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 Replies: 14 / Views: 2,100 |
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New Member
United Kingdom
13 Posts |
I would like to buy some coins and probably sell them in 20 years time. Would Selecous Nicator's coins be a good idea? Or any other suggestions?  Edited by coincollector29
05/31/2020 4:01 pm
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Pillar of the Community
United States
3343 Posts |
English hammered gold appears to be very hot...and very scarce...
I like interesting-looking Seleucids as specimens. I would recommend focusing on those rather than obscure minor kings.
"Two minutes ago I would have sold my chances for a tired dime." Fred Astaire
Edited by thq
05/31/2020 3:06 pm
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Pillar of the Community
 United States
904 Posts |
First of all, I think that trying to invest in ancient coins is a poor idea and secondly if you were going to try, you need to know what you are doing, instead of asking random people on the internet.
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Pillar of the Community
 Canada
9862 Posts |
"Dipping" is not considered cleaning...
-from PCGS website
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New Member
 United Kingdom
13 Posts |
Cheers for the replies and will I will take note of them ;).
Anyway, I will probably collect some Selecous Nicator coins as he was one of my favourite historical figures :)
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Pillar of the Community
United States
3343 Posts |
It's a coin blog. A lot of people like Seleucids. I don't expect this one, coined during Nicator's reign,will lose value  But many of the ones coined in the final years are common and unattractive. "Two minutes ago I would have sold my chances for a tired dime." Fred Astaire
Edited by thq
05/31/2020 3:59 pm
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New Member
United Kingdom
13 Posts |
I will probably only get Seleucos Nicator I and Antiochus III the Great coins.
And that coin looks epic ;)
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Pillar of the Community
United States
3343 Posts |
The obverse is a nondescript portrait. But the reverse with Athena on the elephant quadriga, represents the peak of Alexander's empire, from Greece to the Indus.
"Two minutes ago I would have sold my chances for a tired dime." Fred Astaire
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Valued Member
Germany
141 Posts |
Hi! Well IŽll refer to my own experience in order to try to share my humble insight on the subject. I think your question is perfectly valid, although the concept behind may be discussed.
Making profit with coins in a consistent and reliable way is a difficult task on its own. Expecting to make profit with them reliably 20 years from now is speculation. I really have no idea how the market will behave in 20 years, or which laws regarding ancient coins we will have, and hey... even if I will be alive then :)
Also if this is your sole objective (Investment), it makes no much sense to me to stick with one subject, even less to stick with one ruler only.
However, if you stick to this area because it is your area of interest, your best shot at it would be to learn really a lot about it, become profoundly experienced, and search patiently and relentlessly for the coins which you consider are low priced for their grading / rarity status and beauty.
Always aim for the most visually pleasing and highest graded ones you can afford in this respect.
And then, with some luck on your side, you will have many highly priced and desirable coins on your hands in 20 years from now.
Best!
Edited by DirtyHarry
05/31/2020 4:14 pm
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Bedrock of the Community
Australia
21786 Posts |
If you invest in coins for a profit generally, (and in a specialist area of ancient Greek coins in particular), then expect for the most part, to be disappointed.
Perhaps if you hold onto them for many decades, your kids after you die, may make a profit out of them.
I spent about 2 years learning about Greek coins in general, before acquiring my first coin, and even then, it came from one of the World's most respected coin dealers.
Learn about your subject first. Read all you find on the subject.
Stick around here in the CCF, and you will learn a lot. You will gain quite a few keyboard friends as well.
Spend lots of time on the Wildwinds and vcoins sites to familiarize yourself, and to get an idea of current pricing.
Search out all you can find about fake coins and how they are made. Their method of manufacture very often betrays them.
Edited by sel_69l
05/31/2020 9:49 pm
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Pillar of the Community
United States
3433 Posts |
I remember someone once showing me an "Adding" machine they had purchased upon graduation back in the early 1970's
They had paid an insane amount of money for what they were told was a 'lifetime' investment
The next year Texas Instruments introduced the hand held pocket calculator
Some people unfortunately have very short lifetimes
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Moderator
Australia
16808 Posts |
ONly the top-range ancient coins are likely to be "surefire" investments: Athens decadrachms, Syracuse tetadrachms, Julius Caesar and Brutus coins, that sort of thing. Famous people, kingdoms and coins which even the most ignorant of investors are likely to have heard of.
Seleucus I Nicator? Never heard of him. If an investor has to look him up on Wikipedia to figure out who he was, then they're unlikely to become "good investments".
Prices for ancient coins (apart from the flagship investor rarities) tend to rise only very slowly, compared to modern coins. Partly this has to do with the small collector and dealership base. Partly it has to do with the catalogues and price guides only being printed every decade or so, rather than on an annual or even more frequent basis. And finally, it has at least partly to do with the continuously increasing supply of such coins, as more and more of them are continually being dug up and put onto the market.
That uncertainty in supply s a key weakness in ancients investing. You might have a super-rare ancient coin today, but tomorrow, some peasant in Afghanistan might dig up a whole bucketful of the things, they get dumped onto the market and your $20,000 coin soon becomes a $2000 or even $200 coin.
Don't say "infinitely" when you mean "very"; otherwise, you'll have no word left when you want to talk about something really infinite. - C. S. Lewis
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1120 Posts |
Key here is that this is a hobby. However, like many have said, stick around and learn as much as you can. At first, I would concentrate on one particular area. For me, it's Roman Imperial Coinage and it's been about 6 years since I've started. Still have much to learn, but once you have the knowledge and experience, you'll know what to look for. All that being said, you may come across a "diamond in the ruff" or a rare "unidentified" ancient coin and make a great profit on a resale. I've had a few of those and that helps me buy more coins  Edited by travelcoin
06/01/2020 12:05 pm
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Pillar of the Community
United States
6130 Posts |
Agreed with the above sentiments - ancient coin supply grows steadily while demand fluctuates. Buy ancient coins because you want ancient coins. If you want an investment, the stock market is probably in a good position to buy.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
616 Posts |
I have collected American coins, ancient coins and sports cards from the 1960s and 1970s. I lost money on all of these except for the rarest and highest graded cards and coins. I started collecting ancients 6 years ago and recently sold some of the first coins I purchased. I was lucky to get back half of what I paid in most cases - many of the coins didn't sell. Why not? Because they weren't rare and in top condition.
If you are looking to invest, try index funds in the stock market. If you want to gamble, try Forex. But unless you are willing to shell out thousands or tens of thousands on a rare coin that you are certain won't turn up by the hundreds in a future horde, then collect ancients for the sheer joy of holding something that was handled thousands of years ago by long dead hands.
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Replies: 14 / Views: 2,100 |
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Posted 05/31/2020 3:13 pm
