Roman era coins

[GH85Carrera]

OK, a question for the brain trust.





These are some really old coins I have had since I was a kid. I used to be an avid coin collector as a kid, and back then silver coins were still common in circulation. Silver nickles were the most common. I mowed lawns and used all my money to buy the coins I could.

One of my dad's fellow Air Force officers was going on a TDY (temporary duty) to Egypt, and Turkey back in the 1960s. He had seen my coin collection and mentioned the old coins were sold in street markets and inexpensive. I raided my piggy bank, and all my mowing money and birthday money and gathered every bit of my net worth, likely not much more that 20 bucks at the time, and asked him to buy my any old coins he thought might be Roman. The coins above are what he brought me.

I was thrilled beyond words.

I have never had a real expert or just someone that has any knowledge abut them look a them.

The top photo is what I think of the "heads" and the bottom photos is the "tails" and the coins are in the same position. The two small coins both D & E say Constantine on them. He ruled from 306 to 337. It feels weird to type a three digit date.

Anyway I was hoping some of you might know something more about theses. They are not for sale, but I would like to know what I have.

The tails side of G is the weirdest looking coin I have ever seen, and the coin is very 3 dimensional. Very high relief. Coin H is an obvious an Islamic coin.

Any ideas on just what they are?

[zakthor]

I was in a little village a few miles from a road on the slopes of gunung leuser with my wife in the 90s, the kids ran up with some coins they'd found buried in their yard... Greek, roman, chinese, japanese... Fake ancient coins are an ancient scam.

Probably start here?

Online Coins of the Roman Empire: Search

Really cool if theyre real.

[1990C4S]

Subscribed...

[Embraer]

Silver nickels? War nickels were only made a few years.

[stevej37]

For me..it's just unreal to think of what happened and how these coins were traded/exchanged.
2000 years is a lot history.
I would imagine most were used for food. What else...who knows.

[sc_rufctr]

I don't know a lot about old coins but like a lot of things collectable, condition is everything.

"G" is Alexander The great. More info here: Recent Ancient Coin Acquisitions Focus on Alexander the Great | Middlebury College Museum of Art

[GH85Carrera]

Originally Posted by sc_rufctr

I don't know a lot about old coins but like a lot of things collectable, condition is everything.

"G" is Alexander The great. More info here: Recent Ancient Coin Acquisitions Focus on Alexander the Great | Middlebury College Museum of Art

Wow, cool, THANKS. This is exactly what mine should look like, only mine is bronze not silver, and mine is a lot more worn.



I was always wondering what the coin looked like in better shape.

[stevej37]

^^^ I understand what you (Peter) are saying about condition/value.
Those coins were most likely buried or hidden for most of their time..to stay in that good of shape.
Except for the value...I would rather have ones like Glen shows.
Just imagine what they have gone through.
(I would be a poor coin buyer)

[GH85Carrera]

Non of mine are very valuable. In fact, given inflation of the dollar since the 60s when I got mine they may not be worth more than what I paid for them. Unless one is somehow rare of special. I had them most of my life, and rarely look at them. I always hoped to meet some ancient coin expert to tell me about them. The one of Alexander the Great is cool to know about. Knowing that it is 2,300 years old or so is just crazy. One has to wonder how many hands have touched it, when was it last used as a regular coin and not a collectable.

The two different Constantine coins D & E are different rulers, and likely silver, but it is had to tell. Those are worth 40 or 50 bucks at most.

Again, they are not for sale, and this is not a thread to try sell them. I was just curious about learning more about them.

[javadog]

Any chance a local coin dealer might have someone with expertise in those? Probably worth a phone call.

[craigster59]

Those are great Glen, always neat to hold something with that much history.

I have 2 old coins from the sinking of the Atocha, a 4 Real and an 8 Real. You can have a bezel made and wear the coin as a necklace.

I also have an ancient Greco/ Roman amphora from 3 B.C. that my uncle recovered diving in the Adriatic when he was in the Air Force stationed in Spain in the late 50's. You gotta love shipwreck stuff.