Broken Coins And Numismatic Value

Hi jw,I know that several people say that coin without a piece are without value or with a very small value,I think that as you say they are good ,and in my opinion they are a piece of history in the same way as others and for me, have the same value and right to enter into collection.

Perhaps you will remember, the restoration work, which I did on this denarius suberate, of ugustus and antonio, but in my case was missing the whole face of antonio.
for your coins, I would leave the way they are, they are beautiful even without a piece.

I really don't know how chips and breaks factor into a price. I have a few coins with "problems", but I enjoy the coins. To some people, the coins somehow look more ancient with various bleaks and other issues. Barring any modern caused issues.

A lot of people seem to desire coins that are in high grade, and are a complete flan. So, it stands to reason to me that well preserved and manufactured coins would command the higher price.

I think it depends on the rarity of the coin. A chip or break on a rare coin would be more acceptable and not lessen the value than on a not so rare coin. It also depends on what the collector would accept. The average collector might over look the break and be willing to pay full price, while the purest collector would probably stay away for the coin and wait for a better example.

I agree with echizento. Most collectors avoid broken coins like the plague. Most would give a home to half an EID MAR denarius. The number of low end collectors that frequent coincommunity outnumbers any group I have known. In coin clubs I have joined over the years I was usually considered a fool who collected junk but I would only collect broken coins if they were both rare and interesting to me for some reason that outweighed their ugliness. It is fine to buy what you want but If I were to take ten randomly selected coins from my collection to an average dealer, I might sell five of them with a 'pass' on the others as not worth their while. A collector of broken coins would more likely sell none. If you do not care about this factor (I don't), there is no problem. Enjoy your coins - even the half coins.

That's a good idea if I were looking for a price value. I originally wanted to see what other collectors felt about broken coins like the ones I posted. Coins that still retained the majority of detail that makes the coin desirable in the first place. I think most here do not collect these Ancients for the value in price, but for the value we see in the artifact. The beauty of it if you will. At least that's how I see my collection.

There is also a problem (if one can call it a problem) with asking others on this discussion board to give an opinion on the price of a coin. Most, but not all, are considerate and don't want to offend someone by suggesting a value that the owner might think is too low. I believe most members guess high for that reason.

Oh well. To me the coins posted on this thread are all beautiful artifacts even though they may not be whole.