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Zenoctilles New Member

United States 2 Posts Posted 07/03/2012 10:53 pm Posted 07/03/2012 10:53 pm Hi,



I've never collected coins before, but I suddenly developed an interest in Roman coins after seeing a friend's personal collection of Roman coins (it was mostly cheap bronze coins, but I still impressed nonetheless).



I'm mostly interested in Imperial coins, bronze or silver. Say any coin featuring an Emperor from any time period during the Empire's existence.



What should I look for when off Ebay or elsewhere? I'm completely new. Report this Post to the Staff

VisigothKing Pillar of the Community United States 4778 Posts Posted 07/03/2012 11:13 pm Posted 07/03/2012 11:13 pm You've picked an awesome area of coin collecting! I would suggest buying from reputable dealers with 100% positive feedback and a clear return policy when buying off eBay. There is so much to Roman Imperial coins that I can understand it being a little overwhelming at first, so picking and going after a partIcular series of coins may be helpful, but you don't have to do this. And one of the best parts of collecting ancients: you don't need a huge budget to make a large and impressive collection; many nice ones can be bought for cheap. Good luck in collecting Roman coins You've picked an awesome area of coin collecting! I would suggest buying from reputable dealers with 100% positive feedback and a clear return policy when buying off eBay. There is so much to Roman Imperial coins that I can understand it being a little overwhelming at first, so picking and going after a partIcular series of coins may be helpful, but you don't have to do this. And one of the best parts of collecting ancients: you don't need a huge budget to make a large and impressive collection; many nice ones can be bought for cheap. Good luck in collecting Roman coins "For as long as Belisarius lives, it is impossible for him to relinquish this city." - Roman general Belisarius, responding to a group of Gothic envoys, during the Gothic siege of Rome in 537 AD



Attributed coins in my collection so far - Roman : 241, Byzantine : 44, Post-Roman Germanic : 24 Edited by VisigothKing

07/03/2012 11:16 pm Report this Post to the Staff

echizento Moderator

United States 23227 Posts Posted 07/03/2012 11:25 pm Posted 07/03/2012 11:25 pm to the community



You have come to the right place to learn about Roman coinage, there is a lot of knowledge and experience on this forum to help you get started on the right track. Before you start spend money on coins, study them. There is tons of info on the web that will help you. One excellent site by one of or members and long time collector Doug Smith is



to the communityYou have come to the right place to learn about Roman coinage, there is a lot of knowledge and experience on this forum to help you get started on the right track. Before you start spend money on coins, study them. There is tons of info on the web that will help you. One excellent site by one of or members and long time collector Doug Smith is http://www.forumancientcoins.com/dougsmith Report this Post to the Staff

Bing Pillar of the Community 4253 Posts Posted 07/03/2012 11:48 pm Posted 07/03/2012 11:48 pm Welcome, not only to Ancient coin collecting but to this discussion forum as well. The advice already provided is good advice. I would add that you shouldn't feel overwhelmed by the prospects. I might suggest if you plan to buy off Ebay, find a coin you like within your budget and post it here for others to comment. We all have opinions (like certain body parts), but we will give you honest straight forward opinions. Ask if the coin is authentic, good value, rarity, etc. Just ask questions. You'll soon find you can select coins and have a ton of fun while you're at it. There are those on this forum who will tell you to buy books and study up, and you should get some good reverence materials. But, for the fun of the game, find a coin you like first. That's how I got started, as did many others on this forum. I, we, will be watching for your posts. Good luck. Report this Post to the Staff

Sap Moderator

Australia 13435 Posts Posted 07/03/2012 11:51 pm Posted 07/03/2012 11:51 pm If you're brand new to collecting coins in general and ancient coins in particular, my advice would be to stay far, far away from eBay altogether. Sure, there are plenty of good deals to be had on eBay, but there are plenty of scammers and fakes as well and you need to keep your wits about you to be able to discern the fair dinkum from the bogus.



EBay is like a shark-infested ocean: it's fine if you're a skilled shark-dodger, but it's not a place where you want to learn to swim.



Find a good, knowledgeable dealer - the members here can no doubt recommend several - and start from there. 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 Report this Post to the Staff

sel_69l Bedrock of the Community Australia 17308 Posts Posted 07/04/2012 01:11 am Posted 07/04/2012 01:11 am Zenoctilles: Welcome to the CCF! There are quite a few friendly guys here in the CCF who are ready to help you when it comes to ancient coins.



