Where to buy an authentic silver Roman coin?

[ABullWithYogurts]

Hi all,

 

My 8 year old son has recently got into coin collecting (he's currently hunting for all the circulating commemorative £2, 50p and 10p coins). However, he's also developing an interest in ancient British history and I'd really like to get him either an authentic Celtic or Roman silver coin for Christmas. However, I have absolutely no idea where to find a reputable dealer in ancients (my experience lies squarely in modern bullion). Would anyone be able to point me in the right direction? Not looking to pay a huge amount as he'll no doubt take it into school for show-and-tell, so I expect we're looking at Roman here rather than Celtic.

 

Thanks in advance for any help you can offer.

[ilovesilverireallydo]

18 minutes ago, ABullWithYogurts said:

Hi all,

 

My 8 year old son has recently got into coin collecting (he's currently hunting for all the circulating commemorative £2, 50p and 10p coins). However, he's also developing an interest in ancient British history and I'd really like to get him either an authentic Celtic or Roman silver coin for Christmas. However, I have absolutely no idea where to find a reputable dealer in ancients (my experience lies squarely in modern bullion). Would anyone be able to point me in the right direction? Not looking to pay a huge amount as he'll no doubt take it into school for show-and-tell, so I expect we're looking at Roman here rather than Celtic.

 

Thanks in advance for any help you can offer.

You can pick some decently prices ones from Baldwin - they mostly list the high end ones on their site - but instore they keep quite a few cheap ones. Best to call them and explain what you want - they are pretty decent. 

[Mkman123]

OP, you can actually find cheap NGC slabbed ones, like 30+ USD and crack them out if you want to touch and show your kid.

[ABullWithYogurts]

Thanks both.

Yeah, he's 8 so his key criteria will be (a) how shiny it is (b) how big it is and (c) how heavy it is. Looking at something in a slab isn't going to cut the mustard. With kids that age it's all about tactile experiences.

From doing a bit of reading, it looks like the most common coins floating around are Antoninianus dating from Gordian III. He went hell for leather debasing the currency and issued bucket loads of them.

 

[JackKlugman]

When I was collecting ancient coins I used to buy them from coincraft (outside the British museum) they have a website but its not great. They sell alot to BM visitors 

[Norskgeld]

https://www.wessexcoins.co.uk/?product_cat=roman

[paolo]

This is a very popular dealer of Roman coins in Italy, it s based in Rome.

https://moruzzi.it/lang2/

[Melon]

Oh damn, now I want a roman coin - they look sweet 😄

For someone who wants a half-decent condition (allowing for the extreme age of course), slabbed coin, ideally with a recognisable name (and lets say a budget up to £200) - any experts on the forum want to point out a good shout?

I must say I've got a little lost on the links above, there's something about seeing "Items 1 to 10 of 1089 total" that makes me want to curl up into a ball and forget about the internet 🤯

[Dogslife]

On 11/11/2019 at 11:30, ABullWithYogurts said:

Hi all,

 

My 8 year old son has recently got into coin collecting (he's currently hunting for all the circulating commemorative £2, 50p and 10p coins). However, he's also developing an interest in ancient British history and I'd really like to get him either an authentic Celtic or Roman silver coin for Christmas. However, I have absolutely no idea where to find a reputable dealer in ancients (my experience lies squarely in modern bullion). Would anyone be able to point me in the right direction? Not looking to pay a huge amount as he'll no doubt take it into school for show-and-tell, so I expect we're looking at Roman here rather than Celtic.

 

Thanks in advance for any help you can offer.

Hi ABullWithYogurts,

I’m new to the forum but I have a few Roman silvers that I was going to send to DNW with a Few early medieval coins from my metal detecting days. I would rather let your son have the enjoyment if you would like to have a look and make an offer,

I know one is Antoninus pious,  just forget about the others if you would be interested.

regards,

Dogslife.

[ABullWithYogurts]

On 11/11/2019 at 20:50, Norskgeld said:

https://www.wessexcoins.co.uk/?product_cat=roman

Yeah, saw Wessex Coins had a few. Thanks for the pointer.

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Added 0 minutes later...

On 16/11/2019 at 11:43, paolo said:

This is a very popular dealer of Roman coins in Italy, it s based in Rome.

https://moruzzi.it/lang2/

Cheers. Hadn't come across them. Will take a look.

[ABullWithYogurts]

20 hours ago, Dogslife said:

Hi ABullWithYogurts,

I’m new to the forum but I have a few Roman silvers that I was going to send to DNW with a Few early medieval coins from my metal detecting days. I would rather let your son have the enjoyment if you would like to have a look and make an offer,

I know one is Antoninus pious,  just forget about the others if you would be interested.

regards,

Dogslife.

Thanks for the offer. Much appreciated. I'd rather buy from a recognised dealer though.

[Seasider]

One thing I would say about Roman silver coins is that it is easy to forget how small they are - think old silver 3d size.  If you want something bigger then a bronze coin may be the thing.

I would second Coincraft mentioned above - they used to have a plastic tub of Roman bronze coins - very cheap so not the sort of thing you would worry about him taking to school and swapping for a bag of crisps.

[Dogslife]

On 18/11/2019 at 12:35, ABullWithYogurts said:

Thanks for the offer. Much appreciated. I'd rather buy from a recognised dealer though.

Ok no probs.

[silenceissilver]

In case you haven't bought your Christmas coin yet, this is yet another option:

https://www.dorotheum.com/en/a/64689/

[Murph]

Or go for a tetradrachm which are a bit more substantial.  Obviously they are Greek in origin but during the empire provincial mints still minted them as people were used to them.

i don’t know if you will be able to find any at the price you want to pay but they are around 15g or a bit more so are heavier than 3.9g Denarius or antoninianus coins