thedeadpoint Posted March 15, 2010 Report Share Posted March 15, 2010 I have very few ancient coins in my collection because I am intimidated by the designs, varieties, possibilities of contemporary or modern fakes, and many other reasons. If you actively collect ancients, how do you collect them? By series? By design? By ruler? By "country"? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thedeadpoint Posted March 16, 2010 Author Report Share Posted March 16, 2010 bump Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ccg Posted March 17, 2010 Report Share Posted March 17, 2010 I collect Roman: By emperor (1 each, with a focus on 3rd and early 4th century) By type (Constantinian dynasty type coins, and also coins depicting Sol/Apollo) Chinese: Qing cash by emperor and type. I also have random stuff that I either liked (and it was $20 or less), or simply wanted an example of (e.g. Sassinian drachm) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ccg Posted March 17, 2010 Report Share Posted March 17, 2010 Interestingly, for ancients I will wait for a nice piece to come along before spending any money, whereas for moderns I have a habit of being low and mid grade stuff that I know I'll have to upgrade down the road. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saor Alba Posted March 17, 2010 Report Share Posted March 17, 2010 I like looking at them, and I have some decent Syracusan coins, an Athenian Tet, etc. but for the most part I really haven't been doing much with them lately and cannot remember when my last ancient purchase was but it has been a few years. Now I am back on track with the Scottish. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KoRnholio Posted March 17, 2010 Report Share Posted March 17, 2010 I collect Roman: By emperor (1 each, with a focus on 3rd and early 4th century) By type (Constantinian dynasty type coins, and also coins depicting Sol/Apollo) Chinese: Qing cash by emperor and type. I also have random stuff that I either liked (and it was $20 or less), or simply wanted an example of (e.g. Sassinian drachm) Almost exactly what I have collected so far, minus the Chinese coins. I also have a few random other ancients: a siglos from the 4th century BC, and a Scythian (former Pakistan) Indo Greek drachm. Mostly I am working on a Roman set by emperor, but certain designs and coins just catch my eye and then I impulse buy! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bill Posted March 17, 2010 Report Share Posted March 17, 2010 I collect the first few emperors, Augustus to Nero, Roman Republican coins that served as prototypes for Gallic Celtic pieces, the Gallic Celtic coins, and Celt-Iberian. That is enough range of historic and interesting designs to keep me going. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dougsmit Posted March 17, 2010 Report Share Posted March 17, 2010 I buy coins I like at a price I can afford. A problem with ancients is that there are many 'common' types that come up for sale rather infrequently and way too many to even think of owning them all. You need to buy them when you can or be comfortable with not having the opportunity again for a while. Specialized collections hit a wall in a short while where you go for periods without adding anything to your collection because you have all the easy ones. My Eastern Denarii of Septimius Severus specialty gained only two coins in 2009. For that reason I suggest everyone have two collections. One is whatever specialty interests you and one of coins outside your area of interest that for some reason you found appealing. Most ancient collectors are serial specialists and will add or change topics every so often. I have found that the coins I added to my 'unspecialized' grouping helped define the next direction I would head with my specialty collections. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saor Alba Posted March 17, 2010 Report Share Posted March 17, 2010 One city that I really really want a coin from is from Tyras in Thrace. Coins were issued there from the Greek era in the 4th century BC until the 3rd century in the Roman era. I have seen them in a museum in Odessa, but aside from that I have never seen one for sale. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Benz Gemz Posted April 5, 2010 Report Share Posted April 5, 2010 I collect: Roman women on coins, about half of them are fairly easy, then it gets challenging. Archetechural types, Coins from the city of Stobi, whatever is a good bargain. Coins issued by Domitian, coins of the Severan dynasty. I don't shy from contemporary counterfeits, but I try to avoid modern ones! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thedeadpoint Posted April 5, 2010 Author Report Share Posted April 5, 2010 Roman women on coins, about half of them are fairly easy... Another reason I need to visit Italy... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ikaros Posted April 8, 2010 Report Share Posted April 8, 2010 I collect by osmosis. Anything interesting in change, I'll set aside. I have a few specific things I collect: British pre-decimal, Polish, Soviet Russia, 1963 world, coins with physicists and astronomers and other hard-science and space themes, and anything that catches my eye when I have the money in my pocket. