I’ve only been collecting ancients for a little over 5 years. Before my preoccupation with them, I felt quite ignorant on how to get started. I was left with many assumptions, such as ancients generally being expensive, undecipherable, or teeming with fakes. These assumptions were wrong! Here’s how to get started immediately:
- - The first and paramount task is to not buy the coin, but BUYTHE BOOK! That’s a common saying in our hobby, considering the plethora of insider knowledge involved and scammers out there. I cannot emphasize this point enough, and furthermore keep in mind that the learning should be continuous. Scholarly works and articles in addition to more hobby-oriented material abounds for most areas of numismatics.
- - Study the Market: search eBay listings (completed ones too) and study what common coins sell for, and sellers to avoid. The more studying here, the better your prospects will be in avoiding scammers and obtaining hidden gems.
- - Study eBay or other listings of graded coins: The two main TPGs (Third-Party Graders), NGC and PCGS, are the way to go. Their grading is conservative and market-acceptable, so any other TPGs should be avoided unless you’re confident in evaluating the coin by its own merits. The reason to study graded coins is twofold:
o
1) You learn how ancients are graded, sometimes
only accounting for the level of detail left on the coin. Other times, the TPG
will breakdown not just the technical grade/wear of the coin, but will also
rate the surfaces or mention other phenomena like scratches, accretions, etc.
o
2) Besides being eye candy, graded ancients also
help you learn the portraits of rulers and design types. In other words, it’s a
good way to acquaint yourself with what’s circulating out there.
No comments:
Post a Comment