Hello,
I wanted to drop a note and say thank you for all the
fine information in this
forum. I’ve spent the day reading posts that clearly took some time to put together and I appreciate all the intel and perspectives
I’m not yet a collector. I purchased a few coins today from a few different dealers - so I’m on the path. I have some questions below, but I’ll first introduce myself and share a little about what I want to collect.
I have always been fascinated with ancient
history. I toyed with the idea of being an archaeologist and went deep into grad school, learning Latin and Greek and participating in several digs in
Greece. I bailed out in favor of a career in business. Now, I’m 40 years old and looking for another hobby. I’ve got varied collecting interests - memorabilia from
notorious African dictators,
Byzantine icons, books, WW2 firearms and antique radios are some of my interests. I never realized
ancient coins were so affordable - so I never considered it - other than one time prior...
18 years ago in
Egypt inside the archaeological site at Memphis, I bought some coins off some local worker inside the site. I don’t remember exactly what they were but one of them depicted
Antoninus Pius (that I remember). Anyway long story short, as I was going to leave there were metal detectors on the way out of the site. I considered mixing the coins in with my pocket change but opted to leave them on a
stone wall instead before exiting. The guy I bought it from has probably sold
Antoninus Pius 50 times. So, I once owned a few illicit coins for a few minutes and learned a lesson I should have known anyway.
I read some typologies of typical collectors here on the
forum. I can see myself collecting
ancient coins primarily because of the
history and the opportunity to be both a researcher (a consumer of
history) and collector at the same time. A hobby with intricate reference citations? Amazing.
So I was researching some coins to buy today - I went down the rabbit hole on a coin depicting the Emperor
Valens. I
had my Gibbon out, my
maps out, looking for the place of
his demise (in Battle - either trapped in a house and burned or literally cut to pieces). The idea that I could have a coin depicting the guy who was at the helm when things really went irrecoverably south for the
Roman Empire was intoxicating! For $30? Unreal. To me collecting some information about
Valens, sharing it on a website and owning a beautiful coin - makes me feel like a museum curator.
So right now, I don’t think I want to clean coins and try to identify them. Although I can see how that is very cool, rewarding and beneficial. What I want to do is collect high
quality late
Roman emperors. I’m defining late Roman as
Diocletian to
Honorius for my
collection. My first question is one of books. I must have read 50 times today - “you need a
library” - great, I want a
library but I just need some specific
help on the 2-3 books that are most useful for my situation and needs. As I started researching the research material needed - frankly, I was confused by the book choices. I guess I want to learn from books what is out there: the possible scope of the
collection, how many coins are in my target
area, and anything about some basic pricing information. I see myself
buying things that are already identified and working with reputable dealers. I like the details, the why, the
history behind an object.
I
hope previous statements make clear: I know nothing. I’ve
had success in other collecting situations researching and then first
buying low
quality specimens while I really dig in and research bigger purchases and track
auctions - at least as a device to learn what things cost. Any tips on how to expertly start the
collection would be appreciated and if you can set me straight on the essential books I need to get started, it would be amazing. If you know samples of great private collectors’ websites I’d be really interested to see their presentation as well
So how do I give myself an education on
Roman coins of late
antiquity?
Thank you
Regards
Jeff Demers
Boston, Ma