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CoinWeek Podcast #180: Ancient Coins Demystified
Jul 21, 2023
Even for a seasoned collector of U.S. coins, getting started in ancient coins can be intimidating. CoinWeek's ancient coin writer Mike Markowitz returns with some advice for anyone who's ever been curious about Classical Numismatics but worried that they'd end up way over their heads. That's coming up next, on the CoinWeek Podcast. www.coinweek.com
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the coin week podcast is brought to you
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by PCGS PCGS will be offering on-site
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grading at the Ana's World's Fair money
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from Tuesday August 8th to Saturday
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August 12 2023 at the David L Lawrence
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Convention Center in Pittsburgh
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Pennsylvania cut off times will be
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Friday at 12 p.m for on-site submissions
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and Saturday at 2 pm for take-home
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submissions please check with the PCGS
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representative to confirm the exact
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cutoff date and time for all submissions
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submission acceptance dates and times
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may change without notice to get more
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information go to pcgs.com
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even for a seasoned collector of U.S
0:39
coins getting starred in ancients can be
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intimidating coin week's ancient coin
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writer Mike Markowitz returns with some
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advice for anyone who's ever been
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curious about classical numismatics but
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worried that they'd end up way over
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their heads that's coming up next on the
0:57
coin week podcast
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[Music]
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[Music]
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foreign
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[Music]
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why on Earth
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would anyone want to collect ancient
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coins
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the study and collection of ancient
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coins
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is called classical numismatics
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my favorite definition of a classical
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numismatist is a fool who spends money
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on money that he can't spend
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when you ask ancient coin collectors why
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they do it there is an almost Universal
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standard knee-jerk reaction
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so that I can hold history in my hand
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in the Hollywood film Raiders of the
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Lost Ark released in 1981
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the annoying French archaeologist belock
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tells Indiana Jones
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we are simply passing through history
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this
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this is history
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that's a quote that resonates deeply
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with every classical numismatist
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one of the greatest Thrills in my life
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was a few years ago when a group from
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our ancient numismatic Society of
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Washington D.C
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visited the national numismatic
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collection at the smithsonian's American
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History Museum on the mall
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the late Dr Dodie who was then the
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curator brought out from the Vault some
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of the greatest Rarities in the
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collection
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and I got to actually hold a gold diopal
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of Athens the coin that was made from
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the gold stripped from the famous statue
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in the Parthenon temple in 407 BCE when
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Athens faced a desperate financial
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crisis
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only about six examples of this coin are
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known all but two in museums
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of course if you didn't know or care
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about any of that history it's just a
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dull bit of beat up yellow metal smaller
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than a dime
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another memorable throw from me came at
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the New York International coin show a
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few years ago
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when a dealer friend let me hold the
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superb Ides of March Daenerys of Brutus
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considered the most famous ancient Roman
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coin
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about a hundred genuine examples are
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known most of them pretty ratty looking
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this was a coin issued by Julius
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Caesar's assassin to pay his troops
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during the Civil War that led to the
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final collapse of the Roman Republic
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the obverse or head side Bears a
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portrait of Brutus
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it's a remarkable bit of irony since one
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of the things that led a group of
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conservative Roman Senators to murder
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Julius Caesar was his decision to place
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his own portrait on the coinage
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like Americans Romans didn't like the
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idea of picturing living people on their
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money
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the reverse or Tales side of this coin
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shows a pair of daggers
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flanking a felt cap
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the pillows that was the headgear worn
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by freed slaves
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above the letters e i d m a r
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abbreviating the Latin phrase ideas
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March 15th the date 44 BC when Caesar
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was stabbed to death
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in effect with this design Brutus is
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declaring with these daggers we gained
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our freedom from the dictator on that
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day
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for the soldiers who received these
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coins as pay it was a powerful statement
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of defiance
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within the year many of them would be
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dead including Brutus
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of course if you didn't know or care
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about any of that history it's just a
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shiny bit of metal about the size of a
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dime
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past decades many of the most prominent
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collectors of ancient coins came from
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the three so-called learned professions
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the law medicine and the clergy
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and this was because these professions
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traditionally required the study of
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Latin
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and sometimes even Greek
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even in recent years a good predictor of
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who will become a collector of ancient
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coins is the question did you study
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Latin in high school
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sadly the study of Classical Languages
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and literature and of ancient history
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generally has fallen off a cliff in this
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century
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you might be wondering right now what
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exactly do we mean by an ancient coin
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in the vast span of human history coins
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are a pretty recent invention
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coinage emerged probably independently
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in three separate places around the 7th
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Century BCE perhaps a bit earlier
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in the Eastern Mediterranean
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in India and in China
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for thousands of years great
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civilizations in Egypt and Mesopotamia
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and other places developed sophisticated
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economies without any use of coins at
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all
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the Great Dividing line that separates
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ancient from Modern coinage is actually
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the replacement of hand hammering by a
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Machinery which was mostly complete in
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Europe by the 17th century
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collapse of the Roman Empire in the west
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we usually speak in terms of medieval or
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Byzantine or Islamic coins even those
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these were all still being manufactured
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with ancient methods
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one way to think about ancient coins is
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that they work like the medals and the
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modern Olympic Games
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there's gold
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silver
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and bronze
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for most of ancient history gold coins
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were used mainly to buy luxury goods for
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the elite and to pay the army
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silver coins were for everyday Market
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transactions and paying workers their
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daily wages
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and bronze or copper Small Change was
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mostly for small daily purchases of
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Necessities in urban economies like a
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loaf of bread or a cup of wine
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another way to think about ancient coins
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is the division into Roman Greek and
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other
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Roman coinage falls into republican from
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about 300 BCE down to 27 BC
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and Imperial from 27 BC to the end of
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the empire in the West in 476.
