The application of coins is wide; however it is chiefly used for monetary purposes. Coins depict the current financial and economical status of a country.Many a hidden political stories are found in the history of coin-creation, however not all coins represent the time and country that produced them.

Where metal coins actually originated is still under speculation.The invention of coins traces back to the era between 643 and 630 BC in Lydia. They then entered the economy and became a universal representation of money.

In the earlier days, it was used to acquire basic necessities of life by bartering items such as cattle, agricultural produce and skins or furs.

With the rising significance of metal, the idea of exchanging metal coins emerged. Persian, Roman, Greek and Asian coin-collections are well-known for having rich collections of coins.

The Greeks, Persians and finally the Romans minted coins of silver, gold and bronze.

The most famous and widely collected coins of antiquity are Roman coins and Greek coins. India too has spectacular antique coins.

Some centuries ago coins were manufactured in an interesting way. The process involved hitting a hammer positioned over an anvil.

The Chinese introduced other methods of producing coins like cast coinage. Screw and steam processes were also methods used in the early 1700s. The current minting techniques involve utilization of electric and hydraulic presses.

However the common coins for e.g. a roman coin would cost about $5, where as the much rarer and well preserved coins could cost above a thousand dollars. It’s an amazing experience to hold a rare coin which is over a thousand years in the palm of your hand. You then begin to question the rarity of the coin and feels like you have a tangible and intricate link with people of ancient times. But the possibilities of the owners of that coin are endless.

Collecting ancient coins can be a bit intimidating in the beginning but are a marvel in the end. It involves a lot of intense reading, studying and learning about coins. But that itself is fantastic, as it brings history back to life and one can share insights into the present and the future as well. Many people who start out at collecting coins usually begin by just finding foreign coins lying around and so the craze begins. However collecting ancient coins are much more compelling and take a lot of understanding and research.

The availability of ancient coins is never ending as there is a huge supply of these coins which are dug up from the ground each year in source countries such as Italy, Greece, Bulgaria, India, Pakistan, Turkey, and Israel. However where demand is concerned, there are fewer collectors of ancient coins than modern coins.

But there are a number of problems that come with ancient coin collecting. Although there are catalogues that help sort and classify coins, a collector will often come across similar looking coins that come from two different areas of the world.

Inscriptions on many European ancient coins are in Latin, which was a universal language at the time. This makes them hard to categorize by area of origin. Another problem with ancient coins is establishing their authenticity. For a novice numismatist, making such a purchase without securing the proper clarifications could be absolutely disastrous.

He or she could come across uncleaned ancient coins for sale and here, one must bear in mind, the importance of the condition of any coin in coin-collecting. Coins in poor condition do not command a high value.
Another thing to watch out for is an ancient coins bulk sale. Only an inexperienced or foolhardy numismatist would purchase such a lot without proper inspection.

This is because, one can almost be certain that the lot would have been checked and sorted through, and the best coins removed, before it was ever put up for sale. Aspiring numismatists, must therefore, exercise caution before shelling out any cash. Here are a few tips to keep in mind.

The Gupta era too are known for their antique Indian coins of the 4th, 5th and the 6th century AD. The coins of this era depicted the king on the face and a deity on the tail side. The coins bore Indian deities and the legends were in the Brahmi language. The earliest Gupta coins are attributed to kings like Samudragupta, Chandragupta II and Kumaragupta. The Gupta coins often honor dynastic succession as well as significant events like marriage alliances, the horse sacrifice, etc. Post-Gupta coinage of the 6th-12th centuries AD is epitomized by a droning and visually less interesting series of dynastic issues. The Bull & Horseman type of coins were the most common design appearing on coins struck by the Rajputs. The South Indian coin depicted motifs on bull, tiger, fish, bow and arrow, lion etc.
Ancient India had trade links with the Middle East, Greece, Rome as well as China. Even today, Ancient Indian coins have a considerable demand in the numismatic market. [Reference RBI India].

Safe with silver
You could also opt to invest in silver coins. There is a whole array of valuable coins that you could buy from silver coin dealers that would make interesting acquisitions. A 1936, half-rupee, silver coin, bearing the name of King George V is a collectors’ item that doesn’t cost an arm and a leg and if nothing else, the value of a silver coin must be at least as much as its actual bullion silver content. Though silver coins are very popular in India, one must remember that an old silver coin’s value, like the value of any ancient coin, depends on other factors such as grade, rarity and demand. Silver dollars, the American Silver Eagle and the Canadian maple Leaf Silver Coins are easy to come by.
Know how
You can refer to a published coin price guide, available at local bookstores to check the price of the coin you want to buy. Such publications contain valuable information about the prevailing prices for various different coins. Ancient coin dealers can also provide valuable tips on how to start and maintain a coin collection. Most coin dealers would recommend opting for an ancient coins collection as such coins are easy to come by. The Internet is also a great source of information about coin collecting and online price guides can in fact, be even more accurate than published versions as they are updated frequently.

Mughal as well as English patterns were used on the English coins of Western India.
Emperor Farrukhsiyar gave the permission to coin Mughal money at the Bombay mint late in 1717 AD. English pattern coins were struck at the Bombay Mint. ‘Carolina’ was the term used for gold coins, the silver coins were called the ‘Anglina’, the copper coins were termed as ‘Cupperoon’ and ‘Tinny’ was used for tin coins.
By the early 1830, the English had become the dominant power in India. The rise of one dominant power after over a hundred years of turmoil enabled the enactment of the Coinage Act of 1835 and for uniform coinage to be issued. 1835 was the year when newly designed coins with the effigy of William IV on the obverse and the value on the reverse in English and Persian were issued.

