Roman coins...

[bigjarofwasps]

Anyone out there into roman coins?

Was thinking of maybe starting a collection, any tips?

I see that the gold examples are for the big boys, so will have to set my sights a little lower. Maybe silver ones...

[bigjarofwasps]

Heres a few examples of silver ones I`ve seen that wouldn`t break the bank...

[bigjarofwasps]

Its surprising just how small they are, no wonder they lost so many...

[bigjarofwasps]

I suppose a good place to start might be...

[Eduardo]

Hello bigjarofwasps, Sorry I have seen your tread only now. If I can be of any help please contact me. This is the address of my page on the subject of Roman coins. It is my collection.

http://www.grifomultimedia.it/adg/monrom/Index.htm

As you say well, gold roman coins are for big guys and museums. Silver and copper coins can be real fun and there is much to learn from them. There are three groups and each one is as interesting as the other. Republic; High Empire and Low Empire.

Contact me

Eduardo

[Snoopy]

Hello

I have a small collection of roman copper coins. Allmost all of them are bought, on my trips to England. Most of them are worn, and none of them are valuable. My fascination with these coins, is to actually own something, that's between 1500 and 2000 years old. I believe that most of them, are from the late roman period. I am sorry about the bad pictures. I used a digital camera, and not a scanner.

All the best

Snoopy

Edited May 10, 2008 by Snoopy

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[Kev in Deva]

Hi Snoopy,

just to throw some light on your pictures:-

Kevin in Deva.

[Snoopy]

Hello Kevin

Thank you very much. I am hopeless with the camera. The pictures allmost allways, comes out to dark.

All the best

Snoopy

[Eduardo]

Hello Snoopy,

Interesting coins of the low Empire. The history behind them is so interesting. I think I have spoted one from IVLIAN the apostate. When you get the chance od making some scans I will be glad to help you with the clasification. In the meantime will do my best as soon as I have the time. That is also part of the fun of having roman coins ar helping friends.

As you say, the best part of them is to know some person like us had have it in its hand and used it almost two thosand years ago.

Eduardo

[bigjarofwasps]

Wow!!! Snoopy thats smashing thanks for sharing them with us!!! I`m still to get round to putting a collection together, but I know exactly one you mean about owning something from the dawn of time!!!

[Chuck In Oregon]

I have a modest collection of ancient coins, mostly Roman but some others too. I bought most of them in the Balkans and a few elsewhere. I also found some with my metal detector. Now THAT was fun. I even found the only Macedonian silver denarius ever found in Georgia. I recognized it immediately because I have one that I found but the site archaeologist told me that was impossible because they had never found one before. He didn't admit I was right for almost threee months, when he finally gave in, saying "I just can't believe it." Oh yeah, great fun.

I had a good friend in the Balkans who is a well-known collector who was kind enough to introduce me to the hobby. He has found and collected some absolutely amazing artifacts and coins. For instance, he has found TWO buried Roman soldier mustering-out bonuses of 3,000 silver denari each.

I have never been able to afford an ancient gold coin but I have a small number of silver and probably a couple hundred bronze. It was very enjoyable and educational identifying and cataloging them. I was pleasantly surprised to find this thread. I also have some interesting antiquities acquired here and there over the years, including one tiny decorated gold ring with two blue stones.

I hope to read more in this thread and to see what you have collected.

Chuck In Oregon

Currently, Chuck In Tbilisi

[Snoopy]

Thank you very much, guys. These coins, are really fascinating items. Just thinking about who might have handled these coins, back in the roman period, is fascinating. Maybe it was roman soldiers, on watch at the Hadrians wall, or some roman merchant.

I really appreciate your offer, concerning identification of the coins, Eduardo. One of these days, I will warm up the scanner.

All the best

Snoopy

[Eduardo]

Today in many countries, mine among them, we celebrate Mother's Day. My best to all the mothers of GMIC and I include a very interesting denary of Julia Domna (196-211 AD) which pictures in the reverse godess Isis with her baby Horus. This is said to be a base for all future Madonas but in reality I think it is universal or is there a better way to depict motherhood.

Eduardo

[Guest Rick Research]

With "only" 4 centuries of European civilization here, it mut be incredible to possibly find items like this literally out in your own back yards, in situ. With that kind of below ground history, I think I'd have gone metal detector crazy.

[Chuck In Oregon]

I never found any history-changing things, of course. But what I did find, and the experience of hunting and finding them, will stay with me forever.

I found a commemorative coin. Ho-hum, right? Sure, unless it was this one, which I think is the first-ever commemorative coin, 800 Years of the Roman Empire, with the she-wolf (did she have a name) suckling Romulus and Remus. You don't find those too often in Oregon.

The day I found the Macedonian silver denar I also found a long bronze snake-head hair pin from (according to the site archaeologist) the Middle Bronze Age. Those things went into the site museum with credit to me for finding them and they were featured in the national archaeology (I hate trying to type that word) symposium.

Another time we were looking for some clay-jar burials at a known site. I was detecting a site that had been looted long ago and I found a couple of bronze Persian coins. I turned them in (a deal's a deal after all) and the archaeologist said "Those are junk. They're only 300 years old. You want 'em? Keep 'em." They're in my collection to this day.

I know some major league collectors here in Tbilisi and one kindly sold me a few of his pieces. As a result I am the proud owner of a couple of great Athenian Owls (yeah, Greek, off topic) and a few others. I've also collected a very few ancient Georgian and Persian coins here over the years.

It's all good and this is a good thread.

Chuck