How to Collect Ancient Coins. Collecting ancient Roman and Greek coins can start with a visit to Ebay. People have collected ancient coins probably since coins were first invented. There is a huge market...
People have collected ancient coins probably since coins were first invented. There is a huge market for them today, but it did not really blossom until the 1400s when the Italian Renaissance was in full bloom. The nobility of Europe started collecting ancient coins because they were linked to the classical world and humanism. People collected antiquities of all sorts including coins. When the market was established, dealerships started to appear over 400-500 years. Today I would say there are probably 200 serious, full-time dealers in the United States alone without counting those on E-Bay.
Coin collecting is a very individual hobby. Every collector builds their own collection based on their own interests. I guess there aren't any rules per se like, "do this," or "don't do this." The only thing I would suggest to a beginning collector is not to buy what you don't understand. If you don't know anything about a coin, don't spend too much money on it. First educate yourself and learn from others. I estimated in a magazine article I wrote sometime ago that there are 50,000 collectors of ancient coins in the US. Of those, there are at least 200 dealers who are fairly to extremely knowledgeable. There are a number of Yahoo groups with people who are bound to have some expertise for beginners. Whether a beginner chooses Greek or Roman collecting really depends on their interest. If you are interested in coins as works of art, you should probably lean toward the Greek series. If you are interested in coins as a reflection of history, you should lean toward the Roman series. The Roman coins are easier for the beginner to understand, because the letters are all in Latin. Many people are not able to interpret the Greek alphabet.
