February 2, 2011
Roman gold coins are quite rare, worth a great deal of money, and are the preferred coin to collect for those reasons.
Roman coins were produced from gold, silver, or bronze. Of the three, gold coins are the rarest and are the most difficult to find. Hard core collectors who have a collection of gold coins are not likely to sell any gold Roman coins out of their collection. The majority of Roman coins are primarily comprised of silver because silver was the most common metal available. Most of these coins were produced around 200 B.C. Roman coins comprised of bronze are also a popular collector piece; however, their value is increasingly less than that of a gold Roman coin.
Many Roman coins are made in a Greek style. This style was initiated due to the fact that many Romans did business with Greeks; therefore, they needed to use an acceptable coin for both parties. The most common denomination that was shared among the Romans and the Greeks was the Drachmae. Thousands of drachmae were produced and are one of the most common Roman coins collected today. Drachmae’s were made of silver which led to their mass production.
When one thinks of a coin, he/she may think of it being in a perfect circular shape and shiny as many of our American coins are today, but that is not the case when dealing with Roman coins. Roman coins were all made by hand; therefore, they are not perfect and will have flaws and oddities in their shapes. Roman coins will have a picture of an emperor on one side which is the best way to determine the age of the coin. Furthermore, the picture of the emperor will not be perfect which is another indicator that the coin was made by hand. Over the years, Roman coins that have survived and have been circulated heavily will be dull. The dullness and irregularity of the shape is a good indicator of the authenticity of the Roman coin. Almost any Roman coin that is found to be shiny and perfect in shape is a counterfeit or reproduction.