For many, a trip to
Rome will be a once in a lifetime trip and for collectors of ancient
Roman coins, there is an irresistable appeal to
buying Roman coins in
Rome itself. I
hope that I am not violating FAC rules about promoting other dealers. That is not the intent of this message. Rather it is about fulfilling that special once in a lifetime experience. If I have violated the rules, the moderator is welcome to delete the message.
I have
had two occasions to visit
Rome this year so took advantage to figure out where the ancient coin dealers are in
Rome. My research was limited to the well travelled tourist historic areas but there are other dealers in the city so this list is by no means
complete. My collecting interest is very narrow (
Hadrian) so my impressions are colored by that bias and each collector will have to make their own judgement based on their collecting interests.
Here are the results in no particular order;
There is a cluster in close proximity to the Piazza di Spagna.
1. Bolaffi
Via Condotti, 23 (directly across the
Spanish Steps - don't bring your wife along otherwise you will never make it past Prada and the other luxury shops on this high end
shopping road)
Based in Turin with shops in Turin,
Milan,
Rome and
Verona.
Has some coins available in the
shop but is mostly a long established
auction house. High end and a
bit overpriced in my opinion.
2. ArtCoins
RomaVia del Babuino, 89 (descend the
Spanish Steps and right turn)
Also has a presence in
Milan.
Strictly an
auction house with two main
auctions per year and monthly electronic
auctions.
3. Filatelia Numismatica Centrale
Vie Due Macelli, 106 (descend the
Spanish Steps and left turn)
Coin shop with a decent selection. Visited twice and bought a coin each time.
Next there is one
shop in the Quirinale
area.
4.
Diana Numismatica
Via Delle Quattro Fontane, 20B
Strictly a
coin shop that in my opinion has the largest and most diverse inventory.
One
shop near Parliament.
5. Baranowsky Numismatica
Via del Corso, 184 (this is the main road that leads to Piazza Venezia)
Coin shop and holds two fixed
price catalogue sales
per year.
One near the
Vatican.
6. Roberto Pedoni Numismatica
Via Vespasiano, 7 (follow the external walls of
Vatican City on the way to the
Vatican Museums)
Coin shop only.
Lastly there are a number of foreign exchange places outside the Termini Rail Station (incidently, this is also where the Palazzo Massimo with its
collection of 'Italian' coins through the ages is located). There I found a small selection of ancients (roughly 30 each) at Piazza del Cinquecento, 58 and Via Giovanni Giolitti, 97.
Overall, there is something for everyone and did not find that prices were outrageous.
Please feel free to add to this list for the enjoyment of numismatists who want to make a trip to the Eternal City that much more memorable.