Hello there, I am new here and to coin collecting, I started around 3 weeks ago and my interest is in mainly Ancient Greek coins but Byzantine anonymous follis interest me as well. At the moment i'm buying a bit of everything and I'm also trying to figure out what area's I like, coins from minor Asia and of Ptolemy start to interest me. At the moment this are the coins I have: 3,98g / 15 mm 4,85g/17mm 2.17 g / 16mm 5.56 g / 19mm 4,47 g / 23 mm I think not a great collection yet and the condition of the coins are not very fine as well but I guess I need to start somewhere. I hope someone can confirm these are all original coins? Also I would appreciate it if someone could help me give more information about the Alexander III coins (mint etc.) I would appreciate it a lot. Rookie tips are also very welcome. Thank you.
Welcome to the forum, and neat coins! Here is my anonymous follis, and a drachm that I had recently identified. The drachm is Lysimachos, minted at Magnesa ad Maeandrum from 301-299 BC. Please excuse the photography, these were early coin photographs.
Welcome to Coin Talk. I think you'll find it an excellent resource for you. I've learned a lot in the 1 year that I have been a member of this forum.
All look fine to me. I don't have info on the Alexander's but this one is Antiochus VIII Mint: Antioch Year 196, 117/116 BC Obvs: Antiochus radiate head right, within dotted border. Revs: BAΣIΛEΩΣ ANTIOXOY EΠIΦANOYΣ, Eagle w/scepter facing left. IE in left field. Ref: SC 2300.5 The year is indicated between the eagle's legs
Welcome @Pavlos. Personally, I think you are off to a good start. Since you are new to collecting, I might suggest you start a catalog straight away, so it doesn't become laborious when you have many new coins. And keep all pertinent data, i.e., price, seller, and any provenance.
Thank you very much for the replies guys! Yes with a catalog I already started, I think it will be really handy when the collection gets bigger and bigger.
Welcome to cointalk! A really fine start to ancient coin collecting. I am a big fan of ancient Greek coins for their incredible artwork. Many people feel Byzantine coins to be unartistic and crude but i also like them for their history and symbolism. John
Thank you, Theodosius. A quick question, all the coins I have at the moment are 100% authenthic? Is there maybe somewhere a guide to detect fake coins? (what characteristic makes it fake, what to look at etc), some of the coins I bought are from ebay, and as far as I read it is pretty notorious for fake coins. Thank you.
Welcome to CoinTalk! I am no expert. I do not spend as much time as I should looking at fakes. However, none of your coins have me suspicious. Again, I am not an expert. My suggestion is to purchase coins from sellers you have confidence in or develop enough skills to detect them yourself.
It's a big subject. It's hard to learn from books and web sites. If possible find a local mentor. If you wish to learn on your own I recommend two web sites: http://www.calgarycoin.com/reference/fakes/fakes.htm https://tesorillo.com/fakes/index.htm (in Spanish, but with a link for machine translation into English and French).
Most people will advise you to buy the best coins you can afford. I sa this is correct if what you want is to make a profit from coins but you will learn more from these coins than from an equal amount spent on one perfect specimen. I consider the coins we buy a lot like tuition paid to a University for numismatic education. When you sell your text books at the used book store, you don't make a profit. That came when you read the books. I never graduated to the part of collecting where income outranks education. It is up to you to decide if these coins are for your education or as stock for your store. I hope you enjoy the hobby. I have. Your starter coins are all identifiable, all appear to be genuine (it is NEVER safe to say that from photos alone but I see no obvious problems) and all carry at least some degree of interest that offsets any problems they may have. It will be interesting to see what you decide to get next. I appreciate your well done images and the fact you gave weights and measurements which I rarely remember to do on my posts.
You are completely right, when I just started collecting I was actually thinking, should I start with 5 very fine coins or 20 very good/fine coins and maybe a few very fine coins. I chose the 2nd one just because of the learning curve. It is great to have many different coins each with their unique historical background. For sure I will take some very fine coins in my collection in the future, I would love to have a nice (tetra)drachm of Alexander the great and a tetradrachm of Ptolemy I. However now I want to explore all the corners of the ancient Greek coin world and have an enjoyable journey full with a lot of variation, both very fine and poorer coins are always welcome in my new collection
Welcome @Pavlos ! Perfectly nice starter mix you have there! I'd like to have a Seleucid eagle revers like yours, that's a nice little coin.
@Pavlos , welcome! We have had threads for beginners before. This one: https://www.cointalk.com/threads/for-beginners-who-ask-what-should-i-collect.308319/#post-2950249 links to several earlier ones. Try the links there and then ask us more questions.
welp, you gotta good wide start there friend! welcome to the club! (heck, i've been collecting over 14 years and i'm still a Rookie ^^)