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Greek coinage is often divided up by Era
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archaic from the earliest times down to
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about 500 BCE
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classical from that point to the death
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of Alexander the Great in 323 BCE
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Hellenistic from then down to the death
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of Cleopatra in 30 BCE
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and then Roman provincial or Greek
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Imperial down to about the year 300 CE
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when the Greek speaking cities in the
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Roman Empire ceased to issue their own
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local municipal coinage
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in auction catalogs the Greek category
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usually includes issues of ancient
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people who spoke Celtic or Semitic or
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turkic or other languages but issued
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coins that followed Greek monetary
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patterns and standards
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the other category of ancients could
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also include the very different coinages
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of China and India
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which are a subject for another day
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there are several very good questions
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that collectors of ancient coins are
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frequently asked
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let's look at each of these in turn
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the first question
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aren't they incredibly expensive
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well yes and no
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compared to the record prices that we're
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currently seeing for classic collectible
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American coins which can easily run up
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into the millions of dollars
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even high-end ancient coins are
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something of a bargain
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the price structure of ancient coins is
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complicated and at the risk of
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oversimplifying it goes something like
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this
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at the very bottom our so-called junk
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box coins in the five to ten dollar
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range perhaps even less
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these are basically copper or bronze
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slugs worn nearly flat often heavily
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corroded but still identifiable with
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luck
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in the 20 to 50 dollar range we can find
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late Roman bronzes that might grade
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about fine
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and worn but still identifiable low-end
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common silver types
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in the hundred to three hundred dollar
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range we're getting into the very fine
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territory for a wide range of ancient
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types
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for the kind of high-grade or extremely
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fine coins offered in major auctions and
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coveted by collectors like me
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we're talking about a few hundred to a
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few thousand dollars
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for classic collectible American coins
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it's now quite common for rare types as
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I said to bring over a million dollars
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at auction but that would still be a
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major news story in the small world of
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classical numismatics
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the best coin advice that I ever got was
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buy fewer better coins
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are coins a good investment
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well yes and no
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the old numismatic joke is that you can
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make a small fortune in ancient coins if
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you start with a large Fortune
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as a general rule the higher the quality
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of the coin the more likely its value is
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likely to appreciate over time
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common low-grade coins will probably not
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increase in value
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you're unlikely to get back what you
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paid
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when you or your heirs come to sell them
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fluctuations in the current price of
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gold and silver bullion have only a
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minor effect
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on the value of precious metal ancient
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coins
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second frequently Asked question
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aren't there a lot of fakes
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well yes and no
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there are a lot of fake ancient coins
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but most of them are not dangerous if
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you stick to buying from reputable
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dealers
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well how do I know if a dealer is
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reputable
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dealers who are members of the
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professional numismatists Guild PNG
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or the International Association of
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professional numismatists the iapn are
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carefully screened and must comply with
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a rigorous code of ethics
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so if you see a PNG or
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iapn indication on the Dealer's website
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or catalog it's very likely that you're
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dealing with a reputable ancient coin
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dealer
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counterfeits are almost as old as
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coinage
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ancient counterfeits circulated widely
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in a world where Small Change was often
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in short supply
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whether they were cast or struck or
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plated such fakes are still ancient
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coins and many are actually still quite
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collectible today
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modern fakes on the other hand are
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usually worthless unless they're
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precious metal with some milk value
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or unless there are examples of the work
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of famous forgers of the Renaissance or
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early modern eras
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back in 1973 the U.S Congress passed the
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hobby protection act prohibiting the
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importation or sale of any imitation
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numismatic item which is not plainly and
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permanently marked copy c-o-p-y
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many in mainly intended to protect
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collectors of classic US coins from
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Chinese counterfeits the Act was amended
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by the 2014
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collectible coin protection act which
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sadly is not being very rigorously
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enforced
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we need to talk about eBay
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I know dealers who have purchased
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genuine ancient coins for remarkably low
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prices on eBay
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but they knew exactly what they were
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doing and who they were dealing with
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a high proportion of the ancient coins
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offered for sale on eBay are deceptive
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fakes or poor quality modern tourist
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souvenirs being advertised as genuine
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ancients
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when you've seen hundreds or even
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thousands of genuine ancient coins of a
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certain type most fakes are easily
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recognized
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often they're too perfectly round or
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their services are too smooth and the
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style is typically completely wrong
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A good rule to remember is that if a
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deal seems too good to be true
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it is very probably neither good
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nor true
