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 Replies: 23 / Views: 4,893 |
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Valued Member
United States
152 Posts |
I really would like to get my hands on at least one ancient coin. It's just sooo overwhelming. There are so many different emperors, time frames, locations. It's a little intimidating. Plus I'm also worried that if I start to collect ancienct coins, it will steer me away from putting together my type set now. I'm still on the fence if I would like to open a can of worms and start with this genre also. It's up to you guys to convince me! Why you enjoy collecting ancient coins. I'm all ears  |
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Moderator
 Australia
16857 Posts |
I collect ancient coins because I collect coins, from every time and place, with no particular focus except the goal of collecting coins from every time and place. In that sense, ancient (and mediaeval) coins are just a logical extension of my world coin collection.
Coins are one of the few remaining links our modern civilization still has with it's ancient roots. Most other ancient inventions have either been superseded or altered to such an extent that they would no longer be recognizable. If you were to bring someone from ancient Greece or Rome forward in time to the present day, they'd be lost and confused about most of the objects we use in everyday life. But if you showed them a coin, they'd know immediately what it was and what you were supposed to use it for.
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
407 Posts |
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But if you showed them a coin, they'd know immediately what it was and what you were supposed to use it for. I hadn't really thought about it till Sap said it, but yes, money, or coin, has been a constant in our society through the ages. And the reverse would appear to be true, in large part. Aside from the concept of time travel, being set in any culture it would seem to be less than difficult to determine what those things are for. And even if a culture did not use coin as a means of exchange, I don't think it would be to difficult to discern what the "coin of the realm" might be. But the origination of coinage makes that a much more simple task. I also agree that collecting ancient coinage is merely an extension of collecting "modern" coinage. I have a few ancients, a couple of Constantines, a Gordian III silver, Sassanian silver (big coin!), a Maximinus, Licinius, all high grade, all common, and didn't pay over $50 for any of them. I find them facinating! And relatively inexpensive to acquire. One of the things I enjoy about older American coinage is holding the history in my hand. Holding what so many others from so long ago also held. Ancients take that a step further. Not just a hundred years, or one hundred fifty years, or even two hundred years, but to hold a coin that was used one thousand years ago, or close to TWO thousand years ago is somewhat mind-boggling! I believe such things create, in physical form, a link; emotional, spiritual, whatever the case may be, to that which was, before I was. Steve |
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Valued Member
United States
211 Posts |
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But if you showed them a coin, they'd know immediately what it was and what you were supposed to use it for. Socrates, "Bet you use those to plug parking meters!" |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
2269 Posts |
I started out collecting modern US coins. I think the turning point for me was my interest in Imperial Rome. I visited Italy in 2005 and was in complete awe when I saw how Roman society was. This sparked my interest and the following fall I enrolled in a local university to study ancient Rome. The more I learned about various emperors and the more classes I took helped fuel my interest. I started out buying my first ancient Provincial Coin of Tiberius. Eventually I would slowly abandon my collection of US coins. Today I am working on a few different sets. The first set is collecting Ancient Roman coins that depict the Mythological creature Pegasus. I also started to collect Roman denarius of Domitian, since it is easy to date his coins. I am also constantly upgrading my collection of the 12 Caesars with nicer portraits. For me, collecting coins from ancient Rome is different from collecting modern issues. For starters, only a few examples exist for some ancient coins where as a rare modern coin may have a mintage of a few thousand. |
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Rest in Peace
United States
1729 Posts |
I could name several reasons, some of which have already been well-chronicled. But when I can hold in the palm of my hand a coin dug up after a millenium and some three-quarters, after speculating that a Roman soldier held it for one last moment before burying it to go into battle ... and never returning ... shivers just go up and down my spine.
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Pillar of the Community
United Kingdom
2838 Posts |
I too love the fact that its possible to hold a coin that is 2000 years old and wonder about the people who used it years ago. With modern uncirculated or near unc coins nobody has handled them and for me even if they are 50 or 100 years old the fact that they have not been touched by people spoils it.
The main reason I like collecting ancients (Roman mainly) is the history associated with them and the emperors on them. What wars were they involved in, were they evil, were they mad, who did they have murdered and were they themselves murdered so the next emperor could take over, what legacies did they leave etc. Some of the stories are amazing.
Another very appealing factor is that on the whole ancient collectors are not obsessed with grading coins - they also like to handle them and dont imprison them behind clear plastic capsules never to be handled again.
