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 Replies: 10 / Views: 1,297 |
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Valued Member
United States
381 Posts |
Hi everyone, I've been wanting to get into ancients for quite a long time, and I got the opportunity to buy this lot from a friend for $90 today. They're all unsearched and freshly dug from England.  I paid like $1.25 per coin, so I figure that even if I overpaid, it'll be well worth the fun. Anyways, where do I start? I know nothing about ancients whatsoever, but I'm eager to learn. Does anyone have advice, book recommendations, downloads, websites, or anything else they'd like to impart to me? Cheers, Mitch |
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Pillar of the Community
 United States
6514 Posts |
@Coin_Kid. Thank you for this thread. I too am interested in your to-be-imparted advice.  |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
616 Posts |
Man I wish I could dig on my property and find ancient Roman coins...
You can start by researching cleaning methods. I don't clean myself, so please search this forum and you'll run across the best methods of cleaning. Understand what you are doing before you do it to avoid ruining these 1,700 year old pieces of history.
Next start to identify the coins. For the better specimens where you can make out a portrait and partial letters, post one decent picture per posting here and we can help ID for you.
Just from this photograph I see late 3rd and 4th century coins.
Oh, and while Her Majesty is old, she's not ancient. You can exclude her (upper right in the pic).
And welcome to the hobby. Post away and we'll be happy to assist.
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Rest in Peace
10197 Posts |
First learn how to clean correctly. Not soap and water! That'll damage some of the thinner ones. That can be a lengthy process, months in fact, be patient! Some use soaking in olive or mineral oils. Others use DISTILLED water, changed frequently. There are many resources, checkout the downloadable PDFs gfrom here and some of Finn235's threads.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
6130 Posts |
Welcome to the world of ancients! You paid a bit more than you could expect if you were to flip them back on ebay, but I see some nicer coins mixed in there, and this will be a good learning experience! It looks like you have a good mix of the three most common types of Roman bronzes. The big guys near the upper middle are going to be asses or Dupondii from the first or second century; Probably all from the second. I see a Trajan as, and a dupondius of Marcus Aurelius or Commodus. The smaller coins I would sort into two piles; those with or without radiate (spiky) crowns. The ones with radiate crowns are antoninianii (double denarius) coins from the third century; Probably from Gallienus (253-268), Claudius II Gothicus (268-270), Aurelian (270-275), and Probus (276-282). The ones with laurel crowns or diadems (strings of pearls) are going to be from Constantine the Great and his successors. Here is a great resource to quickly sort through these later coins: http://www.tesorillo.com/aes/_rev/index1i.htmThe artistic preference at the time was to use a standard "emperor portrait" so it is extremely difficult to ID them by portrait alone. Start with the reverse type, then work on the legend. Take it slow and don't rush; we're here to help! To get you started, the coin at the very bottom is a scarce emperor. Quintillus, the young brother of Claudius II was an ephemeral emperor who ruled in the summer of 270 between the death of Claudius II by plague and the rise of Aurelian as claimant to the purple. He is said to have killed himself to avoid a civil war over the succession, having ruled (supposedly) only 17 days. |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
6130 Posts |
Also, a few more pieces of advice:
- Get and document as much information as you possibly can on when and where these coins were found. This information is lost for probably 90-95% of all ancient coins. Find spot provenance is both tremendously important from a history/archaeology standpoint, as well as significantly boosting resale value!
- If these were dug in England, there is a good chance that many of the smaller coins are local imitations of either third century antoninianii (barbarous radiates) or of Constantine era bronzes. These are poorly understood, but probably served as emergency issues during coin shortages, or as small change for the peasantry. Some are good copies; others are hilariously cartoonish, like it was engraved by a three year old. Provenance is especially important for these because our picture of the environment that led to their creation is very incomplete!
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Moderator
 United States
23731 Posts |
 to ancient coin collecting. This is a good lot to learn how to clean coins. There are two methods that are mostly used for that purpose. The first is soaking them in distilled water to loosen the dirt and than using a soft brush on the coin. The second method is the the I prefer and that is soaking them in olive oil, the results are much faster than the distilled water. However the olive oil will darken the coin. I would highly recommend that you read through the sticky section here on Books, Downloads, and websites. You will find all kinds of information on ancient coin collecting and even free books you can download. |
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Pillar of the Community
Spain
2752 Posts |
Welcome to ancients! IMO I think this is one of the best ways of getting to learn about ancient coins. OK I know your not going to become rich Monetarily speaking (unless your really lucky) but informatively you'll begin to recognise rulers, denominations and values all in one enjoyable experience...Be careful it's very addictive! Just one thing I've noticed is maybe keep the circled coin, I think it's a Trajan, away from the others for the time being as this may have BD bronze disease which if active could be passed onto other coins...Good luck and enjoy.. I look forward to seeing the results ...Paul  |
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Valued Member
United States
224 Posts |
Wow -- I'd gladly pay that much. Seems like a bargain to me!
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Rest in Peace
United States
17900 Posts |
Great advice already. Certainly looks like some nice goodies included. Share them with us as you identify or need help with identification.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
7066 Posts |
Quote:
...Be careful it's very addictive!  |
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Replies: 10 / Views: 1,297 |
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Posted 04/30/2018 11:29 am
