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Author Topic: Questions from a beginner  (Read 997 times)

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Offline Kingston

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Questions from a beginner
« on: August 07, 2022, 06:06:00 pm »
Hi everyone,

I am new to this forum and have been looking into starting an ancient coin collection for some time.

I see there are already plenty of resources available here, and I intend to do a deep dive in many of them - so I hope this post will not overlap too much with what is already available (otherwise please redirect me).

So I am currently thinking of starting a collection of byzantine coins, intending to collect mostly gold solidi with a budget of $10-20k over the coming years.

I am keen to get some tips via this forum - below some questions I have before I start:

1. Would you have some suggestions of thematic collections based on my criteria/budget?

2. Best books/online resources to know about byzantine coins and price?

3. What would be some of the best places to purchase coins with some guarantee of them being genuine/realistic prices? (I live in Brussels, Belgium, and will look at shops/auctions there but keen to know more about global/European marketplaces)

Many thanks,
Kevin

Offline Simon

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Re: Questions from a beginner
« Reply #1 on: August 07, 2022, 06:39:05 pm »
Hi Kevin,

Lots of good questions , to start i highly reccomend buying from Forum, it is a great place to get coins.

As for gold be wise, watch out for fakes, we have a section on the board for just known fake coinage.

The way most of us communicate is by Sear number , Sear Byzantine Coins and their Values.

The most detailed books are DOC catalogs and those are now free to download. See the post that is pinnedd at the top of the Byzantine Board.

I cannot fully answer your question out of respect to Forum , they are a small business that we like to  support so we dont talk about other sources publicly .

Questions please feel free, many great people on this board can help.
https://www.forumancientcoins.com/gallery/thumbnails.php?album=5633 My main collection of Tetartera. Post reform coinage.

Offline Obryzum

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Re: Questions from a beginner
« Reply #2 on: August 07, 2022, 08:59:34 pm »
I suppose it depends on how big you want your collection to be and how many centuries you want to cover.   

Low end solidi are in the $500 range these days.  Sixth and seventh century solidi from Justinian I through Constans II are common.  Solidi from Phocas, Heraclius and Constans II are quite common.

At the end of the seventh century, the solidi from Justinian II were the first to include an icon of Christ.   You might find these in the range of $1500 and up.  Expect to pay more for a well struck portrait.

In the eighth century, the solidi of Constantine V are the most common. 

In the ninth century, the solidi of Basil I are the most common.

In the tenth century, the solidi of Constantine VII are the most common.

By the time you reach the eleventh century, the solidus has become the histamenon -- a broader coin that eventually transitioned to a concave shape.  The smaller tetarteron continued the tradition of flat gold, like the early lightweight solidi.  In the eleventh century, the histamena of Constantine X, Michael VII, Romanus IV and Nicephorus III are the budget pieces.

Then in the twelfth century, we move into the period of the hyperpyron.  The cheapest ones tend to be the coins of John II, who was also recognized as a saint in the Orthodox Church.

The late hyperpyra after the recovery of Constantinople are another example of budget Byzantine gold.  To me, these lack the eye appeal of the solidi, but if you are interested in Byzantine history, these are part of the story too.  In fact, you might even want to add a silver stavraton to mark the outer bookend of your collection.

Offline Obryzum

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Re: Questions from a beginner
« Reply #3 on: August 07, 2022, 10:49:31 pm »
A few more thoughts.

I also considered the importance of the emperor and the length of the reign when deciding what to look for next.

There are plenty of forgettable emperors who had relatively short reigns:  Leontius, Tiberius III, Phillipicus, Anastasius II, Theodosius III, Artavasdus, Alexander, Michael VI.  Their coins are pricey because the reigns were short.

If you are going to pay more for a coin, maybe pick something more interesting?  For example, Leo VI was an important emperor who had a long reign.  But his solidi are really scarceMichael III was an unimpressive emperor with a long 20 year reign, but his reign marked the return of portraying Christ on the coins after the long period of iconoclasmIrene was a tyrant, a fearsome empress who ruled like an emperor.  Her coins are fairly common but still a bit pricey -- but at least there is a unique story behind it.  Nicephorus II was a military genius who completely reformed the army and how it fought.  Michael IV is a scarce emperor, but will be remembered as the one who started the debasement after more than seven centuries of stability.   

Just some ideas . . . .

 

Offline Serendipity

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Re: Questions from a beginner
« Reply #4 on: August 08, 2022, 02:36:43 am »
Byzantine gold coins are much more affordable than other ancient gold coins such as Roman gold aurei. In fact, Byzantine silver, generally, is significantly rarer than the gold, electrum, billon or copper coins of that empire. Byzantine gold coins are so packed with fascinating detail on account of the front-facing abstract iconography of the Byzantine period which greatly inspired the Spanish painter Pablo Picasso. They are the closest thing that I’ve seen to artwork on ancient coins. The only big mistake I made was when I purchased my first Byzantine gold coin, a Romanus III gold histamenon, at the start of the year. I realised with great regret that I could have bought the same gold coin more inexpensively and cheaply from the Forum. Actually, I wouldn’t be in the least surprised if the dealer selling the histamenon to me had themselves bought it from the Forum!

Offline Kingston

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Re: Questions from a beginner
« Reply #5 on: August 09, 2022, 02:29:32 am »
Many thanks for all your helpful replies.

I was not initially fully aware that the Forum was also a shop/auction and not only a discussion board, so I will certainly consider purchasing here once I know where to start.

I will do my homework based on your feedback and the resources you shared and I will get back if I have other questions.

Offline Kingston

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Re: Questions from a beginner
« Reply #6 on: August 12, 2022, 10:21:24 am »
After doing more research, I think I will try to focus on solidi of emperors linked to the first and second iconoclast period. It is not too broad, it enables to "tell a story", and should be realistic to complete within that budget. Appreciate your thoughts on this and will keep you updated if I manage to get started.

Offline Kingston

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Re: Questions from a beginner
« Reply #7 on: September 17, 2022, 04:37:53 am »
A quick update to mention I managed to get started and purchased two solidi - one from Leo III and the other from Theophilos. I will try to complete this collection with other emperors from the first and second iconoclast period.
I have started an album here: https://www.forumancientcoins.com/gallery/thumbnails.php?album=7779


Offline Serendipity

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Re: Questions from a beginner
« Reply #8 on: September 17, 2022, 02:56:55 pm »
You’ve certainly made a much better start than I have done at collecting Byzantine coins with your two gold solidi and silver miliaresion. I wish I had started out with the same affordable strategy of collecting solidi first and at least one miliaresion which would have given me a much more broader diversity of Byzantine coins. I have a tendency to jump in at the deep end of things which is why I splashed out on the Romanus III gold histamenon with its Christ image just in case I backtracked and got distracted by other coinage which seems to be what happened with my recent purchase of Roman hoard and Tibetan coins. The FORVM is a brilliant mine of information on Byzantine coinage.

Offline Kingston

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Re: Questions from a beginner
« Reply #9 on: September 18, 2022, 10:46:44 am »
Well I suppose it will also be difficult for me to stick to a theme. I started to find sasanian coinage particularly attractive for instance. Let's see where this leads me but I would like to end up with a compromise between having a coherent collection and still having some diversity in terms of coinage/historical periods/regions.

I don't think any strategy is necessarily better than others. As with any interest in life (or work), we probably tend to value more people who spend decades with the same pursuit. Is that always better? Not sure.

 

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