Numism > For the New Ancient Coin Collector
Common Mistakes for Beginners
ModernCoinTraitor:
I'm just getting started on ancient coins. Looking through many of the posts, a lot of links to references are broken and many of the viable references (ie. RIC) were written decades ago. Are there more up-to-date references that I should be using?
I understand attribution with these "older" references is still quite accurate with the exception that rarity and "unpublished" varieties are likely out of date. And, many of these attributes can usually be found online for free. But, I am a bit old school and like to hold things in my hands, put stickies on the pages to indicate what I've found, or even ink in a update of my own. The books are almost as personal as the coins!
So, before I invest in my personal set of references, I'd like to know I'm getting the best I can for the money. (Doesn't have to be expensive, just usable and accurate.) At the moment, I have a few random pieces from the Roman Empire and one Egyptian coin if that helps in generating a list of references. (Or point me to a working list.)
Meanwhile, I'll keep looking through the posts.
Thanks
Molinari:
--- Quote from: ModernCoinTraitor on June 12, 2013, 07:47:51 am ---I'm just getting started on ancient coins. Looking through many of the posts, a lot of links to references are broken and many of the viable references (ie. RIC) were written decades ago. Are there more up-to-date references that I should be using?
I understand attribution with these "older" references is still quite accurate with the exception that rarity and "unpublished" varieties are likely out of date. And, many of these attributes can usually be found online for free. But, I am a bit old school and like to hold things in my hands, put stickies on the pages to indicate what I've found, or even ink in a update of my own. The books are almost as personal as the coins!
So, before I invest in my personal set of references, I'd like to know I'm getting the best I can for the money. (Doesn't have to be expensive, just usable and accurate.) At the moment, I have a few random pieces from the Roman Empire and one Egyptian coin if that helps in generating a list of references. (Or point me to a working list.)
Meanwhile, I'll keep looking through the posts.
Thanks
--- End quote ---
It really depends on what interests you. There are so many numismatic publications it is mind boggling. I'd recommend you start with some of David Sear's books. He's published good general works on virtually every area of classical numismatics-Greek, Roman, Greek Imperial (Roman Provincial) and Byzantine, etc.
Carausius:
ModernCoinTraitor:
Note that there is a "Books and References" section on Forum that might help you in this area. Also, there is a Book Recommendations for Beginners thread under the Beginners section of Forum.
Andrew McCabe:
--- Quote from: ModernCoinTraitor on June 12, 2013, 07:47:51 am ---I'm just getting started on ancient coins. Looking through many of the posts, a lot of links to references are broken and many of the viable references (ie. RIC) were written decades ago. Are there more up-to-date references that I should be using?
I understand attribution with these "older" references is still quite accurate with the exception that rarity and "unpublished" varieties are likely out of date....
--- End quote ---
"decades ago" is really nothing for coin series that have been accurately documented since about 1500. Yes more coin hoards from the Balkans in the 1990s have decreased rarity and increased the varieties known in certain series (especially LRBs), but not much has really changed since the first accurate coin catalogues were produced during the Renaissance. The refresh time in academic ancient coin reference books is typically about 50 to 75 years. Under 50 years and they are up-to-date, over 100 years and catalogues begin to appear dated. The RIC volumes done in the 1920s were refreshed in the 1980s but those "decades ago" volumes are still probably in the early part of their life cycle! They are all also in-print, usually by Spink, and there shouldn't (legally) be free downloads on the web. The hardcover copies are easily available but expensive.
