I have a site for beginners, Ancient Roman and Greek Coins, FAQ
To keep this page available, some (not all) links open in a new window. If you click and nothing seems to happen, look in a window already open underneath.
Most sites on the page are Roman.
In you prefer
Greek, skip down to the Greek sites.
I do
not list any dealers
individually, but recommend the ancient coin mall: vcoins.com
Links on this page (below):
Identifying ancient
coins. What is it worth?
Roman emperors
on coins. Collecting themes.
Byzantine coins. Greek
coins. Other cultures. Fakes.
Cleaning.
I have a page of book
recommendations.
How do I identify a
coin I
have? What is it worth?
To value
a coin you need to
know its identification. If you have it well-identified, you can search
for similar coins at two commercial sites:
VCoins.com
("search all stores" in the upper right)
and eBay (go
to "coins" then "ancient". Then
"Search" is on the left. However eBay prices listed mean nothing until after the auction
closes. Bookmark
types that interest you so you can revisit them after they have
closed. Many coins
don't really sell, and many others triple their price in the last
instant. A serious mistake many beginners make is to think
their
coin is worth as much as some other coin for sale because the coins are
the same "type of coin." But value is even more dependent upon
"condition" which is very difficult to describe. Unless you coin is
definitely better than one for sale, it might be worth very much less
because of its "condition". That's why you need to continue with the
next sites.
(Identifying coins is not easy.
Valuing them is
even harder. It takes years to get good at it. You might just want to
ask an expert.)
Wildwinds is a well-organized, extensive list of Roman and Greek coin types, with photos, drawn largely from web auctions (with prices). You can look up your coins here. This is one of the major attribution and valuing sources on the web.
An excellent site on late Roman coins, designed to help you
identify
the most common Roman coins: http://www.bitsofhistory.com/ace/documents/coin_id/
Every buyer needs to learn about how to evaluate the condition
of a
coin. Sometimes this is called "grading" the coin, although there is
much more to condition than grade (which is, technically, only a
term to describe wear).
Naturally, Doug
Smith has done a great job describing condition.
Calgary Coin Gallery has also discussed
grading.
These two sites describe how coins
"should" be graded. Unfortunately, many web sellers (say, on eBay
or Yahoo!) grossly misrepresent their coins by overgrading them.
Always inspect the picture -- don't believe a stated grade unless
you know the dealer.
There is a
database of the
finest coins offered recently at auction, "CoinArchives.com".
All
the coins will be
expensive and you must use the "search" function. If you know what you
have and it is spectacular, you might be able to find similar coins
that have been offered recently at the highest-quality auctions
(definitely not eBay auctions!). However, only a very small
percentage of coins fit in this category. It is a great site for
experienced collectors, but not much use to beginners.
Do you want to know if the ANS (American Numismatic Society) has a particular coin type? You can search their collection (but not yet see photos) if you already know how to describe a coin you have.
Do you have part of the legend of a coin
and want to know
the rest and who issued it?
John Jencek, a dealer, has put together a
list of 1000 obverse legends.
I have an ancient coin and I wish I knew what it was. How
can I
attribute it?
Without experience, it is not
easy to attribute coins. Most of the unattributed "coins" I get asked
about are modern fakes. Genuine ancient coins handed down from previous
generations usually come with some written identification on the coin
holder. If it mentions a Roman emperor, you can then look for more
information by searching vcoins.com
.
A database of Roman coins
organized by emperor. ( dirtyoldcoins.com )
Of course, you can search vcoins.com
to see what coins
of the various emperors look like.
The
Virtual Catalog of Roman Coins A large site with
images of
coins of each emperor and his relatives who had coins issued for them
(not priced).
Imperial busts may be
described as "laureate,"
"diademed," etc. What do those terms mean? Find out at Portrait
styles on Roman Imperial Coinage.
If you want to see lots of top coins of
any
particular
emperor, search CoinArchives.com which
archives major
auction-sale descriptions and results.
