Types of Ancient Coins

There can be books and volumes written about the types of ancient coins possible. For the sake of a quick introduction, here is a brief overview.

Greek

Ancient coinage was invented in Lydia circa 600’s B.C. Yes that is over 2600 years ago. That is how far ancient Greek coins date back to. The earlier coins before 480 B.C. are considered archaic. These are often valued more highly by collectors, as they are often scarcer. Next you have the various different kingdoms and city states develop. From more famous names such as Alexander the Great, Pyrrhos (for Pyrrhic victory expression) to the more democratic ancient Athens, Greek coins pack a lot of historical value in a small package.

Roman

The Romans were concurrent with the Greeks at a certain historical time period, however they wound up being a better, more organized and ultimately stronger force that dominated history until the 5th century A.D. at least. It is also believed by well-educated scholars that the Byzantine empire was actually a continuation of the old Roman empire, with a new capital built by Constantine the Great called Constantinople. Historical ancient Roman coins range from the more famous names such as Julius Caesar, Augustus, Caligula, Tiberius and Nero to the more obscure (almost lost to history) emperors. Some routes that can be pursued in coin collecting would be to Collect the Women on the coins, Coins of the Roman Republic, All the Emperors, Gods and Goddesses, Architectural Types, Military Themed and so many more.

Biblical

Biblical coins can be considered the types used or mentioned in the Bible. A poor widow gives all the money she has in the world in a religious gathering donation, the famous coin is known as the widow’s mite. A silver Roman coin was brought to Jesus which is now known as the famous ‘Tribute Penny‘ “Render unto Caesar all that is Caesar’s”.  The infamous ‘30 Pieces of Silver‘ used as payment to Judas for the betrayal of Jesus Christ. Then there were the coins that circulated in biblical Jerusalem. The infamous Roman procurator Pontius Pilate also had a coin issued in the name of Tiberius whom presided over the crucifixion of Jesus. Overall the ancient coins dealing with the Christian theme as it evolved from a persecuted religion to it’s rise during the later Roman empire through the Byzantine era.

Byzantine

The Byzantine empire coins are considered to have started during the late 400’s A.D. It’s capital was Constantinople, built by Constantine the Great circa 330 A.D. By that time the Roman empire had two capital cities, one in the east just mentioned and the later being Rome the ‘eternal city’. The Byzantine empire was a highly Christian empire and issued many coins with Jesus Christ. There was also a very interesting series of Jesus Christ Anonymous coins featuring Jesus Christ, crosses and Virgin Mary ‘Orans’ on them.

World

A lot can be said about world coins. There are many different topics to explore, such as the famous character rising up after the French Revolution, Napoleon. Also if you consider Europe’s peoples migrated all over the world including the United States. The cultural heritage world coins represent are an amazing topic all on their own to explore.

Precious Metal Coins in Gold and Silver

There are certain collectors that prefer to only collecting gold and/or silver coins. Gold has attracted people to it for thousands of years with it’s beauty and monetary properties. See the guide to ancient Gold coins here or watch the guide to silver Greek coins.

Learn More

Explore my entire collection of articles I have written on ancient coins, coin collecting, coin investing and more.

My Mission

My goal is to create patrons and great people in my life I can even call friends that would have a positive experience for a lifetime in this enjoyable passion of mine. By sharing knowledge and by making learning about coins more easy and fun, I believe I can accomplish my goal, not to mention sell some interesting coins to people that can truly appreciate them.