I don't mind questions but it seems that I spend 90% of my time answering the same few questions. Hoping to save both myself and my visitors a little trouble, I am starting this page to cover a few of these common inquiries. Before writing me with your questions, I would appreciate it if you would check below and see if your question has been asked before. For now, there will be little order to these questions. As this page grows, we will try to introduce an order making answers easier to find.
Can you identify my coin?
Well, maybe. I need a lot of help from you if I am to succeed. First your coin must be ancient. I know a little about ancient Greek and Roman coins but almost nothing about medieval and modern issues. If you know your coin is later that about 500 AD (for example if it has a date saying '1909') you are probably wasting your time asking me. Just because I collect some old coins doesn't mean I collect all old coins. Look at the coins on my site and try to find something similar to what you have. At least you might get a feel for the general appearance of ancient coins.
Can you identify my coin if I send a photo?
When the guy said a picture is worth a thousand words, he was understating the matter. A good clear JPG will really increase the chance I can help you. HOWEVER: Send ONLY JPG images. I will NOT open zipped, executable or other file types. In some cases I may not have the software to view the files and in some cases I am simply trying to avoid formats that are likely to carry viruses. If you write me and ignore this request, don't expect a reply.
I wrote you with a question and got no reply. Why?
Every week I get at least one note from someone who has set up their eMail to reject mail from an outside domain. If you are writing from a school or office that does not allow incoming outside email, I probably wrote an answer and got a 'bounce' when I replied. I try once, that's all. If you want a reply, be sure to give a real email return address.
I have no scanner or camera. Can you ID my coin from a description?
Often, yes. You would be surprised how many notes I received telling of a coin with a head on one side and some kind of bird on the other. That fits about 10,000 coin types. Give me a chance by describing everything: Size, color, metal, letters and anything else you can make out. Using proper terms will help. I am a lot more likely to be able to help someone who has read enough of my site to know the basic vocabulary of coins. I have a series of pages that is a good start.
What do you think about uncleaned coins lots?
I discourage beginners buying these coins. Most are rather poor condition and harder to read than better coins. This makes identification difficult even for experienced collectors. I fear that beginners will become frustrated and give up the hobby simply because they put this extra obstacle in their path by buying these lots. At best, you get what you pay for. Lots of junk at a few cents a coin are exactly that: Lots of Junk. If you must buy these lots out of some sense of Treasure Hunt, stick to groupings illustrated by the seller or that you can see in person. At least that way you can get an idea if there really will be something under the dirt. I suggest you start by buying identified coins and save the bulk lots for later when your education makes the job a little easier.
How much is xxxxxxx worth?
This is the question I refuse to answer. The fact is that it can not be answered with any degree of accuracy. The market for coins depends entirely on supply and demand as well as more 'luck' than anything else. To sell a coin, you have to find someone who wants that coin in that condition at that time. This is not always easy. Condition is everything in coin collecting. The same type coin that sells for $100 in Extremely Fine condition is virtually worthless as a rough and featureless Good. Rarity means rather little and a coin that is one of three in existence is not easily salable unless there are more than three collectors that want it. .....and their Values type books give price numbers but these are more deceptive than helpful due to the fact that every coin is an individual with countless factors that can never be pigeonholed into a few grades as used for modern coins. To appraise a coin (let alone a collection) it is absolutely necessary to see the coin and GUESS where it will fall in the overall marketplace. I simply don't offer this service and, if I did, you would be a fool to listen to me. A coin is worth what you can get from whoever you can find to buy it. No more, no less!
Do you recommend investing in ancient coins?
NO! One of my favorite dealers, Frank Robinson, said on his list: "Love your coins for what they are, not what they are worth." If you look at the money spent on coins in the same way you look at an evening of dinner and entertainment, I believe you will be much better off. At least coins don't leave you fat and hungover. :) Certainly many people do make money on their coin activities but if you have to ask me how to do this, chances are not good that you are ready to be one of them.
Where can I buy ancient coins?
My favorite sources are coin shows (I love the ones at the Baltimore Convention Center a few times each year!) where you can see and handle thousands of coins before buying the ones that speak directly to your numismatic soul. Second are the ILLUSTRATED sale catalogs and ILLUSTRATED online auctions where you at least see a picture of what you will be getting. When I started collecting (60's) there were many storefront coin shops where you could go talk to an elderly gentleman who would answer all your questions and let you pick a coin out of the box for 50 cents. These are rare today.
I am afraid my coin is a fake. How can I tell a real coin from a fake?
You can't. There are many levels of fakes and some of them will fool the best of us. After 'experiencing' a few thousand coins, you will be fooled by fewer fakes but you will never get to the point that you are always correct in the judgment. The best answer is either to buy coins from reputable dealers (and pay for the privilege) OR realize that we will be making a few mistakes and will have a few items that we wish we have never bought. The vast majority of ancient coins offered are genuine; the problem is greatly overstated compared even to modern US coins. The best defense is education and no one awarded you a free scholarship. I wish I could tell you that there are no fakes in my collection but the fact is simple: I probably erred on a few coins; I wish I knew which ones they are! If you have trouble dealing with this, I recommend a change of hobby. I have a page on fakes that will help you avoid a few bad coins. If it makes you think that you know enough to be invincible, it will have done more harm than good.
What is die axis and why should I care?
Die axis is the alignment between the two dies used to produce a coin. Commonly we see either upright or 12 o'clock where the top of one side is the same as the top of the other (a hole drilled through the top of the obverse will come out through the top of the reverse) or inverted (6 o'clock) where the two dies are opposite (a hole drilled through the top of the obverse will come out through the bottom of the reverse). US coins are inverted. Some ancients used other axis alignments. The 5th century owls of Athens tend to be 3 o'clock or 9 o'clock. Many coins were randomly aligned so the statistic is of absolutely no importance. Some issues were so regular that a coin not following the pattern is probably fake. Value of this piece of information is greatly overrated.
(c) 2001Doug Smith