The portrait of Queen Victoria was inscribed on the Indian coins which were issued after 1840. The first coinage was issued in 1862 and in 1877 Queen Victoria assumed the title of the Empress of India. Later, when Edward VII succeeded Queen Victoria, the coins too that were issued bore his effigy.

In1906, the Indian Coinage Act was passed which governed the establishment of mints as well as the coins that would be issued and the standards that would be maintained that is the rupee weighing180 grains, silver standard being the 916.66; half rupee of 90 grains and quarter rupee of 45 grains.

Acute shortage of silver on account of World War I, led the British Government to issue paper currency of one rupee and two and a half Rupees. The silver coins of smaller denominations were issued in cupro-nickel during this period.
George V was in turn succeeded by Edward VIII but no coins were issued during his short reign. In 1936, George VI ascended the throne. The compulsion of the Second World War led to experiments in coinage where the standard rupee was replaced by the quaternary silver alloy.

The Quaternary Silver coins were issued from 1940. In 1947 these were replaced by pure Nickel coins. The existing coinage was continued as the frozen series till 26th of January 1950 when India became Republic. [Reference RBI India].

That is not to say that gold coins are not sought after by collectors or numismatics – in fact, they would willingly pay a king’s ransom for rarities like the American ‘double-eagle’ or a gold escudo from colonial Spain – but simply, that scarcity, rather than actual value is of key importance to collectors.
If you are looking at purchasing gold coins as an investment, how to buy gold coins would depend on why you want to buy them.

For instance, if you are simply looking at investing in gold, then, opt for standard bullion gold coins.

But if you intend to hold on to those coins for a long time, then you should look into buying gold coins that include an element of history and hence are likely to become collectors’-items in the course of time.

In this case, you may want to think about investing in some pre-1933 European gold coins as well.

These are available in 1/5 troy oz to ¼ troy oz and although their prices are more or less in the same range as bullion gold coins, they have an additional advantage for the long-term holder. Pre-1933 Gold, European coins are already collectors’-items.

Canada issued a silver coin along the lines of a silver coin issued by the United States. However, very few pieces are known to exist. The first dollar coin came out in 1935. With the price of nickel increasing, the 5¢ coin was changed to cupro-nickel. In 1982 the 1¢ coin was twice made smaller and in 1997 it was changed to copper plated zinc. In 2000, coins below $1 were changed to steel. In 1987, the $1 coin was called the loonie, as it made a pun on the loon minted on the reverse. In 1996, a $2 coin bearing a polar bear became popularly known as the “toonie”. It was a bi-metallic two dollar coin.

A Canadian dollar is made up of 100 cents, just like 1 Indian Rupee is made up of 100 paise. The Canadian dollar has a number of abbreviations to its credit. While its ISO currency code CAD is commonly used, other abbreviations include – C$, Can$, CDN$ and CA$. The coins currently being issued by the Royal Canadian Mint are 1¢, 5¢, 10¢, 25¢, 50¢, $1, and $2 denominations. The government of Canada has seriously thought about dropping the 1¢ coin from circulation; however as of 2006 no decision has yet been taken regarding the same.

A common rule where coins are concerned is that the side carrying the year of minting is the obverse, although most Canadian coins are an exception, including a few Chinese and Japanese coins. Canada also boasts of a number of cent and 5-cent issues that are 12-sided which are collectors’ items.

Do not use tap water as this may contain impurities. All you have to do is to soak the coins in an olive oil and distilled water mixture for over six to ten hours.

Next, take the coin out and carefully brush its surface with a toothbrush. Re-immerse the coin in the liquid mixture and soak for another twenty-four to forty hour period.

When you remove it again, brush the surface once more.

The process is a slow one and it will take a couple of weeks but the coin will then be able to be properly identified.

Thereafter the clean coins can be dried off by baking them in a warm oven for about an hour.

Sounds like a very simple question, but in reality it isn’t. A coin value depends on demand from the public, supply from the dealers, from which mint was issued etc.

The date is the easiest to gauge as it is usually mentioned on the obverse (heads side) of the coin. A casual look at a coin from India or any country for that matter will tell you in which year the coin was minted in. There are certain coins which end up being real popular and become collector items. The only way you will be a 100% sure that you are getting value for your coin, is to have it appraised by a professional.

The value of most coins depends on various factors such as age, condition, metal content, rarity, country, personal preference, and market value. Every coin must be in very good condition for it to have some market value. Coins containing gold and silver will definitely have greater market value over coins containing copper, nickel and zinc. However a very rare copper coin can be worth more than even a gold or silver coin.

The rarity of a coin is the singular most important trait for any coin collector. If there is a mistake on a coin, it becomes very valuable once it gets circulated and becomes a limited copy. World coins are a lot of fun to collect. US coins are pretty common but owning a 1 naya paisa coin from India is rare indeed. Just like clothes couture, coins go in and out of fashion depending on their demand and supply. It takes an expert to judge the coin appraisal and worth in a volatile market.

Grading is another important factor to be kept in mind and is a technical study. With most of us saying a coin looks ‘pretty good’, the correct terms are – Poor, Fair, Good, Very Good, Fine, Very Fine, Extremely Fine, Almost Uncirculated, Uncirculated, Mint State.

So the next time you are out to fetch a coin use this information to know the worth and how to appraise the coin.