Highlights from my Roman Republican Collection

[Andrew McCabe]

I snapped pics of my best 27 trays of coins, amounting to about two thirds of my collection, for the purpose of making photo books for gifts. Below is a link to the pictures:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/ahala_rome/sets/72157649770756181

The selection includes the more attractive, rarer and nicer condition coins in my collection. The remaining one third are typically rare bronzes, or less rare silver in ordinary condition, all still nice coins, but one's I might let go of in time. What's in the photo set are all definitely keepers. I've not yet seen prints of the photo book, but once I get my hands on a copy I'll share what it looks like.

A few sample pics below in low resolution.

Andrew

[carthago]

Wow.  Your best 27 trays.  That's more than a lot of museums!  A fabulous collection and selection of coins, Andrew.   

[Andrew McCabe]

Thank you. I've ordered the photo books and have got a pdf of the set of pics, though the latter is useless as the photos are degraded quality in the pdf and not good enough to examine coins closely. I'm hoping the photo books will be high quality, and the print size should result in the coins being approx 1:1.

For the record, the oath scene half-stater in the early Roman coins tray above, with XXX under the janiform Dioscuri head, is an antique fake, known since the 18th century, and published as genuine until the early 20th century, including by Bahrfeldt in his corpus of Republican gold. Given that record, I'm happy to retain it among my genuine coins.

Looking at the pics I attached above, I am really happy with (a) my quadrigati which I think are about as good as they come; nice quadrigati can be had easily enough but really nice ones, not. (b) the Muses which are not bad at all, though one or two I could readily ugrade, and probably should. (c) the Caesar portraits which are a typically flat-struck dozen or so, but in the circumstances of the typical cost of a Caesar portrait, are a reasonable set of compromise coins that include some lovely examples (d) among my aes grave, the mysterious bull-head / prow semis is an especial favourite (e) the runs of Luceria bronzes including the large Dextans and Quincunx. Most trays have one or other favourites for me. The runs of quadrigati, Muses, Luceria, and Caesars, and equivalent runs on other trays, really take a lot of energy and time to assemble in half way decent condition, and a lot of upgrade-churning. Some Caesar portrait types and some Muse types have been collected by me multiple times, and then disposed of multiple times, each an acquisition that I think might be the last, until improvements in adjacent coins demand yet another upgrade.

[Carausius]

Those are inspiring photos, Andrew.  The aes grave and struck bronzes are breathtaking.  Thanks for sharing. 

[Zenon M]

Fantastic collection!!!

Congratulations
Zenon M.

[Britannicus]

Andrew,

An inspiring year-end display, very impressive. I especially enjoy the early large cast bronze coins, as well as the variety of types and denominations within many of the trays. Thank you for sharing this portion of your collection with us in this manner. 

Mike

[Andrew McCabe]

Thanks for the comments!

In some ways I'm surprised there hasn't been some questions about how you build a collection like this. You cannot really buy such coins in the marketplace, even if you attend every major auction, over several decades, and always bid to reasonable levels. Many coins are as nice or nicer than the best ever auctioned (especially bronzes). Dozens more types have never appeared at auction (e.g. the Meta denarius as well as innumerable bronzes), or are even unpublished. Many other types only appear once ever five or ten years and then typically at unreasonable price levels. I'm a mechanical engineer, now retired, and earned only an engineers salary when I worked. I don't want to leave the impression that bringing a wheelbarrow of cash to the NYINC and Zurich auctions each year will do the trick. It doesn't need the wheelbarrows, an ordinary salary suffices, but it does need a myriad other opportunities, ferreting about hidden corners where ancient coins lurk. And for those that I did buy at auction sometimes it also needs competitors to be asleep at their bidding paddle. Generally I find that hypnotism works. That, and veiled threats. I am sometimes myself mystified as to how I got to here from where I started (a Licinius and a Constantine bought by the Nile bank at Luxor in the early 1970s). Others on Forum who have formed such collections will understand what I'm talking about.

[quadrans]

Thanks for the comments!

