Why Are Ancient Coins So Cheap?

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Ben The Coin Geek
Old Pueblo Coin

[macarioacosta]

I gave my grandkids, three of them, an old ancient Roman coin so they could hold something that was thousands of years old. Amazing stuff. Thank you for your knowledge sharing

[markhynson]

Caught the ancient bug a little while ago. I love the history and the things you can get for the money. A good YouTube channel for ancients is Classical Numismatics. He does a great job with the history and the coins. Love when you show them off on here as well.

[zzyzxRDFwy]

Maybe the question should why are US coins so over priced.

[RandomlyGeneratedUsername]

The bar for starting a collection of ancients is much higher. It takes more effort to understand them, as well as their pricing and where to safely buy them as a beginner. They are also not as familiar to people as coins from their own countries. The lack of collectors further leads to people not even knowing that they could be collecting ancients.

[tompekarna]

As i unerstand the market, Deceased persons were buried with a coin in their mouths to pay the fee to cross the river Styx. And the burials were along the side of roads, advent of better metal detectors has revealed thousands of those burial coins. Their artful designs are impressive.

[TiHerr]

Thanks Ben. One of the first coins I ever collected was a gift of a Roman coin from 400 B.C. I was ten years old at the time and promptly lost it.

[ClassicalNumismatics]

Hi Ben! Thank you for touching on the subject of Ancient Coins. 😃

Im not a big fan of using slabs as a kind of help for beginner ancient coin collectors because the nature of the hobby in fact comes from doing lots of research on your coin, using books as a reference, etc.

In fact, from my experience on coin shows, dealers with raw coins seem to be the ones more likely to have the coin properly attributed, while the NGC slabs generally give very limited information. But hey, if people coming from US coin collecting feel safer with this, go ahead.

Your recommendation on books is spot on, books are a great help for everyone, beginner and experienced collector alike.

As for greek coins, it really shouldnt be seen as this daunting task. Yes, its a different alphabet, but just like everyone here learned how to read and write by being introduced to the letters, then to its sounds, then to its syllables, learning some very basic ancient greek is completely doable. There are even online keyboards where you can type down what you see on your coin.

The relatability point is real. For me coins have been a very interesting catalyst to study new cultures. Some people feel drawn to a culture first, then they delve into their coinage, thats how I got started with Roman coins in fact, but it can go the other way around, its very fun.

I think I'll make a response video to this one when I have a little extra time. You seem to like Ancients, people here on the comments seem to have the typical concerns that are easily answered, and it would be good for the hobby. Thanks once again Ben!

[lindsey]

I really like ancient coins in mint state. It's cool to own and hold a coin in your hand that is in the same condition it was 1000+ years ago. Surviving that long in mint state is fascinating to me. Just to think where and how long the coin sat undisturbed until somebody discovered it. Not to mention, you can see luster that was created by someone swinging a hammer that long ago!

[compatriot]

In regards to Rome, inflation played a large role in why late Roman bronze follis coins are cheap, due to how much was minted.

Ancients in general require knowledge of history to fully appreciate and value coins accordingly. It also helps protect you against scammers, which there are unfortunately many in the field.

[tedlawrence]

Collecting ancients is more popular in Europe than here in the States. I have been collecting them since '62. As far as values are concerned here is a comparision: 2 Buffalo 5c: One is a fine 36p: the other is a 18/7 overdate PCGS 45. Both Buffalo 5c but what a difference in value! Same with ancients. A Constantine bronze in low grade compared to an au nero denarius is another comparison of both rarity and value difference. If as many American collectors would add ancients to their collection, you would see, a substantial increase, in their value.

[chrissahar]

For those in the New York City area or traveling to NYC in January - a must show to go to is the NYC International Numismatic Convention. Many dealer of ancient coins and you get to see coins beyond the budgets of most collectors -- I recall a year or two ago seeing a coin from the era of Charlemagne (gold one -- nd these are quite rare) under glass being sold for $100, 000. Yet there are grab bags of ancient coins, foreign coins and banknotes too. You can also get things such as 19th century French pattern coins, gold coins from South America from the 19th and 20th century (some of which were produced by US mints!!!!) and the current year's Libertad.

If you get there early, you usually get a free coin - such as a large British penny from the 1960's - of low value but still cool.

[TnT_FX]

They're so cheap because 1000 years is a lot of loose change dropped.
In 3024 they'll be buying copper and zinc pennies for 3000╛coin and people will wonder how they're so cheap.

[peecee]

Aussie here. I recently purchased a silver Antoninianus coin because I could not believe how clear and sharp the details were on the coin. And considering its age, how relatively inexpensive it was (about US$50). Very interesting video. Thank you.

[MEMO]

I've always wanted to add a coin that was Ancient to my collection but when I saw some coins really cheap I passed on them, I figured something I wasn't aware of had to be wrong with them to be at that price. I think just holding an ancient coin would be an humbling experience

[jdzazz]

I would be interested in hearing more about coins from the 1300s to 1700. Are any from that era affordable for an average collector?

[davidbarber]

When I started collecting, I decided from the beginning to focus on USA coinage and essentially 20th century. The world was just too big to even attempt more than that.
As such, ancients held little interest for me and I expected that they're be quite expensive because typically the older the coin, the higher cost. I may have been wrong about that.
However, I held to it and today the only ancient Roman coin that tugs at my heart is the aureus.
You may have shown some of them in past videos. If so, I've missed them so far.
I think of them as the British sovereigns of the ancient world.

[YoutubeFEEN]

bought my first ancient coin today! got a Head of Helios silver Drachm from apparently 205 to 190 BC. I am tempted to get it authenticated/ graded

[silverbarr]

Newer to Ancients myself but recently purchased a couple graded Denarius to own a cool piece of history and to drive myself into researching the coins history. Thanks for the content. I’m really enjoying this new journey.

[adamhall]

Just ordered that book on your recommendation. I've been wanting to start collecting Roman coins for awhile now and have been looking for a good book and this looks like it nails it. Thanks and looking to more of your videos and content.

[ancientcoincollector]

The question is: Are they really cheap? I don`t think so. Just because something is old, it doesnt mean it has to be very expensive. Compared to now, ancient coins were cheap 10-20 or meybe 50 years ago - now they are in my understanding expensive - especially silver coins which are in good condition.