If you are the least interested in ancient coins, you know there are many methods of collecting them. Some look only for the most perfect specimens, others find it fascinating to buy hoards of uncleaned coins, to clean them and see what emerges. Also, certain collectors prefer to concentrate on a certain type of coins only, for instance the famous "owl" type ancient Greek coins. This coin type was minted by the ancient city-state of Athens during its heyday, hundreds of years actually, and always has the goddess Athena on the obverse and a little owl on the reverse side.

During this period, roughly the fifth and fourth centuries BC., Athens was wealthy. One major reason for this wealth was the fact that Athens had their own silver mines. The end of independence for Athens came toward the end of the fourth century, when the conquests of Alexander the Great marked the end of independence for all ancient Greek city-states. Also during this period of unrest, Athens lost control over the silver mines and was forced to melt down some precious gold statuary to make gold coins, which were needed to pay for the services of a mercenary army.

I guess for many collectors of ancient Greek coins, one major motivation is simply the beauty of the coins. And there is no doubt about it: these coins are often real works of art. The "owl" coins of Athens are fine examples, but there are other even more stunning coins from ancient Greece.

For example, there is a tetradrachm (a common denomination among ancient Greek coins) from Akragas, minted toward the end of the 5th century BC, which on the obverse displays a magnificent pair of eagles perched on their prey - a hare. The other side of the coin features a perfectly rendered crab, and below it a stunning representation of a female sea monster (Scylla). You can hardly take your eyes off this coin, so perfect are the images.

It seems obvious that the ancient Greek coins were a source of civic pride. They were not just a medium of exchange, but so much more. The Romans, on the other hand, seem to have had a more pragmatic view of coins. When they emerged as the rulers of the whole Mediterranean area, they produced enormous numbers of coins; but hardly any of those ancient Roman coins have the superb artistic touch of the older Greek coins. The Romans seem to have had a more mundane view of coins.

Also, the Romans began the habit of showing an image of the ruler on the coins. In ancient Greece, living persons were never featured on coins - this would have been seen as bragging, and even provoking punishment from the gods. The Romans didn't worry about bragging, and they also liked using coins for political propaganda. For instance, I've seen a coin showing on one side a portrait of Brutus - one of the men who killed Julius Caesar - and on the other side a "cap of liberty" plus two daggers! This is to be interpreted as: Caesar was killed to liberate Rome from a tyrant.