In some ways I'm surprised there hasn't been some questions about how you build a collection like this. You cannot really buy such coins in the marketplace, even if you attend every major auction, over several decades, and always bid to reasonable levels. Many coins are as nice or nicer than the best ever auctioned (especially bronzes). Dozens more types have never appeared at auction (e.g. the Meta denarius as well as innumerable bronzes), or are even unpublished. Many other types only appear once ever five or ten years and then typically at unreasonable price levels. I'm a mechanical engineer, now retired, and earned only an engineers salary when I worked. I don't want to leave the impression that bringing a wheelbarrow of cash to the NYINC and Zurich auctions each year will do the trick. It doesn't need the wheelbarrows, an ordinary salary suffices, but it does need a myriad other opportunities, ferreting about hidden corners where ancient coins lurk. And for those that I did buy at auction sometimes it also needs competitors to be asleep at their bidding paddle. Generally I find that hypnotism works. That, and veiled threats. I am sometimes myself mystified as to how I got to here from where I started (a Licinius and a Constantine bought by the Nile bank at Luxor in the early 1970s). Others on Forum who have formed such collections will understand what I'm talking about.

Hi Andrew, you're in a collection of almost unique,

All praise be yours.

 Best regards
 Q.

[Britannicus]

In some ways I'm surprised there hasn't been some questions about how you build a collection like this. ... It doesn't need the wheelbarrows, an ordinary salary suffices, but it does need a myriad other opportunities, ferreting about hidden corners where ancient coins lurk.

This is why I didn't ask. As I would have suspected, difficult to impossible for many of us to duplicate. Ancient coins generally aren't lurking for me, so I go about building my collection as best I can — using the standard channels and overpaying.    

[Andrew McCabe]

Hi Andrew, you're in a collection of almost unique.All praise be yours.

I thought more collectors would be perhaps curious in how you go about building such collection, on a limited budget, so they might maybe repeat the process themselves. Whilst I appreciate the "nice coins" comments, the coins don't really need the praise, and neither do I. It's more about sharing information about what an essentially-finished collection looks like, and how to get there. Those who commented on my bronzes are of course on the right track... Where did they come from, these beautiful bronzes, when hardly any have been seen in an auction in the last decade or so? Oh well.

Maybe I'm thinking in another zone. Its the hunt that's always interested me more than the coins as objects. When I look at a tray of coins I can't help going over in my mind how exactly I came to own this or that piece. For a start, the man faced bull Crawford 1/1 joined me due to a trio of improbable events. Internet bidding crashed at the auction it was offered in, no doubt wiping out many competitors but by luck a friend was in the room. The murky sale photo aroused more suspicions than bids. And the main competitor who I fully expected to lose to (and later found that his intended bid was three times mine) bottled out and didn't bid when someone one (mistakenly in my view) advised him that better examples could be had. Every tray has a series of such stories. It's all about the hunt.

In some ways I'm surprised there hasn't been some questions about how you build a collection like this. ... It doesn't need the wheelbarrows, an ordinary salary suffices, but it does need a myriad other opportunities, ferreting about hidden corners where ancient coins lurk.

.

This is why I didn't ask. As I would have suspected, difficult to impossible for many of us to duplicate. Ancient coins generally aren't lurking for me, so I go about building my collection as best I can — using the standard channels and overpaying.    

Good comment. Irregular channels are available to everyone, but it takes a great deal of time as compared with standard venues. Time may be what I've been able to invest in lieu of dollars, and time has its own costs. There are a lot of odd swap deals in those trays of coins. Sometimes involving coins in exchange for intangible goods or services, sometimes with time-delays or other odd factors, sometimes the coin(s) are exchanged for a promise to publish about them. Odd swaps take energy to negotiate, as well as needing me to have, or be able to create, goods or services that I can offer to make the matching side of the swap.

[Phillipe C]

Superb nice Coins

[Carausius]

In some ways I'm surprised there hasn't been some questions about how you build a collection like this. You cannot really buy such coins in the marketplace, even if you attend every major auction, over several decades, and always bid to reasonable levels. Many coins are as nice or nicer than the best ever auctioned (especially bronzes).

