Numism > Help For the New Ancient Coin Collector
Play the Game!
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mikepellerin:
Before the Internet, The FORVM and WildWinds, I only had old Mail-Bid Catalogs to rely upon for coin ID's. I could never afford any of the RIC's, and my local Library would only order and hold them a few days. I finally got a Van Meter, and even though it was new back then, it was still lacking in the "visual" department.
So I began playing an ID game when my new Catalogs would come in. Without looking at the attributions I tried to see if I could ID the coins by portrait. After a successful ID I would cross-ref with my Van Meter to make sure the attribution was correct (like Stephen M. Huston, Wayne G. Sayles or Pegasi Coins would be wrong!).
I got pretty good at it.
Now here's my current game. Everytime The FORVM loads a new page it seems to put a new collection at the top and bottom of the page. Before I cursor over them, I try to see what I can identify first. Try it for a few weeks...you'll be surprised at what you learn even from the series/coins you don't specialize in!
:wreath3dot: Mike :wreath3dot:
Molinari:
Hi Mike, That's an interesting game you play. I too have found that comparing portraits is the best initial step in identifying coins. With Roman coins, I'll flip through a reference or catalogue, and once I find a portrait that is very similar, I'll begin my online search to narrow down the attribution. I've had enormous success identifying coins this way.
-Nich
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