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 Replies: 32 / Views: 2,537 |
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Valued Member
United States
176 Posts |
I've never even held an ancient coin but from pictures on this forum I am wondering why they are all so small? I'm a U.S. coin guy btw.
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Pillar of the Community
Canada
1411 Posts |
They can be very large (I've heard of 1000 gram coins), to smaller then a dime.
Most I have seen are nickel sized
Edited by Windchild
12/30/2012 10:50 pm
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Pillar of the Community
United States
4253 Posts |
They are not all small. In fact there are Ancients so large, no modern coin compares. The Roman Denarius averaged between 18-20 mm, while the Sestertius was generally in the 28-30 mm area. Greek Tetradrachms could be as large as 30-35 mm, weighing in at 16-18g of solid silver. But there are some very lovely and detailed small coins as well, like the ones I've been posting lately.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
4253 Posts |
BTW, if you stick around you might find that these Ancients can be very contagious.
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Valued Member
 United States
176 Posts |
ancients feel like they would be like walking in blindly to coin collecting all over again.. not sure if thats a good thing or a bad thing  |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
5155 Posts |
Not all ancient coins are small. A couple of guys have huge Greek Egyptian bronzes weighing 90 or so grams, and nearly 50mm.
There are many coins of antiquity that are in the 0.1g - 0.5g range. I must say though, coins of an antiquity very greatly in size, shape, style and material. If you ever get a chance to hold a fine Greek tetradrachm 17g of the legendary fine silver, all will be revealed to you. Each hand made one of a kind limited edition never to be made again piece. The thing is - its hard to explain- ancient coins arnt really coins in the modern sense think of them more like pieces of fine art. Even 2 coins of the series are very different.
As for the size, some are small and well large due to adjustments and needs of the people using them at the time. This verys from era to era , city to city and culture to culture. When you get a grasp of the scope of ancient coins you will be waist deeps in many different kinds and many different sizes. We all look forward to your first purchase.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
5155 Posts |
It would be the blind leading the blind. Some have collected for many years and are still learning-daily.
Edited by Ancientnoob
12/30/2012 11:00 pm
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Pillar of the Community
United States
4253 Posts |
I collected US coins a long time ago. There is satisfaction in putting together a collection of moderns, but there is something special about holding a one-of-a-kind piece of history in your hand. Just thinking of the possibilities of the people who may have held it or the places its been over the past 2000 years is mindboggling. I think you might begin to understand once you buy and hold your first Ancient. |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1316 Posts |
I'm a modern collector, but now I'm a noob Ancient collector. Love the history and just beautiful coins that Roman and Greek made..  ... to a whole new world..  |
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Valued Member
United States
176 Posts |
Maybe at the next show Ill try out the ancient section.. maybe |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
5155 Posts |
Put into perspective - with a modern coin it bout modern things - an ancient coin bought ancient things. Just think about the ancient world and what could be bought with a large piece of silver. ;-)
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Pillar of the Community
United States
2596 Posts |
i collected US and canadian then went to world coins and around 2005 started looking at ancient coins but didnt really buy any till around 2007. I now mainly collect ancient coins and yes some can be small but you will find these in every shape and size. they are very interesting and you will find out more about history as you learn more about the coins... its a very interesting hobby  |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1549 Posts |
For much of the time in question, the standard silver coin (drachm, denarius) was about a day's pay for entry level soldiers. Athens paid non citizen archers three obols a day or half the citizen rower/hoplite rate. These were considered generous. Today an 8 hour day at minimum wage draws more or less the cost of 1 to 2 real silver dollars. The difference we call inflation. Today the most common pieces of cash in use are a fraction of a days pay (5's, 10. and 20's) so it follows there would be a demand in Athens for obols and in Rome for asses/sestertii more than larger coins. Today we see coins as small change. That attitude is not that old. There are some Americans still alive who once worked for a dollar a day and many who got a dollar an hour. Looking at the big picture, I'd say ancient coins are the size I'd expect them to be.
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Pillar of the Community
United Kingdom
2100 Posts |
At 37.1 mm and 16.97 gms, this tetradrachm from the 2nd century B.C. is a big lump of silver. One I regret having parted with.  Martin |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
4253 Posts |
Quote:
One I regret having parted with I'm sure you had your reasons, but what a shame to have to part with such a beauty.  |
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Pillar of the Community
United Kingdom
2624 Posts |
I had to part with 8 gold soveriegns each bearing a different portrait/monarch...I regret that too and selling any part of my collection is something that I am loathed to do; but sometimes such is the need to pay bills or meet unexpected demands. The only upside for me was I made significant profit out of owning those coins for jut a few years (having bought at £5 per gram and selling at around £20 a gram)
Back on topic, true there are many smaller ancient coins and my personal preference is for coins around the size of a US quarter or slightly larger. Certainly these larger coin seem to carry a premium through both demand and rarity.
What amazes me though is having received an owl tet today in the post and previously a Corinth silver stater is these coins are so thick with such high reliefs. They weight far more than their diameter suggests and have the impression of indestructability being crafted the way they are and having survived for such a period of time.
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Replies: 32 / Views: 2,537 |
Posted 12/30/2012 10:49 pm