It's not for lack of interest that I didn't ask. As you are still in the markeplace, I assumed you would not want to share all your bronze secrets. If I was wrong, them I'm all ears!!  As you know, I have been hunting for above average quality republican bronzes lately. It is a difficult hunt in the open market, which makes your collection all the more awe inspiring (and why I focused my praise on your bronzes). Not that your silver and gold isn't lovely - it is - but I can find an EF denarius with ease while a good VF As is VERY difficult to find!  I have assumed (correct me if I'm wrong) that with all your travels and numismatic research, you have built-up friendships and  connections with the trade that give you "first crack" at better quality material that becomes available. I have spent a couple years now following the auctions and have seen very little AE material that matches anything in your trays! Maybe I am following the wrong auctions.

[Andrew McCabe]

I'll throw in a couple of tips to start with, that are really available for everyone, they aren't insider deals

 1. Source country good auctions (not all of which are on Sixbid) sometimes have one amazing bronze among 100 dross RR. Make sure to bid live, and go all-in. My experience is that Italian and Spanish competitive bidders wilt when prices move close to four figures, no matter how spectacular the coin. This is because such bidders have even better direct sources than I, are in it for the long term, and have little prospect of being able to sell up at a future time due to export controls. US and north Europe bidders tend to be wary of going all out for the odd great coin at a venue they are unfamiliar with, where all the remaining material is dross. Just be brave and go for it. As an example my Crawford 16 female head bronze where the lion faces LEFT is the only one known in private hands, and is in great condition (GVF). It was a public acquisition by me in a San Marino sale for around €1k, against Italian bidding. I can't imagine what estimate NAC might put on it if I wanted to sell. I'd have gone a lot higher if needed.

2. Be bold, and with good reasoning, on making offers on overpriced retail pieces. Some dealers still price at retail as if Goodman and Russo and Gibboni and Fallani and RBW were still competing for bronzes. They aren't, and you can remind a dealer of this (gently). I recently took down a $1500 bronze for $900 making the case that it had been on the shelf a long time, and if I wasn't buying it, it would be there a lot longer. This was the head-left example of the Oppius orichalcum dupondius. The only auction record in the last 50 years were the two RBW coins each nicer but each fetched many multiples these numbers. Another example was the bull head / prow aes grave, which was auctioned with a spectacularly high reserve, appropriate to its great quality, rarity and mystery, but didn't sell. I made an after-auction offer that was combined with other pieces so the discount I was really asking for would be sort of hidden in the mix.

Generally my acquisition success rate on such material is over 50%, against perhaps 15% in a normal US or north Europe sale of EF denarii. There is definitely a new wave of collectors in the market today, as someone has been paying good enough prices for my and RBWs second hand bronzes. So long term prospects for really great material is sound. The new entrants don't however yet have the stomach to go 1k on a really great coin. But in comparison with Imperial or Greek bronzes, this remains a really inexpensive series. Just try getting a highest quality highest rarity Imperial or Greek bronze for $1k. No way. At the moment the great RR material is still there for the taking. If you're the guy hesitating when bidding gets closer to four than three figures on a really nice coin, then I'm the guy always outbidding you. After all, these sort of sums would be considered routine for common EF denarii, which as you say are easy to get.

I've probably a dozen other tips on getting publicly available material for good enough prices, but I'll save the rest for a later time. Getting GEF well centred denarii, and not paying NAC prices, is a different problem with a different suite of solutions. And then there are the swappitydoes that I referred to in my last reply. I've a couple of such long term prospects still out there, on specific coin opportunities, waiting to hopefully take them in over time. Most are on a collector to collector basis, and that's why I like to attend auctions live. When a  collector has an immense success, you can congratulate him or her, whilst also gently enquiring if they've now got a duplicate to dispose of.

It's all a lot of fun, but I don't want to leave the impression that its profitable. Coin collecting is a hobby that costs money. Despite my hopes for the future of my current collection, I've been losing shed-loads of money on coins that I've been selling in recent years. But in each such sale group, usually announced in the Forum for-sale-elsewhere thread, I'm diligent in highlighting those underpriced pieces that a really keen collector should be going for, whilst avoiding mentioning coins already close to a fully prices levels. So there are plenty of tips out there. Whether anyone acts on them is a different matter.

PS: you need to learn to protect yourself from toolies, which are also endemic in source-country auctions (Munich tends to also count for me as source country). That's a different problem on which I've no advice to offer in this thread, but it's discussed plenty elsewhere. If you start to buy toolies you are doomed, its like a bad drug addiction, because every other bronze will start to seem over priced and crusty if you use the smoothness and pricing of toolies as the benchmark. Beware!