Collector Handbooks (non academic) are a different matter. Handbooks are refreshed almost daily based on printing technology advances, colour photography, the wish to list current prices, and, most important, the wish of the seller to sell more copies of essentially unchanged books for much longer by sticking on a new cover. I still use my 1951 copy of "Roman Silver Coins 1" even though the most recent issue is the 2010 reprint of the 1978 edition. The 1951 handbook is, in turn, a condensed version in English of Babelon's 1885 Monnaies de la Republique Romaine. When you read a freshly printed brand-new "Roman Silver Coins", the catalogue's arrangement and numbering is by Babelon, 150 years ago! The prices in both the 1951 and 1978 editions are both out-dated, but of more importance is the relative pricing which has stayed constant (if coin A was worth double coin B in 1951, the same roughly applies today, and probably also in 1850 and in 1750). Both have similar numismatic information (though some dates have been changed, references to a 1974 catalogue added and photos replaced line drawings). The most up-to-date handbooks generally rely the same (old) academic volumes for their reference material, so despite their glossy covers the information within may be decades or centuries old.
Given your collecting status, just starting out, the Sear handbooks are just fine. At the very outset I often recommend the cheaper all-in-one 1988 volume over the separate 2000's onwards volumes. Better value, and much of the same information within. As one advances one might want the full suite of the latest Sear handbooks and/or Roman Silver Coins volumes (5 vols) and/or Sear's Greek handbook (once again, the old editions are just as good as the more recent printings). You could do worse than buy the single volume 1988 handbook as a starter. As far as real information is concerned, it's got 80% of what you'll get from buying the much lengthier replacements + Roman Silver Coins. Fewer coins are listed to be sure, but the Imperial potted biographies and the history of Roman coins is not improved by listing more coin varieties.
Bear in mind that unlike modern coins, they are not making any new ancient coins any more (at least, I hope not). So, a US coin Red Book or a World Coin Krause Handbook printed in 1980 will miss 33 years of coin issues. But an ancient coin handbook printed in 1980 (or, indeed, in 1580) has more or less exactly the same coins to describe as one published today. Old is Gold.
NOVA:
Foreword: I am still considered a beginner in ancients albeit I have been ad-hoc collecting world coins for over 30 years during my travels with Uncle Sam.
I wish I would have stumbled upon this link before I ventured into buying on Ebay about three months ago. I think I made most if the mistakes listed here. If would not see the dates of the postings dating back to a few years I would have thought that they are talking about me :) So most of these these great tips and advices above my post are timeless.
As I wrote in my introductory posts (that also became a confessional) under the "Fakes" thread, my mistakes were that I had too much credence in Ebay's feedback system. I relied on it since before 1998 but that same system cannot be applied to coins, ancient coins in particular.
Another mistake was that although I had a few electronic and hard copy reference sources on ancients, I was more interested in the history behind a coin and not the coin itself. Thus I did not make a lot of efforts in learning what the characteristics of various ancient coins are, how to evaluate and identify them, where to seek out authoritative advice and reference considering their value and authenticity. Ancient coin collecting is not as binary as building a modern coin collection. In comparison to modern coins, there are many more factors that comprise an ancient's attractiveness and value to a collector, amongst them art and style. The weight of these may vary from person to person, but in many cases they are a huge factor in collectability.
One mistake that I am still working through and trying to gauge is collecting ancients for investment as a beginner. No, my primary goal is not to make money, but since I do not have unlimited funds I want to make sure that the ancients I owe at least retain their value, and in some cases they may increase it. I think I know enough already to realize that only in very rare an lucky cases will I buy a coin that is worth more than what I paid for (if I want to sell it immediately). In most cases if you want to resell the coin right away it's worth 20-50% less. I think we are all hoping that there are really rare coins out there that YOU will discover or you get to acquire somehow at a deep discount, but for these I think you need luck and a real intricate knowledge of the ancients market.
An obvious, but easily made mistake: do not attempt to clean coins (any coins) unless you know what you doing. That's especially true for ancients as they require more tender loving care ad are judged differently from modern coins in their condition. So I need to experiment on less valuable ones first and only after reading up on competent cleaning advice. Also, many ancients in order to remain in the same condition may require special steps of preservation that most modern coins would not.
And for last bu not least is that constructive positive guidance versus dismissing criticism towards beginners goes a long way in attracting and retaining new collectors. And I thank the Forvm for being supportive and constructive when they could have been critical and dismissive! :)
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