/r/AncientCoins
A place to show off and discuss ancient and medieval coins from around the world, as well as to post links to articles and other references about them.
Need an ID? PLEASE HELP US HELP YOU BY POSTING PHOTOS OF BOTH SIDES OF EACH COIN & preferably photos of its edge as well. If you have trouble using reddit's own photo hosting please try the imgur app or go to https://imgur.com/upload.
Memes, joke posts & other shitposts may only be posted here on the last day of each Gregorian calendar month.
This is the place to show off and discuss ancient and medieval coins from around the world, as well as to post links to articles and other references about them. Posting non-coin antiquities is also OK, but we may not be able to tell you much about them.
If you would like our help in identifying a specimen PLEASE HELP US HELP YOU BY POSTING PHOTOS OF BOTH SIDES OF THE COIN and preferably photos of its edge as well. You can host the photos using the imgur app or by going to https://imgur.com/upload to make an album/gallery of them.
Please DON'T make more than one post for the same coin or group of coins unless asked specifically by a moderator. Use an imgur.com album/gallery to show multiple photos of the same coin(s).
This is a relatively small and slow-moving subreddit, so it may take a little while to get answers to your questions. If you are posting from a relatively new account and/or one low in karma your post will need to be manually approved. This usually shouldn't take more than 2 or 3 hours, and certainly no more than 24.
Please contact us via modmail if you think there's a problem.
Our Wiki/FAQ:
Can be found here. Among other things it contains links to galleries of some of our members' coins. Link to original "Post your gallery" thread - http://redd.it/2obp6t
Subreddit rules: /r/AncientCoins/about/rules/
It's fine to publicize your own ancient and medieval coin-related blogs, websites, YouTube channels, etc. or ones by other people. It's also fine to offer to buy and sell ancient and medieval coins here and discuss sales taking place on /r/CoinSales and on other websites.
Please just try to not be annoying about it.
If you'd like to publicize your coins for sale on eBay please use /r/CoinBay instead.
Thanks, and good luck with your projects and building your knowledge and collection.
Trusted sites to purchase coins
(You may want to purchase from sellers in your same country to simplify the transaction, but international sales are quite common.)
These venues are generally considered trustworthy and professional:
(Thanks to /u/KungFuPossum)
Related Discord https://discord.gg/erQ62ePm
Useful links to attribute (ID) ancient and medieval coins:
FORVM ANCIENT COINS: Imperial Roman Coin Attribution 101 - The Short Course and The Late Roman Bronze Coin Attribution Toolkit
Wildwinds ancient and medieval coins (This is a great site, and there are a lot of links at the bottom of that page to more great info)
The Ancient Coin Search Engine (acsearch.info) compiles auction results and information from a number of reliable sources.
CoinProject.com is billed as a free collaborative, non-commercial numismatic research website - check it out.
Helvetica's Identification Help Page is a very helpful resource for identifying Roman coins. The site hosts downloadable spreadsheets to help you attribute your coins.
The Encyclopedia of Roman Imperial Coins Vol. I is available from the author as a free and legal download in zipped PDF format HERE.
David M. Schaps' "The Invention of Coinage and the Monetization of Ancient Greece" is available online as a PDF file HERE, though it may be an unauthorized source.
Online booklet for beginners: How to Collect Ancient Roman Coins, in PDF format.
Deciphering Roman Coin Inscriptions By Kevin Barry.
/u/semicolonlife suggested the resource OCRE, the Online Coins of the Roman Empire at numismatics.org/ocre, as well as coinarchives.com.
/u/acs14 suggested the online edition of Identifying Late Roman Bronze Coins.
/u/StickyReggae suggests DirtyOldCoins.com's reference page with links to useful coin databases.
/u/jjlava suggests the Ancient Roman and Greek Coins FAQ. It's a nice little beginner's guide.
User /u/sir_squidz recommends these links for those of us who love British Celtic coinage: Van Arsdel Celtic Coinage of Britain and The UK Portable Antiquties Scheme
User /u/Savixe has a great new YouTube channel, Classical Numismatics, that goes over the basics: getting started in ancient Roman coins, attribution and reading them. This is a GREAT visual resource for beginners - exceedingly well done!
/u/MrCheesyfuntime reminds us to check Forum Ancients Coins' "Notorious Fake Sellers List" when buying coins online.
Thanks go to /u/Whizb4ng for helping us with this list. If any of you have suggestions to augment this list please message the mods, thanks.
Please be sure to visit these other fine subreddits:
/r/AncientCoins
64,481 Subscribers
Thank you, community and my first coins
Hi Friends,
I am excited to be a part of this sibreddit. Lots of great members and useful information.
I recently became interested in coins from my favorite historical period: the Roman Republic. I started my collection by buying two coins:
Crawford 344/2b. I love its historical content; now hunting for other 344/1a, /1b, /1,c and /2a to collect a complete set of Abduction of the Sabine Women story
I bought one coin on eBay and identified it as Crawford 259/1. I don't know if it's fake. What do you think? (I know it is not advisable to buy on ebay, I just experimented)I am sharing both coin images.
Thanks! :)
05:21 UTC
Is there any law or regulation about bringing ancient coins to the United States from another country?
I was wondering if there is any restriction?
03:54 UTC
Real?
Bought this recently is this real?
02:06 UTC
Preferred method of storing ancient coins
Hi everyone, I am new to coin collecting and have a few ancient coins under my belt. I am wondering what the ins and outs of coin storage are. When do you put coins in plastic cases? When do you leave them without a cover? When do you leave them in a plastic pouch?
RE plastic cases - I fear if I move them around too much it can damage coins more than protect them
RE leaving them without a cover - I fear the natural wear and tear of direct sunlight, humidity, etc. Is that a valid fear?
Please let me know your preferred methods and why. Thank you in advance!
21:20 UTC
Are you part of the gang too?
21:00 UTC
You know you have no chance at that point
20:21 UTC
Is this legit? I'm new and still learning...
18:31 UTC
Multiple Auction Houses This Week Incorrectly Classifying Fakes / Fourees of Achaemenid Siglos as Real IMO - Buyer Beware
Seems like a load of fake / fouree Siglos have hit the market this week. In terms of weight a Siglos is 5.25 to 5.60 grams typically. There are some lighter standard Carradice Type III A Siglos out there around 5.25 g but I've never seen one below 5.00g in memory.
I'm seeing a bunch of Siglos for sale this week at three auction houses that aren't marked as fake or fouree. Here are just three examples:
Bay Numismatics, Auction 9, Lot 14 (approx 4.5 g)
Aphrodite Auctions V1, Lot 175 (approx 4.48 g)
Olympus Auctions Auction 18, Lot 2 (approx 4.6 g)
The other two are new names but Olympus? Shame!
Please be careful out there folks.
17:53 UTC
Aemilian from Parium + Article
16:37 UTC
Alberto Zecchi and ash wood
I've recently bought several trays from Alberto Zecchi, I have not yet recieved them. However I went to look at his listing and saw the mention of "solid European Ash wood" I have not been able to find anything, nor have I ever heard of, ash wood in a coin-cabinet context. Do anyone here know anything about that? Is the ash wood safe and free from off-gassing.
15:06 UTC
12:52 UTC