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stevex6
Pillar Of The Community
3352 Posts
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I'm new to Ancients => what's the best reference catalogue?
CONTEXT:
Man, I never seem to learn! => once again, I've impulse-bought a bunch of coins ... this time I've stepped into your world (Ancients) ... now I'd like to find a reference catalogue and try to learn a bit more about these coins that I've already purchased (yes, I realize it is putting the cart before the horse) ... oh well, it's apparently how I roll!
For the record, I purchased the following 4 coins:
COIN #1:
Valentinian I, AE 19 mm
Minted AD 367--375
Obverse: D N VALENTINIANVS P F AVG, diademed, draped and cuirassed bust right
Reverse: GLORIA ROMANORVM, emperor walking right, head left, dragging captive and holding labarum, TES B in exergue
Weight: 2.7 g
Diameter: 19 mm
Reference: RIC IX Thessalonica 16a
COIN #2:
Ancient Roman Coinage of DIOCLETIAN
284-305 A.D.
Antoninianus, 22mm 3.81 g.
Rome Mint. Struck ca. 290 AD.
Obverse: IMP DIOCLE TIANVS AVG, radiate and cuirassed bust right.
Reverse: IOVI FV LGERATORI, Jupiter standing facing, head right, preparing to hurl thunderbolt; at feet to left, eagle standing left, head right; XXI - " in exergue. Ref. RIC V 168 var. (unlisted officina and with eagle). near XF, flan crack.
COIN #3:
ROMAN REPUBLIC ANCIENT COINAGE
C Servilius Vatia
127 BC. Rome Mint
AR (Silver) Denarius. 3.85g. 19mm.
Obverse: Winged, helmeted head of Roma right, lituus behind, ROMA below, * under chin.
Reverse: C•SERVEIL below two horseman galloping left, one looking back weilding a sword & being speared by the other who holds a round shield inscribed with an M.
Ref. Servilia 6: Cr264/1, Syd 483. VF
COIN #4:
ROMAN REPUBLIC ANCIENT COINAGE
C. Licinius Lf Macer
Struck 83 BC. Rome Mint
AR (Silver) Denarius. 3.39g. 20mm.
Obverse: Diademed bust of Vejovis left, seen from behind, hurling thunderbolt.
Reverse: Minerva in quadriga (four-horse chariot) right with javelin & shield; C LICINIVS L F MACER in two lines in ex.
Nice VF.
Ref. Licinia 16; Cr354/1; Syd 732.
... so, I'd love to learn more about these four coins that I've already purchased, plus discover additional Ancient coins that I could add to my brand new passion ...
QUESTION:
=> Is there "one" wonderful reference catalogue the folks that collect Ancient-coins swear by?! (in other words, is there a "Red Book" or "Charlton Catalogue" for Ancients?)
thanks
Steve
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Pillar Of The Community
United States
1028 Posts |
Welcome stevex6
You bought some pretty nice coins there.
They seem to attributed already but you could check and compare them with others on Vcoins.com or acsearch
Ancient coins have many reference books, some rather expensive, but you can usually get a lot of info from the internet.
I'm sure you'll get a lot of tips here shortly.
Regards
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Pillar Of The Community
3352 Posts |
Doucet => thanks for the response .... yah, I realize that my question probably seems a bit naive to most of the Ancient regulars on this site (my face is a bit red)
=> I guess my best bet is probably to merely read through a bunch of these threads and then hope that I'm bright enough to catch-on to the repetitive info ... right?
However, if there are a few proven "good reference books" then I'd really appreciate a lead ... thanks again.
Steve
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Moderator
United States
9883 Posts |
Those are some very nice coins. Welcome to ancient coin collecting. There is tons of information of ancients on the web. To name but a few: Helvetica http://www.catbikes.ch/coinstuff/coins-ric.htmForum member Doug Smith outstanding site at http://forumancientcoins.com/dougsmithWildwinds at http://www.wildwinds.com/coinsYou can also download a free copy of ERIC I for dirty old coins.com. This are also books available for download on ancient coin on googlebooks. Just this brief list will keep you busy reading for some time. I would also recommand buying a copy of ERIC II it's a bit expensive at about $150, but it covers all Roman Imperial and Byzantine coinage. Edited by echizento
03/04/2012 10:01 am
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Pillar Of The Community
3352 Posts |
 echizento => thanks for the leads! I'm excited to go try and track-down my coins ...
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Valued Member
United States
426 Posts |
I would also recommend ERICII for your Roman Imperials. Has all the RIC references without costing 1500.00+ for all the catalogs.
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Pillar Of The Community
7694 Posts |
 This is a nice group of Romans. I especially like the last coin, but they are all well-centered and struck--you chose well!  I don't own a definitive guide on Romans, but I got Sears' "Roman Coins and their Values", which has been a good overview. Amazon had it "used" but nearly new for just $25.
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Pillar Of The Community
3352 Posts |
Thanks MartiVltori & echizento => the book order has been placed ... => geeesh, I think I'm gonna need a bookshelf for all of my Canadian coin catalogues, Canadian papermoney catalogues, Banknote catalogues, US coin catalogues, World coin catalogues, Ancient ERIC-II, population reports, etc, etc! ... my catalogue collection is nicer than my coin collection!  Edited by stevex6
03/04/2012 12:32 pm
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Pillar Of The Community
United States
2078 Posts |
Nice coins I like the color on the first coin.
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Pillar Of The Community
Australia
6476 Posts |
To get a handle on current pricing, log onto the
VCOINS website.
There are a large number of very reputable dealers from all countries, who have a combined stock of over $30 million worth of ancient coins available for sale.
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Pillar Of The Community
3352 Posts |
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Pillar Of The Community
United States
3623 Posts |
Pretty nice grouping of ancients right there stevex6.
"A poor Roman plays the Goth, a rich Goth the Roman." - Theodoric, King of the Ostrogoths Attributed coins in my collection so far - Roman: 179, Byzantine: 9, Post-Roman Germanic: 8My coin gallery, My items for sale |
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Pillar Of The Community
United States
1541 Posts |
Coin books are like coins; some are gems and some are slugs but there is no single one that will do it all. That is why most collectors who have been in the hobby a while have almost as many books, magazines and catalogs as they do coins. Personally I am not fond of books that just provide reference numbers but I love books that help us understand the why, where, when and how that caused our coins to be made rather than just labeling it as existing and being common or rare. Be sure you read the text parts of the books you bought and not just look up the coins in the catalogs.
I do not take PayPal but I like to trade coins. e-mail me if interested.
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Pillar Of The Community
United States
1541 Posts |
I forgot to mention: these are all nice coins I would be happy to have in my collection. Keep up the good work!
I do not take PayPal but I like to trade coins. e-mail me if interested.
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Pillar Of The Community
3352 Posts |
dougsmit => thanks for your comments ......... for the record, I will read the "history" associated with the coins (I even read the articles in Playboy!) |
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Valued Member
United States
318 Posts |
Those are gorgeous coins, Steve. I only have 2 pitiful ones, but am trying to get more. I mean, those are really, really nice! Tell me where you live and where you keep them. I just want to know for no particular reason. :)
AND, who are you kidding about reading the articles in Playboy? It sure ain't us.
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Posted 03/04/2012 09:11 am
