Ancient Coins

The field of ancient coins can be summed up in a few sentences. There are the coins of ancient Greece, the coins of ancient Rome.. and everything else. Greek coins are from the B.C period. Roman coins are from the A.D. period.

Thank you, and come again.

The abrupt analysis above is roughly accurate, but thankfully, there is much much more to be said about ancient coins. Any ancient coin should be fascinating to own. Each one certainly has a story to tell– at least 1,500 years worth! Many collectors don’t even consider trying to collect ancient coins because they assume ancient coins are very rare and very expensive. Some are, but many are definitely NOT! In fact, many ancient coins are so available and so cheap, they can hardly be GIVEN away! You, the collector, should take advantage of that! You’re far more likely to obtain a very scarce ancient coin for under $25 than you are a very scarce U.S. coin from the 1800's or early 1900's!

To discuss “ancient coins” thoroughly would require a few book volumes. But here, we’ll try and cover the basics.

Ancient Greek Coins
The coins of ancient Greece go back to about the 7th century B.C, when the kingdom of Lydia began striking crude, lumpish electrum coins. The “end” of ancient Greek coins is hard to define, but the end of what many consider to be the “Ancient Greek” period would be roughly 50 A.D., maybe even as early as 44 B.C. when Julius Caesar conquered the western world, or perhaps even earlier in 168 B.C. when the Romans took complete control of Greece. Most of the Greek coins you will encounter today are from the period of around the 4th century B.C to the 1st century B.C. Ancient Greek coins are not dated, of course, but you can often roughly gauge the time period of a Greek coin this way:

650 B.C - 480 B.C
Small, crude, lumpy, bean-shaped coins with high relief designs on obverse with featureless punch on reverse. These would be mostly silver coins, some gold or more often electrum (debased gold in natural form). The designs are simple: turtles, lions, birds, bulls, rough geometric patterns among others.

480 B.C - 330 B.C
This would be the “classic” period of Greek coinage art. The coins of this period are more round. There are a range of coins: gold coins, large silver coins, tiny silver coins, large bronze coins, tiny bronze coins. Often, these are beautifully-rendered high-relief coins where gods, goddesses, mythological figures abound.

330 B.C - 50 A.D
These coins are from the Hellenistic, Alexander the Great and post-Alexander years. Coinage art is still well-done, but not as stunning as the previous “Golden Age” period. Relief is shallower, the designs more standard: local rulers, soldiers, eagles, religious symbols. Here too there are large and small silver coins, large and small bronze coins.

Ancient Roman Coins
Roman coins can be broken into two major periods: the Roman Republic period and the Roman Imperial period. There is actually a third sub-period– that would be from about 49 B.C, when Julius Caesar crossed the river Rubicon with his army in defiance of the Senate, to 27 B.C, when the Roman Civil War finally ended with the ascension of Caesar Augustus as emperor of Rome. But besides these historical time periods, there are the following “collector” periods when it comes to Roman coins:

Roman Republic
This period, ranging from roughly 290 B.C to 48 B.C, is dominated by a staggering variety of silver denarii. These Roman Republic denarii were struck by private moneyers (as opposed to an imperial mint) and feature symbolic designs– common design types are Roma heads, Janus heads and gods in horse-drawn bigas and quadrigas. There are also VERY large, heavy cast bronze coins from around the 3rd century B.C, which feature Janus heads on one side, a ship’s prow on the other, followed by increasingly smaller struck bronzes.

Julius Caesaer/Civil War Period
Coins from this period of Roman history, roughly 49 B.C to 27 B.C, also feature symbolic designs (god busts, ships, chariots) but also now start to feature the busts of actual people (Julius Ceasar, Brutus, Marc Antony, Octavian). Coins from this period are mostly silver denarii. All are quite popular, thus command pretty high prices. An exception would be the Marc Antony “Legionary Denarii” which feature a roman galley ship on one side, a Roman standard with eagle on the other. These coins were struck in large numbers from 32 B.C to 31 B.C and thus, survive today in large enough numbers that they can easily be bought for $150 or more depending on their state of preservation, a great price for coins this historical.

