Buy Ancient Coins !EXCLUSIVE!
Ancient coins are unique among the broader category of antiquities. Easily portable, iconographically striking, and often made of precious materials, ancient coins have found enthusiasts among professionals and laypersons alike. Although the collection of coins is fraught with intense ethical debates (ones which we will return to below), the ways in which coin collecting can manifest have produced rather interesting results throughout history. Perhaps one of the most striking examples has been the incorporation of coins into pieces of jewelry.
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The first occurrences of coined jewelry have mostly been attributed to the Greco-Roman world, where coins had punch holes or were set into elaborate pendants, located ubiquitously across the ancient Mediterranean. Coins were often prized for much more than their monetary value and are very often found in contexts with no obvious economic functions.
The iconography of the portraits that coins bore, typically either deities or political leaders, added to the social value of coins greatly and gave them entirely new realms of meaning. The image of the Roman emperor was a particularly powerful tool and the display of high-value gold coins (called aurei) with imperial portraits could provide unique opportunities for elite Romans to flaunt their wealth as well as their allegiance to the royal family.
Imperial coins were also sometimes the only images of the emperors that many within the empire would ever see in their lives. Numerous examples of ancient necklaces, earrings, and rings have survived where a golden aureus or another type of coin with an imperial portrait has been made the focal point of the piece. As the Roman empire continued to expand and conquered more places further afield, coins from new provinces could be prized for their alternative iconographic vocabularies that gave their owners a sense of the exotic. Coins from Greece and Egypt would certainly have fallen into the latter category for Roman consumers.
The medieval and Renaissance periods continued to utilize coins in jewelry pieces, oftentimes placing older Roman coins into contemporary jeweled settings. Such coins were of course still signs of monetary wealth, being made of fine gold or silver and fetching handsome prices, but their age now also lent the wearer a certain air of cultured refinement.
Contemporary and modern trends have not strayed far from preceding ones, and ancient coin jewelry has been brought once again to the aesthetic fore. Today, a simple Google search inundates one with endless links to jewelry websites, Etsy shops, and eBay posts advertising ancient coins set in necklaces, earrings, rings, and bracelets. Whether or not these coins are authentic is another matter, but the fact remains that there is something deeply evocative about owning a piece of the past and displaying it in such a manner.
Many of the coins that can be purchased as jewelry pieces today remain oriented with their obverses (the face side) prioritized, showcasing the faces of ancient rulers and deities. In fact, when placed side-by-side, there is often not much difference between some ancient and modern settings of these coins.
There are many concerns and issues that surround the use of genuine ancient coins in commercial retail. For one, there is the issue of availability and authenticity. Ancient coins tend to be found either as sporadic discoveries on archaeological sites or in large caches, called hoards. Hoards can contain thousands of coins at once and have produced no small percentage of the coins we have today. They are also typically found in very random circumstances without broader archaeological contexts. For example, in 2010, a metal detectorist in the United Kingdom located a hoard of 52,503 coins dating to the 4th century CE in a field. The finder of the hoard, now called Frome Hoard, alerted the authorities of their find.
However, such honesty is not always the case and some coins have quite a lot to contribute to history. One coin found in modern-day Israel was looted in 2002 from a hoard in the Ella Valley near Jerusalem. The design on the coin was minted during the Jewish rebellions in 69 CE and the looted example was only one of four known coins of that design. The coin was noted to be worth one million dollars and authorities pursued it through illegal networks for over twenty years before successfully recovering it.
Of course, not all ancient coins are so rare and precious but those that would be chosen for display pieces tend to be of exceptional quality and should be prized more for their historical rather than their aesthetic value. Many coins available for sale purport to have legal paperwork, but it is never a clear-cut matter. One country may recognize coins for sale as valid but they may have been looted out of a neighboring one. Such occurrences are not unheard of, especially between Greece and Turkey.
Regardless of these uncertainties, however, the demand exists and is such that even recognizable store names like Bergdorf Goodman claim to carry authentic and legal ancient coins in necklace settings one such priced at over five thousand dollars. Of course, cheaper options can be found but lower prices always bring along suspicions of either inauthenticity or illegality.
Dani is a Ph.D. student in Classical Archaeology at Duke University. She has excavated with multiple projects in Italy and predominately researches ancient identities in the northwestern Roman provinces.
Collecting ancient coins can be both awe-inspiring and exciting. Imagine owning a coin struck before the time of Christ, and actually holding it in your hand, instead of looking at it in a museum case!
Because ancients are the basis for all modern coinage, it is an important area of numismatics. Most collectors choose coins based on obverse designs, though some enjoy collecting the various reverse designs as well. While it is possible to collect coins from nearly all of the Roman emperors, some are difficult to find because the emperors ruled for such a short time.
One of the most popular ways to collect ancient Roman coins is by emperor, as most bear a portrait of the issuing ruler. In fact, some rulers are only known to us today because of their portrait coins, and sometimes these coins provide archaeologists with a means of dating a site. As you build your collection of ancient Roman coins, you'll enjoy an amazing variety of portraits spanning more than 500 years, and uncover the incredible stories of the men and women that they portray! To see all of the ancient coins available, see our Ancients, Antiquities, and Medieval section.
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We are authorized by the Israel Antiquities Authority to sell ancient coins. Our impressive collection of ancient coins for sale includes: Greek, Roman, New Testament, Byzantine up until the Crusader period.
You are invited to visit Zak and experience the bustling surrounding his store. Come and enjoy a cup of tea and chat about the vast range of antiquity. His knowledge of antiquity and ancient coins shall fascinate you.
These coins passed through many hands thousands of years ago. I like the idea of them continuing their journey from one collector to the next and enriching lives with a little bit of history. Read more about us.
Perhaps you have been tempted to buy a few just to see what it is all about, but failed to do so because you didn't know where to begin or who to trust...or simply doubted your ability to clean the coins.
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I soon discovered that this method was less than acceptable and rarely worked on stubborn coins...so I began to experiment with other applications. Since that day, back in 1991, I have discovered the 21st Century ways to clean ancient coins and restore ancient artifacts and have created this educational guide to share my knowledge with you.
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For example, hoards of Roman coins have been discovered all over England throughout the past several centuries. Many collectors buy ancient Roman coins found in these hoards to start their collections.
Are you wondering where to buy ancient Roman coin collections? If so, it might be simpler than it sounds. There are two main ways to collect or invest in those coins: ancient coins dealers and online.
If you prefer to shop for your coins in person, then we recommend seeking out reputable ancient coin dealers. You can find a list of coin dealers from the Professional Numismatists Guild. The American Numismatic Association is another organization that holds its members to strict standards.
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