Home Page Site Map Email Me Glossary Next Page

----------     What I Like About Ancient Coins     ----------

Useful and Interesting Links

This table shows some links I have found useful or interesting, with some comments to explain what they're about.

Just because a link isn't here, please don't assume I think it isn't worth while. I might not know about it, or I might not have got around to adding it, or I might have lost it. But the ones that are here are all good.

If You Are a Complete Beginner Live Link
This is a good site for beginners, with many questions answered in helpful detail. If you haven't come across ancient coins before, and are interested, browse here a while. Warren Esty's Frequently Asked Questions.
More Detailed Information Live Link
This is an incredibly informative set of pages written by a real enthusiast. Doug is an amateur, but one who really knows his stuff and is happy to make clear where his knowledge ends, so won't mislead you. This site taught me a lot when I started, and I still find it worth visiting regularly, to pick up on things I have missed. Doug Smith's pages.
A great site with lots of information on ancient coins. Lots of detail on animal coins. Good section on Hercules (Herakles). A nice section on Roman women. Many other sections, including some very specialised interests. He's just starting a section on Sasanian coins as I write this (December 2004).
Beast is also an ancient coin dealer, and has a store on the Vcoins mall.
Please note that although I personally have found Beast to be a reliable and helpful dealer, I have no other connection with him or Beast Coins, and I have no responsibility for any deals you might make.
Beast Coins.
Reid Goldsborough has an interesting set of coin pages, but he does not seem to have provided any sort of central index to them. But here is one of them, which I found useful when putting together my "Story of Medusa" page. If you're interested in Medusa coins, or if you intend to collect them, you could learn a lot here. Reid Goldsborough's Medusa coin pages.
Reference Sites Live Link
A reference site for Roman, Byzantine, Greek and Celtic coins. This site has many examples of many types of coin and is searchable. In fact, it has a "partial inscription search" engine, so if you can only see part of the legend on a coin, you might be able to find a matching example by using this. This and Vcoins are my first stops when trying to identify a coin or find out if a type exists. (For example, "I wonder if there are any coins that show Perseus rescuing Andromeda?" followed by "I wonder if I can afford one?")
WildWinds has been administered by Dane "Helvetica" Kurth since early 2009. Dane has made many improvements, and continues to do so.
Wildwinds.
Another reference site, that collates information about high end coins as well as some commoner ones. The information comes from auctions and sales. I used to recommend a site called Coin Archives, but they have started charging $600 a year for a proper search. This one does not charge! acsearch.info
A site with a real mixture of interesting stuff, inccluding the RIC Lists, which I would call an essential guide to identifying a whole range of bronze coins, mostly the late Roman bronzes. The page of Fel Temp fallen horsement is also excellent, with all the types defined and examples of the majority shown. This site is owned by Dane Kurth, who also now runs WildWinds. Where would we be without her? In the dark! Helvetica's Identification Help Page
This section of a dealer's site belongs to Robert Kokotailo, a knowledgeable and experienced dealer. It's definitely worth spending time on. His pages on grading coins are interesting. He shows a Ptolemy tetradrachm rather like my own, and has interesting examples of tooling and repair. Calgary Coin Reference Guide.
This is a dealer's site, and there is an associated Vcoins store. But it's much more than that. It's a site which serious collectors will love. It has good quality discussion boards on many topics, member's auctions, fake coin reports, help on attributing coins, and an excellent resource page – which is why I have put it under "reference sites," though it's so varied it could have gone elsewhere. Just follow the link you want from the front page.
Please note that I have to declare an interest – Forvm hosts this web site and I have had excellent service from them as a seller – but I have no commercial or sponsoring agreement of any sort with them and no responsibility for any deals you might make. Even the link to Forvm from the awards shown on the home page is voluntary.
Forvm Ancient Coins.
This is Rasiel Suarez's site, and it includes a huge and useful reference section covering Roman Imperial and Byzantine emperors. Click on the "research" link to find it. There is a legend search facility, which can be very handy. Ras also sells uncleaned coins and cleaning materials, and has published a very nice reference book called the "Encyclopedia of Roman Imperial Coins." Please note that although I personally have found Ras to be reliable and very helpful, and I have bought a copy of his book, I have no other connection with him or Dirty Old Coins, and I have no responsibility for any deals you might make. Dirty Old Coins.
