Are Ancient Coins a Smart Investment — or Should You Just Collect Them?
Ancient coins have something going for them that almost no modern investment can match: they have already survived for 2,000 years.
You can hold a silver denarius struck during the Roman Empire, a tetradrachm from the world of Alexander the Great, or a coin bearing the portrait of Julius Caesar. These aren't modern commemoratives designed to remind us of history. They are actual surviving pieces of history.
That naturally leads to a question we hear from collectors: Are ancient coins actually a good investment?
The answer isn't a simple yes or no.
Ancient coins absolutely can appreciate in value, and exceptional examples have produced impressive prices over the years. But we believe the better way to approach the market is collector first, investor second.
Buy ancient coins because you enjoy them. Learn the history, understand what you're buying and concentrate on quality. If the collection appreciates significantly along the way, consider that a very nice bonus.
Ancient Coins Aren't Bullion
One of the biggest mistakes a new buyer can make is treating ancient coins like precious-metal bullion.
When you buy a one-ounce gold coin, determining its basic value is relatively straightforward. Gold has a readily observable market price, and there is a large network of dealers willing to buy and sell it.
Ancient coins are completely different.
Two coins of the same emperor, denomination and general type can sell for dramatically different amounts. Rarity, historical importance, portrait quality, strike, centering, surfaces, artistic style, provenance and simple eye appeal can all have a significant effect on value.
That makes ancient coins much closer to fine art, antiques and historical artifacts than traditional bullion.
And that's part of what makes them so interesting.
There isn't necessarily a neat price guide that tells you exactly what every ancient coin is worth. Experienced collectors and dealers spend enormous amounts of time studying auction results, comparing individual examples and learning which characteristics the market rewards.
With ancient coins, knowledge matters.
Old Doesn't Automatically Mean Valuable
Here's another misconception we encounter frequently.
A coin being 1,500 or 2,000 years old does not automatically make it rare—or expensive.
Some ancient coins were struck in enormous quantities, and significant numbers survived. It's entirely possible to purchase a genuine ancient Roman coin for surprisingly little money.
At the other end of the spectrum are extraordinary rarities, exceptional portraits, famous historical issues and coins with important pedigrees that can command thousands, tens of thousands or considerably more.
That's why age alone isn't particularly useful when evaluating an ancient coin.
A common coin that's 1,800 years old is still a common coin.
For someone interested in long-term value, we'd generally rather own one exceptional ancient coin than a box full of mediocre ones.
What Makes an Ancient Coin Desirable?
This is where ancient coins become fascinating.
Historical importance can play a tremendous role. Coins connected to names such as Julius Caesar, Augustus, Tiberius, Caligula, Nero and Alexander the Great have stories that extend far beyond numismatics.
There is a reason collectors want them.
Rarity matters as well—but rarity by itself isn't enough.
A coin can be extraordinarily rare and still be inexpensive if almost nobody collects the series. What really matters is the combination of rarity and demand.
Then there is eye appeal.
Ancient coins were struck individually by hand. The dies were engraved by hand, the planchets were prepared individually and the coins were hammered between dies. As a result, two examples of the exact same issue can look remarkably different.
One might have a beautifully centered portrait with complete legends and wonderful surfaces.
Another might have half the portrait missing.
Technically, they're the same coin.
Financially, they may be nowhere close.
That's why experienced ancient collectors often become extremely selective. The longer you collect, the more you realize that buying the best example you can reasonably afford usually beats simply accumulating more coins.
Don't Become Obsessed With the Number on the Slab
Third-party grading has made ancient coins considerably easier for many collectors to approach, particularly people coming from U.S. coins.
But ancient coins aren't Morgan dollars.
A numerical grade doesn't tell the entire story.
Strike, surfaces, centering, style, metal quality and the artistic quality of the portrait can matter tremendously. So can the historical importance of the particular issue.
A coin with a technically higher grade isn't automatically the coin we'd rather own.
Buy the coin, understand the coin, and then look at the holder.
That's good advice in almost every area of numismatics, but it's especially important with ancients.
Provenance Is Becoming Increasingly Important
There is another word anyone considering serious ancient coins should learn:
Provenance.
Provenance is the documented ownership history of a coin.
Suppose you're looking at two nearly identical Roman coins.
The first appeared on the market recently with no known history.
The second can be traced to an old European collection, appeared in a major auction in 1952 and can be matched to a photograph in the original catalog.
Which one would you rather own?
For many serious collectors, the answer is obvious.
Good provenance can add confidence, desirability and sometimes substantial value. It also gives the coin another layer of history.
