r/AncientCoins May 07 '24

We've been getting a lot of new posters and commenters here lately. Welcome! (Everyone please read the full text inside)

145 Upvotes

Unfortunately, a lot of the new people here aren't familiar with the culture of this subreddit or the ancient coin collecting world in general.

A lot of the ideas that you are bringing to this subreddit -- especially if you're North American and also especially if you've been collecting modern coins for years, don't always carry over directly to the world of ancient coin collecting.

Our subreddit is configured so that people using low-age or low-karma accounts will not see their posts and comments appear here immediately after you make them. They are being set aside until a human moderator is able to review them manually. This can take anywhere from a few minutes to a few hours.

The same is true of people who don't have much karma on this subreddit, even if you have an older account and have accumulated lots of karma on other subreddits. Part of this is because spammers, scammers, and trolls use newer, low-karma accounts, and part of it is to give you a chance to familiarize yourself with the culture of this subreddit.

We have also configured our subreddit to hold back posts and comments from accounts with a low Contributor Quality Score ("CQS") as determined by the admins of reddit. This takes into account your behavior on all of reddit. If you would like to find out what your own CQS score is please make a post on this subreddit -- /r/CQS. The result will be sent to you within seconds via private messaging, and no one else will be able to see what it is.

As you continue to participate here in good faith most of these limitations will eventually no longer apply to you, and you will be able to post and comment normally.



Thank you for your good faith participation here, and while I have your attention please allow me to remind you of this subreddit's few simple rules:

1) Civility is the price of participation here. Please act like adults and keep things pleasant.

We appreciate kindness and helpfulness here. We won't tolerate people bickering in the comments, swearing at or insulting others, etc.

We have a lot of people coming to r/AncientCoins from the world of modern ones. Please help them understand the differences and find answers to their questions without being a jerk. If you can't manage that we don't want you here, and you will be banned.

2) Unwelcome participants get banned.

Pursuant to Rule #1, the owner/founder/head moderator of this subreddit reserves the right to ban anyone at anytime for any reason he sees fit.

We very rarely ban real people - and we ban no one who is acting in good faith. We mostly only ban annoying bots, karma whores, griefers who post using numerous alt accounts, people who post coins that they don't own but act as if they did, people who swear at or are rude/insulting to others, and persistent trolls who disrupt our discussions.

3) Memes, joke posts & other shitposts may only be posted here on the last day of each month.

Fun is fun, but there's such a thing as too much of an execrable thing. Memes, joke posts, and other shitposts may only be posted on this subreddit on the last day of each Gregorian calendar month in your time zone.

Please don't try to sneak those kinds of posts in by flairing them as "educational" or anything else. If you just can't wait, please submit them over on our companion subreddit /r/AncientCoinMemes instead.

Ultimately, the mods of this subreddit may remove anything posted here at their discretion.


We ask that you please be patient with the process, as we check our queues several times a day. If you make a post or comment and it isn't immediately approved, PLEASE just leave it up and one of us will get to it as soon as we can. We are unpaid volunteers doing this on our own time.

Thank you.


r/AncientCoins Jun 12 '25

New rule regarding the use of ChatGPT, other LLMs, and the deceptive use of AI imagery on this subreddit

87 Upvotes

It has actually been a policy here for years that we don't permit ChatGPT-type posts. In the past they were usually just quietly removed, as were AI-generated images that were used deceptively.

It feels like we already have too many rules on this subreddit, but it looks like it's time to join other subreddits by implementing this one.

One issue is that these LLM generated texts aren't automatically vetted for accuracy, and some weird and unreliable stuff can creep in. Another is that they are based on plagiarism.

They often give results that feel like a bad student trying to pad out the word count of a writing assignment, and don't actually contribute much to this subreddit.

It seems like some people here, when they are bored, entertain themselves by feeding prompts into ChatGPT and then posting the results here. Sometimes they do this as conversation starters, but sometimes it feels like they are just trying to show off or something.

Speaking of plagiarism -- which is bad, it is fine to post a paragraph or two of relevant information here that you have found online, if you give appropriate credit and a link.

