Oxford Numismatic Society

Do numismatists hibernate? 

A very belated Happy New Year.  January always seems to be a slow month on the coin front. Not much going on. Not many auctions until the Spring. Do numismatists hibernate I wonder? The only interesting items O have seen recently are copies and fakes. I was shown a Roman Republican Denarius recently which the owner could not identify. What he meant was both sides had been identified but not together.

I am no expert on anything and certainly not Roman Republican denarii but this coin did not look, feel or weight right. There was a perfectly straight line on the edge. The colour was wrong and some parts of the design were “out of focus”. It was in perfect condition and not a mark on it. Perhaps I was wrong but the coin did not seem right to me.

If there is not much on the market there is always time to dust off some books and read up on a subject again. If you can’t buy you can read about it. In coins as in much of life you can never know too much.

Have a good year and climb back under the duvet.