# How can something so old be so cheap? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 26, 2013, 9:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-something-so-old-be-so-cheap/672291 "2013-10-26T09:08:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Superhal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Superhal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superhal)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2013, 9:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-something-so-old-be-so-cheap/672291/1 "2013-10-26T09:08:18Z")
I just got back from a coin show. My goal was to add a couple of old coins to my collection, specifically pre-1800 American coins, for around 20. One guy i talked to said he didn't have anything like that, so i asked if he had maybe something older. I ended up buying a Herod Agrippa coin, (grandson of the guy who tried to kill Jesus,) made in about 41 AD. Apparently he jailed one of the apostles and had a saint executed. I paid 24.50. Similar one here:[http://www.ebay.com/itm/Ancient-Judaea-BIBLE-COIN-Herod-Agrippa-A-NICE-Budget-Coin-of-HEROD-/121194049190?pt=LH\_DefaultDomain\_0&hash=item1c37ba6ea6](http://www.ebay.com/itm/Ancient-Judaea-BIBLE-COIN-Herod-Agrippa-A-NICE-Budget-Coin-of-HEROD-/121194049190?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item1c37ba6ea6) I’m a beginner about coin collecting, and this is my first non-US coin. It seems unbelievable to me that a 1,971 year old coin even exists, much less the amount i paid for it. Even in museums, maybe the oldest thing ive ever seen was Egyptian mummies. How can something this old be that cheap? Lets assume the coin is genuine. ---
**Author:** ![knel3030](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecae2f/32.png) [@knel3030](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/knel3030)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2013, 9:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-something-so-old-be-so-cheap/672291/2 "2013-10-26T09:17:42Z")
Cause there’s boatloads of em in circulation. ---
**Author:** ![engineer\_comp\_geek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/engineer_comp_geek/32/504_2.png) [@engineer\_comp\_geek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/engineer_comp_geek)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2013, 9:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-something-so-old-be-so-cheap/672291/3 "2013-10-26T09:28:53Z")
It may be old, but they aren’t all that rare. Many old coins, especially from large empires like the Romans, were minted in huge numbers, and are often found in piles of thousands of coins. With so many available on the market they just aren’t worth much. Google “thousands of roman coins found” and you’ll be surprised how common these news stories are. You can easily find dozens of stories of people finding thousands, sometimes even tens of thousands, of coins all at one time. 1,141 coins found: [Treasure trove of silver Roman coins worth thousands found buried in field | Daily Mail Online](http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1200126/Treasure-trove-silver-Roman-coins-worth-thousands-buried-field.html) three quarters of a TON of Iron Age coins found: [Iron Age coins worth £10m discovered in Jersey by metal detector friends | Daily Mail Online](http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2164897/Iron-Age-coins-worth-10m-discovered-Jersey-metal-detector-friends.html) 52,000 coins found: [Chef Dave Crisp discovers largest ever hoard of Roman coins in Somerset field | Daily Mail Online](http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-1292990/Chef-Dave-Crisp-discovers-largest-hoard-Roman-coins-Somerset-field.html) 30,000 coins found: [Hoard of 30,000 silver Roman coins discovered in Bath](http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/culturenews/9161483/Hoard-of-30000-silver-Roman-coins-discovered-in-Bath.html) And that’s just the first four google links. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2013, 9:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-something-so-old-be-so-cheap/672291/4 "2013-10-26T09:29:53Z")
An article on Roman [coin hordes](http://www.forumancientcoins.com/historia/hoards/coin_hoards.htm#Hoards). ---
**Author:** ![bob\_2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bob_2/32/3341_2.png) [@bob\_2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bob_2)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2013, 12:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-something-so-old-be-so-cheap/672291/5 "2013-10-26T12:12:49Z")
Of course Romans didn’t have any of those nice friendly banks that keep all our money safe for us and pay us so much for the privilege of using it. They just buried their savings and sometimes never made it back to collect. ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2013, 1:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-something-so-old-be-so-cheap/672291/6 "2013-10-26T13:20:52Z")
Here’s a guess from a coin collector that there are presently 10 million Roman coins still surviving: > **[Trivia - Total Number Of Roman Coins - Coin Community Forum](https://www.coincommunity.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=92456)** > > Trivia - Total Number Of Roman Coins - Coin Community Forum ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2013, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-something-so-old-be-so-cheap/672291/7 "2013-10-26T18:45:30Z")
Remember, we’re talking about an empire that spanned most of Europe and the Mediterranean. You need a lot of money to keep an empire that size running, and it was made out of materials that last darned near forever. It could, of course, be lost by being melted down to make something else, but why bother? Gold is gold, regardless of its shape, and it’d be nearly as easy just to keep on spending the Roman gold and silver in its original form (any merchant you spend it at is going to weigh the coins anyway). ---
