Coin Collecting For Dummies. Neil S. Berman

of the most famous Roman coins is the denarius, or penny (see Figure 5-2). This silver coin was roughly the diameter of a modern U.S. dime. Because the denarius was issued over hundreds of years, collectors have an opportunity to collect a wide range of rulers and design types. Rome also issued many unusual coins, such as the big bronze coin known as an Aes Grave, the golden aureus, and the silver didrachm.

      FIGURE 5-2: The denarius, the backbone of Roman economics.

      Some of the most popular Roman coins include Brutus’s Ides of March denarius, the coins of the 12 Caesars, and the series of JVDEA CAPTA coins that commemorated Emperor Vespasian’s victory over the Jews in 70 A.d.

      The nice thing about many ancient Roman coins is their low cost. Small copper coins can be purchased in quantity for less than $25 each. A nice silver denarius costs more. Even some Roman gold coins are surprisingly affordable, considering their popularity.

      Biblical coins

      The Bible mentions several coins, including the Roman denarius, the Jewish shekel, and the widow’s mite. Something about these coins evokes a special feeling in coin collectors today.

When you get down to it, coins are the only tangible reminders we have of the people, places, and events of biblical times. When you hold a tiny widow’s mite in your hand, you realize why such a worthless coin can mean so much. And you wonder whether you might be holding the very coin that the old woman gave as an offering.

      Byzantine coins

The Roman Empire fell gradually but surely, to be replaced in the West by the Byzantine Empire, centered in Constantinople. In 498 A.d., Anastasius introduced a new copper coin called a follis, worth 40 nummi. The Byzantines also issued beautiful gold and silver coins. Byzantine coins are known for their religious symbols; common themes include crosses, images of Christ, and other reminders of the Christian religion (see Figure 5-3). Like the earlier Roman coins, many Byzantine coins bear the images of the rulers of the time.

      FIGURE 5-3: Byzantine coins like this one were promoters of Christianity.

      Byzantine coins, like many other ancient coins, are quite affordable. Many of the gold coins can be had for less $1000, and Byzantine bronzes often sell for less than $100.

Understanding How Age Affects Value

One of the reasons why ancient coins are so common is that the coiners made so many of them; survivors have been found among the many coin hoards that have been discovered over the years. In ancient times, people carried their wealth with them, because there were no banks, ATMs, checking accounts, or credit cards. The wealth of the ancients was measured in coins and jewelry. Money was accumulated in small clay pots or jars. At the first sign of trouble, people buried their money, planning to return to claim it when the crisis passed. As you can imagine, many people forgot where they buried their coins or died before they could retrieve them, and the location of the coins died with them.

      Modern construction projects have uncovered many hoards of coins that eventually get dispersed into the coin market. Handheld metal detectors have uncovered millions of ancient coins. Think of it this way: If New York City were covered by a volcano tomorrow, how many Lincoln cents would archaeologists find in 100 years while digging up the city?

It’s All Greek to Me!

      Many collectors are intimidated by the unusual letters, words, and symbols on ancient coins. “How,” they ask, “can you identify your coin if you can’t read and understand the lettering and designs?” Actually, ancient coins are no more difficult to collect than some of the modern coins that contain non-English inscriptions and symbols. People who can’t read or understand either Japanese or Chinese, for example, have no problems collecting coins from those countries, yet the same collectors may fear venturing into ancient coins.

      Most Roman coins bear Latin inscriptions that are fairly easy to translate. When you understand the abbreviations used on Roman coins, the rest is easy. The only stumbling blocks with Greek coins are the Greek alphabet and the unfamiliar shapes of some of the letters. Again, after you learn the abbreviations used on the coins, translations are readily available.

Knowing Where You Can Get ’Em

      You may have never seen or heard of one in your life, but ancient coins are everywhere. Your local coin dealer probably has a few in stock, and you can find a big variety of ancient coins at any coin show. At the biggest shows, especially international coin shows attended by dealers from all over Europe, you may even see a collection of coins from a hoard that was dug up recently. Imagine having a chance to buy inexpensive ancient coins fresh out of the ground! If you want a real conversation piece, pick up an ancient coin or two, and share them with your friends.

      

Don’t forget eBay (https://www.ebay.com) if you know real from fake. I just performed a search for ancient coin and came up with 106,620 possibilities; the true number is probably more!