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mmarotta Posted June 13, 2010 Report Share Posted June 13, 2010 I have very few ancient coins in my collection because I am intimidated by the designs, varieties, possibilities of contemporary or modern fakes, and many other reasons. If you actively collect ancients, how do you collect them? By series? By design? By ruler? By "country"? So far, you can see that how you define your pursuit is up to you. Doug Smith's "eastern denarii of Septimus Severus" is certainly a specialty. Benz Gemz's "Women on Roman Coins" is more general, but still also a personal decision. Collecting ancients is not lthe buying of a Whitman Folder and filling in the holes ... but then, little outside of US Federal Type is. How you collect is up to you. In truth, I gave up material collecting almost ten years ago, but toward the end, I pursued banknotes with airplanes and banknotes with scientists. That last actually brought my collecting full circle. About 1993 or 94, I was new to collecting, new to the ANA and MSNS and had some interest in ancients, but everything else, as well, with no firm agenda. Then, I was watching a rerun of Carl Sagan's Cosmos episode "Backbone of the Night." I decided to collect ancient Greek coins worth a day's wages from the towns and times of philosophers. What coin was likely to passed through their hands? My guidebook was Lives of the Eminent Philosophers by Diogenes Laertius but I went beyond that. In about five years, I pretty much had Thales of Miletus all the way through to Hypatia of Alexandria. With Romans, my interest was more limited: The Five Good Emperors; and Cato the Younger, to satisfy my political philosophy. But, also, for all of that, my first username was Mercury and often still is, so I have a few Romans with Mercury (and a few Greeks with Hermes). It is pretty much up to you. As for fakes, they are a universal problem, but reputable dealers are reliable for a good reason. I stick to advertisers in The Celator, VCoins dealers, ANA PNC IAPN members, and so on. I like to meet people at conventions and shows. You get to know them. I never bought anything on eBay. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Qcumbor Posted July 3, 2010 Report Share Posted July 3, 2010 I buy coins I like at a price I can afford. A problem with ancients is that there are many 'common' types that come up for sale rather infrequently and way too many to even think of owning them all. You need to buy them when you can or be comfortable with not having the opportunity again for a while. Specialized collections hit a wall in a short while where you go for periods without adding anything to your collection because you have all the easy ones. My Eastern Denarii of Septimius Severus specialty gained only two coins in 2009. For that reason I suggest everyone have two collections. One is whatever specialty interests you and one of coins outside your area of interest that for some reason you found appealing. Most ancient collectors are serial specialists and will add or change topics every so often. I have found that the coins I added to my 'unspecialized' grouping helped define the next direction I would head with my specialty collections. Mainly what I do myself : a general collection of roman coins I like, and specialized areas : Plautilla denarii and the Divi series today, but I might add Syro-phenician tetradrachms or Alexandrian tetradrachms one day Q Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saor Alba Posted July 3, 2010 Report Share Posted July 3, 2010 (Benz Gemz @ Apr 5 2010, 11:21 AM) *Roman women on coins, about half of them are fairly easy... Another reason I need to visit Italy... The Roman empire fell for a reason. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zzantiquities Posted November 27, 2011 Report Share Posted November 27, 2011 Hi, You might want to try purchasing uncleaned/unattributed coins in bulk from a reputable dealer. Collect the ones you want to keep, and sell/liquidate the ones you don't. kindest regards, B. Leon Z.Z. Antiquities, Ltd. www.zzantiquities.com www.zzancientart.com I have very few ancient coins in my collection because I am intimidated by the designs, varieties, possibilities of contemporary or modern fakes, and many other reasons. If you actively collect ancients, how do you collect them? By series? By design? By ruler? By "country"? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idcoin Posted September 8, 2012 Report Share Posted September 8, 2012 I collect Riga free city coinage by dies. Here is the illustration of 1567 schilling coin die map. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TreasureGirl Posted September 9, 2012 Report Share Posted September 9, 2012 Because I've been paying back all my loans, I've been entertaining myself by reading all about the ancients. I made a spreadsheet (down to one part time job until Monday; loads of time, little money) of all the ladies on Roman and Greek coinage in the highest points of their civilizations (I'd need to double check the exact dates). Just based on the information I could find (well, for the Roman ones anyway), I made a table of issuing rulers and which issues of theirs had ladies on them (and they could be goddesses, representations of ideas or countries, or real people). For the Greek ones I just listed all the ladies I found evidence of that were on a coin. (Even the San Francisco library is wanting for coin books!) I don't plan on getting a copy of EVERY ONE, I mostly made the spreadsheet as a starting point (and for a few hours of entertainment). There are a couple I found strikingly beautiful and will search for in particular - when I can - and I also would like an Owl and a Turtle piece just because... history! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scottishmoney Posted September 9, 2012 Report Share Posted September 9, 2012 Because I've been paying back all my loans, I've been entertaining myself by reading all about the ancients. I made a spreadsheet (down to one part time job until Monday; loads of time, little money) of all the ladies on Roman and Greek coinage in the highest points of their civilizations (I'd need to double check the exact dates). Just based on the information I could find (well, for the Roman ones anyway), I made a table of issuing rulers and which issues of theirs had ladies on them (and they could be goddesses, representations of ideas or countries, or real people). For the Greek ones I just listed all the ladies I found evidence of that were on a coin. (Even the San Francisco library is wanting for coin books!) I don't plan on getting a copy of EVERY ONE, I mostly made the spreadsheet as a starting point (and for a few hours of entertainment). There are a couple I found strikingly beautiful and will search for in particular - when I can - and I also would like an Owl and a Turtle piece just because... history! Oh great, now you are going and venturing into ladies on ancients. First it was the searching circulating coins in the other thread, now this transgression? Have you no pity or mercies? For awhile there I was really collecting up the Syracuse coins like nobodies business. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
constanius Posted September 9, 2012 Report Share Posted September 9, 2012 Wow, those are very nice Scottishmoney Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TreasureGirl Posted September 23, 2012 Report Share Posted September 23, 2012 Hey. A girl can dream, can't she? When the loans are finally paid off, I might be able to venture from raiding the banks to tracking down some decent ancient pieces. It'll take much longer to start acquiring textbook-esque pieces like those you have there, SM. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scottishmoney Posted September 23, 2012 Report Share Posted September 23, 2012 I am sort of on a precipice where I am thinking over time that I am going to start letting whole collections of themes I have collected for years. Interests sort of faded over time or I don't make enough time for that stuff. Buying high end stuff is a known, but searching through circulating coins appeals to the wanderlust/gambler mentality I toy with. I was looking up when my last significant purchase of a banknote was, it was back in January, and I haven't bought significant coins since March or so. I still like numismatics, just interests evolve and I seem to have found something more adventurous with my current pursuits. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Stilson Posted September 24, 2012 Report Share Posted September 24, 2012 I've been thinking about getting more of the ancients through medieval.. Starting with one coin for every hundred years. Then dropping back on the roman emperors. I will probably keep picking up the normal coins at estate sales, but hit on line for the ancient stuff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ashleyjohn Posted January 16, 2013 Report Share Posted January 16, 2013 I have very few ancient coins in my collection because I am intimidated by the designs, varieties, possibilities of contemporary or modern fakes, and many other reasons. If you actively collect ancients, how do you collect them? By series? By design? By ruler? By "country"? I do collect ancient coins but not in any particular way. I keep buy the ones that i can afford, no matter they are Roman, Greek or any specific coin. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arminius Posted July 21, 2013 Report Share Posted July 21, 2013 The coin may be the goal - but the journey is the reward. It´s also a big thrill to visit, search and travel and being in contact with nice people. Every specialization sooner or later becomes too expensive and boring to me. So an unspecific hunt for something interesting is more fun than to be fixed on getting a specific coin or medal. Finding rare or beautiful bargains is just a matter of activity, chance and current market potential. As a matter of course i have some focuses (first of all ancient Greek and Roman coins) where my expertise will be a better adviser to buy. But i also like to scan my circulation change from time to time for Euro coins i might be interested in. But i must admit this collecting strategy works easier for collectors in the vicinity of the former Roman empire than for those in regions where currency is in use for only some decades. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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