A 2,000-year-old coin with a 100-year documented modern collecting history is a very different object from an anonymous coin that appeared yesterday.
For higher-end ancient coins, provenance is something we believe collectors should take very seriously.
Then There Are the Fakes
Unfortunately, there's another side of the ancient market that can't be ignored.
Counterfeit ancient coins are real, plentiful and sometimes extremely convincing.
People have been counterfeiting coins for thousands of years, and today's technology certainly hasn't made the problem disappear.
Authenticating ancient coins can involve examining style, dies, surfaces, metal characteristics, manufacturing techniques and comparisons with known genuine and counterfeit examples.
This is one area where trying to save a few dollars can become extremely expensive.
That screaming deal from an unknown online seller isn't such a great deal when you discover your 2,000-year-old Roman denarius was actually made three months ago.
Buy from reputable dealers and auction houses that stand behind what they sell.
Third-party authentication can provide another layer of protection, particularly for collectors who are still learning the field.
Ancient Coins Aren't Particularly Liquid
This is probably the most important consideration if you're thinking about ancient coins specifically as an investment.
Ancient coins aren't as liquid as bullion, stocks or many mainstream U.S. coins.
If you walk into a coin shop with a common American Gold Eagle, determining its value and finding a buyer is relatively simple.
Bring in a specialized $5,000 Roman coin and the situation changes.
The coin might genuinely be worth $5,000 in the right auction to the right collector. That doesn't mean a dealer is going to hand you $5,000 for it that afternoon.
The dealer has to identify it correctly, understand the market, find the appropriate buyer, account for selling costs and still make a profit.
Auction houses have commissions and fees as well.
Market value and immediate cash value aren't necessarily the same thing.
That's one reason ancient coins generally make more sense as long-term collectibles rather than short-term investments.
If your strategy is buying a Roman coin today and flipping it six months from now for a profit, you're probably approaching the market the wrong way.
If your plan is to build an exceptional collection over 10, 20 or 30 years, that's a very different proposition.
The Twelve Caesars Are a Great Example
One of the most interesting ancient collections someone can build is a set of the Twelve Caesars.
The traditional collection begins with Julius Caesar and continues through the first eleven Roman emperors, ending with Domitian.
You're not simply trying to fill twelve spaces in a coin album.
You're collecting coins connected directly to Julius Caesar, Augustus, Tiberius, Caligula, Claudius, Nero, Galba, Otho, Vitellius, Vespasian, Titus and Domitian.
Those twelve coins take you through assassination, civil war, political intrigue, conquest, the Great Fire of Rome, the Year of the Four Emperors, the destruction of Pompeii and the rise and fall of entire dynasties.
And you can approach the collection at dramatically different price levels.
You can build a relatively modest Twelve Caesars collection using bronze and lower-grade silver coins, or you can spend a small fortune pursuing exceptional denarii and gold aurei.
That's the beauty of ancient coins. Your budget doesn't determine whether you can participate. It determines how far down the rabbit hole you're willing to go.
So, Are Ancient Coins a Good Investment?
If your only objective is financial return, ancient coins probably shouldn't be your first investment.
There are investments that are easier to price. There are investments that are considerably more liquid. There are investments with lower transaction costs. And there are certainly investments that require less specialized knowledge.
But focusing entirely on investment return misses what makes ancient coins extraordinary.
A share of stock can't sit in the palm of your hand and tell the story of the Roman Empire.
An index fund wasn't struck while Augustus ruled Rome.
A Treasury bond didn't circulate through an ancient marketplace.
Ancient coins allow you to own a tangible piece of human history while also having the possibility of long-term appreciation.
That's a pretty unusual combination.
Collector First. Investor Second.
Our advice to someone entering the ancient coin market is straightforward:
Buy coins you actually want to own.
Learn the history behind them. Study auction results. Understand rarity. Learn what attractive surfaces and good style look like. Pay attention to provenance. Buy the best quality your budget reasonably allows, and be very careful about authenticity.
Most importantly, don't buy something simply because someone tells you it's going to increase in value.
Build a collection you'd still be happy owning even if prices didn't move for ten years.
If those coins appreciate significantly over the next decade or two, fantastic.
If they don't?
You still spent those years owning a piece of history that survived nearly two millennia before it reached your hands.
There are worse ways to spend your money.
Redmond Rare Coins & Precious Metals
Rare Coins • Ancient Coins • Precious Metals • Collection & Estate Evaluations
Whether you're considering your first ancient coin or staring at a tray of Roman coins wondering what the hell you've gotten yourself into, we're happy to help.