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the third frequently Asked question
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shouldn't they all be in museums
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no
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no
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no
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museums hate coins or to put it more
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accurately most are Museum curators and
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officials would be happy not to have to
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deal with them
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why well coins are small this makes them
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hard for visitors to see
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coins are mostly two-sided so unless a
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museum owns two good examples of the
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same type only one side is going to be
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visible
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if they're valuable or made of precious
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metal coins are a security headache for
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museums many great museum and University
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collections have suffered major thefts
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often carried out by trusted researchers
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finally ancient coins are complicated
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compared to things like painting
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sculptures and other artifacts that
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museums preserve and display
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few of the coins displayed in museums
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have anything like a fully descriptive
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label let alone explanations that
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provide their context
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fourth frequently Asked question
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how do I get started if I want to
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collect ancient coins
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well first buy a book
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a widely quoted saying among collectors
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is buy the book before you buy the coin
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if you're not sure where to start an
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excellent choice for your first book is
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ancient coin collecting by Wayne sales
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s-a-y-l-e-s published by Krauss 1996.
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Wayne has also written books on
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collecting Greek Roman Byzantine and
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other ancients as well as the book
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classical deception 2001.
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on counterfeits forgeries and
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reproductions of ancient coins
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David hendon's guide to biblical coins
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now in its sixth edition is the
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essential reference for collectors in
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this popular area
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a beautiful coffee table book that I
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have learned a lot from is the 100
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greatest ancient coins by Harlan J Burke
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b-e-r-k
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Second Edition from Whitman publishing
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in 2019.
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second in getting started is join a club
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every coin collector in this country
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should belong to the American numismatic
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Association based in Colorado Springs
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the website is easily remembered
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www.money.org
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you might also consider supporting the
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ancient coin collector's Guild https ACC
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guild.org
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the only organization fighting to
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protect a hobby against unreasonable
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government restrictions on the
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importation sale and ownership of
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ancient coins
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full disclosure this podcaster is a
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member of the board of directors of the
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accg
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IUS ancient coin collectors should also
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consider joining the American
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numismatic society
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that's numismatics.org
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which is based in New York City
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step three in getting started is attend
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a show
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now coin shows can be a bit intimidating
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for beginners
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but they're a great way to learn about
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the market
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for ancient coins the most important
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show of the year is the New York
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International numismatic collection
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held in January
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this can be an expensive event to attend
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but this is where the major European
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dealers bring their best new material
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and we're some of the biggest auctions
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are held
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the American numismatic association's
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Summer World's Fair of money is a huge
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show that rotates among major cities in
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the United States
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this August it will be held in
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Pittsburgh Pennsylvania
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are there important shows include the
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Florida United numismatists or fun in
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Orlando
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the Central States numismatic Society
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shows in the Midwest
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and one of my favorites The Long Beach
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Coin Show in California
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also the Baltimore coin Expo in
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Baltimore Maryland
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now you're ready to buy your first coin
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understand that your first coin may turn
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out to be a mistake but that's okay it's
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part of the learning process
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remember that if you're not having fun
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with your coins you're doing it wrong
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there are as many different ways to
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collect ancient coins as there are
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collectors
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but you will probably enjoy your
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collection more if you focus on a theme
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can be anything horses on coins ships on
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coins coins of a particular region or
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historical era
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for example biblical related coins are
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an enormously popular subject
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coins that are mentioned in the bible or
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coins that were issued from places in
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the Holy Land
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a very popular theme that has been
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completing a set of the famous 12
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Caesars
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that's Julius Caesar Augustus Tiberius
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Caligula Claudius Nero galba otho
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vitellias Vespasian Titus and domitian
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gold today 12 Caesars would be an
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immensely costly uh undertaking several
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hundred thousand dollars probably
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still pricey in silver
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but challenging even in Humble bronze
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some collectors simply want to collect
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coins that are beautiful or perfectly
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preserved regardless of the region or
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the historical era or the theme
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last question
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where can I learn more
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good news you've come to the right place
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the internet has radically transformed
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the world of classical numismatics
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providing collectors with Incredible
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access to centuries of collecting and
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scholarship
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for coinweek.com
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this is Mike Markowitz
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wishing you good hunting
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[Music]
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if you like this podcast please share
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23:16
online on our YouTube channel or on
23:18
queenweek.com for coin week I'm editor
23:21
Charles Morgan until next time happy
23:23
collecting
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foreign
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[Music]