Photo by Rhonda Silence
Moving on-in 1999, the Cook County Star published an article on Marc Breitsprecher and his hobby, numismatics. Since then, his hobby has grown to a full time business. Above, Marc holds the lovely plaque presented to him when he left the Grand Marais Post Office after 10 years. His wife and business partner, Melissa, holds a copy of The Celator, the trade magazine that they use in their new business, Ancient Imports.

Ancient coins lead to the American dream

By Rhonda Silence
Marc and Melissa Breitsprecher are living the American dream-thanks to modern technology and ancient coins. After studying and collecting ancient coins as a relaxing pastime for over 27 years, Marc left his job at the Grand Marais Post Office in February 2005 to turn his hobby into a career. Ancient Imports has become a business both he and Melissa enjoy.
"Don't get me wrong," cautions Marc in his cozy office with its great view of downtown Grand Marais and Lake Superior. "We don't have a ton of money-but we don't need it. We've found a way to get the freedom to spend time together as a family and to live a good life."
The Breitsprechers planned for quite some time to take this leap of faith, which allows Marc to devote the time he used to spend at the Post Office on the internet business. "I was working 35-40 hours a week, hurrying home at lunchtime and after work to check the website. I was working too many hours for too long," said Marc.
Although the financial reward is not always impressive ­ Marc notes that in the four days prior to this interview, he only earned $100-operating his home internet business offers the family the freedom to take a day off if the sun is shining and the walleyes are biting. And, it gives Marc the chance to surround himself with the antiquities that he finds so fascinating.
Marc readily admits that he is addicted to coin collecting. "I can't afford to buy all the coins I'd like to-so, I take care of those that belong to other people."
Marc does that via his website www.AncientImports.com, where he posts photographs of coins he has for sale. The website is an integral part of his success to date. Created by college student Kendrick Erickson, the grandson of Ken and Fern Lovaas of Grand Marais, while still in high school, the website received honors in 2003 for "Best Numismatic Website."
Another key to his successful website is his special camera, designed to capture the optimal view of coins. As Marc photographs each coin, Melissa assists with weighing and measuring the coins and logging them on a spreadsheet. As soon as they are entered, the coins are stored in a safe deposit box at one of the local banks, to be filed away safely until they are sold on the website, or returned to the owner. Not all of the coins that pass through the Breitsprecher household are for sale. Part of the business is identifying and inventorying other people's collections and sharing the knowledge of each coin's history with website visitors. Ask Marc about a coin and he excitedly tells the tale behind the coin. There's the story of the Celtic "wheel money" with spokes like a wheel traded in the Gaelic wars. There's the 2000 year-old coin of Emperor Claudius with his wife, Messalina on the back, minted in Alexandria, Egypt in 50 AD. There's the soap opera story of the coin with likeness of Cleopatra, who broke the Roman Empire with her affairs. There's the coin Pontius Pilate minted bearing a pagan symbol intended to show his ability to dominate the Jews.
Melissa too, has been caught up in the history and romance of the coins. She happily points out her favorite coin-a beautiful Christ coin of the Byzantine Empire, which the Breitsprechers have adopted as the logo for Ancient Imports.
They both enjoy studying the coins that Marc purchases from throughout the United States and Europe every week or accepts to attribute for other collectors. Their inventory helps them identify the rare matching coin. Marc explained that coins were minted in iron molds and as the dies wore out, the coins changed appearance, becoming less and less detailed. The molds cracked under the stress of hot metals and hammering and wore out quickly. Finding coins minted from the same die is very rare.
Since the coins became less and less detailed, it seems that creating a forgery would have been relatively easy. Asked if forgeries are a concern for a numismatist, Marc explained that they are not-there are few modern reproductions that can pass as ancient coins. But ancient forgeries are sometimes priceless. "Fourees are not fake," said Marc. "They are not a modern reproduction, but an official ancient issue."
"The day coins were minted was the day people started counterfeiting them," said Marc. He explained that the first coins were solid gold, so forgeries were created by mixing other metals and coating them with gold, making ten coins where there was one. Fourees are frequently priceless because they are so unique and rare. Rare, because the penalty for counterfeiting was death. And not an easy death-counterfeiters were thrown to the lions or torn apart by elephants.
Tidbits of history such as the role of elephants in the punishment of counterfeiters have led to other business opportunities for the Breitsprechers. The couple is currently working together on an article for a numismatist trade magazine, The Celator, about the connection between elephants and ancient coins.
Working together is the key word. They work side by side, sorting and classifying the coins, excited about the history they are recording and preserving. Melissa has her own interests-she plays guitar and writes songs-but she is also an active partner in the antiquities operation. Their children, elementary school students Aaron and Jesse, have yet to catch numismatic fever. "They are more into Hot Wheels cars," said Marc with a laugh.
However, thanks to Marc's long time passion for ancient coins, and with the help of some modern technology, they are all living the American dream.