Message:

<p>[QUOTE=&quot;dougsmit, post: 2053008, member: 19463&quot;]With ancients mintage numbers are not available.&nbsp; RIC rarities mean nothing or very little (there might be some value added from people who seek out coins with high RIC rarity ratings).&nbsp; Absolute rarity means almost as little because there are so many coin types that no one is trying to get them all.&nbsp; In US coins, many people want a complete set by date and mint mark so the ones that were made in smaller numbers or survive in smaller numbers have additional &#039;value&#039; even though they are no more interesting than the common dates and are identical except for a date numeral or mintmark letter.&nbsp; Ancients vary more in types with many one year types and some that are just plain more interesting than others.&nbsp; No one is trying to get them all.&nbsp;&nbsp; More people want a coin that commemorates the murder of Julius Caesar than one that exists in the same number or less that shows some figure that next to no one knows and fewer care about.&nbsp; That is why I can own a $10 coin more rare than a $100,000 one.&nbsp; Eight people might want the 80 specimens of one while 8000 people want the 80 of the other.&nbsp; The only thing that matters is demand.&nbsp; Demand comes from interesting design, historical connection and beauty.&nbsp; Part of beauty is high grade.&nbsp;&nbsp; Have fun with coins.&nbsp; If you want to make money on them, don&#039;t buy fun but buy expensive, popular (high demand) and beautiful (high grade) only.&nbsp;&nbsp; If you want to have fun, buy coins you like.&nbsp; I like the Aurelian here quite a bit and the Theodosius II / cross from Constantinople (?) mint a little.&nbsp; $1000 worth of this sort of thing would bring me a lot more enjoyment than a single $1000 coin until the day I decided I wanted to sell them when I would be lucky to get 25% of my investment back rather than the profit the single coin might bring.&nbsp; Those are the two hobbies we know and from which we have to pick.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

Your name or email address:

Do you already have an account?

• No, create an account now.
• Yes, my password is:
• Forgot your password?

Stay logged in