Any coin with a date before AD 476—be it Greek, Roman, Celtic, or Persian, for example—is categorized as an ancient coin.
Asia Minor, which is now Turkey, was home to the first known coins. They were made of electrum, an alloy of gold and silver that happened to be widely available in the area. As coin-production technology advanced, some of the more than 2,000 Greek city-states began making coins out of pure silver or gold.
Ancient Celtic coins are also fascinating. Most of them are more than 2,000 years old. These were the first coins made in England, France, Germany, and Switzerland, long before any of these areas were nations in their own right. Made of gold and silver, these beautiful coins feature intricate designs drawn from myth and history.
All of these ancient coins provide a fascinating peek into age-old civilizations—and they can also be very valuable.
