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 Replies: 17 / Views: 2,809 |
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New Member
United States
36 Posts |
So it happened...I was minding my own business, surfing the internet...one thing led to another, and before long I wind up on this forum, completely mesmerized by this world of ancient coin collecting. Showing my ignorance...I was not even aware of this world, and all that is out there possible! So after spending every waking hour the past few days digging through forums and reading and learning, I joined up and am ready to engage. Want to first say this is an amazing community, and I am looking forward to being a part of it! Now on to business: I am totally new to ancients, and for that matter, true coin collecting in general. I have ordered plenty from the US Mint, but what I had been doing compared to this arena of collecting ancients is beyond compare. I want to dig deep here and get going. But I am a bit directionless right now, and as I continue to read your great threads, I feel even more paralyzed. So I guess I am looking for some wisdom and insight from those who have gone before me! Random current thoughts: -I love biblical history and theology, so I am initially drawn to the early imperials...the time when Christianity was spreading. But I would imagine many are drawn to these early pieces as well. -I know from digging around the forums, that having a strategy is a wise move...still working through how that may look for me. -Then in looking at how to purchase and from where...I have been to some of the dealer sites, ebay, and seen some of these auction houses...probably most confused here! I see many getting cheaper coins and working them into great pieces...then see others finding "good" value buys...not sure where to put my attention, and worried I'm at the wrong dealer, or the ebay seller might be a fraud, or the auction prices are overpriced...just don't have a grid with which to base my decisions on. I guess I will stop there...and hope to interact with anyone willing to impart some of their insight and guidance... But I am just chomping at the bit to buy my first ancient! Who wants to help me? |
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Pillar of the Community
Belgium
1194 Posts |
welcome first , make a choise : Greek or Roman or both ( very difficult for beginners) then : for Greek : a period , a town ,a topic , a region ... for Roman : a period , an emperor ... if you love early imperials , begin with beautiful brass coins , it is not to expensive and there are very nice coins. look at coins at http://www.wildwinds.com,www.acsearch.info ...and read about the coins you like .albert |
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Moderator
 United States
23731 Posts |
 to the community. Looking forward to having you join in. There is a sub section in the Ancient forum titled Books, downloads and web sites. I recommend you go through that. There is tons of great information there which may even help you decide an area you want to concentrate on. |
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Pillar of the Community
United Kingdom
3626 Posts |
To the dark side. Firstly, take your time. If you like Roman stuff, go with that, Greek can be a nightmare to identify for a beginner. There is plenty of time to diversify later on. There are some sellers on ebay that you should definitely stay away from. If you see something there that you like, post a picture (not a link) on this board and you will get assistance. Keep reading, eventually you will be drawn to a particular area. You are going to have a lot of fun. |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
711 Posts |
First off welcome aboard. Second, I have just started buying ancient coins so you probably shouldn't listen to me. That being said. . . . . I just bought my first last month. Didn't know what I was buying or doing or even wanted, just wanted a fairly cheap nice coin that was really old. I went with NGC certified as I was concerned about authenticity. Really wanted to spend no more than $50 going in. Found an MS grade bronze coin from 360 - 363 AD. Here she is. JULIAN II AD 360-363..AE3 NUMMUS 2.74gm REV: VOTIVE IN WREATH..MS 5/5 3/5    I paid more than I wanted, but it was in really nice shape and the coin had great beard detail. Impulse buy. Ended up paying $67 with $5 shipping for $72 total. There are tons of certified ancients on ebay. Many / most collectors don't seem to like their ancients certified though. I bought my second ancient this past weekend, also on ebay but from Germany and I bid in Euros. Here she is. Savoca Coins Alexander The Great Tetradrachm Herakles 16,80 g / 25 mm  I paid $186 US$ including shipping. I bought that off of Savoca Coins. They have lots of auctions up on ebay that start out with a one euro bid (about a dollar ten right now). Here are two dealers on ebay that I follow. Savoca and Dionysos both in Germany. Together they have 1100 auctions up right now with a one euro bid and low shipping all things considered. I feel you get a great pulse of market pricing by watching coins you are interested in on ebay find their market price by starting out at 99 cents and seeing who out there is willing to pay what for it. http://www.ebay.com/sch/Coins-Paper...2&rmvSB=trueVcoins is a great website too. Lots of dealers all in the same place with common searchable inventory. Great site all around really. http://www.vcoins.com/en/Default.aspxAs for strategy, that is probably a better idea than what I am doing. I am a bit of a numismatic wanderer. I collect gold, silver, copper, pre 33, bullion coins, foreign silver, proof sets, mint sets, junk silver, so called dollars, and now ancients. Eyeballing a walk into classic commems at some point apparently. |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
513 Posts |