PPS: I'm unworried about sharing trade secrets from a coin collector perspective. Probably only one or two people are paying any attention anyway, and if that causes us to go head to head on some future opportunities, then we'll soon know, and implicit natural adjustments will swing into play so everyone doesn't end up in the poor-house.

PPPS: I'm of course also open to approaches in the swappitydo field. You might have a second example of a great rarity in silver due to an upgrade, and if your spare coin would improve my collection (which you can see, its what this thread is about) then who knows what I've got in the biscuit tin where I store all the great rarities that are not in my main public trays:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/ahala_rome/sets/72157649770756181
A good swap is win-win. Both collections are improved in their areas of relative weakness.

[Carausius]

Andrew:

Thanks for the thoughtful post and the great tips. Some of your suggestions I already follow to a limited extent, but much I do need to work on.  I watch a couple of source country auction houses, though one of them was recently outed as a negligent - as opposed to fraudulent - lister of multiple fakes  (none Republican to my knowledge), which shook my confidence. I should certainly expand my horizons to other houses. I already avoid toolies like the plague, so that is not a bad path I'm likely to follow.  Bold negotiation and/or aggressive bidding is certainly good advice when the choice material is listed.  I just need to find that material, and broadening my horizons may help. I have no dreams of making money at this, though minimizing losses is a goal!

[Meepzorp]

Hi Andrew,

Even after explaining all of the "tricks" above, I still don't understand how you can afford to buy all those coins on a retired engineer's salary. And that's not even getting into travel expenses, because you seem to constantly travel all over the world. Maybe you came from a wealthy family, and you inherited a lot of money? Maybe you are the "capo di tutti capi" of a mafia family?

You routinely spend thousands of dollars on  a single coin. For example, you mentioned above that you spent 1,000 euros on a coin from a San Marino dealer. My ancient coin collection, which I've been building since 1998, consists of approximately 2,000 coins, possibly more. And I can count on one hand the number of times I've done that. I literally own 5 or less coins where I spent more than $1,000 on it. I just don't understand how you can routinely and consistently do that, while globe-trotting all over the world. How can you maintain that standard of living? People who are multi-millionaires couldn't maintain that standard of living.

I also come from a science (physics) and engineering background. But I come from a lower middle class (working class) family. My sister and I are the first generation in my family to even go to college.

By the way, if you feel uncomfortable discussing this further, I perfectly understand. But you are the one who brought it up.

Meepzorp

[Meepzorp]

Hi Andrew,

I totally get your tip about dealing with dealers in source countries. As you know, I love Magna Graecia coins. So, for many years now, I've been buying from numerous dealers in Italy/San Marino. The main problem for me now are the US import restrictions that took effect in January 2011. This forced me to stop dealing with most of the dealers in Italy/San Marino. I still routinely deal with the big San Marino dealer, the one whose business name sounds like a Greek god. And yes, he does routinely have a lot of really nice and very rare RR bronzes. I'm still buying many nice Magna Graecia coins from him. But I had to stop buying from the smaller San Marino dealers. They just don't want the headache of dealing with the import restrictions.

By the way, I think the import restrictions may have helped you build your collection. Any coin minted in Italy before 211 B.C., which includes the older RR coins, is now restricted. So, the US customers of the Italy/San Marino dealers have been scared away. It is less competition for you, and cheaper coins for you too.

Meepzorp

[Andrew McCabe]

Hi Andrew,

Even after explaining all of the "tricks" above, I still don't understand how you can afford to buy all those coins on a retired engineer's salary. And that's not even getting into travel expenses, because you seem to constantly travel all over the world. Maybe you came from a wealthy family, and you inherited a lot of money? Maybe you are the "capo di tutti capi" of a mafia family?

You routinely spend thousands of dollars on  a single coin. For example, you mentioned above that you spent 1,000 euros on a coin from a San Marino dealer. My ancient coin collection, which I've been building since 1998, consists of approximately 2,000 coins, possibly more. And I can count on one hand the number of times I've done that. I literally own 5 or less coins where I spent more than $1,000 on it. I just don't understand how you can routinely and consistently do that, while globe-trotting all over the world. How can you maintain that standard of living? People who are multi-millionaires couldn't maintain that standard of living.

