Antique / Ancient Coin Collecting Guide
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Grading coins: this can be quite subjective for antique / which often varied in shape, unlike modern coins which are essentially identical clones. In general, coins can be graded from poor to mint state.
~Poor (pr): very little detail on coin and may only be identified if other side is better in quality
~Fair (fr): certain devices shown but with much wear (UK = mediocre)
~Good (G): Major device outlines mostly complete with no details
~Very Good (VG): Major devices eg head/ portrait outlined well but few interior details. (UK = "Fair")
~Fine (F): Major devices outlined well and some detailing visible.
~Very Fine (VF): Design elements well defined with some wear on more intricate details
~Extremely Fine (EF): Sharp detailing with very minor wear
~Mint State (MS): Perfect detailing and no wear.

+ / - signs help define an in-between grading for coins. The letter "a" can be used to signify "about" to show the coin is just above a particular lower grade, or "g" for "good" can be used to define a coin as being a little better than a certain grade.

is also determined by conditions of manufacture and preservation.
~Manufacture condition essentially is concerned with how well the actual coin was minted in the first place. Unlike modern coins, some of the ancient and antique coins were off-center, not well struck (eg too weak or soft), not made on a full round flan or flan was too small or irregular or chipped, and there were often impurities in the alloy mixing that could all affect the condition.

~Preservation condition is determined by the conditions under which the coin was kept, as opposed to circulation wear. Certain chemicals in the environment may blacken or cause coloration inconsistencies in . Various patinas or surface corrosions can also be seen including a green, black blue or even red tinge. It will depend on soil, earth deposits and oxidation. Some coins may show some fine pitting or porosity due to cleaning or water wear if the coin was found in a river. Other people in the past have been known to cut edges off silver coins for their own pecuniary purposes and this would obviously make the coin worth less. Note that certain tones such as slightly darkened silver coins will not detract much from grading scores. In fact, many collectors will not buy a coin that has been cleaned of its patina (when discussing bronze) or tone (when discussing silver). Sometimes a coin with a good patina will be worth more than a similar cleaned one. However, it is important to clean off the hardened dirt that will mask coin details. There are very specific ways to clean coins and store them in order to preserve their initial condition and hence their value. In general, soak dirt-covered coins in soapy water for a few hours. Better still, use TSP solution (that you can get at hardware stores) soak for around 10 minutes. Then rinse with water. If they are still dirty, they need to be cleaned in specific ways according to what metal they are composed of. There are many methods, some simple and some far more sophisticated. Bronze coins will often need to be cleaned with soft bristle brushes, Q-tips, toothpicks in a gentle manner, as these coins can be damaged quickly. Further soaking in coin cleaning solution, distilled water or even olive oil may also be needed. Other methods for cleaning bronze coins include ultrasonic cleaners and electrolysis but you really need to an expert as using these methods before attempting them on an expensive coin. Silver coins can also be initially cleaned using soapy water or TSP solution, lemon juice, vinegar, lye for a short soaking time. They need to rinsed thoroughly afterwards to remove any acidity with soapy water or sodium bicarbonate solution.

When storing coins, try to use archival safe coin flips that do not contain PVC (which will cause damage to coins long-term).

For US coins, which are obviously more recent than many found in Europe, the reference most used is The Official American Numismatic Association Grading Standards of United States Coins (Official American Numismatic Association Grading Standards for United States Coins) The grading scale used on American coins is the 70-point scale created by Dr. William Shelby. The scale ranges from 0 being hardly recognizable as a coin, to 70, being in mint or perfect condition. Each coin has specific characteristics that will show wear before others, and the details can be found in various coin grading resources.

Supply and demand: Some ancient and antique coins are worth a lot but many are not worth as much as you think, quite simply because there were so many minted, especially with regards to and . For instance a 4 A.D. Constantinian bronze coin in excellent condition will fetch around $10. There are also less collectors of ancient and antique coins than more recent ones. Research through books and references can really help determine which coins are worth collecting. Specific details, such as hardness, shape, size, diameter, weight, die alignment, composition of the coin, accurate detailing can also help to determine if you are buying the real thing or a forgery. Many late Roman bronze coins for example had a thin layer of silver on top (1 - 4%). vcoins.com and wildwinds.com are great resources for many low and moderate priced coins to determine value. CoinArchives.com is good for checking out high-priced coins. Afterwards, if you are interested in buying, check ebay.com for similar coins and ensure that you check the condition of the coin and ebayseller rating. A list of reputable sellers can be seen here. Although eBay states that the rate of auction fraud on its service is very low, ie 1 confirmed fraud out of 40,000 eBay listings (0.0025%), you can never be too careful about checking for very specific details, good auction images and seller status. Just remember, although billions of coins have been minted in the past, only about 0.25% of all the ancient coins made have survive till recent times.

Even though you may never own the most expensive coins in the world, coin collecting has been seen as a rewarding and enjoyable experience, from royalty of the Renaissance period, to people around the world today.