Value Guide — Source & Rights Policy

Kinzer Ancient Coin Value Guide

Source & Rights Policy

How Kinzer Coins handles third-party market facts, source identification, images, trademarks, and corrections in the Ancient Coin Value Guide.

Independent market analysis

The Kinzer Ancient Coin Value Guide is an independent Kinzer Coins publication. Auction houses, grading services, dealers, marketplaces, databases, museums, and reference publishers named in the guide are identified as sources or market context. Their names and trademarks remain the property of their respective owners. No sponsorship, affiliation, or endorsement is implied unless expressly stated.

Public market facts
Sale date, auction house, lot number, denomination, grade, hammer or sold-for amount, buyer-premium rules, and active asking prices are recorded as factual market observations. Kinzer Coins independently selects, organizes, compares, and interprets those observations.
Third-party expression
Unless specifically licensed and credited, the guide does not reproduce auction catalog prose, dealer descriptions, proprietary tables, database exports, logos, or third-party photographs.
Aggregators and marketplaces
Search services and marketplaces may be used to locate or cross-check a record. They are not treated as datasets to republish. Wherever practicable, auction observations are checked to the originating auction house and retail observations to the originating dealer or seller.
Images
Documentary coin images used in downloadable volumes are either licensed for reuse or otherwise used with permission. Credits identify the source and license, and material changes are disclosed. Auction-house or dealer photographs are not reused merely because a sale record is cited.
Market separation
Certified, current fixed-price retail, and raw auction evidence remain separate. Sold dealer listings are historical context only. Estimates and current bids are not treated as completed sales.
Corrections and rights concerns
If a source, rights holder, dealer, auction house, museum, or other party believes a credit, license, attribution, or source reference is incorrect, Kinzer Coins will review the specific issue and correct or remove material when appropriate.
Contact Kinzer Coins

Scope of the guide

The guide is a dated collector-market reference, not a guarantee of value or future performance. Ancient coins are specimen-specific. Attribution, authenticity, grade, strike, centering, surfaces, style, rarity, provenance, venue, and collector demand can materially change price.

© 2026 Kinzer Coins. All rights reserved in Kinzer Coins' original authorship, analysis, selection, coordination, arrangement, tables, graphics, and presentation. Underlying third-party rights remain with their respective owners.

Ancient Coin Denominations — Simple Guide for Beginners

(Roman & Greek Coins Explained in Plain English)

Ancient coins often come with unfamiliar terms like AE3, Denarius, or Tetradrachm. These names are modern classification tools used by collectors and scholars today. Ancient people themselves did not shop using these labels the way we do now.

Here’s what they mean — simply.

Roman Bronze Coins (AE1–AE4)

AE comes from the Latin aes, meaning bronze.
The numbers 1–4 describe size only, not value.

  • AE1 – Large bronze coin
    Thick, impressive late Roman coins. Less common.
  • AE2 – Medium-large bronze coin
    Popular Constantinian and Late Roman issues.
  • AE3 – Medium bronze coin
    One of the most common ancient Roman coins.
    Excellent for beginners.
  • AE4 – Small bronze coin
    Late Roman issues. Smaller but fully authentic.

Important:
AE numbers are modern size categories, not ancient denominations.

Roman Silver Coins

  • Denarius
    The most famous Roman silver coin.
    Used for everyday transactions for centuries.
    When people imagine a “Roman silver coin,” this is usually it.
  • Antoninianus
    Introduced in the 3rd century AD.
    Originally silver, later silver-alloy or bronze.
    Often shows the emperor wearing a radiate crown.

You may see ANT used as shorthand.
This is a catalog abbreviation, not an ancient name.

Greek Silver Coin Denominations

(Based on Weight, Not “Face Value”)

Greek coins are named by weight, not by purchasing power.

  • Tetradrachm – Large silver coin
    The most famous Greek silver coin.
    Heavy, impressive, and widely used in trade.
  • Drachm – Medium silver coin
    Standard everyday silver coin in many Greek regions.
  • Didrachm – Double drachm
    Larger than a drachm, smaller than a tetradrachm.
  • Obol – Small silver coin
    Fractional coin used for smaller transactions.
  • Hemiobol / Tetrobol
    Very small fractional silver coins.

These names describe weight relationships, not spending power.

Why You Won’t See These Terms in Our Titles

At Kinzer Coins, we prioritize clarity and trust.

You’ll see titles like:

  • Ancient Roman Bronze Coin of Emperor Constantine I
  • Ancient Greek Silver Coin from Athens

Instead of:

  • AE3 Reduced Follis
  • AR Tetradrachm
  • ANT Rome Mint

All technical details — AE size, denomination, metal, and weight — are clearly listed in the Specifications section.

The Most Important Thing to Remember

Every ancient coin we offer is:

  • Authentic
  • Individually unique
  • Historically significant
  • A real object from the ancient world

You don’t need to understand every denomination to start collecting.

You’re not buying a label.
You’re holding history.