Saturday, 28 March 2009

Collecting coins can be fun and a way to learn.

By Christopher Sewell

Numismatics-- that is, the study of coins-- is a very important ancillary discipline to the study of just about any human society, including our own. In the last several hundred years, studying coins has grown into a goal in itself for a lot of folks. The academic discipline remains fairly small, occupying a niche in the academic sphere, so many important contributions have actually been made by hobbyists. Coins are intriguing since they offer a couple of facets to be examined.

Initially, their worth then and now like money. When in the Third Century AD the Romans devalued their coinage, Roman economic power began to slip,roman coinage was stable in its value for centuries because of its consistent gold content.

Coins that were comprised of any gold or silver have been 'clipped', meaning tiny bits of the coin have been shaved off by a dishonest person in order to melt it down and make a profit.

The ancient Greek cities each issued their own coinage, in the case of Athens it was mainly silver. Some of these coins are works of art in themselves, especially the golden coins from Sicily. Even more practical are Roman coins or any other coin that was minted after the dark ages in Europe. Still many fine busts of rulers appear on coins from all over Europe, as indeed on American coins, especially those from the early twentieth century before paper (by rule) money became too common.

The American coins tend to be constant in subject, unlike the coins from Europe, though the Roosevelt dime is an obvious exception This does not, however, detract from the beauty of many early American coins which are highly prized by collectors and professionals.

Many silver dollars are great examples of the numismatic art; they are particularly sought after. The Buffalo nickel is also proving difficult to find. The marks indicating at which place the coin was minted; the date of issue; the subjects on the reverse,the marks indicating at which place the coin was minted; the date of issue; the subjects on the reverse. and the obverse as well, but they tend to remain constant. You can begin collecting coins relatively cheaply and easily; the fun comes with hunting down and finding that special coin that makes your collection more complete.

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