Introduction to Rare Ancient Coins
Rare ancient coins have made extraordinary gains in value over the last several years. ASI has partnered with ancient coin experts to bring you ancient rarities dating from over 2,000 years ago. As an asset type, ancient coins enjoy a truly expanding worldwide market demand and an ever decreasing supply.
Imagine holding a beautiful gold or silver coin that would have been used to pay a soldier in Alexander the Great's or Julius Caesar’s army. These coins have been collected by the most important world leaders since they were struck, and are crucial relics from the birth of Western Civilization as we know it.
Growth Potential and Attention to Details
Our ancient coin experts hand pick the pieces with the most phenomenal potential - high quality, ultra-rare examples with exceptional eye appeal for the grade. They comb through hundreds of coins, waiting for just the right combination of rarity and value that we pass on to you. Look at how these three coins have done over time:
Alexander the Great Gold Stater (336-323 BC) NGC Choice Mint State
Brought $5,000 in a May 2008 Goldberg Coins sale
A coin with the same grade (different coin) brought $11,000 in an August 2014 Heritage sale
Gold Aureus of Julius Caesar (Veiled head of Vesta)
Since 2008, only 18 of these coins graded by NGC have appeared at auction!
In April of 2000, an uncertified, accurately graded, Extremely Fine coin sold for $2,350.
In September of 2012, an NGC XF (Extremely fine) sold for $6,500 at auction.
In August of 2014, an NGC Choice XF (Extremely fine) sold for $11,750 at Heritage auction.
Arsinoe II Gold Octodrachm
An NGC AU piece sold for $8,225 in an August 2010 Heritage sale.
A similar piece sold for $10,575 in a September Heritage sale in 2011, and a comparable coin sold for $16,000 at auction in January 2015.
Why Invest in Rare Ancient Coins?
- Average performance of ancient coins is 11% per annum over the last 40 years.
- The demand for ancient coins is truly worldwide. Ancient Greek, Roman, and Persian history has defined who we are today, and the coinage is a tangible piece of that history. International ancient coin auctions are attended by some of the wealthiest collectors in the world.
- European export restrictions are decreasing supply for U.S. collectors.
- Uncorrelated asset driven by collectors, not investors.
- Launch of third-party grading service for ancients - Numismatic Guaranty Corporation (NGC) began grading ancients in 2008, and as a result, investors from other fields can easily participate. Certifying coins provides liquidity and an assurance of quality.
- Thousands of years of tangible history, with a phenomenal future!