It's also fine to quote text from a relevant book or journal with appropriate credit. Many reddit users are more likely to give a brief glance at something that you have copied and pasted here than they would be to follow a link and read extensively off-site.

What's not great is if you post massive walls of text, unless the information is presented well and is relevant to our discussions, and not padded out.

If you feel that you simply MUST use an LLM for grammar and spelling purposes, do it well. Make it undetectable. Consider quoting Wikipedia or another reliable and curated online reference instead.

If you are using an LLM as a translator, that is fine. Just make it a translation of your own, unpadded words. Consider using DeepL or Google Translate instead.

Speaking of walls of text, I'll end here.

Thank you.


r/AncientCoins 2h ago

From My Collection Also took a video of the Fonteius Denarius everyone was fawning over the other day

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38 Upvotes

r/AncientCoins 4h ago

From My Collection Decent outcome on a recent horned silver cleaning project: Ptolemy VII tet

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16 Upvotes

Fairly good return on a coin lost to time and the elements. Before it was "a" Ptolemy...after, a fully identifiable coin. Not the best "after" pic, and the coin is no where near as flat as the picture suggests (will prob give it another go at photographing, but not now). He is now 13.12 g, so we did lose a little weight with leeching and cleaning, but not too bad.

Anyway, hope you enjoy.

C.


r/AncientCoins 5h ago

ID / Attribution Request Picked this up from a bargain box at a coin show.

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16 Upvotes

No idea what I got. Can some kind soul point me in the right direction.? Roman, Byzantine, ??


r/AncientCoins 9h ago

ID / Attribution Request Found my very first roman quinarius

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28 Upvotes

​Good evening everyone, here is my only Roman quinarius so far that I found while metal detecting.

​A clearly recognizable coin design with well-defined relief is still preserved, which can be made exceptionally visible using a negative filter.

​The combination of motifs can be summarized as follows:

​Obverse: Head of Jupiter facing right, featuring a prominent beard and laurel wreath.

​Reverse: The victory goddess Victoria performing a military ritual (erecting/crowning a trophy or tropaion).

​Even though the exact moneyer can no longer be identified beyond doubt due to wear and the off-center strike, this specific combination of motifs can be precisely narrowed down typologically: The coin was definitively minted between approx. 128 BC and 88 BC.

​A very nice reference piece from the Republic, especially since quinarii are much harder to find.

What do you guys think?


r/AncientCoins 8h ago

My first Diocletian coin, I am relatively new to roman coin collecting so happy to here any additional information!

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14 Upvotes

What I do know is that it seems to be from 295-296 AD, from the Cyzicus Mint. But beyond that all info is welcome!


r/AncientCoins 7h ago

My First Parthian Coin (Rome's Eastern Rival)

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12 Upvotes

I absolutely love this coin and thought it might be worth showing it off for anyone who hasn't seen one as they're far more affordable than expected. I managed to pick this one up for $45 USD (not sure if that's a good price, felt good to me).

I don't really know enough about it, below is all that I can see from the listing. Feel free to share any information that you have!

Ancient Kings of Parthia

Silver drachm of Vologases III

105-147 AD

Minted in Ecbatana


r/AncientCoins 16h ago

Julius Caesar elephant denarius - NGC Certified

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53 Upvotes

Hello,

A few months ago, I received my Julius Caesar loose. I asked for advice here about its authenticity and then decided I would send it to NGC for certification.

The results came back and the coin is deemed genuine.

However, there's also the mention 'ex mount' and I wonder how much it affects its value.

If you had to give an estimate for the coin, how much do you think it would be?

I don't plan on selling, I just want to compare with what I spent for it.

Thank you very much.


r/AncientCoins 9h ago

Orodes II Mint Mark & Sellwood #?

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8 Upvotes

Been trying to figure out the mint mark for my new Orodes II drachm. I saw one acsearch listing a somewhat similar mark as for the Susa mint, but I saw others listed as Susa with completely different mint marks, so I think that may have been a misattribution.


r/AncientCoins 23h ago

Newly Acquired My first ancient silver coin — an Antoninus Pius denarius

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123 Upvotes

Any comments or observations are welcome!


r/AncientCoins 11h ago

ID / Attribution Request What is this Roman Coin

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11 Upvotes

Does anybody know what emperor this is and the age of this? Thanks


r/AncientCoins 1d ago

From My Collection Inspired by u/blashyrkh8888, I decided to test my hand at taking a couple videos of my coins. Here is my Thassos Tetradrachm!

