Dipping My Toe In The Water

Maybe about 50 pounds.

JW - No. No. your right, but "hap-hazard" would be an understatement.

In the "Greek" world very little is uniform. The use of different devices, legends, written dates (calenders and use of letters as numbers)and interpretations of Gods and/ or divine animals seems limitless and ever changing. You will often see a level of artistic talent rarely seen in later coinage.

For those looking to dip there toes. I dont think it matters if your a your a modern collector looking at ancients as a new sphere, or a Roman collector looking at Greeks or if your a Greek collector trying to figure out what your looking at. II recommend this far more inexpensive book approx 16 USD.

The Official Whitman Guidebook
Handbook of Ancient Greek and Roman Coins.
By Zander H. Klawans

It gives a good brief overview of ancient coins, as well as how to read the Roman Legends, really nice book. Its not like a catalog or Corpus of coins but a good overview of whats out there and the different types and styles. A must have.

dougsmit => thanks for reposting => that's a very cool Neptune dolphin-coin ...

I bid £90 on that Greek coin and still lost it... looking at other similar ones on ebay I could buy one in slightly worse condition for £100 and for better examples the prices seem to go quite high.

:( Its a shame because I liked that coin but maybe I will see another one that takes my fancy and get lucky with a bargain sometime if I am patient.

For $95 it does sound a fair price for you coin...it has some eye appeal, and there are lots on the bay for £120-140 same coin with not so much eye appeal. (convert that to $ and it is almost double what you paid) Looking on V-coins it seems those are not unfair prices but just a little more than I want to spend at present.

There is a nice Hadrian denarius on the bay with a very sharp portrait its got a reasonable buy-it-now price on it but I am not feeling the desire I had for the one I posted before. Looking through the coins on ebay everytime I see one I really like it seems to be big money.

I think I may save for a little... I am not sure what the next few months are going to bring my way and maybe I will try and buy something in the flesh. I saw from the Greek coin's location that it was being sold from an antiques market in Bond Street... I don't get down there much but maybe I will drop in next time I am passing, and also I may be able to attend the London Coin fair if it is going to be on November 3rd.

Thanks for all your help on here, that special coin may have to wait but I will keep my eyes open.

I disagree. The metal you collect is not related to the number of fakes (there are fakes in all metals) but more in the price bracket you plan to buy. When I started, relatively fewer people cared about late Romans and beginners bought more denarii of the first three centuries. Today this approach to the hobby would cost $20 to $200 for common things and $200 to $1000 for 'better' things (nicer coins of 'name' emperors like the 12 Caesars). If you choose this track I suggest using trusted dealers which is exactly what I suggest if you are buying late Roman bronzes anyway. If you must center your collecting on uncleaned lots, you will be buying bronzes and you will be buying from sellers that neither know nor care about the individual coins. Certainly there are better bronzes and better dealers dealing in the late Roman period but most new collectors impressed by how cheaply they can get old coins learn mostly about the late bronzes rather than the early silver. Buy into the phase of the hobby that you can enjoy and afford. If you see no problem spending $5000 per coin, attach yourself to a trusted high end dealer and ask to see bargain gold. Collect what you like, not what we tell you or what we collect. I collect everything (except gold just because there are none in my bracket) which is why I know a little about many things and a lot about very few things. Real experts usually only collect a few things.

For many years the most common fakes were whatever coins were in demand most by people who know little or nothing: Athens owls, Tribute Pennies, Caligula, Nero, big Greek silver. The safest coins from a fake sense were things that are hard to sell in genuine (so why make fakes that won't sell either?). What amazes me is lately we see fakes of late bronzes selling for more than the coins they copy but that is another story.

If you see any coins on Vcoins tht are close to your budget, I have found that I can make a reasonable offer which is generally accepted (10-15% discounted offer). I too have come to the conclusion that I don't want junk coins in my collection. That is why I no longer buy unclean lots.