Many coins are organized by emperor
at http://aeqvitas.com/photo.php
Sites emphasizing a particular emperor:
Domitian
(81-96 AD) (Very high grade coins with numerous rare piecesi)
Trajan
(AD 98-117) sestertii (amazingly complete, with denarii and other
denominations too)
Another collector emphasizes Trajan,
but
also with Greek coins and coins of other civiliations.
Hadrian
(AD 117-138) on coins of Roman Egypt (not
"imperial"
coins)
Barry Murphy's collection of Septimus
Severus and his family (Caracalla, Julia Domna, Geta, and
Plautilla). High-quality coins well-organized by mint, but
not a
lot of commentary.
Doug Smith has a lot on Septimius
Severus
(AD 193-211) among his many pages. Wait for the main page to load (well
worth the
wait!) and use the menu.
Elagabalus
(AD 218-222)
Severus
Alexander (AD 222-235. Lots of
information and
photos of scarcer types, but not many of the common types)
Gordian
III
(AD 238-244)
Gordian III (AD 238-244)
Jim Shaffer's site on Philip
("the
Arab") 244-249 and his family (with many illustrated antoniniani)
Doug Smith has a terrific overview of
the coins of Philip
and his family.
Trebonianus
Gallus (251-253) and his family
Gallienus
(AD 253-268)
Tom Ross has a site on Aurelian.
(AD
270-275)
A collection
of Probus (AD 276-282)
Coins of Constantine
the Great
(306-337).
The next sites are amazing. They are not that easy to use, but each
presents a comprehensive scholarly overview (in French) with very
detailed type and issue descriptions, illustrated by coins of most
types. The coins are not that great, so I am surprised it was worth the
effort to write such a complete catalogs.
A comprehensive French sale of coins of Probus,
left on the web even after
it's over (slow loading).
A
comprehensive French sale of coins of Septimius
Severus and his family,
left on the web even after it's over (slow loading).
A comprehensive French sale of coins of Severus
Alexander and his family, left on the web even after it's
over
(slow loading).
A
comprehensive French sale of coins of Maximinus
Thrax (235-238),
left on the web even after it's over (slow loading).
A
comprehensive French sale of coins of Gordian
III,
left on the web even after it's over (low loading).
A
comprehensive French sale of coins of Philip
and his family,
left on the web even after it's over (slow loading).
A
comprehensive French sale of coins of Trajan
Decius,
left on the web even after it's over (slow loading).
A
comprehensive French sale of coins of Trebonianus
Gallus, left on the web even after it's over (slow loading).
A
comprehensive French sale of coins of Claudius
Gothicus and Quintillus,
left on the web even after it's over (slow
loading).
A
comprehensive French sale of coins of Aurelian,
left on the web even after it's over (slow loading).
Emperors on coins (without much text)
"Roman Numismatic Gallery" lots
of nice images.
De Imperatoribus Romanis is an on-line encyclopedia of the Roman emperors.
Collecting
Themes (Roman)
(This is only a very small section of possible themes. As collectors
post more websites showing off their themes, I will expand this list.)
Campgates
(mostly 4th century AD) and ancient architecture. Very many campgate
coins.
The tetrarchy, coins of Diocletian (284-305) and his immediate successors.
The London mint, 296-325
Gallienus
(AD 253-268) issued many coins with animals.
Various animals
on ancient coins.
Architecture
on ancient coins.
Ancient
imitations of Roman coins
"The Family of Valentinian 364 to 395: Bronze
Coinage"
(lots of large images on one page)
Guide
to Late Roman AE coin types, AD 364-450
(a complete list of types of the period)
Hercules
on
coins (not all ancient, and only a small fraction of what is
possible, but well done)
Coins of the (obscure) Roman mint of Tripolis.
Countermarks
on early Roman imperial coins. A beautiful collection with undertypes
much better than normal.
Coins of Roman Egypt
struck at
Alexandria.
Roman
provincial
coins of the Balkans, an online translation of Nikola
Moushmov's
1912 classic reference work, Ancient Coins of the Balkan Peninsula,
with pages enhanced by addition of links to the Moushmov plates as well
as the insertion of individual coin entries from the WildWinds
DataBank. Currently translated are 7000 (out of the total 7600) entries
covering Dacia, Moesia, Thrace, and Macedonia. A great resource for
these collectible coins.