On this side the collecting of ancients is more enjoyable to me, I dont care about the perceived value of my coins, I enjoy them and the history behind them and feel no need to compete with other collectors on grades or values.
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Valued Member
 United States
152 Posts |
Alright, good job guys. You convinced me!
I would like to post in the "Looking to Buy" section of this forum, but I'm not sure what to even ask for.
Do you guys think you could give me a clue in the right direction.
I would like either famous Roman emperor or an extremely old coin for around $20. Is this even possible? Basically where do I go to get more information?
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Valued Member
United States
290 Posts |
I always liked the idea of ancient coins too. What is a good resource to use for beginners in this area of collecting?
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Rest in Peace
United States
1729 Posts |
Your best source of Romans may be someone here. However, I have had extremely good results with oldcoinman on ebay. He does not hype his coins (no "Gold found" baloney), culls out the obvious damaged and junk coins, and offers them pretty much as-is. Nevertheless, I have found one billon (debased silver) Ottoman coin and two silver-washed (coated) coins in the cleaners I've purchased from him. |
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Pillar of the Community
United Kingdom
2889 Posts |
"I also agree that collecting ancient coinage is merely an extension of collecting "modern" coinage."
It's all a matter of perspective. I consider collecting modern coins to be an extention of collecting ancients. Indeed it's even known that there were collectors of ancient coins in ancient times.
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Pillar of the Community
United Kingdom
2838 Posts |
Sean1011, a good place to start would be Constantine I. He is one of the best know emperors ruling from 306-337AD, he reunited the empire, was the first Christian emperor and was probably the one of the last good emperors before the Empire began to fall apart. There are lots of interesting stories about him ranging from civil wars to having his own son and second wife murdered. For $20 you could prob pick up a very good quality CI coin on ebay, as he ruled for so long and produced so many coins the prices are very low. If you want to buy on the forum I'm sure someone has a decent coin to sell you in the 'Looking to buy' section, unfortunately I dont - just checked. Just be prepared to get hooked on collecting them! |
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Valued Member
United States
152 Posts |
Thanks alot Bobby. I think I'm going to do that.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
870 Posts |
For me, it's about history and a direct connection to it. I don't budget a ton for it right now, I collect what I can and what I want on what I feel is a pretty meager budget. I'm actively collecting old US coins now, but if something comes across my path that interests or excites me or is particularly beautiful, I'll usually pick it up. I just got a Widow's Mite last week because I thought it was pretty and I dig that it's so old (dated BC). One of my most exciting purchases was a bronze "Pontius Prutah" - no matter what your feelings on religion, this little piece of metal has a very high probability of being within a couple of miles of one of the most important events in history. That's AWESOME to me! But for me, it's about picking up inexpensive deals and learning about the period of history associated - I'm learning a TON more about Rome and/or the direction and story of various civilizations than I ever did in any history class. And it's something I can have and hold between my fingers and say, "sheesh, this was made in Turkey (or, fill in the blank) almost a thousand years ago, and it played a part in commerce and the growth of society and helped to bring us where we are today." So if it's about getting into it modestly Sean, you might just pick up a couple of "deals" - next time you're at the right show, pick up a few pieces from the bargain bin of a trusted source, and if it suits you - go learn about them. You'll discover other interesting facts and coins from similar time periods that may help you with your next purchase, and it grows from there... =) |
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Valued Member
United States
293 Posts |
There are a couple of things that I really love about Ancient Coins...mostly that, like others have said, I can hold a piece of history in my hand. Something that was actually used by another person (or many people) in ancient times. Something that I would have previously expected to see in a museum. And once I started looking into ancients, not only can you actually collect them, but many can be had for a very reasonable price! You can check out my very small collection (only been collecting ancients for less than a year) here: http://s252.photobucket.com/albums/...ent%20Roman/I don't think I've spent more than $30 on any one coin thus far and most have been purchased for around $8-20! If I had known about this hobby earlier, I'd have been collecting ancient coins for years! I love my small collection and they're definitely more of a conversation piece than any of the other world or US coins I own. Anytime I pull one out and show it to someone, they're fascinated! Good luck with your search and hopefully your new collection! My first ancient coin is the one I use as my avatar...it's worn down, has no patina and only cost about $20...and I love it! It's really big, looks cool and is just a fun piece! |
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Valued Member
United States
52 Posts |
Because they are minimum 1500 yr old "Ancient"!!
Plus you can hold them, all of mine were nice grade, common & affordable. What's not to like?
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Replies: 23 / Views: 4,893 |
Posted 06/10/2010 11:29 am