For this one, it's best if you know a little French. If you look through their archives you will find some very useful reference material on several specialised subjects, such as Aurelian, the Gallic Empire, Gordian III, Septimius Severus and others. The coins are catalogued by mint. They also sell coins, but their prices look a bit high to me – however, you must make up your own mind. I have no connection with this site and I have no responsibility for any deals you might make. La Boutique des Monnaies Romaines.
Warren Esty again, this time with a useful and detailed guide to late Roman bronze coin types, Valentinian I through Theodosius II and Valentinian III. Types, rarities, and commentary. Also, type sets by emperor. The tables here are based on the Roman Imperial Coinage – THE standard reference work for rich collectors, costing about £1,000 for the full set. Esty's Guide to Late Roman AE Coin Types, AD 364-450
Resources which are even more specialised Live Link
Many coins of Probus, showing examples of almost all types from all mints. There is an excellent and very useful search engine. This site is by Grzegorz Kryszczuk. Coins of Probus.
An excellent and informative site about coins of the Roman Republic, with lots of interesting reading, including critical reviews of books. This site is by Andrew McCabe, who knows the subject inside out. Worth reading even if you don't collect the coins. Roman Republican Coins and Books by Andrew McCabe.
Much detail on the "Greek" coins of these two city-states in Illyria. This page is by Gyula Petrányi. Apollonia and Dyrrhachium.
A site with several pages of Pegasus coins, which also lists those he knows to exist but doesn't have a photo of. This site is by a dealer, John McIntosh of "Ancient Artifacts and Treasures." Of course, there is also my own page of coins showing Pegasus. I have no experience of this dealer and have no responsibility for any deals you might make with him. Pegasus coins.
This site is very useful for identifying or browsing coins of Gallienus and his family. You can enter a legend or part of one ansd see what comes up. It will give you references for Sear, RIC and Göbl. Gallienus.
And, even more specialised, this site covers only the coins of Gallienus' Zoo, but it does so in detail with many useful photos. Gallienus' Zoo.
A digitised version of an old, but still useful, reference book dating from 1910: Barclay Head's "Historia Numorum — A Manual of Greek Numismatics". This forms part of Ed Snible's site, called simply "Numismatics", which also has some other interesting pages and is worth a browse. Digital Historia Numorum.
Numismatics.
Where To Check for Fakes Live Link
Here are two good places to search for examples of fake coins. If you have any doubt about a specimen, try seaching here. First, Forum's fake coin gallery, owned by Dr. Ilya Prokopov, the author of several booklets showing fake coin examples The fake reports on this site were uploaded by many users of Forum, not just the doctor. Dr. Ilya Prokopov's Fake Ancient Coin Reports.
Next, the Forgery Network. This is just a little less reliable, as it includes coins which have not been definitively shown to be fakes, but it is nevertheless very useful. Forgery Network.
If you are buying from eBay, also check this list of sellers known to sell counterfeits. Forvm's Notorious Fake Sellers List.
Where To Buy Ancient Coins Live Link
A large group of on-line dealers, all in one place. This is a great place to buy coins, specially if you don't have easy physical access to a dealer. The dealers here are friendly and helpful, and reputable too. I still buy coins on eBay, but not as many as I used to. The coins here are better – and usually more expensive, but that can be a price worth paying, particularly the way fakes are flooding the market these days.
This site has a very good search engine, and if you're looking for a particular coin or subject, it's extremely useful because it finds all matching coins from all the Vcoins dealers. In fact I often use it when I'm trying to attribute coins.
Please note that although I personally use Vcoins, I have no other connection with them and I have no responsibility for any deals you might make.
The Vcoins Mall.
Forvm Ancient Coins is the site which hosts my web page at no cost, so I am keen to see that they continue to be successful! I know that they are a respected professional outfit and do not sell fakes, and this is a reliable place to buy ancient coins. In fact, they also have an outlet on the Vcoins mall (see above). But I have no commercial arrangement of any sort relating to their coin sales, and you must make up your own mind whether you want to buy.
Forvm Ancient Coins Catalog.

The content of this page was last updated on 23 April 2017.

Home Page Site Map Email Me Glossary Next Page