City Gate coins. A magnificient collection of coins with "city gate" types.
A large and well-presented collection of Roman provincial coins (of all emperors).
Roman Provincial coins of Gordian III (238-244)
Byzantine Coins:
A database with Byzantine coins
arranged by emperor.
A private collection of Byzantine
bronze
coins (not yet easy to navigate, but organized chronologically).
Byzantine
gold
coins are extensively illustrated and discussed by a major
private
collector.
A site with short stories
of the Byzantine emerors,
illustrated by some of their coins and many beautiful mosaics and
buildings
of their time. A very attractive site.
Coins of the Byzantine mint of Cherson
at the top of
the Black Sea.
If you are interested in Greek
coins, here are some sites:
The mints of Magna
Graecia and their spectacular Greek coins.
The coinage of ancient
Athens .
The
Seleukids, history and
coins.
A site giving links (only links) to
everything
having to do with the Ptolemys
of Egypt.
The Greek alphabet.
A series of maps
locating the Greek mints.
Links to sites of museums: a
few major
Greek coins.
Coinage
of two Greek-Illyrian city states: Apollonia and Dyrrhachium
(cow and suckling calf type)
Greek coins of Velia
Greek coins of Asia Minor
(including Roman provincial)
Coins of Alexander the Great
-- a
collection with commentary.
Coins of Alexander the Great
-- a
database of examples.
Coins of the Greek city Miletus
(Miletos).
In individual's collection
of Greek coins.
Coins
of Rome about Parthia by Chris Hopkins. A major theme
collection
list. Very nice. A part of a
larger
site
on Parthian coins.
Jewish
coins -- the Menorah Coin Project.
More reading about ancient coins:
What could an ancient coin buy?
Prices
in Ancient Rome by McWhorter Collectables.
(Don't forget to check Doug Smith's
sites on almost
every topic! He has
a good page on what coins could buy.)
How do you pronounce those Roman names,
anyway?
A Latin Pronunciation Guide for Numismatists
If you are interested in ancient imitations (genuinely ancient coins that were counterfeits in their day), I have a page with information about imitations and many images. See also Doug Smith's sites. If you want to read recent scholarly literature on them, I have compiled a bibliography of articles on ancient imitations.
How
to buy ancient coins. (One of my
pages.)
How
coin auctions work.
(Another of my pages.)
Concerned about fakes?
I have a
page
of links about fakes.
Books: If you want book recommendations instead of website recommendations, check out my page "How to learn more about Roman coins."
How can I learn more?
Here is my site "How to Learn More About Roman Coins"
If you want to do real research, at the advanced
level, the
ANS (American
Numismatic
Society) has a search engine for its journal of abstracts
of (almost)
all numismatic articles, Numismatic Literature.
You can search for just about any thing,
for example, emperor "Hadrian", and see the titles and abstracts
of articles that mention "Hadrian" somewhere in the abstract. This
is not an easy approach, though, because you will find far too much
material at a very detailed level. It is more for going from
"intermediate"
to "advanced" collector.
Another seach engine for numismatic articles is on line at http://www.harrybassfoundation.org/search_numlit.asp
The American Numismatic Society has a list of links (some
broken) to
websites on
ancient coins at
http://www.amnumsoc.org/eresources/numsites.html
Classics sites without emphasis on coins:
The Rome Project with links to sites on topics of all kinds, political, military, archaeology, philosophy, religion, etc.
A large site that does not emphasize coins, but just what it name suggests, is Electronic Resources for Classicists.
A good basic map
showing the provinces of the Roman empire
(not the cities), with links to further sites.
Numerous detailed maps of the late
Roman empire at
various dates (AD 380-660) [in French, but not too dificult to use].
Conclusion: This
site is not
intended to be comprehensive. I have not listed many minor sites, but
these major sites should get you started. Enjoy!
-- Warren Esty
Please report broken links to me.
e-mail me at:
Note well: Please do not ask me to answer particular questions about Roman or Greek coins (I have a life!), but if you want to recommend to me a major, well-designed, educational site on Roman or Greek coins I would be interested.
First posted 10/27/2000.