FORVM`s Classical Numismatics Discussion Board
Numismatic and History Discussion Forums => Uncleaned Ancient Coin Discussion Forum => Topic started by: Chris F2 on April 07, 2019, 09:03:45 pm
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Can anyone chime in with background detail on the changes in coin content in uncleaned lots over time? Really curious here, thinking about sources, markets, tech, laws, etc. and what all that might mean.
Example: I started dabbling w/uncleaned romans 15 years ago (eBay sources) for a couple years, and a sizable chunk of the reverses then were falling horseman FEL TEMPS. Rebooted the hobby this winter w/a selection of uncleaned coins from reputable sources (FORVM included) and have yet to see a single falling horseman. Campgates also far scarcer, but those seem to be a more desireable type from the price points I'm seeing posted.
So, do you think changes in uncleaned coin content over time is a matter of the finds hitting the market (supply), what's valued (demand), and/or those plus external factors? Or source? This time around I'm off eBay and have instead purchased uncleaned lots via FORVM and other reputable sites.
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It's hard to say but I'd imagine a lot has to do with where the coins are coming from. With the opening up of Eastern Europe a lot of coins flooded the market 10-20 years ago. Now it's highly unlikely you're getting "uncleaned" coins. They've been through so many hands before you get them, all the good stuff has been picked out. Who's to say a group of coins all came from the same place?
Welcome to Forum
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There are still uncleaned coins. And if you buy a lot, odds are they came from the same area and are fairly recent finds.
The quantities being found and sold today are only a tiny fraction of what was available years ago. Once you could buy uncleaned coins by the 10s of thousands. It was once apparently a commercial operation with many people searching and combining finds with middlemen who may have supplied the metal detectors. Now it seems it is just individuals.
Finders have always been skilled at seeing better coins through the dirt, and have almost always cleaned coins they thought would be high money makers. Today, however, the standard for "money maker" is much lower than in the past. You are less likely than ever to find a desirable coin in an uncleaned lot.
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It is very true that the types of coins found (leaving out the question of what is "picked" out of a lot before retail) can vary a lot by region.
This is because coin supply was not even across the Empire and across time.
So coins like the FTR Falling Horseman and the GLORIA EXERCITVS, which make up a good chunk of coinage from Britain and the Balkans, makes up a smaller proportion of coins from Spain and, especially, the "Holy Land". Lots of Valentinianic coinage (GLORIA ROMANORVM and SECVRITAS REIPVBLICAE) undoubtedly means the central Danube region of the Balkans.
SC