Ancient coin collecting has the potential to be a profoundly fascinating hobby for those who are interested in coins or interested in history. The hobby can be about as expensive and one chooses. The first ancient coin purchase I made cost me $2.50 cents for a Constantius back in the seventies. I have paid as little as $1.00 each for uncleaned ancient coins. I have borrowed a part of the following article from the US Mint. There was no author’s name so I will give credit to the US taxpayers.

“There are many excellent reasons why you might want to collect coins. For starters, they tell unique stories. A coin’s design, mintmark, condition and composition can offer a glimpse into history and a better understanding of the past.
Some people collect coins in the hope that they will appreciate in value. Some coins have intrinsic bullion value (such as silver, gold and platinum coins). Others become valuable because they are rare.
Coin collecting, one of the oldest hobbies, was once practiced only by kings and the wealthy. That’s why coin collecting often is called the “king of hobbies” and the “hobby of kings.”
Coin collecting became increasingly popular in America during the 1930s when United States commemorative coins became widely available. Today, there are millions of coin collectors in the United States alone. The thriving coin-collecting community, which includes clubs throughout the United States, provides numerous opportunities for collectors to meet and trade.
A Brief History of Coins
From ancient Egyptian coins to today’s circulating cents, coins have a rich and fascinating history. The first coins date back to 650 B.C. - more than 2,600 years ago - in Lydia, an area that today is part of Turkey.”

Enough from the US Mint. With great bias, I will share the very best source for learning about ancient coins. I have an Ancient Coin Yahoo group, Ancient Peddler, where we have some of the finest ancient coin scholars on the web. I encourage you and your friends to join our group and I encourage you to ask all the questions you care to ask about ancient coins. I will also state that we have been know to drift off topic from time to time since we are a very friendly and caring group. Our Ancient Peddler URL is as follows: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ancientpeddler
We have other ancient coins groups but I will share that information at some future time. Thank you for reading and I hope your interest in ancient coin collecting had been stimulated to some degree.. God Bless.. Jerry..