Where can I find a good online resource to ID ancients? PICS ADDED

AuldFartte

Going through my late father-in-law's (now my wife's) coins, and I found a bunch of Roman, and what appear to be Greek coins. Do any good websites exist for the identification (and/or valuation) of these ancients? Or do I just need to obtain some books?

Your suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

Edit to add pics: I think these are Greek -

20 mm @ widest point



13 mm



19 mm



21 mm



22 mm



I'll post some Romans (I think) in a separate post later.

THANK YOU

goldrush00013

Click on LordM's Me page. I think there is a site called Wildwinds or something you can click on,that might help.

Aethelred

Either spend $500 on books or post the photos here.

goldrush00013

<< <i>Either spend $500 on books or post the photos here. >>




Yeah post the photos!!

Spinynorman

If you can read the legends, or parts of the legends, then this site is pretty handy.

AuldFartte

Pictures added to first post.

Thanks for your help!!!

hamiltonjh

great coins Fartte!!

AuldFartte

<< <i>great coins Fartte!! >>



Thanks, Hambooger !!!

lordmarcovan

Great coins. They all look Parthian to me, except the lion. That one is likely to be very old indeed- those incuse squares are found on some of the earliest coins.

AuldFartte

Sorry for being an idiot, but what's Parthian, LordM ??? Is that a part of Greece?

lordmarcovan

The Parthian Empire

earlwbollinger

The second one isn't Parthian, it is some kind of a Greek culture based coin.
But the last one looks like a cast replica or fake.
That then tends to render the rest of them as suspect too.
I would carefully check out the fake replicas and how to spot them before coming to amy conclusions.
A google search on "ancient replica coins" turns up a wealth of information.
Do you know if your father-in-law travelled to Europe or areas around there?
The tourist spots and museums would all sell souvenir replicas to any and all.

A google search on "ancient greek coins" or ancient Parthian coins" will likely provide all the info you need.
Otherwise you have to accumulate a bunch of different books.

AuldFartte

Thanks earlw, for the advice. You, too, LordM.

He didn't travel, but traded and wheeled-and-dealed with collectors for most of his life, obtaining collections of items he could re-sell or trade for other items. He sure had fun at it !!! He obtained this batch of coins in 1984-1985 era from a long-time collector here in Albuquerque who was selling his collection to finance part of his retirement. He never went to Europe (or much of anywhere else, either. I knew him, too).

I'll see what I can find online. Thank you very much

lordmarcovan

<< <i>The second one isn't Parthian, it is some kind of a Greek culture based coin. >>

Like I said.

<< <i>They all look Parthian to me, except the lion. >>





<< <i>But the last one looks like a cast replica or fake. >>

I can see how the last one might look suspicious, but it could also just be toned. I don't see any in the group that threw up any obvious red flags for me, but my experience with such material is limited, to say the least. It's certainly true there are a lot of fake ancient coins out there, and authenticating them is a good idea.

CIVITAS

Just to add a bit:

As has already been said, most are Parthian drachms with exception of the 2nd one, which is a hemi-drachm from Cheronessos in Thrace. It dates to approximately 480-350 B.C. The symbols on the back vary quite widely. Yours appears to have a pellet (with some die breaks) on one side, and a bunch of grapes on the other. Retail value is probably somewhere in the neighborhood of $35-$60 depending on the venue it's sold in. It's a fairly common coin.

Regarding the other coins:

1. Mithradates II 123-88 B.C.
3. Orodes I 90-77 B.C.
4. Mithradates IV 129-140 A.D.
5. Orodes II 57-38 B.C.

I'm no expert, so those are about 90% certain. Parthian can be a bit tricky because the only way to tell many kings apart is by the bust style and type. Rarely does that actual name of the king show up on the coin. Incidentally, the Parthian kings were called brothers of teh sun and moon, which is why the star and crescent is on #5. Also, I think they are probably all genuine. #5 probably just has a bad case of encrustation on a poor flan. But it does have a funky look in the photo.

I believe all of those types/kings are common, so you're probably looking at a retail value of $30.00-$45.00 per coin.

You can visit http://www.parthia.com for more info on these kings and their coins.

lordmarcovan

<< <i>I'm no expert, so those are about 90% certain. >>



You're the closest we've got to one.

cacheman

might help

CIVITAS

<< <i>

<< <i>I'm no expert, so those are about 90% certain. >>



You're the closest we've got to one. >>



Scary thought, huh?

AuldFartte

Thanks, CIVITAS. That's a huge help to me, and I really appreciate it.

Thanks for the link, Cacheman. Looks like a good resource.

The last coin appears to have been corroded and heavily cleaned at some point in time, plus my camera isn't the best quality, so the pics are kinda funky