fill a dansco" So somewhere in that curve is your price. This same thing is true with everything if not artificially manipulated or changed by the powers that be. Example: Are older cars worth more? 1. Corvette in great shape and older Yes - meets Supply and Demand both 2. Corvette rusted bucket with no salvage parts. No, demand would be low 3. Ford Fusion rusted out and wrecked. No - no demand 4. Ford Fusion zero miles that was Jay Leno's first car. Yes - supply is 1 and demand is good.
In simple terms - no it does not. But your question is a common one, and it is common because some folks think that age equates to rarity and that rarity equates to value. But this is simply not true. The monetary value of a coin is determined by several things: the rarity rating of the coin, and the condition of the coin. But more than anything else the monetary value is determined by the popularity of the coin. Some folks might have a hard time understanding that, let alone agreeing with it. Nonetheless it is quite true. For example, there are a lot of coins with a high rarity rating, meaning very few of them exist, sometimes only 30-50, and that are of high or even very high grade - 65 to 70. But the cost of those coins is downright low. If they are silver or gold you can often buy them just a little over melt, and sometimes even less than melt. So how can that be ? Simple - it's because nobody wants them. Their popularity is non-existent. On the other hand you can have a coin that exist in large numbers, even hundreds of thousands of them. And an example that only grades XF might cost you over a $1,000. So how can that be ? Again it's quite simple, it's because everybody wants one. Their popularity is quite high. But in none of these cases does the age of the coin even enter into the question - the age of the coin has nothing to do with it.
With ancients consider Athenian owlor Alexander III tetradrachms - both common, available in any condition, all are generally $200 and up in price. Athenian owls can be pretty scruffy under the $500. It is all about popularity. And what's popular changes. Ask the long time collectors how this has changed over the years...I haven't been collecting them that long.