As far as how to buy, I would avoid ebay like the plague unless you're buying from a a dealer that you know is reputable. You can always ask here if someone is well known or even on specific coins (although I can't promise that if you find a great deal that a lurker won't try to bid on the one you're asking about.) The overwhelming thing I've learned in the last two or so years of collecting, though, is that how good of a deal you can get on a coin is a direct function of how long you're willing to wait, and how specific of a coin you're looking for. If you want a denarius of Augustus and you want it now you will probably pay more. If you want an early imperial denarius and you are willing to look and wait you'll pay less. My favorite way to gauge the price for a coin is to search for it on Vcoins.com. That site is basically a storefront for dozens (hundreds?) of coin dealers and you can search for what you're looking at and see how they are priced. Remember though that what you're seeing are the prices that they are sitting at unsold, so they'll probably be a notch higher than a 'good' price. As far as what to collect, that really varies from person to person. Some (like me) enjoy having a big variety of coins from various timeframes and locations. Some fall in love with one region and become experts in it with many nice examples. Most I think are a mixture of the two, and even I have a couple special areas I enjoy (Carthage and Roman Republic.) The hobby is much more fun for me when I learn about the history of the people who minted the coins. You already have a background in one era so that would be a fun place to start. You're right that those tend to be a bit more expensive, but depending on your price range you can still get nice examples from that time. |
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New Member
 United States
36 Posts |
I have been noting these as I read through other forums...but could y'all let me know the dealers you like/trust, as well as any ebay sellers you prefer for ancients? PM or email me if it doesn't need to be posted for some reason... Also, any certain actions worth checking out? I pulled up a couple through numisbids, and one seemed pretty good and another seemed extremely expensive...so didn't know if auctions are worth keeping an eye on... |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
513 Posts |
Forvumancientcoins is my go-to no worries seller. You'll typically pay extra for the peace of mind, but sometimes it's worth it. They also maintain a list of ebay sellers known for selling fakes and a large database of fake coins you can check potential purchases against. Civitas galleries is another one that I've bought from a few times with no issues. Harlan J Berk I've heard great things about but never personally bought from so hopefully a few people have first hand experience. |
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Pillar of the Community
United Kingdom
4208 Posts |
If you want cheap then ebay is the way to go. Of course, its a minefield for newbies, but we can help. If you find something you like the look of, post it up here and we'll let you know fair market value and authenticity (and no one will swipe it from beneath you). |
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New Member
United States
36 Posts |
Quick question: What is everyone's thoughts on the NGC graded coins? Ben...as you said, I have spent some time on ebay, but feel totally lost, so I will post up anything I find and gets y'alls feedback... But was about NGC graded coins on ebay? I'm guessing you can buy those with confidence...just wondering what the price markup is when they are graded like that... Thanks again everyone...I have not been able to pull myself away from the computer....have at least 30 tabs open right now of ancients! Hahaha |
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Pillar of the Community
United Kingdom
3626 Posts |
Not every thing in a slab is NGC graded. There is a lot of rubbish out there, but post and we will let you know.
As a general rule, we don't like slabbed coins. They are OK if they are for investment purposes, but ancients should be handled, most break the coin out of the slab when they get it.
Also grading ancients is very subjective, we often don't agree with the grading.
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Moderator
Australia
16857 Posts |
Hello and welcome to the world of ancient coins.  Ancients collecting does require a different attitude to "modern" collectors. The use of the word "modern" just as one example; for us, it means any coin made after around AD 1500! Still, I hope and trust some of the advice given is helpful to you. Quote:
I love biblical history and theology, so I am initially drawn to the early imperials...the time when Christianity was spreading. But I would imagine many are drawn to these early pieces as well. "Biblical coins" are a popular and even rather broad collecting theme. The popularity, of course, means that "Biblical coins", especially coins that are specifically mentioned in the Bible (such as the "Tribute Penny" denarius of Tiberius) are much more expensive than coins that are equally rare and interesting from "non-Biblical" times and places. Quote:
