Ancient Roman Coin Question 0

[dragonwalker]

I'm new to the forum and pretty new to coin collecting. I've always had a fascination with coins and currency from childhood but never really acquired anything for fear of not understanding the correct value on a coin or encountering a fake. I am aware for many coins there are price guides and such but never really started any collection partly because so much is interesting I don't know where to start. 

Anyway, my interest in ancient coins started again and I thought I might finally take the plunge and acquire something. Specifically I wanted a silver minted coin during the reign of Emperor Augustus just for his significance and time period. Just browsing online on ebay and watching videos I get a lot of information and some recommendations of going NGC slabbed for the first few coins just to ensure increased chance of authenticity. Obviously there is a wide in price from several hundred to thousands depending on grade, strike, image, etc. 

I wanted to know at this time with the craziness currently are prices of ancients and specifically what I'm looking for been inflated? I want to know that I'm not paying a premium on a temporary condition. I'm not looking to turn these into an investment but I would like to know that what I am purchasing is a good value. Along with that is there some reading or guide that I could read about ancient coins of this period of era that would educate more about what to look for in the coin and some useful background so I can make more informed decision? Preferably free and online. 

I'm only looking to purchase a few ancients maybe even just 1 so it's likely I'd purchase one that is slabbed so are there also other sites that offer what I'm looking for online? Thanks  

Edited February 15, 2021 by dragonwalker

[RWB]

Many old-time collectors liked to assemble one coin from the reign of each of the first 12 Caesars. The preference was for a silver denarius. Another option was to pair emperor with his wife: Augustus Octavian) and Livia. Tuberius and Vipsania or Julia, etc.

For a novice, look for independently authenticated coins and/or pieces sold by respected ancient coin dealers and auction houses. Ebay is not the place to look. Also, check out several of the standard references such as "Identifying Roman Coins" and Sear's "Roman coins and their Values" to start.

[JKK]

On 2/15/2021 at 9:52 AM, dragonwalker said:

I'm new to the forum and pretty new to coin collecting. I've always had a fascination with coins and currency from childhood but never really acquired anything for fear of not understanding the correct value on a coin or encountering a fake. I am aware for many coins there are price guides and such but never really started any collection partly because so much is interesting I don't know where to start. 

Anyway, my interest in ancient coins started again and I thought I might finally take the plunge and acquire something. Specifically I wanted a silver minted coin during the reign of Emperor Augustus just for his significance and time period. Just browsing online on ebay and watching videos I get a lot of information and some recommendations of going NGC slabbed for the first few coins just to ensure increased chance of authenticity. Obviously there is a wide in price from several hundred to thousands depending on grade, strike, image, etc. 

I wanted to know at this time with the craziness currently are prices of ancients and specifically what I'm looking for been inflated? I want to know that I'm not paying a premium on a temporary condition. I'm not looking to turn these into an investment but I would like to know that what I am purchasing is a good value. Along with that is there some reading or guide that I could read about ancient coins of this period of era that would educate more about what to look for in the coin and some useful background so I can make more informed decision? Preferably free and online. 

I'm only looking to purchase a few ancients maybe even just 1 so it's likely I'd purchase one that is slabbed so are there also other sites that offer what I'm looking for online? Thanks  

Early Roman Imperial silver can be kind of spendy, as can copper of that era in nice condition. The cheapest Roman stuff is third and fourth century bronzes, which can be had for $10ish in decent shape except for rare issues. There are Gallienus, Constantine, Constantius, Probus coins out there by the pile. There's a period of debasement during the third century with the barracks emperors, where the antoninianus starts out fairly silver and finishes up billon, followed by the Diocletian reforms which don't really stick for the long term.

A great reference for Roman coin IDs is Aorta, by our Northwest numismatic homie Rasiel Suarez. Fakes are an ongoing problem, and the knowledge curve there is steep; you have to look at a lot of coins, though I'd recommend Sayles's Classical Deception. There's a great book on late Roman bronzes that can help you attribute worn ones, by Bruck translated by Menzies. Online, Wildwinds has an excellent reference database that can help. For other reading, some generalist books I have are by Zander Klawans and David L. Vagi (two-volume tomes).

If you only want to buy one or a few ancients, and don't want to develop the expertise or library yourself, I totally get that. In that case I'd go ahead and stick with slabs.