Twelve Caesar Period
There was a well-known biographical book written in ancient times called, THE TWELVE CAESARS, written by Gaius Suetonius Tranquillus. The book was a fascinating account of the lives and peculiarities of the first twelve Roman caesars: Julius Caesar, Caesar Augustus, Tiberius, Caligula, Claudius, Nero, Vitellius, Otho, Galba, Vespasian, Titus, and Domitian. Consequently, coins of these emperors are VERY popular with collectors– far more so than the later, less celebrated emperors.

Golden Age Period
If you saw the movie, GLADIATOR, you were watching a depiction of the END of this period, which lasted about 96 A.D to 180 A.D. This era was characterized by massive Roman expansion and relative peace and prosperity, at least for Roman citizens. Emperors of this period would be Nerva, Trajan, Hadrian, Antonius Pius, and Marcus Aurelius. This “Golden Age” came to an end when madman-emperor, Commodus became emperor. Silver denarii AND bronze coins of these emperors are available for affordable prices– only truly high-grade pieces will hurt your wallet.

Violent Period
From the late 2nd century A.D to the early 4th century A.D, it was not a safe time to be the Roman emperor. Many an emperor, particularly during the 3rd century A.D, met a violent end, either at the hand of an outside enemy (not often), at the hands of his own soldiers (sometimes), or at the hands of a Roman rival (often). During this period, the high-quality silver denarii fell by the wayside, replaced by lightly-silvered bronze coins. Coins of this period are easily available and affordable, even in high grades!

Constantinian Period
Constantine the Great ushered in the Christian Age in Rome, when he converted around 307 A.D. This period goes from about 307 A.D to around 395 A.D.  Bronze coins became smaller during this period, as even the large-sized sesterii, already shrinking during the 3rd century A.D, vanished completely. It was replaced by the much-smaller follis in the early 4th century, but that too vanished by the mid-300's. Quarter to dime sized copper coins abounded during this period, with some silver (the siliqua) being struck. Coins of 4th century A.D are easily the most available and affordable of Roman coins. Low grade examples can be had for as little as $1 and are often sold in bulk.

Late Roman Period
This period is roughly 395 to 476 A.D. The Roman Empire is starting to unravel as barbarians become bolder in their frontier attacks and even comprise a considerable part of the roman legions themselves. Finally the frontier Roman outposts are abandoned– the Roman abandonment of Britain in 410 A.D is a prime example. Rome herself is sacked by barbarian troops in the early 5th century A.D! The last emperor of the Western Roman Empire (Romulus Augustus) is deposed in 476 A.D.  Rome lives on in its eastern empire, which history will come to know as the Byzantine Empire. Roman coinage continues to worsen, size-wise and quality-wise during this tumultous period. Only the gold solidus remains viable and of good quality. By the late 5th century A.D, Roman bronze coins are teeny little coins that more resemble pebbles than coins. Emperor depictions on the coins are little better than cartoon figures. These coins are not much to look at, but they are quite scarce and historical as they hail from a time when a great empire was dying. These tiny bronzes (often classified as ae 3 & 4 bronzes) are scarce but still affordable. Beginning with the coinage reforms of Anastasius I (the first Byzantine emperor), the eastern roman coinage takes on new life as new denominations are added and the follis becomes the largest roman bronze coin since the early republic. Although bronzes coins declined in later years, the gold coinage of Constantinople remained of good quality and size for centuries.

Byzantine Coins
Technically, these coins, struck from 498 A.D to around 1453 A.D, are coins of the Dark Ages through the Medieval Period. Still, they are often sold as and discussed in conjunction with “ancient coins.” Byzantine coins are characterized by crude, FRONT-facing busts of emperors (earlier Roman coins mostly faced right or left) and heavily Christianized designs (crosses, Jesus Christ, haloed Mary, religious inscriptions). The artwork on Byzantine coins is often crude, even cartoonish, thus they look very Dark-Age-ish. But even though Byzantine coinage flourished DURING the “Dark Ages,” it was only a Dark Age for Western Europe, not for the Byzantine Empire. In fact, the Byzantine Empire was a bastion of highly evolved civilization during the Dark Ages. Bronze coins dominate the coinage landscape, though gold was also prevalent. Silver coins are much scarcer than either bronze or gold coins. Although Byzantine coins have not been traditionally collected with the same enthusiasm as Greek and Roman coins, they have grown immensely in popularity and previously commonly found pieces are increasingly scarce and expensive now.