I also come from a science (physics) and engineering background. But I come from a lower middle class (working class) family. My sister and I are the first generation in my family to even go to college.

By the way, if you feel uncomfortable discussing this further, I perfectly understand. But you are the one who brought it up.

Meepzorp

Fair question since I mentioned it. Every brass as was acquired within my own engineer's salary, and every overseas flight likewise. Not one cent from any inheritance or other source, not even housing help.

My engineer's job involved vast amounts of intercontinental travel. That's pretty normal for engineers. We build things, and we need to go where things need building. Hence vast amounts of airmiles. Add to that one family member in the airline business, and long-developed skills in playing the portfolio of airmiles, discounted tickets, staff-family member concessions, cheap accommodations (air b n b gives amazing options for example) and general savvy in how to get around. Add to that generally frugal lifestyle, not owning a car, nor any other expensive hobby, and the complete lack of opportunities to spend whilst working in many of the most hostile and dangerous places in the planet whilst accommodated by my employer, meant that at times the majority of earning went into coins or travel rather than rent, car purchases, fancy clothes or anything else.

As for the coins, it's been a three decade process of finding cheap buys, and swapping or selling to generate the credits for upgrades. I mentioned odd sorts of transactions that enhanced my collection. Well here is an example: I bought a few years ago, an extremely rare high quality Roman Republican as, that a consignor couldn't properly identify because it was a "not in Crawford" type. A year later that coin, was swapped by me with one collector for a group of high quality albeit not-rare Roman Republican bronzes. Over the next years, as my collection slimmed down in numbers, or were upgraded, the majority of that group were sold. From the proceeds I was able to buy another reasonable example of exactly the same rare coin type that started the chain, was left with a substantial amount over which went towards one of those high-cost coins you mention, in addition to the remaining other nice Republican bronzes from the original swap. So the original pretty modest $400 input netted one great rarity, five high quality RR bronzes, and a sum that went into acquiring another high condition great rarity. The travel and the collecting interweave of course: I travel to places relevant to my hobby and directly or indirectly that generates the possibility of enhancing my collection because there's the chances to reach out to other collectors or coin sources.

In fact just about everything I do in life relates to Roman Republican coinage, one way or another. I'm an absolute coin nut.

So, that's how I collect. Not everyone can do it, but those who would wish to build a great coin collection are generally freakishly obsessed with collection building to the exclusion of most normal priorities in a sane life.

[Meepzorp]

Hi Andrew,

I also engage in a "generally frugal lifestyle". Because of my situation, I don't have 99% of the expenses that other people have. I live on very limited income. But 100% of that limited income is "spend money" or "discretionary money". I have the freedom to spend 100% of my very limited income on coins and coin-related items. I basically live "off the grid". For example, I very rarely leave my home, and I just got internet access for the first time in my life in December 2012. And the only reason I did that is because my sister gave me my niece's old computer (for free). I have very little, if any, normal social presence. In other words, I very rarely, if ever, engage in things that 99.99% of society would consider to be "normal". Aside from coin-related bills, I literally have zero bills.

A lot can be said for living modestly, living within your means, or lowering your overhead. Or even just not engaging in the types of things that 99.99% of society would consider to be "normal", because those things cost money.

I totally get that aspect of your situation, because I've been doing it myself for 25 years now.

But it is amazing how you can turn an initial $400 single-coin expenditure into numerous coins worth many thousands of dollars.

Meepzorp

[Adrian W]

Meepzorp,
I like Andrews style of collecting my strategy is somewhat similar but I have not been doing it as long as he has though I used to sell on Ebay for a living about 20 years ago so what I made paid the bills .I often look for bulk lots at auction as I generally get a better buy that way,I keep the coins I want and then sell the rest and I often get my money back and then turn that into another lot and so on.

I also specialize in other areas specifically Bibles of the 16th through the 17th century which I know as much about those as Andrew does about RR coins ,I can often find an under appreciated Bible and other books for sale at auction which I buy and then re-sell and use that money to either buy more items or coins to add to my collection.I have my sites on one now hopefully others will not catch on as its listed incorrectly and has an estimated value of $200 but its worth 30x that amount.So we will see what happens,I did that some years ago bought for $600 and sold it for $6000

I just have a hard time hanging onto them as for me its more the thrill of the hunt owning them then selling them and buying something else.

