Sneak Peek on My book

Discussion in 'Ancient Coins' started by Colby J., Dec 6, 2019.

  1. Colby J.

    Colby J. Well-Known Member

    So some of you might know that I have been writing an updated price guide on ancient Roman Empire coinage. I've been working with multiple dealers and we have finally found a publisher from Whitman to look it over once finished. I am planning to have the first edition out by 2021. Currently, we have finished Quadrans, Semis, and are just starting the As.
    Out of a consensus, we have decided to give out some sneak peeks of the draft to get anyone interested a little taste of what is coming--and it's big. We will be listing every coin minted by Rome with detailed descriptions and up to date prices in revised versions every year.
    (If you are interested in being a senior editor or a reviser, please direct message my profile and we can work something out.)
    Note: In no way, is any party permitted to copy, display, or sell, any of the information provided on this page unless given permission by a provider.


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  3. swish513

    swish513 Penny & Cent Collector

    So you aren't listing silver coins? You do realize there are new coins discovered every year, hence the RIC and RSC aren't complete.
    Sallent likes this.
  4. Orange Julius

    Orange Julius Well-Known Member

    Just getting a seat for the comments...

    I admire your ambition but... honest and hard feedback: This may be the book modern coin collectors want for ancients... but it’s not the book ancient coin collectors want for ancients.
    Ajax, red_spork, Stevearino and 6 others like this.
  5. RichardT

    RichardT Active Member

    I respectfully think you need to have an answer to this question. Why would someone buy this annual publication, when they can get the price information from online sources? Will your annual be cheaper than the subscription cost of the online source?

    Bear in mind that some websites provide historical price info for free. You can't beat that price.

    Or will it be better in terms of information than the online source? But your annual doesn't seem to have any standard catalogue reference numbers, it may not be easy to use.
    Sallent likes this.
  6. Sallent

    Sallent Live long and prosper Supporter

    Well, it is a dealers' dream as they get to set the prices, but I doubt any collector will want to go along with it. And giving ancient coins grades has always been contentious. Most dealers don't even bother to say a coin is F, VF or AU, etc. The buyer judges for himself based on the images, as one man's VF might be another man's F when it comes to hand-made ancient coins where not two coins are alike and may suffer a whole host of issues such as edge splits, flat spots, worn dies, off centering, crystallization, etc.

    Whenever I see a dealer list a coin as VF or aVF, or XF, I ignore that. Ultimately I'm the one that decides what the coin is, and whether it's worth the price to me personally. I'm sure most others here feel the same. We are very individualistic, much more so than US collectors who've allowed themselves to ve slaves to MS-65 vs MS-66, etc, etc.

    I can see casual collectors or beginners buying your book, but I don't see it as something a seasoned collector would want. Sorry, but that's my opinion. I could be wrong, but that's what I think.
    Last edited: Dec 7, 2019
    Yorkshire, Ajax and Broucheion like this.
  7. Roerbakmix

    Roerbakmix Well-Known Member

    First, I can see and appreciate the tremendous amount of work that must have gotten into writing it. The lay out is clear, and the aim of the book is clear as well.
    I note that you did not ask for feedback in your post - yet posting something as intriguing (and probably also triggering for some) as this will yield reactions.
    My main concerns are already written above (i.e. ancient coins are difficult to grade and inter-observer variance is probably a big issue, historical prices are usually easy to find, the relation between grade and selling price is not well established, etc).

    On the last point (the relation between grade and price): I've done some research on predicting the selling price of some types of coin (I tried the Julius Caesar elephant denarius, Augustus comet denarius, Attica tetradrachm, and various others), only to find out that grade does not predict the selling price well, that is: it is probably largely unrelated to the actual selling price. To demonstrate this, lets take for example the Attica tetradrachm, using data from sixbid, n~1000
    where grade (range 0-5) roughly corresponds to no grade given (=0) to mint state (=5) - note that for grades 1-2 (good to fine), very few data points are available, resulting in uncertainty.
    Broucheion and rrdenarius like this.
  8. Nicholas Molinari

    Nicholas Molinari Well-Known Member

    I think it is a great idea. Keep us posted and good luck!
    Theodosius likes this.
  9. Bing

    Bing Illegitimi non carborundum Supporter

    Kudos for the amount of work you've put into this. The criticisms above notwithstanding, I hope your endeavor pays off and the end product is well accepted in the community.
  10. Ocatarinetabellatchitchix

    Ocatarinetabellatchitchix Supporter! Supporter

    I’m using Richard Plant’s Price Guide regularly before buying new coins. It helps me to get an idea of the price range I should look for. I’m looking forward to your new book. Keep us informed about the development of your project.
    Theodosius and Nicholas Molinari like this.
  11. ancient coin hunter

    ancient coin hunter Cogito Ergo Sum

    Good luck on the book project!
    Theodosius and Nicholas Molinari like this.
  12. dougsmit

    dougsmit Member Supporter

    Considering the number of variables, any price guide to ancients is a bit of a joke and more likely to lead beginners astray than to shed light on the subject. I am not expert enough to appreciate this subject. I have never seen a semis of Probus or Carus but you list prices in 7 and 6 grades.
    OJ and Sallent are being nice. The book will only sell to people who will misuse it.
    TIF, Ajax, Orielensis and 6 others like this.
  13. frankjg

    frankjg Well-Known Member

    How are you developing your prices? You don’t have to give the formula away but are you actively collecting auction data and using that?
  14. rrdenarius

    rrdenarius non omnibus dormio Supporter

    Interesting book idea. Thanks for sharing.
    I wonder how many pages you plan for the book(s). Will you have a few coins per ruler, or attempt to cover all issues? Republican? Provincial?
    I think you should drop the word complete from the title. As shown it looks more like an introduction book.
    You do get a gold star for using V for U in GVIDE.
  15. frankjg

    frankjg Well-Known Member

    Also, where are you getting your pics from? I don’t think people would take kindly to you profiting off of their pics. Unless you have access to all of these coins and are taking your own pictures.
  16. Nicholas Molinari

    Nicholas Molinari Well-Known Member

    I’ll buy it and I don’t even collect Roman coins. It’ll be fun to look through and get a ballpark for prices. It is also already better than half the garbage being published today just by virtue of its subject matter.
  17. Nicholas Molinari

    Nicholas Molinari Well-Known Member

    I doubt Whitman would publish if the rights aren’t secured. Most firms will let you use their images, though the commercial market (as opposed to academic) might be a bit different.
  18. arnoldoe

    arnoldoe Well-Known Member

    Everyone in this thread is being far too nice.
    Shea19, Kentucky and Roerbakmix like this.
  19. AncientJoe

    AncientJoe Supporter! Supporter

    The cover coins and most of the ones on the second page are my coins and images. I don't recall granting permissions for this: if you have emailed me for permission, could you PM me your email address? And, if not, just because the images are on the internet does not make them fair game for publishing, especially for commercial use.
    TIF, dougsmit, Ajax and 18 others like this.
  20. Roerbakmix

    Roerbakmix Well-Known Member

    @AncientJoe: he is probably aware of the concept ‘copyright’
    Ryro likes this.
  21. Ryro


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