**Author:** ![md2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/73ab20/32.png) [@md2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/md2000)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2013, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-something-so-old-be-so-cheap/672291/8 "2013-10-26T19:02:27Z")
I paid a bit more (IIRC, about $70 for a Jewish coin, and $150 for a silver Roman coin -Vespasian, I think.). As our guide mentioned, these were not only found in hordes but also in sewers (what have the Romans ever done for us?) and in toilet holes. If you didn’t keep a good hold of your moneybag, maybe a few days’ wages wasn’t worth an outhouse dive. ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2013, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-something-so-old-be-so-cheap/672291/9 "2013-10-26T19:38:22Z")
> [@Superhal](#): > > How can something this old be that cheap? You can get a fossil _Elrathia kingi_ trilobite for less than you paid for that coin, and they’re half a billion years old. ---
**Author:** ![california\_jobcase](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9d8465/32.png) [@california\_jobcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/california_jobcase)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2013, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-something-so-old-be-so-cheap/672291/10 "2013-10-26T19:53:53Z")
You can pick up eons-old sand grains for free- ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2013, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-something-so-old-be-so-cheap/672291/11 "2013-10-26T19:57:32Z")
For a small fee I can transport you to a place that’s 13.798 billion (plus or minus 37 million) years old. ---
**Author:** ![Superhal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Superhal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superhal)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2013, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-something-so-old-be-so-cheap/672291/12 "2013-10-26T21:22:10Z")
I don’t think it has to do with amount. The 1996 American silver eagle, for example is worth twice as much as other years because mintage was 4 million, relatively small compared to others. Also, he was only a ruler for like 3 years, and for only over judea. For roman coins, it should be a small mintage. One theory is possibly because it doesn’t have his face on it, and the design is not attractive. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2013, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-something-so-old-be-so-cheap/672291/13 "2013-10-26T21:41:11Z")
I’ve bought 1000-year-old Chinese coins for a dollar. There are tons of them. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2013, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-something-so-old-be-so-cheap/672291/14 "2013-10-26T21:49:56Z")
> [@Superhal](#): > > I don’t think it has to do with amount. It has to do with supply and demand. Did you go shopping for that specific coin or would any 2000 year old coin do? There are thousands upon thousands of random old coins and only specific ones are sought after. The American Silver eagle has a built in floor value (the silver content) and an active collector base. There’s not much of a collect demand for the Roman coins. ---
**Author:** ![Superhal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Superhal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superhal)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2013, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-something-so-old-be-so-cheap/672291/15 "2013-10-26T21:58:11Z")
> [@Telemarked for Death](#): > > It has to do with supply and demand. Did you go shopping for that specific coin or would any 2000 year old coin do? There are thousands upon thousands of random old coins and only specific ones are sought after. > > The American Silver eagle has a built in floor value (the silver content) and an active collector base. There’s not much of a collect demand for the Roman coins. That was weird too. All his other coins had a minimum value of like 100-200$, most newer. The popular ones seemed to with a person named Caesar’s face on it. I got the distinct sense i was dealing with 2 thousand year old trading cards. The one i got was the oldest he had i think. Supply/demand seems to be the answer i think. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2013, 4:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-something-so-old-be-so-cheap/672291/16 "2013-10-27T04:24:24Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > I’ve bought 1000-year-old Chinese coins for a dollar. There are tons of them. They’ve found ancient Chinese coins in Europe and ancient Roman coins in China. Gold and silver coinage could be passed around for decades. ---
**Author:** ![Superhal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Superhal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superhal)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2013, 7:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-something-so-old-be-so-cheap/672291/17 "2013-10-27T07:33:35Z")
Heh bought a 300 BC coin today for $30. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Steophan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steophan/32/9595_2.png) [@Steophan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steophan)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2013, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-something-so-old-be-so-cheap/672291/18 "2013-10-27T19:15:09Z")
> [@Superhal](#): > > Heh bought a 300 BC coin today for $30. 😃 If it had 300BC stamped on it, it might be a fake. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2013, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-something-so-old-be-so-cheap/672291/19 "2013-10-27T19:36:27Z")
The standing rule for all collectibles: age, condition and scarcity. You must have all three, or the price plummets accordingly. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2013, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-something-so-old-be-so-cheap/672291/20 "2013-10-28T17:03:16Z")
> [@Steophan](#): > > If it had 300BC stamped on it, it might be a fake. Didn’t know Encyclopedia Brown posted here. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-something-so-old-be-so-cheap/672291.md?page=2)