Selling (ancient) coin collecting

San Jacinto Day 2016
My coin club, the Pasadena Coin Club, celebrated National Coin Week1, April 17 – 23, with a table at the San Jacinto Day Festival and Battle Reenactment2 on April 23rd 2016. Representatives from three area coin clubs helped run the booth. This is the third year we have had a table at the event. We have talked coin collecting to lots of folks and I hope generated some interest in the hobby.
Our table had a display of money from before, during and after the time of the Republic of Texas, 1836 - 1846. We also had a book of fake money, shown on top of the coin cases. Visitors were impressed with the coins and paper money no longer used like: large cents, half cents, two cent coins, 3 cent coins, paper money for less than a dollar, Spanish & Mexican coins, a Japanese note issued in Pesos and more. We had a copy of James Bevill’s book on Texas money - The Paper Republic - The Struggle for Money, Credit and Independence in the Republic of Texas3. I had a display of ancient coins shown in the lower left of the case below and below. We gave British half pennies, proof coins and undated buffalo nickels to Young Numismatists (YNs). We shared the ANA national coin week packet with visitors. We also passed on information on our clubs and how someone could sell a collection they inherited. (One visitor inherited a Massachusetts half cent and wanted to know if it was real!)
I will concentrate on ancient coins here. Some of the events are pictured below. It was a great day other than the sun burn I brought home.


I had a small case with ancient coins.

To pull in visitors, I would ask folks what was the oldest coin they ever held. Then I would let them hold a Roman Republican struck bronze As:
most smiled at my half as for some reason
The piece on the left is from about 150 BC (estimated by weight) and the one on the right is from 200 BC.

Cast Sextans Struck Asses Silver Denarii

240 BC 200 BC 200 BC

Soldier pay=126/wk 21/wk 2/wk
Legion/wk =31 tons 5 tons 100 #

In 211 BC a Roman soldier was paid 3 bronze Asses per day. To the left in the picture above are two cast Sextans (1/6th of an As) from about 240 BC. It would take 18 of these to make a day’s pay. In the middle are struck Asses. It would take 21 of these to make a week’s pay. On the right are denarii. It would take 2 to make a week’s pay. You can imagine the ox cart to haul pay for a legion of 5,000 men was much smaller when paid with silver.

1. https://www.money.org/numismatic-events/national-coin-week
2. http://www.sanjacinto-museum.org/About_Us/News_and_Events/Upcoming_Events/2016_Festival_Reenactment/
3. http://texas-history-page.blogspot.com/2010/03/paper-republic-struggle-for-money.html

 

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I had a few Widow's Mites to show and hold. I told the story behind the coins, see below.

Jesus was in the Temple when an old woman put two small copper coins in the treasury. Some made fun of her because she was old and gave only two small coins. Jesus told his disciples that in God’s eyes this poor widow gave more than others because she gave her all from the little she had while others gave little who had more.

We do not know what kind of coins she donated, but many think they were Prutah issued by Alexander Janus in about 85 BC. One side shows a star and the other an anchor. It is interesting that this coin would have been about 100 years old when Jesus told the story of the widow and the two small coins. These coins circulated for centuries.

 

This year our club was next to the Wahoo Medicine Show & Phydeaux’s Flying Flea Circus. His show was entertaining, drew a lot of kids, and LOUD.

 

The Danza Azteca Taxcayolotl performed a version of a Danza Azteca ceremony with a dozen dancers dressed in colorful regalia, utilizing natural instruments to compose traditional rhythms for ceremonial dancing.

 

Very cool, never see coins at festivals I goto unless its the usual Buffalo Nickel Jewelry or Morgan Dollar buckle.

Were you able to sell alot?

 

We were not selling coins, just the hobby. We gave away a couple of hundred dateless buffalo nickels plus some other coins. I bet a couple of hundred folks handled my ..... struck bronze coins.

 

Very Nice.

 

I love going to little fairs like that with the kids. Three of them are teenagers now and that sort of thing isn't cool anymore, but I've got one 9-year-old left, and she even likes to collect coins. (I'm assuming state quarters are coins, lol.)

It looks like y'all had a great time, congratulations!

 

A common misconception of non-collectors is that they can not get into a hobby where everything is a rare museum piece. You showed worn out nickels but ancients starting at $100+. Perhaps it would attract interest to make an exhibit showing things over 1000 years old that are available for $1, $10, $20, $50, $100, $500 and $1000 to make the point to attending kids and business tycoons that you are trying to attract them to the hobby rather than show off thingss that belong in a museum. Unless you tell them, people will think that even of the mites. Your group does need some older Greeks (not necessarily expensive ones) so you can make the point that 'ancient' coins cover a span of over 1000 years. People think your bhuffalo nickels are old until you show them your large cents. Then you show them you late Roman bronze and then your Republicans and then some Archaic Greeks. People will leave then with a different feeling for "old".

You never know whether such activities do any good. A kid who saw your exhibit might remember it when he retires from being president of whatever replaces Google and decide he wants to collect Aes Grave like that old guy had back in 2016. You never know.

 

I

Have found 1 widows mite that was in my budget think I paid around $50 for it a year ago. Been looking for more but to find 1 equivalent or a little better than the 1 I have runs $80-$120ish.
Would love to post photo but for some reason I'm unable to.

 

Way too be an ambassador for the hobby!

 

Who are the youngsters?

 

@rrdenarius what a great time, and looks like a wonderful day!

 

Widow's mites are somewhat problematic. I first bought one for a religious friend of mine and went pretty low-ball. The "coin" was pretty well unrecognizable. I then ran into a second person who was getting ready to buy one from a dealer for $40 or so that was unrecognizable and I prevailed upon her to wait and let me give it a shot. I bought her one for $10 that had recognizable devices and she was happy. Along the way, I bought two more for about that price that were really pretty nice pieces...one of which I sold to a dealer for $20, thus getting mine free. They are out there, you just have to look.

 

Although I'm not terribly interested in Judaean coinage, at CICF I did pick up a representative for my collection-- primarily because it was unusually nice for the type and it was from Hendin's own stock, with his card-- so hopefully the identification is correct


Alexander Jannaeus
Prutah, 1.18 gm
Hendin 1151

 

@rrdenarius I enjoyed your post. I think it's great when coin clubs work together to promote coin collecting, very admirable. Thumbs up to all of you!!

 

neato....that's pretty cool RRD. i'm pleasantly surprised you had hundreds of "bites" at your booth for the ancients.

i didn't know last week was coin week! how embarrassing!

if you want a handful of bronze ancients to give away to kids next year let me know and i'll send you some.

 

Neither did I, but only because every week is coin week!

 

Kudos to you for attempting such a wonderful outing.....Doug makes some very valid observations for next year and......

I'd also be so inclined.....as I'm sure many others here would be----many some too far gone could be melted down as a 'big' promotional coin of some sort?? Belt buckles???