Set Category: Token & Medals

Set Name: All that I have left Part - I Ancient to Medieval

Set Description: This very limited "set" (I don't want to call it a collection since it is more of an accumulation) presents the ancients and medieval coins remaining in my collection. I never really collected specifically either ancients or medieval coins. It is that in over the years of coin collecting you just can not avoid acquiring a few of these coins. I have yet to sell a medieval coin while adding to my limited holdings of medieval coins. On the other hand I have sold more than half the ancients I owned.

There are two coins I can not list. The first is a cast Aes Grave Semis (Sear #535). NGC does not certify cast coins. This coin was authenticated by David Sear and graded Fine. The second coin is a silver dirhem of Genghis Khan (M-1496)a coin which NGC does not yet certify. This would be another coin in the medieval subgroup.

Under my comments to All that I have left Part III I stated the following, "None of my coins will have anyone say wow!" I expect (or at least hope) that two of my coins in this set have collectors sit up and say WOW!!!!!! I think you will know them when you come to them.

My ancients maybe the most disappointing part of all my “All I have left” sets in that these coins are all somewhat basic issues with no true rarities. Yet I am still please with the overall grades of my 15 ancient coins which include the following:

Fine = Two Coins
VF = Two Coins
Ch VF = Seven coins
XF = Two coins
Ch XF = Two Coins

I am also quite pleased with the medieval component of this set. It includes one amazing true medieval rarity and some of my specimens may be considered “rare” more so for their grade rather than their scarcity. My nine medieval coins consist of the following grades:

VF-35 = One coin
Ch VF with a star = One coin
XF-40 = Two coins
XF-45 = Three coins
AU-55 = One coin
MS-62= One coin

Set Goals: I started collecting coins in the mid 1950’s. In the mid 70’s I started dealing at a shows. When I went to coin shows before I started dealing I would walk by every table that had anything foreign, or had bank notes or medals. However after I started dealing I became friends with dealers who sold those items and I started looking at their material. I found a lot of it to be beautiful, and the foreign material was much more beautiful than US items. Before I knew it I was hooked. I sold off most of what I had and was replacing it with material I never thought I would own. My criteria for buying numismatic material then and now became 1) the item had to be above average grade, 2) I have to find the item “attractive” to me, 3) I love finding a rarity and 4) any connection to places I lived or family origin is a plus. I also built up a large numismatic library. I wish NGC would allow us to list our numismatic library under signature (or maybe even competitive) sets.

When my son went off to college I sold my collection (for students from outside Michigan the U of M is not cheap). I kept very few pieces from that collection. In fact the only pieces I can remember for sure are a silver dirhem of Genghis Khan (M-1496), 1930 Ten Kronur from Iceland, a 1922 no D cent with strong reverse and four Swiss Shooting Medals. I am sure there were a few more pieces. I thought I was done with coins but I was wrong. Before long I found I was being drawn back to them. However my disposable income was not what it once was and I only had modest amounts I could spend on items I purchased. I again started collecting until 2005. When I retired and needed to supplement my income and I started selling off my collection. Maybe I should have gone cold turkey (as I did when my son went to college) and just sell it all, but I just could not bring myself to do that. So I slowly go through my collection looking at each coin and saying yes or no. When more funds are needed I repeat the process. It really does get harder each time.

But believe it or not, I still can not quit. When I sell off a part of my collection I typically take a modest percentage of what my sale netted and purchase one or two new pieces. Regardless of the type of material I sold my new purchases would be “raw” medieval coins or world coins from 1600. Why? Being up here in Vermont there are few locations that cater to my collecting likes and I no longer have much money. So that leaves me with eBay. And let’s face it, the number of world coins being offered at any moment on eBay is enormous. So why buy world vs. US coins? I would not buy a US coin on eBay unless it was slabbed. In my opinion, a preponderance of the raw US coins sold on eBay fall into one of the following two categories. One they are either low grade and can not justify the slabbing fee or two they are impaired. I do not want such coins. If it is a slabbed US coin it will bring a price that is fair but well above what it would bring if it were raw, thus leaving me a little chance to make money if I have to sell it in a year or two. World coins on eBay have the same problems but slabs have not caught on out side the US as they have here. So when really nice world coins are offered on eBay the tendency is for them to sell for at least one full grade below their actual grade. Why, there is that ever present concern when buying a coin on eBay – I am being had? Is the photo hiding something? I have been had with some of my eBay purchases but you can judge for yourself on those that were returned slabbed. I identify those bought on eBay and how much I paid. To see what I paid you have to click on “Photo”. When selecting a coin on eBay on which to bid I look for condition (I want no signs that the coin was ever cleaned or that the coin is impaired), grade and what I think the coin is worth based on catalogue values.

