Collecting Rare Coins and Currency – Page 2
Ancients
Ancient coins were invented by Greeks in lonia just after 700 B.C. The invention of coinage meant the end of barter and the beginning of international commerce. The first coins, called electrums, were made from a mix of gold and silver nuggets found in streams. Greek coins also were made of copper and bronze. The most common denominations were silver drachms and tetradrachms, and gold staters.
Greek coins are miniature sculptures of great beauty, depicting gods and goddesses of the city, and animals-especially lions, eagles, and bulls. The coinage of Alexander the Great represents Alexander as Hercules, with Zeus holding an eagle on the reverse. Lifetime issues of Alexander were made from the treasures he captured while conquering the world. Those same coins paid the fearless soldiers in his army.
Roman coinage used the same metals but carried a different message. Lifelike portraits of Julius Caesar, Augustus, Marc Antony, Nero, Marcus Aurelius, and over 120 others adorn the obverses of the gold aureus, silver denarius, and bronze sestertius they issued. Both the obverse and reverse legends described the emperor's accomplishments.
Byzantine coinage was issued primarily in gold solidi and copper folleses, and usually bore a cross or portrait of Christ in addition to a portrait of the emperor.
With striking visuals, ancient coins can offer their owners a near-photographic image of past cultures. And although rarities worth thousands of dollars exist, the vast majority cost from $5 to $500.
The $1 note History Instructing Youth. More than 57 million of these notes were printed, but only a fraction exist today.
Currency
Some of the world's finest artists made their mark not through paintings or sculpture, but with paper money. Designs on old currency, crafted by artists and engravers, reveal volumes of history. They unravel the mysteries of rulers, the downfall of governments, and shifts of world dominance throughout the centuries.
During the past decade, collecting paper money has been one of numismatics' fastest growing fields. Each year, several conventions are held specifically for currency collectors. Collecting paper money offers a wide variety of challenges to suit each collector's personality.