Well?

I collect by series - I try to get each mint and date released if possible. Then I'll try to do the major varieties. Ideally, I'd work on every die variety and the patterns that represent the series. I appreciate this method as it is a great and comprehensive study of the series.

I also do type but not as readily as adding new coins to my series collections.

whatever looks pretty or catches my fancy, also coins that have good history...though I tend towards finding certain types of coins and certain coins from certain countries more attractive and interesting than others of course

Ditto!

I'm primarily a date/mint collector. But if something catches my eye especially in big silver.

I primarily collect coins due to their history and rarity, but will also collect hammereds by their aesthetics and value.

This now means that I now own some of the rarest late Anglo-Saxon and Norman coinage around, unfortunately there are so many rare coins in these eras that I only have a small section of the rarities!

But, outside of my collecting eras, I will also collect anything that takes my fancy, such as a 1937 Proof Crown that I recently purchased.

Clive.

I picked date/mm, but I collect lots of stuff.

I have my box of flips, those coins caught my eye in junk bins.

I have a 1900's type set.

I have roles of coins (mainly cirulation, also cirulated wheats).

I have some slabs and air tites in another box, Those are some of my favorite coins.

I am working 3 date/mm sets.

I also have a box for mint and proof sets.

I don't have any really rare coin.

When I started collecting, it was fairly haphazard. After a while, I started concentrating on a few series, collecting by date/mm/variety, which I chose according to the following criteria (not necessarily in this order):

- historical interest;
- beauty of design;
- availability of high-grade specimens;
- return on investment.

Additionally, I am constantly on the lookout for bargains, undiscovered rarities, etc. Although I am primarily a collector and not an investor, I am realistic enough to know that I will eventually sell some of my coins and want to realize a profit (...in order to be able to buy more and nicer coins, of course! )

And if something catches my eye, and looks cheap enough, I will usually buy it. Some examples:
Shawnee Tribes commemorative silver proof coins
1993 Rachmaninoff gold commemorative proof
Peruvian gold, 1 Libra 1966

The only series (3 coins total ) I was able to complete up to now:
Coinage of the independent state of Tatarstan (1993)

After the Soviet Union split up into independent states in late 1992 or early 1993, the country of Tatarstan minted these tokens: 20 liters of petrol, 10 liters and 1 kilogram bread. After 1993, Tatarstan became part of the Russian Federation and ceased minting of its own coins. Apparently, many of the 20 liter tokens were faked by plating the bronze 10 liter coins with nickel. As a result, it is hard to find these without filing marks.

You can't get any closer to describing me. I'm glad I'm not the only collector that realizes we may need to fall back on our collection to support ourselves at one point.

Whatever looks pretty and appeals to me.

I marked theme. Most all of the parts of my collection were acquired according to a thematic interest and often one I wanted to develop into a written essay or publishable article. When I see something that catches my fancy, I buy a few pieces until a theme develops or I move on.

Lately, anything I have looked for has been mainly by theme, so that is what I marked.

Pretty much whatever I find pretty, and since most of US coinage has really pretty Liberty's, I kind of feel the obligation to collect all of the US major types.

My only date/mm sets are the Liberty's I feel I can get my hands on easily and I'm getting so many to see how they wear.

I picked the first one although I look for history rather than "pretty".

I was going to include history but I counted that as a theme instead.