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New Member

United States
9 Posts
 Posted 10/30/2014  10:17 pm Show Profile   Bookmark this topic Add addylo to your friends list Get a Link to this Message Number of Subscribers
Greetings all. I just discovered ancient coin collecting and have become fascinated in the sport. I've enjoyed reading the posts here and look forward to learning from you.

This bronze Kassander was my first purchase. I seem to be drawn to the era immediately following Alexander III. I'm thinking of exploring coins from his successors for a while before branching out.

First-Step
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Medieval's Avatar
3772 Posts
 Posted 10/30/2014  10:25 pm  Show Profile   Bookmark this reply Add Medieval to your friends list Get a Link to this Reply


A very nice coin you selected there to start your ancient coin collection.
Edited by Medieval
10/30/2014 10:25 pm
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Ancientnoob's Avatar
United States
5155 Posts
 Posted 10/30/2014  10:50 pm  Show Profile   Bookmark this reply Add Ancientnoob to your friends list Get a Link to this Reply
Wow great coin to bounce out the gate with, Kudos!
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sel_69l's Avatar
Australia
21788 Posts
 Posted 10/31/2014  12:45 am  Show Profile   Bookmark this reply Add sel_69l to your friends list Get a Link to this Reply
My first advice is to read all of the general books on ancient coins that you can find.
A large public library is a good palce to start.
Most people start with the collecting of the coins of ancient Rome. That is not surprising, because the legends are the easiest to understand.

Like yourself, my first ancient Greek coin was one of which I knew very little about. That aroused my curiousity, and I wanted to find out about it.
I picked up a book from the local library on ancient Greek history and read it, then a book on Greek mythology, to understand something of the imagery on Greek coins.

I next bought a book by Charles Seltman on Greek coins, and read that thouroughly, then I bought the double volume of Greek Coins and Their Values by David Sear. All three books make an excellent permanent reference.
For current prices on Greek coins available for sale, VCOINS is an excellent site.

Much later, I bought an excellent book on coin forgery by Charles M. Larson, to protect myself, and I also acquired a reasonable reference collection of fake ancient coins to learn how to much more easily spot fake coins. Much less of a worry in this area, if you buy off a dealer, of the highest reputation; their business depends on, and has been built on honesty.

If I am considering the acquisition of a Greek coin, I will refer to Sear's books and VCOINS, for a near equivalent coin that may be for sale, before making up my mind to buy, or make a bid at auction.

In the long run, lots of ancient coin collectors end up liking ancient Greek coins more than other areas of ancient coin collecting. I think that is the result of the (mostly) beautiful, and more varied artwork to be found on ancient Greek coins. It just takes more time to fully appreciate Greek coins than Roman coins, because they are harder to understand.

You made a very good first purchase. Congratulations!
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By the way, to the world of ancient coin collecting. The most experienced collectors jokingly refer to ancient coin collecting as a disease.
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echizento's Avatar
United States
23731 Posts
 Posted 10/31/2014  01:36 am  Show Profile   Bookmark this reply Add echizento to your friends list Get a Link to this Reply
to the community

For your first ancient coin you scored a very nice example. You can learn a lot here by reading the posts and checking out the sticky section on Books, Downloads and Websites. Feel free to ask questions we are always happy to help.
New Member
United States
9 Posts
 Posted 10/31/2014  08:25 am  Show Profile   Bookmark this reply Add addylo to your friends list Get a Link to this Reply
Thanks for the welcome, all. I've been an avid history buff for years so I guess ancient coins are a natural development. Like others here have expressed, I had no idea they were so obtainable. For now I think I'll focus on the Macedonian coins rather than Roman. I'm fascinated in the history and antiquity of such coins.

I'm currently reading the Robin Lane Fox bio on Alexander as well as Sayles "Ancient Coin Collecting". Next I'll probably grab a copy of Sear's "Greek Coins and their Values (vol 1)".
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chuy1530's Avatar
United States
513 Posts
 Posted 10/31/2014  11:17 am  Show Profile   Bookmark this reply Add chuy1530 to your friends list Get a Link to this Reply
Very nice coin, and collecting a specific line of rulers is a great way to start building a collection. I suggest reading as much as you can, both in books and online. A good place it start is just browsing through Wildwinds and different vendors on Vcoins. If you're lucky enough to have an ancient coin dealer nearby getting to know them would be great too.

Also if you plan on getting into Roman coins make sure you check out ERIC. Buy the new edition if you like the format, and the old edition is free to download: http://www.dirtyoldbooks.com/eric.html
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