11 Advantages of Collecting Ancient Greek and Roman Coins
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pCicE3nOEis
#1 Size of Market You are aware of a market of ancient coins which is much less known than what other markets people think of such as that of gold and silver. So the advantage to this is that you can get the best prices as you have less competition from other buyers. So you can build up a great collection relatively cheap. Some of the wealthiest families have had or still have collections, with famous names such as Hunt, Rockefeller, Mercedes and much more. What I find is that if some of the most successful people are involved in it, then there is something to it.
#2 Historical Value The beauty and historical value of ancient coins are valued by collectors worldwide rather than just what the value of the metal contained in them. So in regards to numismatic coins, you have the advantage of the coins being valued for what they are, rather than just the value of the “scrap” or the intrinsic metal in them.
#3 Relatively Unknown Not everyone knows that ancient coins exist for sale, and if they did, that would lead to a meteoric rise in prices for ancient coins. This is where I come in. As my knowledge of coins and marketing increases, my coins will have even a higher value than any other coins out there. The reason being, the professional research, full-color certificates of authenticity, some of the lowest prices on the market and so much more, adding to their resale value.
#4 Variety There is such a huge variety of ancient coins to collect. From more famous names such as Julius Caesar, Alexander the Great, Constantine the Great, there is such a wonderful variety of ancient coins to collect. This makes this topic very interesting to collect because of all of the variety available.
#5 Connection to Past Ancient coins preserve our connection to the past. By owning ancient coins, we can learn a lot more about ancient history and bring it to life in our own hands. It is not the metal content of the coin that is valuable, it’s the historical beauty it contains as it captures the aesthetics and history of that time period in a very portable format. Makes this a great heirloom for your family. Imagine starting a collection today, that spans generations!
#6 Teaching and Learning Resource Make great teaching aids for learning about ancient history
Growing up and reading books about history, I now realize how wonderful it would have been to hold an ancient coin from the time period of the Greeks or the Romans. And how much more motivated I would have been to learn about it, if the actual coins were in my hands! Also when you have the ancient coin in your hand, you want to go out and read the history on it, and anything it is connected to. You can say this allows you an expanded world view as your knowledge stretches back thousands of years.
#7 Great Gifts Ancient coins make great gifts!
There is something thoughtful about going into a selection of thousands of ancient coins and picking out the right ones for your friends and loved ones. Imagine giving a coin with a lion to a person of the Leo astrological sign, Mars or Ares for Ares sign, a coin with a Capricorn, and so much more. Maybe a coin of Alexander the Great for a person named Alex or Alexander. Or Philip II for a person named Philip. Or Mark Antony for a person named mark.
#8 Explore the World Ancient coins transport us to places where we dream to be. Ancient Greece, Rome, Egypt are all accessible now to you from the comfort of your own home.
#9 It used to be a Hobby of Kings which then became the King of Hobbies
The United States mint estimates that there are 140 million collectors in the United States alone. Perhaps this number figures in a lot of people that just collect pocket change. However, the point to make is that a person may start collecting something simple at one point and graduate to more scarce coins such as ancient Greek and Roman coins, should they find interest in it. However, with so many films such as Gladiator, 300, Troy, and shows like Rome made by HBO, ancient Greek and Roman history is hotter than ever. I personally believe that if more people knew about the availability of these coins, their price would jump through the roof. That is where educational articles like this add to the value of everyone collecting and/or investing in rare coins. Also with the advent of the internet, what was only for the richest people being the Hobby of Kings, it became the King of Hobbies, as people can trade their coins efficiently over the internet.
#10 Large Value in Small Size
Think about the advantages of having ancient coins as it allows you to pack a lot of value in a small package. People buy various things, such as art and antiques, but nothing is as compact and transportable as ancient coins. You can put them in your pocket and go!
#11 Scarcity
Each ancient coin as each it was struck by hand by aligning a small metal planchet between an anvil and a punch and what would happen is that the coins would have different centering. Also the dies would crack so they would need to re-engrave them, so the design could be slightly different. Also some coins were struck with the fresh dies, so the design may be sharper and more prolific rather than one that struck a significant amount of coins. So every time you see a very beautiful coin, realize that in itself is more scarce than a coin that it is a combination of great centering, engraver’s ability, sharpness and preservation so there is much to appreciate. What I have seen personally when visiting auctions, coins in superb condition actually would fetch astronomical prices. Some of the coins I feel that may fit this bill is my selection of my ancient silver Roman denarius coins. You can search my store for silver roman keywords.
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Article by Ilya Zlobin, world-renowned expert numismatist, enthusiast, author and dealer in authentic ancient Greek, ancient Roman, ancient Byzantine coins and beyond.