Celtic Coins
The earliest Celtic “coins” were bronze wheel-like objects used in trade, and also bronze rings, also used in trade. But contact with the Greeks resulted in the ancient Celts striking their own coins. The artwork on many of these fascinating coins is baffling: tiny wheels with spokes, large abstract-ish heads, abstract curvy and linear designs, stylized bulls and birds. Celtic coins were struck roughly 2nd century B.C to around 60 A.D, after which the coins of Rome took over in Britain. The Celtic coins you are likely to encounter will be a mix of silver and bronze coins, mostly nickel to dime size in diameter. Celtic coins conjure up images of Druids, Celtic warriors on chariots, mysterious villages amidst deep forests and great rock circle worship centers (like Stonehenge). It’s small wonder Celtic coins are popular with collectors. They are not nearly as cheap as Roman coins, as a whole, but they are still affordable: worn Celtic coins of the B.C period can still be bought for around $25-$75 in average condition.

Coins of Ancient China
There is the “hoe money” (bronze pieces shaped like hoes and covered with Chinese characters) of the 3rd to 2nd century B.C, followed by the more standard coin with a square hole (1st century B.C to 22 A.D), and then the beginning of the standard “Cash” bronze coinage in 618 A.D and continuing to 1911! All of the above ancient coins of China are available and affordable, though the “hoe money” is harder to track down.

Have we left anything out? You mean besides the coins of the Persian Empire (5th-4th century B.C), the Sassian Empire (4th-7th century A.D), the coins of Ancient India (3rd century B.C to 7th century A.D), the coins of B.C era North Africa, the coins of Judea, etc., etc., etc.? Yes, we have left a LOT out, but hopefully this discussion was at least a bare-bones introduction to the world of ancient coins. Before we close however, below is a list of some of the TRULY sought-after ancient coins:


 * ANCIENT GOLD COINS: They’re ancient. They’re gold.  Enough said.
 * THE EARLIEST GREEK COINS, 7th-6th Century B.C: These coins represent the absolute beginning of coinage as we know it. Consequently, many collectors seek out these crude, lump-ish electrum coins, and later gold and silver, struck long before even the Golden Age of Greece.
 * GREEK SILVER COINS: Greek silver coins, particularly those struck during the 480-330 B.C period, are always sought-after. The larger the silver coin, the more elaborate the design, the higher the price tag, and the more collectors competing with you to own it!
 * ROMAN DENARII OF POPULAR/SCARCE EMPERORS: For obvious reasons, collector demand drives up the prices for silver denarii of such well-known rulers as Julius Caesar, Augustus, Caligula and Claudius. Prices are likewise high for rulers who were only around a short time, such as these emperors– Vitellius, Otho and Galba –  who all came and went in a matter of months from 68 to 69 A.D.
 * BIG BRONZE COINS: Collectors LOVE the large-size ancient bronzes. If those large bronze coins are in nice shape, prices REALLY skyrocket.  Obviously, designs and details are more easily seen (and rendered) on a large scale.  These large bronze coins would include the VERY large bronze coins of Ptolemy Egypt (250-100 B.C), the large bronze coins, known as aes grave, of the Roman Republic (3rd century B.C), and the Roman orichalcum (brass) sestertius coins, particularly those of 14 A.D through 180 A.D.
 * COINS MADE POPULAR IN THE BIBLE: Yes, some coins mentioned in the Bible are quite available and affordable in today’s market. The “Widow’s Mite”, actually a Judean lepton or prudah of about 104-40 B.C, is a prime example.  This coin, made famous in the story where Jesus points out a poor widow woman who gave her only two “mites” as an offering, was struck in large numbers and is thus, quite affordable even today.  BUT... if you’re talking about the “Tribute Penny” (“render unto Caesar’s what is Caesars..”), which is actually a silver denarii of Tiberius, THIS coin, although common, will cost you a pretty penny due to high demand.  The same can be said for one of the “Thirty Pieces of Silver” as payment to Judas for betraying Jesus: the silver Shekel of Tyre.