I know from digging around the forums, that having a strategy is a wise move...still working through how that may look for me. Many collectors specialize in certain narrow fields and become quite the expert in those fields - "The coins of Ephesus", for example, or "The coins of Septimus Severus and his family". There's nothing wrong with collecting this way. Alternatively, you could (like me) grab bits and pieces from every time and place, and become a generalist. "Jack of all trades, Master of none" as the saying goes. And there's nothing wrong with collecting this way, either. It all depends on your own personal preferences and interests. Quote:Then in looking at how to purchase and from where...I have been to some of the dealer sites, ebay, and seen some of these auction houses...probably most confused here! I see many getting cheaper coins and working them into great pieces...then see others finding "good" value buys...not sure where to put my attention, and worried I'm at the wrong dealer, or the ebay seller might be a fraud, or the auction prices are overpriced...just don't have a grid with which to base my decisions on. There is reason to be cautious when it comes to buying ancients. Proportionally, there is probably a higher ration of fake to genuine ancient coins than there is for any other coin series. Some of these fakes are laughably silly to an expert, others are good enough to fool them - but to a beginner, they are all potentially deceptive. I would recommend avoiding ebay entirely, if possible; there are just too many sharks out there. There are, nevertheless, plenty of good dealers and auction houses to check out. The dealers on Vcoins are all vetted and outright frauds are booted off. Don't say "infinitely" when you mean "very"; otherwise, you'll have no word left when you want to talk about something really infinite. - C. S. Lewis
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Valued Member
United States
129 Posts |
Welcome, Manning. Your story is very similar to my own. I just got into ancient coins a couple months ago, and was wondering the same things. My strategy has been to start off with Late Roman Bronzes by purchasing a few lots of uncleaned coins and seeing what I could learn from them. There are plenty of threads on CCF to instruct you on how to clean them. I've used distilled water and/or olive oil and a LOT of patience. It can be a very satisfying process. There are numerous uncleaned coin sellers on ebay, but be wary of the ones who show a massive pile of coins. Try to purchase from sellers who show pictures of the actual uncleaned coins they're selling. Sometimes you can make out the ruler or design on the reverse from the pictures in the listing. I haven't seen many lots with coins larger than 20 mm or so, so if bigger coins are more your style this might not be the best strategy. It's also possible I am not looking in the right place :) I have also gotten some nice coins from an uncleaned lot of British found coins from Dirty Old Coins, whom I've seen recommended on this forum before. I've made a few spot purchases of other coins as well, but as others have said, be wary... Also try attending coin shows or local coin shops if any are in your area. Happy hunting and enjoy this addictive hobby! |
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Pillar of the Community
United Kingdom
856 Posts |
Books. Nobody yet seems to have mentioned books. We all learn with time and certainly somewhere like vcoins you can see a lot of coins, gauge prices, 'eye appeal', what there are plenty of and what you don't see so often, but books can (still!) be real helpful too. There are a couple of books on Romans published (in the UK) by someone I know. Neither are too expensive and you can also download them saving on postage and having them handy on a tablet or mobile device. Here's one: http://www.amazon.com/Roman-Base-Me...l+coins The other is on silver coinage. David Sear is a well-known author on ancient coins. You may be able to pick up one of his books in a bookshop or on ebay. And he has a website: http://www.davidrsear.com/Knowledge, they say, is power. Maybe it is. Maybe not. But certainly most here would agree it can save you some expensive mistakes and also find you bargains! We all have to learn about what we collect. And of course, as pishpash said, if you find something, post pic or link here and people will be happy to tell you more about it. Even give you their opinion whether it's cheap or not! I'll finish my personal views. I don't collect ancients, but I do still collect hand-made coins. I look for a good central strike, ideally on a blank that extends to the edge of the dies. A nice crisp portrait and reverse design. And in many cases it's worth remembering there are still thousands of ancient coins around. Unless a coin is scarce it's worth passing over those that are damaged, corroded, weakly struck (or worn) and aiming for something that has the 'eye appeal' I mentioned earlier. Oh, and welcome to the 'dark side'!  Edited by Tom Goodheart
03/26/2015 12:19 pm
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Pillar of the Community
United States
4971 Posts |
plenty of good advice here. i purchased by first ancient on ebay, and lucked out...didn't get burned. if you do buy on ebay, post here first and have it checked out. vcoins is a good alternative, sometimes you can find stuff there for the same price (or less) than you'll get on an ebay auction. but most of there stuff there will cost you a bit more. compare with prices as acsearch.info find a coin you find appealing for a price you're willing to pay, doulbe check with the good folks here, see if the ancient bug bites you. |
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Pillar of the Community
1121 Posts |
@Manning19
IMHO - Always LOOK for what you want and avoid 'impulse' purchases. They just reduce the bank account usually by more than the amount that the coin improves your collection.
When you find what you think is 'your coin' you MUST start to do your homework on the 'Seller', the 'Price Vs Condition' and don't forget to include the 'Buyer's Premium' costs and the 'Postage and Handling' charges and not the least of all the 'Exchange Rate'.
You must also then check the coin to see if it is what you expect.
As well as Constans I we have two Constans II, three Constantius AND a Constantius Gallus, and if that doesn't breed enough confusion, we have three Constantines.
The tools you need are Money, Time, Enthusiasm, and Patience, and to back you up, 'CCF'.
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Replies: 17 / Views: 2,809 |
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Posted 03/25/2015 11:15 am
