Questions About Ancients

It IS very addicting. It does not have to be expensive. Many ancients can be had in wonderful condition for very reasonable prices.

The planchettes were not always perfect and small imperfections in them would result in flan cracks when struck.

Dies occasionally show up for sale but not very often. They will be much rarer than the thousands of coins that each die struck obviously. Many were often melted into new dies or other tools also because once the die is worn it is useless. When a coin is worn it was still worth something and was kept around.

It is very addicting. I stated collecting ancients a little over eleven years ago. Before that I collected world and US coins. It didn't take long to lose interest in those coin types and to devote my collecting to only ancient Roman and Byzantine coins along with some Chinese coins.

Ancient coin production methods varied over time, and from place to place. Both of the techniques you describe were used to make ancient coins. Typically, for soft metals such as silver and gold, a small ball of metal of the required weight was used. In the Roman series, as the silver content got less and less, the metal became more and more brittle, so by around AD 200 preparing coins in the same old-fashioned way created very rough edges on the finished coins.

Some bronze coin blanks were made in the same way, others were cast as little dish-shaped discs; the casting sprues would have had to have been filed away after striking. Sometimes, coin blanks were turned on a lathe-like apparatus prior to being struck, making the resultant coin smoother and rounder.

When I began collecting 'ancients' circa 1977 I would buy whatever caught my eye and whatever I could afford. I was young and poor but would on occasion spend a week's pay for a handful of ancients. At this time the BBC series of "I CLAVDIVS" was shown on PBS and directed my attention toward the 'Julio Claudian' Emperors which tended to limit the quantity of coins I could afford (nice early Imperial can be pricey). Around this same time I realized that I could never afford all the coins I wanted to buy so perhaps I had better set some limits around my purchases. I have wandered of course on occasion as a good deal should always be considered but concentrating on one subject or denomination can help focus your collection.

My best advice would be to read some history first and decide what interests you the most (Greek Roman Celtic etc.) Then decide how to focus the collection (period geography culture etc.) Ancient coins can be like fine art, no two are exactly the same and beauty is very much in the eye of the beholder. As far as Roman Imperials go nice coins of 'nice' Emperors can be had for under $50. Everybody tends to like the real nasty Emperors so Caligula Nero et al tend to be pricy while the nice guys like Antoninus Pius and Marcus Aurelius are more affordable. If you 'like' Roman and Greek buy an old copy of one of the David R Sear 'Roman Imperial' or 'Greek' Coins and their Values. Thirty year old plus hardcovers can be found for under $30. You will learn by reading. Personally I would advise that if you want to go Greek ..... Find a decent Alexander III drachm to start off. If you want to go Roman Imperial then look for an Augustus bronze and start from there. Your budget and interests will determine the course to follow from there.