Newbie needs guidance - "ROMAN EMPIRE" Denomination Set

[Billy C]

Hello everyone,

Not only am I new to the Forum, but I am new to collecting ancient coins.  I am a long-time collector of U.S. and British Coins and now I would like to move into ancient coins due to their historical significance. 

I've decided that I would specifically like to collect Roman Empire Coins (and to start, ones that NGC Ancients would label as "ROMAN EMPIRE").  When I began collecting U.S. and British coins, I started by striving to put together a complete denomination set -- 1 coin of each denomination issued, regardless of the year/monarch.

I would also like to do this with Roman coins -- begin putting together a set of 1 coin of each denomination.  This is where my confusion as a newbie comes in.

I've consulted several books and online guides and I'm still not sure exactly sure what 1 of each of all of the denominations issued would be.  Is there a definitive resource out there that would have an easy-to-understand complete list of the denominations of Roman Empire coins?

I'm getting the feeling that I may have a question that does not have a simple answer, but I would appreciate any help and direction that a more experienced collector can give me.

Thank you so much for your time.  I'm glad I found this forum and I'll keep digging through it.

Best regards,

Billy Cusack
Riverview, FL

[Adrian H]

Hey Billy

This page may be helpful to you: https://www.forumancientcoins.com/numiswiki/view.asp?key=Roman%20Type%20Set

[Joe Sermarini]

The answer is a little complex because the Roman Empire lasted a long time and there were currency reforms. You also have to decide when you think it ended. In any case, you could look at this page in NumisWiki:  Roman Type Set

LOL, Adrian beat me to it.

[Adrian H]

LOL, Adrian beat me to it.

https://youtu.be/CUpwLhZh66A?t=8

[Curtis JJ]

As Joe just mentioned, denominations is a very challenging one! In fact, that can probably one of the most "expert" level topics in Roman Imperial coins. (I'm far from expert myself, but I do enjoy seeing what the actual experts collect!) Also very interesting, because it leads into questions about the economic history of Empire.

Frequently we don't know what the denominations were called or -- more importantly -- where the lines were drawn between them. (So, it can even be difficult to say how many denominations there were at any given moment, and scholars may debate about whether two types are really the same, or when they became different, and so on.)

It was a common practice in the ancient world (beginning with the Persians & Greeks) to refer to a denomination by the ruler who struck the coin (since purity and weight varied over time). So a "Nero" (Denarius) might not be as a good as an "Augustus" (Denarius). Or, hundreds of years earlier, "Philippeioi" or "Philipeids" (Philip II of Macedon, Silver Tetradrachms) would be worth significantly less than "Alexanders" (III Tetradrachms) -- but the Gold Philips and Gold Alexanders (AV Staters) were usually approximately equal!

If I were doing denominations, I would start with (1) a specific reign, dynasty or period; and (2) one of the major references, like RIC or ERIC II, and follow their definitions of the different denominations.

I would think the system of denominations is simplest early on (e.g., Augustus through Claudius). But the periods of chaos can be really interesting, too. I've seen fun collections based entirely on a single denomination like the Antoninianus (from Caracalla through about Diocletian, including the "Aurelianus" after c. 274).

Or the various bronze denominations we call "Follis," from the Tetrarchy through at least Constantine (or far beyond, if you consider the Byzantine ones the same thing). One of the things I found interesting about the DiMarzio Londinium Collection [LINK], or Victor C's (ConstantineTheGreatCoins.com [LINK] ), is to see all the reforms/revisions over time, and how they can be defined and recognized (e.g., how many coins to a Libra / Roman pound, or size of the dies measured by the "pearl-ring diameter").

[Virgil H]

As an item of interest, the current issue of the American Journal of Numismatics 34 by Fae Amiro called New Methods for Differentiating Imperial Dupondi and Asses, pages 89-132. Denominations can be pretty difficult at times.

Virgil

[Billy C]

Thank you so much, everyone for the wonderful information.  I appreciate your time and that you all would share your knowledge.

In my first afternoon and evening of seriously beginning to research the topic, I've come to realize that there is much to learn, but I am already hooked.

I can already see that I'll have to approach this collection differently than my U.S. or British coin collection, and taking the proper amount of time to learn before I make that first purchase will be key.

Thank you again and I welcome any more information and advice.

All my best,

Billy

[Ken W2]

Hey Billy: Welcome to FORVM.  As you can tell already the members here, many of whom (not including me) are real experts, readily share their knowledge and experience. Like many here, I started in ancients cleaning LRBs and expanded from there. One of the most challenging things about ancients is the inexactnesses and uncertainties frequently encountered, as already noted above with respect to denominations, but also inherent in many aspects. I think your idea of a denomination collection is a great approach, just accept going in there will be uncertainty and inexactness.  But by piecing together what relatively little is known about how the Romans denominated coins, relationships between those coins (whether based on metal type and weight standards or fiat), and denominations of necessity later assigned by modern scholars, you can build a Roman Empire denomination collection. In fact, learning about those denominations may be a greater challenge than locating the representative coins. 

Welcome again and good luck. 

[Virgil H]

I am going to add one more thing that isn't related to denominations. I appreciate all coins from any country and any time and I appreciate medals and banknotes. One reason I do not collect moderns or US is because of the focus on grading and, following that, on encapsulation of coins. I have a few moderns, mostly picked up in change over the years all over the world. None are worth anything, but I find what I have cool, good memories, and wish I had been more systematic about saving change.

I haven't bought many encapsulated coins, but those I have, I have immediately removed from their cases. Sure, maybe I just lowered the value of the coin, but I doubt it because I do not buy very expensive coins. One thing about ancients is that you can handle them. I handle mine a lot. No gloves. There is something about holding a coin that someone held 2,000 years ago. Some people are embracing encapsulation in the ancient coin world, but I think they are very much a minority. Perhaps for super valuable coins it may be useful. If I see an encapsulated coin, I know that it is usually going to be more expensive, although the market still determines price either way. I know I have bought a couple of coins at auction where the seller lost money just on the NGC fee.

All that said, this is an individual decision. You can collect how ever you want and you will get support here. There really are some amazing people here as far as expertise (I am not one of them, either). I would just say, never limit yourself just to encapsulated coins. It isn't yet a thing with ancients.

This is such a great hobby.

Virgil