Would like to begin dabbling in Ancient coins

Doug said it well, all of us have different collecting goals

The main focus is to have fun and enjoy this fantastic hobby. I am probably the best candidate to prove this, since I collect all periods in history. Also I am an average blue collar guy, but I have built up a neat collection in past 35 years. In recent Triton XXII, I had 5 coins that (a) I could afford/ (b) that grabbed my inner lust to get them. In the end I lost all five (they went ballistic) and ended up with my 6th choice....but hey I am really happy to have it. Its in my DNA to want coins with "eye appeal", but I will compromise. If a MS-64 coin is $700 I would not pay $3000 for a 65. If we all had the exact same collecting pursuits, that would be a bad thing. In the end, we do this for enjoyment, not for a quick way to speculate and turn a quick profit. Of course being a history buff, that is part of the allure.....
John

 

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Great looking Rottie, my Male (Winston) passed but my female is still around, 12 now hanging in there though. Treats the pugs like her puppies.

Thanks for the advice

 

Thanks!
My buddy "Thor" is 18 months/ 130 pounds of delight. Like most Rotties, a big baby. At night, he is curled up on his doggie bed, the cat sleeps in between his front paws And the Shiz Tzu Logan curls uptight to his belly, what a trio.
Well, you got a lot of good imput from members of this great forum, the goal is to have fun.
John
PS: This is also a unique way of enjoying Winter! No speed limit I have had mine on the flats at 130mph.

 

True but all most everyone started with a Roman imperial and worked their way somewhere else ( If they did). I agree times have changed, when I first started I had a few coins to choose from the local store, no internet and no knowledge on what I was collecting. Now you can read to your hearts content without seeing a coin in person. I do not think it has the same feeling. Buy a coin , appreciate it and see where it takes you.
I too have too many coins, many purchased early in my collecting years, I don't have the heart to let some of them go even though I have better examples.

 

Ancient Chinese coins are very interesting and rather cheap. Not a single coin in this picture cost more than $300. Only 3 cost more than $100, and only a few more cost more than $50.

 

Good points made, and I do agree with Doug's point that you never know what coins will "speak" to you until you find one! The suggestions I put out there were just two possibilities out of thousands - ancient coins encompass 20 centuries versus 5 for "modern" coins, and it can be intimidating for someone who doesn't know what's out there.

One word of advice though, is consult with us before going out and just buying stuff. Most of the material on sites like ebay is 100% kosher, but fakes are out there. Conversely, every coin is backed by a lifetime guarantee from vcoins and most major auction houses, but you also see people on those sites selling $20 coins for $150. Is it better to spend $20 on a fake worth $0, or $150 on a coin worth $20?

And, I only suggest Roman coins because they are the most approachable for people used to coins with a distinct "heads" and "tails" and inscribed in Latin characters. My Roman emperor collection is probably my only normal pursuit. The rest are a bit more, well, eclectic...

 

I vote for the fake. Tuition to Ancient Coin College can be expensive and we all make purchases we later regret. Some lessons cot more than others. A class of 'dealers' figured out the secret of eBay. The fee structure favors listing coins at ten times a fair price and selling one coin every so often than listing with lower prices and selling them all. If they paid more to list and less to sell maybe we would not see $20 coins offered for $150.

Another piece of advice: Try to figure out why one coin is $20 and another is $200. If you can't figure out why a coin is much higher or much lower than its peer group, you probably don't need to buy that coin --- at least yet. We here on CT see a parade of bargains from beginners that turn out to be fake and high price junkers bought from dealers who are lot seeking a long term customer.

I do not suggest posting info on coins available for sale. t is a good way to find someone else bought it before you decided. This is a resource that you should use but it would be better to ask, "What should I consider when buying a coin of Caesar Augustus?" Than "What do you thing of lot 1234 in the new CNG sale?" Questions of that type might be OK in Private Conversations but you need to be careful when talking about active coins.

 

Very cool

 

Thank you

 

Lots of good collecting advice here - I always like reading these posts about how/what to collect. They clarify my own murky thinking on the topic.

I just want to add, murkily - as a long-time collector of many, many things - that there is that "uh oh" moment that I get when I find myself succumbing to an object. Which is why my collecting habits tend to be pretty poor - I'm too easily distracted by another pretty (thing). Ancients has been my "thing" off and on since 1987, but it has been the past 2 years that I have really been enthusiastic. My first trip to Rome was the trigger and joining Coin Talk has been the main "enabler" - it has been so nice to learn and share here that it has added a dimension to collecting that I've never experienced before (I'm not really a joiner when it comes to collecting clubs, going to shows, etc).

But there are many ways to collect - I follow my whims. Better collections than mine are formed by a collector who can remain focused - these are the collectors who tend to become experts and form important collections. I wish I could be more like that, but I have a short attention span and a lack of self-discipline - and I enjoy bargain-hunting for its own sake. So in a way, collecting reveals character (good and bad).

So as you start into the wonderful world of ancients, I'd suggest going for whatever pulls that trigger for you - if you are the methodical, organized type of collector, go that way. If you are like me and are easily distracted by various things, take a more random approach.

Finally, let me add, I do not always welcome my shifts in collecting focus - just recently I found this 17th-18th century copper Mughal dump in a local dealer's junk box for $4 - it's huge for its diameter (over 20 grams). I find myself looking at it over and over again, and trolling online for other examples (and pestering Coin Talk people for help in a separate post). Indian/Islamic coins are so hard for me because of not being able to read much beyond AH numerals (sort of). Am I succumbing? Will I start assembling Mughal copper dumps and silver rupees? Somebody help me!




Fortunately, the Post Office came to my rescue this week with a sestertius of Faustina I that snapped my head back towards ancients. Will I stay faithful?

From what I could find online, this one is scarce - which is not why I bought it - I bought it because it was under $20 and I thought it would look better than the seller's photos (it does) and I really like Faustina (I or II) coins in a general non-systematic way. And so the cycle continues...



Faustina I Æ Sestertius
(c. 141-161 A.D.)
Rome Mint
DIVA FAVSTINA, draped bust right, wearing elaborate pearl headdress / AETERNITAS, S C in field, Ceres, veiled, standing left arranging draperies and holding torch.
RIC (A.Pius) 1100 [scarce].
(22.81 grams / 30 mm)

 

It looks like this book is included in the following, also with its companion on Greek coins, available at Amazon and elsewhere:



I certainly have found it helpful too.

LS

 

I appreciate all the help. I have purchase three books to help get things going. Eric II (incidentally signed by the Author, a pleasant suprise),
The Whitman ancient Greek and Roman coins, and Reading and dating Roman coins. A little light reading to get started.
Again thanks for the input.

 

I think that Klawans book Reading and dating... is included in the whitman book.

 

If that is so that’s OK. The Reading & Dating book is small and thin - great for stuffing in a pocket or back pack etc. as a handy reference when you go to shows or shops (especially to check coin dating) at least that is what I do.

 

This site shows a lot of the reverse types of late Roman Bronze coins. It has helped me find areas that are interesting and luckily affordable.

http://www.catbikes.ch/coinstuff/coins-ric.htm