Coin Collecting

Coins and Paper Money -> Coins: Ancient -> Roman: Republic

When it comes to collecting coins or paper money, many prefer to go straight to roman coins. These are highly historic collectibles that may actually be worth a good deal of money and many are quite rare. When you consider the fact that the coin had to survive for thousands of years, it’s easy to see why they are so popular, and why many can fetch such a high price at auction.

Roman coins were originally made in either silver, bronze or gold. Golden coins are considered to be the most rare, and are very hard to find today. However, a few collectors have managed to create quite a private collection of these rare coins. Silver was the most commonly used metal for coins in the period and during 200 B.C., the majority of coins produced were made of this material.

Interestingly enough, many Roman coins are actually made in the Greek style. This has been attributed to the fact that many Romans were doing business with Greeks, especially in certain parts of Italy, and they needed to have coins that would be acceptable to those that they were doing business with. Whatever the real reason might have been, it is obvious when you look at Roman coins that Greek designs did have a big influence on the finished products.

There are many different denominations of Roman coins, but drachmae are the most common. These were used by even the every day people in the city and for many workers, this was their daily wage. Many thousands of these coins were produced, and if you do find a Roman coin today, it will most likely be a drachmae since they were the ones that were the most mass produced. They were usually made of silver.

Bronze Roman coins are quite popular among collectors and while they are rarer than silver coins, they are not worth quite as much as their golden counterparts. Bronze coins were typically used for smaller denominations and were very common during the height of the Roman empire.

If you are looking to collect Roman coins, it is important to make sure that you are dealing with authentic pieces. The coins should not be perfect, in fact, they will have some oddities with their shape. This is due to the fact that the coins were all made by hand during this time period and it was natural that they would not be perfectly round. Most Roman coins will have the relief of an emperor, and this is a great way to tell just how old the coin may be.

Once again, the relief will not be perfect, and you should be able to tell that the coin was handmade. Roman coins that have survived throughout the years may be a bit dull in appearance, which is a good indicator of their authenticity. If you come across a coin that is simply too shiny, you may be dealing with a counterfeit.

To protect yourself when collecting Roman coins, it is always best to get an appraisal before you buy to ensure that they are authentic.

Originally posted 2008-09-05 05:00:05. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

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Coin collecting is an industry that has grown to encompass billions of dollars in sales. The earliest hobby of coin collecting is capable of being traced as far back as 1300 AD, which is when an Italian scholar known by the name of Fracesco Petrarca began to save coins and realized that his hobby collecting coins was growing in value. Collecting coins differs from the concept of numismatics in that numismatics specifically focuses on the study of currency like coins, monetary objects and notes, while coin collecting focuses on collecting those types of money for fun as well as profit.

People who make hobbies out of collecting coins tend to specialize in different specific types of collections. This is often determined by their financial resources and whatever they can invest, as well as the ease of availability for the type of coins. Collections can vary significantly including coin collections that focus on specific countries, coin collections that focus on certain eras and so on.

• Coin collections focusing on a certain country are the most common type of coin collection because accumulating coins from a single country is generally a lot easier and more straight forward.
• Coin collections that focus on a certain era in history may include Russian Revolutionary coins, United States Colonial coins and so on.
• There are other obscure types of coin collections including collecting exonumia or error coins that are created improperly as a result die errors, designs that are uneven and double strikes, as these coins are generally in a high amount of demand. Another specialized form of coin collection is to focus on coins that come from one specialized civilization such as Roman coins, Aryan coins, Celtic coins or coins from the Goth era.

People who are interested in collecting coins can find hundreds of different coin collecting groups and clubs around the United States and around the world. Here, people who are serious about coin collecting gather so that they can discuss trends in coin collecting as well as numismatics. In the United States, a good option worth checking out is the American Numismatic Association which has a constantly growing roster of collectors that are all over the country. This organization was founded in 1891 and highly encourages the research and the collection of a myriad of different types of coins and currencies.

The American Numismatic association brings out a magazine every month that is known as the Numismatist. This is a virtual treasure trove of information for any collector, regardless of whether they are new to the art of have been collecting for years. If you are interested in collecting coins, it would be wise to check out the publication offered by this group of coin collectors, as it is a great place to jump start your understanding of the subject.

Photo Credits: Roger Smith

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