My first ancient coin was a denarius bought from a reputable dealer in Sydney.

My first Greek coin ia a gold stater of Philip 11 of Macedon which came from Spinks in London.



For my early purchases I never trusted my own judgement regarding authenticity. With the experience I now have, I can buy ancient silver and bronze coins with confidence, but I still do not trust myself when it comes to ancient gold coins.



When it comes to eBay, Sap is 100% correct, both positive and negative. Know your seller by his established reputation first.



So how do you find out about ancient coins?



Read as much as you can on the subject first. I borrowed all of the library books I could find and I read them all. With the first two coins, I had some hardware to relate to, while I read. That makes the reading very interesting, rather than a dry academic subject. Borrowed library books won't cost you anything. If you want a particular book and the library hasn't got it, get it on an inter library loan.



I then started buying cheap late Roman bronzes, and my collection has grown from that. One of the highlights of my collecting experience was to spend a day in the safe room of the Coins and Medals Department of the British Museum. A written application for an appointment had to be made for that, but I was living in England on an extended two year holiday at the time.



My ancients collection numbers about 200 pieces, most of them of relatively low value, studded with a few 'stars'. It has taken be over 30 years to build it to this point, thus far, I have about a dozen or so good quality reference books on ancient coins.



There quite a few good websites on ancient coins: VCOINS, WILDWINDS, and FORVM ANCIENT COINS. There is also some very good information to be had on the forgery of ancient coins, CALGARY COINS and TESORILLO being two of them.



If you wish to start your collection off with a nice coin for not too much money, an antoninianus (double denarius) of Gordian 111 would be a good way to start. A quite attractive example of one of these could be had for around $30 t0 $40. As Sap has implied buy it from a dealer. He would be able to explain much more about it for you than an ebay listing could, and you could examine it in hand before deciding to buy. You can't do that on eBay! Edited by sel_69l

07/04/2012 01:30 am Report this Post to the Staff

Windchild Pillar of the Community Canada 1411 Posts Posted 07/04/2012 03:10 am Posted 07/04/2012 03:10 am to CCF!

I am also looking into purchasing some ancient Roman coins soon.



Sel: Calgary Coins is my closest coin shop that I'm looking to buy the Roman coins from. I'm pretty sure they aren't counterfeit due to their article on forgeries.



Also; What books on ancient coins would people recommend? Zenoctilles:to CCF!I am also looking into purchasing some ancient Roman coins soon.Sel: Calgary Coins is my closest coin shop that I'm looking to buy the Roman coins from. I'm pretty sure they aren't counterfeit due to their article on forgeries.Also; What books on ancient coins would people recommend? Report this Post to the Staff

sel_69l Bedrock of the Community Australia 17308 Posts Posted 07/04/2012 07:17 am Posted 07/04/2012 07:17 am Windchild: With your luck, you have certainly fallen on your feet! I have read all of their very good web notes in relation to fake ancient coins. It seems to me that these guys know their stuff.



Take the time to have a good read of ALL of their website.



If you build an interest in ancients that is likely to extend over decades as I have, it would be in your interest to build a numismatic relationship with them and get to know the ancients guys within their business.



That sort of numismatic relationship has helped me a great deal over the years in Sydney.



The first specialist book I bought on ancient coins was 'Roman Coins and their Values, way back in 1974. My copy has been referred to so much as a quick reference, that it has just about fallen to pieces!. I have since bought the latest one volume edition reprint, which first appeared in about 1984.



Actually, I now have about a dozen specialist books on ancient and medieval coins of all cultures up to about 1,000 AD. Edited by sel_69l

07/04/2012 07:27 am Report this Post to the Staff

Bing Pillar of the Community 4253 Posts Posted 07/04/2012 12:45 pm Posted 07/04/2012 12:45 pm Vcoins is probably the best list of dealers around the world. If you do decide to go to Ebay anyhow, there are a few good, trustworthy, honest dealers there as well.. I would recommend Den of Antiquity, Mastermust, Lucernae, Forum coins, Palma Collections, Ancient Treasures, romae_aeternae_numismatics, Frank Robinson, and HJB Coins to name a few. I have never been disappointed from any of the above, nor have I ever had any doubts about authenticity. Everyone of the above guarantee the coins they sell to be genuine. Good luck.











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