Chaotic and Innocent- A noob's collection, through Europe, over the years

[Alex F]

Hello everybody.

I collect roman coins, but do not do so in any consistent fashion. I do not collect a certain type, or certain emperor, or even a period.
I tend to get my coins when I travel to a new city that has numismatic stores... I will check out the stores there and get a coin if it stands out (and is not too expensive). I never know ahead of time what I will purchase when I go into a shop. I never even know if I will purchase anything at all... I just walk in and see what happens... so most of these coins can be thought of as souvenirs of sorts.
I never bought anything online. I've never been to an auction.

So I am a very chaotic, very ammateurish, and very... innocent collector. I love history. My dad is a history teacher, I grew up with tales of old', and I consider holding these coins in my hand as something special... it's history. I try to imagine what they may have been used for... for a soldier's regular pay in Rome? To purchase some goods in the town market in Gaul? To pay for certain services in a brothel in Asia Minor? Maybe all of the above?

Here's the link: https://www.forumancientcoins.com/gallery/thumbnails.php?album=6770
I hope it works.

I have other coins as well, but I deem them to be less exciting and interesting (some Sestertii, Antoninians and Nummuses) than the ones posted here.

Best wishes,
Alex

[Molinari]

Nice coins, and I think your collecting style is great, too.  If the coins speak to you, you buy them.  Unfortunately for me, many, many coins speak to me!

[Jay GT4]

Welcome to Forum.  A nice start to your gallery!  Your thoughts sum up what all of us feel when holding these treasures from the past.

One suggestion...you should put the obverse and reverse together in one photo.   It makes it easier to see and the more coins you add the tougher it will be to keep them all together.

[Alex F]

Thanks, Molinari!

For me, most of the coins posessed I can connect to a visit somewhere, a trip of sorts (even if work-related)... I like it when I have a little memory or tale related to each coin... this probably means I will never have a great collection, at least nothing close to what you guys (on this site) have, but for me they are not an investment really. They are part souvenirs and part "oh my God, a centurion might have handled these 18 centuries ago, how cool is that" items to spend time with on rainy days. ^^

For me the biggest impediment to collecting like 'you guys' is that I don't have the time to do proper research in order to learn enough about bust types, mint sites, mint marks, etc... For example I was reading a few days ago one of the threads on here about the (more rare) Constantine-era coins. The discussion there really showed how deep the knowledge of 'proper' collectors goes for individual emperors and individual coins. Maybe when I get older (I am 31, I started when I was 24) I can get there, but at the moment i'm just a happy-go-lucky 'golden retriever' of an amateur collector. And i'm happy.

[Alex F]

Welcome to Forum.  A nice start to your gallery!  Your thoughts sum up what all of us feel when holding these treasures from the past.

One suggestion...you should put the obverse and reverse together in one photo.   It makes it easier to see and the more coins you add the tougher it will be to keep them all together.

Thank you Jay. I will do that. I was planing on doing that, but I wanted to get the gallery out first. Had I decided to join the pics first, it would have been another week or two until uploading them (I am on holiday, visiting family, and away from the files and the coins, except a bronze greek coin i brought my dad as a gift). And I somehow felt obliged to post the gallery, to contribute to the site quicker, especially after Joe had helped alleviate my fears about the bronze Philip coin I got my dad as a gift. But I will re-upload the photos with obverses and reverses joined in a few weeks.

[Kamnaskires]

Welcome, Alex.  I enjoyed both your post and your new gallery.  Thanks for sharing, and welcome to the community.  This is a great place to do some of that research you write about, and when I say "this place" I don't just mean the discussion boards but also the many resources provided here, like Numiswiki.  For those who get bitten by the ancients collecting bug, it often turns into a decades long hobby.  That means the learning can be at a leisurely pace.  Take your time and enjoy the journey.  Best wishes.

[Jochen]

Nice stories behind the coins.

Jochen

[RL]

Welcome aboard Alex, thanks for sharing your coins, I look forward to watching your gallery grow!

[peterpil19]

Hi Alex,

Welcome to FORVM!

Nice Gallery!

Peter

[Alex F]

Hey Everybody.
I've purchased some new coins since the last time I posted...
I figured I would post them in my album/gallery, and also update my previous photos - I had uploaded my obverse and reverses separately. The members here told me to merge the obverse and reverse in one pic for each coin, so I deleted the old photos and uploaded new ones (even for my older coins).

Here's the link (I think):
https://www.forumancientcoins.com/gallery/thumbnails.php?album=6770

Among the new stuff - a Hadrian Dupondius, a Denarius Antoninian of Gordian the third and a Denarius of Sept. Severus.

[quadrans]

 

Q.