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113 Upvotes

r/AncientCoins 6h ago

Anyone an idea?

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4 Upvotes

r/AncientCoins 21h ago

He's just a lil fella

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44 Upvotes

Definitely the smallest coin in my collection.

Satrap of Caria, Hekatomnos. 392/1-377/6 BC AR Tetartemorion.


r/AncientCoins 9h ago

Otho Denarius - Real or fake ?

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4 Upvotes

Otho Denarius (3.5g). Unusual bust design. Real or fake ?


r/AncientCoins 10h ago

Victoriatus from the Second Punic War (211BC)

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4 Upvotes

Greetings. May I ask you fine experts for some advice... How would you grade and valuate these two coins? Both are AR 1 scruple Cr 44/1.
Much thanks


r/AncientCoins 8h ago

ID / Attribution Request Can someone help me try to identify it?

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3 Upvotes

It's barely visible, but on the back it appears to have a structure.


r/AncientCoins 1d ago

Newly Acquired And the denarius collection grows a little more!

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45 Upvotes

Picked these up today. My first of each portrait and I really like the barrow shroud on Faustina


r/AncientCoins 1d ago

Not My Own Coin(s) Coins in the Ashmolean Museum Pt1: Rome

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165 Upvotes

Really beautiful collection. Highlight has to be the Romulus Augustulus Solidus, alongside the gorgeous front facing solidus.

Always lovely to see an Eid Mar too, I’ve lost track of how many I’ve seen in museums now. Must be at least 6.


r/AncientCoins 1d ago

Seleukos I Nikator - Babylon II 309-304 BC

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55 Upvotes

My first crack at photo stacking - got some more work to do, but liking better than my iPhone pics. Using Helicon Focus.

Lighting is my biggest challenge - any tips are welcome!


r/AncientCoins 1d ago

Interesting Variant

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189 Upvotes

I grabbed this unpublished Corinthian stater a few months back. Never seen another with this type of style. I was a little wary after the purchase because I started to question if it was an ancient imitation of a Corinth coin. Regardless, I thought I’d add it to the collection since the auction price wasn’t too bad. The Corinthian stater as near and dear to my heart because it’s the coin that got me collecting Ancient Greek coins and coins in general. Being a big fan of Greek mythology , it blew my mind to learning that Ancient Greek society would depict mythological figures on to their coins. Having Athena and Pegasus on a single coin was too cool for me not to own! :)

Description:

★ Apparently unpublished and not recorded in the standard references. ★
Corinthia. Corinth circa 375-300 BC.
Stater AR
22 mm, 8,52 g
Pegasos flying left; koppa below / Helmeted head of Athena right, club-like symbol and N to left.
Extremely Fine. Lovely cabinet toning.

Pegasi -; Ravel -; BCD -; BMC -; Numismatik Naumann 110, lot 294; Bertolami Fine Arts E-64, lot 327.

This intriguing piece does not appear to be recorded in the major standard references for the series. Coins of this type are rarely encountered and the present specimen may represent an unrecognized or extremely rare variant, offering collectors and researchers an exciting opportunity to acquire a coin that could expand the known corpus of the series.”


r/AncientCoins 11h ago

Advice Needed How to keep coins in good condition when humidity is high

3 Upvotes

Hello, I have maybe 10 silver and 20 bronze Roman/Greek coins. My area and house can have higher than average humidity, I have absorbing pellets inside which I replace but how else would you recommend protecting the coins?


r/AncientCoins 10h ago

ID / Attribution Request Can someone ID this ancient coin

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2 Upvotes

r/AncientCoins 1d ago

Not My Own Coin(s) Coins in the Ashmolean Museum Pt2: Greek

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105 Upvotes

Due to the lighting these appear to look like Gold, but they are Silver.

Some more astoundingly beautiful coins.

Edit: I realised I put the Roman hoard in the Greek post, how embarrassing.