I enjoyed collecting world coins. When it comes to collecting world coins there is art or beauty, history, rarity and family origin as bases for forming the collection. The best part is that world coins that are “rare” based on U.S. standards are typically no where near as expensive as a U.S. coin of the same rarity.

I am pleased that NGC has expanded the types of coins it certifies. However, The standardized format we are given into which information must be provided does not really fit sets containing ancient or medieval coins. For example none of the options available under the heading "Country" are compatible with medieval coins from England.

To date I have listed “All I have Left Parts I, II, III, IV & V.” I have one more part to list but I am waiting until I have the funds to certify the items in that group. Part VI will basically consist of medals and tokens.

Owner:     RAM-VT


custom-best-noNumber.png Best Overall Custom Set


Signature Set Details:
Slot NameCoin InfoGraded ByCountry
Ancient Coin #1 AR Stater 4th Century BC CORINTHIA CORINTH NGCGREECE
Ancient Coin #2 AR Tetradrachm Alexander III 336-323 BC KINGDOM OF MACEDON NGCGREECE
Ancient Coin #3 AE20 c.85-65 BC PONTUS AMISUS NGCGREECE
Ancient Coin #4 AR Tetradrachm Demetrius II 129-125 BC SELEUCID KINGDOM NGCSYRIA
Ancient Coin #5 AE23 Ptolemy II 285/4-246 BC PTOLEMAIC KINGDOM NGCEGYPT
Ancient Coin #6 AE35 Ptolemy III 246-222 BC PTOLEMAIC KINGDOM NGCEGYPT
Ancient Coin #7 AR Denarius C.Ter. Lucanus c.147 BC ROMAN REPUBLIC NGCITALIAN STATES - NAPOLEONIC TO UNIFICATION
Ancient Coin #8 AR Denarius L.Titur. Sabinus c.89 BC ROMAN REPUBLIC NGCITALIAN STATES - NAPOLEONIC TO UNIFICATION
Ancient Coin #9 AR Denarius Hadrian AD 117-138 ROMAN EMPIRE NGCITALIAN STATES - NAPOLEONIC TO UNIFICATION
Ancient Coin #10 AR Double-Denarius Julia Domna AD 193-217 ROMAN EMPIRE NGCITALIAN STATES - NAPOLEONIC TO UNIFICATION
Ancient Coin #11 AR Denarius Geta AD 209-211 ROMAN EMPIRE NGCITALIAN STATES - NAPOLEONIC TO UNIFICATION
Ancient Coin #12 AR Denarius Geta AD 209-211 ROMAN EMPIRE NGCITALIAN STATES - NAPOLEONIC TO UNIFICATION
Ancient #13 AE Sestertius Sev. Alexander AD 222-235 ROMAN EMPIRE NGCITALIAN STATES - NAPOLEONIC TO UNIFICATION
Ancient Coin #14 BI Tetradrachm AD 253-268 EGYPT ALEXANDRIA NGCEGYPT
Ancient Coin #15 AR Quinarius 2nd-1st Centuries BC CELTS THE VINDELICI NGCGERMANY - STATES - 1801-1873
Medieval Armenia AE Follis Kiurike I/II Kouropalates GREATER ARMENIA-LORI NGCTURKEY
Medieval England #1 PENNY (978-1016) G.BRITAIN S-1144 AETHELRED II NGCGREAT BRITAIN - 1603-1660
Medieval England #2 1 1016-35 London S-1158 NGCGREAT BRITAIN - 1603-1660
Medieval England #3 PENNY (1066-87) G.BRITAIN S-1257 WILLIAM I NGCGREAT BRITAIN - 1603-1660
Medieval England #4 PENNY (1247-72) ENGLAND S-1369 HENRY III NGCGREAT BRITAIN - 1660-1815
Medieval France #1 1 1125-1215 Narbonne Roberts-4336 NGCFRANCE - 1601-1643
Medieval France #2 1 1458-88 Rennes Roberts-6183 NGCFRANCE - 1601-1643
Medieval Italy 1GR 1139-1339 Genoa Biaggi-838 NGCITALIAN STATES - NAPOLEONIC TO UNIFICATION
Medieval Spain NOVEN (1369-79) SPAIN LEON CAYON-1395 NGCSPAIN - REAL COINAGE - 1601-1858

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