A few months ago my wife and I were on an overseas trip and she purchased a couple of ancient Greek coins as a gift for me. I’m wondering if anybody can suggest a reference guide so that I can learn something about their origin. I’d also like to know about reputable dealers in the US in case I decide to add to my collection (do 2 coins count as a “collection”?).
Thanks
Curate
I don’t really know anything about Greek coins specifically, but I can recommend getting some good photos of the coins and posting links to them here. Nearly all the ‘Can you identify this X?’ threads I’ve seen have been answered quickly and comprehensively. There are all kinds of experts in the woodwork here.
If you need free image hosting, try Imageshack, Photobucket, Paintedover, etc. etc.
You should have good identifying photos for your insurance as well, in case they’re stolen or lost.
Sounds interesting.
And you might start by picking up a copy of Coin World, which is available at many full-service newsstands and in some hobby and collectors’ stores, and checking for appropriate dealers through the ads there. It’s a tabloid-size newspaper. Do not put so much stock in CoinAge, which is a magazine; it was my experience, back when I was actively collecting, that their articles were often written by free-lancers, whose expertise varied from excellent to nonexistent, and indifferently edited.
Our own samclem is a recognized and reputable dealer, but AFAIK does not “do” ancient coins. He may have some recommendations as to dealers or appraisers you could consult – though I have a hunch that ethics would mean he’d prefer to give such recommendations privately rather than on a public message board thread.
Also, be aware that while no ancient coin is anything like common, some are sufficiently relatively common as to not command a phenomenally high price.
Actually, I “do” ancient coins. But not windows.
I’m passable when it comes to id’ing and authenticating Greek, Roman and Byzantine coins. I’m better than your local coin store dealer. But the big boys in this field blow me away.
As far as whether “no ancient coin is anything like common,” I beg to differ.
The small Roman copper coins(size of a US dime or smaller) are so common that I call them the “wheat penny” of ancient coins. If you need 1 million* genuine Roman copper coins, without regard to condition, I believe that I could get them for you. And they would each cost less than $5.
That’s pretty common.
Most of the ancient coin dealers you will find in publications are reputable. Much more so than your local US coin dealer.