I'm a collector on a budget. Currently Building a US gold type set but looking for coins that pique my interest in between the high dollar coins. What are some interesting ancient coins in the $50 range that fit this mold?
You can find a lot of coins, especially Roman Imperial, in that price range. It comes down to whatever you find interesting. Some like the later Romans bronzes (what we call LRB), or even the period of tbe Byzantines. Then there are the good emperors in the second century, or the first of the Caesars in the first century AD? All have very nice pieces in the $50 and less budget. Good luck in whatever you decide to collect and have fun.
"vcoins" is a good place to start searching for ancient coins (they may be a bit more expensive at times than ebay, but you get the peace-of-mind associated with their guarantee of authenticity and their refund policy) Oh, but "before" rushing-out and buying a few random coins, you should read-through some of the awesome "links" for new ancient collectors (Doug Smith seems to have useful links on just about everything ... a pretty good place to start learning what's what) ... ummm, does anybody have any of these links? Oh wait => I found one ... http://www.forumancientcoins.com/dougsmith/ ... I found another useful site ... http://coinsguide.reidgold.com/ancients.html
$50 is kind of a tough spot. Its too cheap for an auction lot. I find Vcoins pretty expensive personally. I would say look at Ebay and ask us our opinions of a coin. I think for $50, (less actually), a larger silver coin like a Gordian III antinoninuous in nice VF might fit you well, or a higher grade coin from Licinius, Constantine, Galerius, etc. They are coins that look better and are a little larger than average. Beginning ancient collectors usually have a hard time with the smaller size of most ancient coins, as well as many problems some come with. I think starting at $50 is a great idea until you get more involved in the area, but thought you might like a higher grade, larger coin to show off, hence my recommendations.
For $50 you could do pretty well but it depends on what you want. You could get a high grade Constantine era Bronze coin, a 3rd century AD Ant with several rulers to choose from. You could get mid grade Sassanian coin with with again several rulers to choose from. You could get a handful of fine silver coins of the Mauryan Empire or Western Satraps of India for $50.
In addition to reading CoinTalk threads & Doug Smith's excellent pages you would enjoy these two (really cheap) books. Handbook of Ancient Greek and Roman Coins An Official Whitman Guidebook by Zander H. Klawans and K. E. Bressett Collecting Greek Coins by John Anthony
Of my pages, I believe the series of pages on the vocabulary of ancient coins would serve you well. Their intent is to introduce terms and show representative examples of coins in that general area of interest. A general beginning collection could be formed by buying one coin to substitute for each of the coins I show without actually duplicating any of the coins shown. If nothing else it will introduce you to some words that might make sales listings make more sense and enable you to tell a dealer what it is you are seeking. http://www.forumancientcoins.com/dougsmith/voc.html
Those are books, but not sure how much long term usefulness they will have. They are books that you read once, (decent reads), and not really read again once you progress. If the OP knows what area of ancients he likes, (roman, greek, Sassanid, byzantine, etc), I believe I could suggest a better book for $50 for him. Great point, though. Do not forget books OP. They make your coins much more enjoyable.
If the OP shops on Amazon & Ebay, then he could probably get both recommended books delivered for a $20 bill.
Cool. Very cool. The John Anthony book is a good read. It is one of the very few books that I have read twice. It was just fun to read. It is available at Amazon for $3.80 to $8 at this link: http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_n...ywords=Collecting+Greek+Coins+by+John+Anthony
Try "Confessions of a Numismatic Fanatic". It is Frank Robinson's book. I read it about once a year, very fun read.
=> I totally agree ... oh, and I also managed to score an inexpensive copy as well ... Doug recommended it (Q.E.D.)
A seller on ebay with a large amount of positive feedback would be a pretty safe bet, coupled with a no quibble return policy. Feedback which is positive 100 % and numbered in hundreds is a very hard thing to do on ebay and sellers treasure their feedback. I would worry if buying from seller x with 30 positive, but not from seller y with 900 positive.