I have been seriously collecting just for 2 years and in that time have gotten about 330 coins,I have probably bought double that in the last few years and sold the others,a few months ago I decided to liquidate about 300 coins which Joe currently is in the process of selling for me.That money will either go into buying more coins or more books lately that's been books,of late books on ancient Roman coins going back into the 1500's one of which Andrew would like to own (he might some day ).

Of the 30 I have left they are mostly high grade denarius though not particularly valuable but nice examples but do include an extremely rare denarius of Elagabalus and includes an Aureus of Vespasian.

I might even try my hand at next getting the 12 ceasar in gold I have been thinking of doing that for the last few weeks but need to temper the desire for books first.

This all started back in 2012 when I bought a small lot of ancient coins for a few hundred dollars,which all turned out to be legit and one I sold for 10x what I bought the whole lot for and I think I got 20x what I paid for all in the end and that went into more coins.I wish I had kept one of them in hind site as it was a nice example of a less often seen JC denarius and I was happy to have a not so valuable one of his coins.

I look for opportunities to turn over just about anything that small and easy to ship,this time last year I bought a storage unit full of about 5000 national Geographics everyone thought I was crazy and I threw most of them out but did make approx 15x what I paid though it took a while to sell and that went into coins.

I am fortunate to have some basic knowledge,on coins,British stamps,antiquities,maps,books,indentures,deeds,prints,lithographs specifically John Gould British Birds which if I kept everything I have bought in the last 30 years I would have one incredible collection but be divorced and live out of a storage unit.

In the last month I was able to spend 4k on a rare set of Bibles which I never would have dreamed I could ever have owned,I recently got offered over 1k more than I paid but decided for now I will keep unless they offer me more.

Hopefully you do not think I am bragging I enjoy talking about my collecting experiences and enjoy hearing others do the same.

As a final note last year I bought an Aes grave for far less than expected as I took a risk it might be a copy though from what I could tell it was legit I did send it to Sear and he confirmed it to be a legit piece,I was not really sure what I was going to do with it being so large and no way to store it with my other coins,so I sold it to a well known dealer for 5x what I paid,I probably could have gotten close to 10x at auction but wanted to move it quickly as that money funded a side visit to Italy for 5 days back in June with my wife while visiting family in the Uk.I got to see Pompeii,The colosseum,The Forum and many other things and visited lots of museums all courtesy of an Aes grave.

Back on the hunt for more things as Joe just sold some more coins of mine and I got paid today though some of this needs to go towards taxes I owe on the profits.

I do see some interesting items for sale in Italy but being in the US I stay away from them for the reasons mentioned here though I guess its possible to send them to my parents home in the UK and have them hold them until my next
visit probably next year as I often come back with items I have bought whenever I visit.

Last time The Times of 1912 covering the Titanic sinking as my great great grandfather went down with the ship,luckily his pregnant wife who he wanted to go with him to move to the USA refused to do so as otherwise I would not be leaving any comments 

Adrian

[manpace]

While I'm sure you have social lives, I'm assuming most of you guys (and I assume most ARE guys) don't have spouses or children, at least ones you are actively supporting.  That makes sense of the contrast between y'all's collecting behavior and my own.

[Molinari]

While I'm sure you have social lives, I'm assuming most of you guys (and I assume most ARE guys) don't have spouses or children, at least ones you are actively supporting.  That makes sense of the contrast between y'all's collecting behavior and my own.

Actually, quite a few of us have kids, including me. She just has no college fund.

[manpace]

While I'm sure you have social lives, I'm assuming most of you guys (and I assume most ARE guys) don't have spouses or children, at least ones you are actively supporting.  That makes sense of the contrast between y'all's collecting behavior and my own.

Actually, quite a few of us have kids, including me. She just has no college fund.

The little girl is cute, but you sure look creepy in that photo.

[Molinari]

While I'm sure you have social lives, I'm assuming most of you guys (and I assume most ARE guys) don't have spouses or children, at least ones you are actively supporting.  That makes sense of the contrast between y'all's collecting behavior and my own.

Actually, quite a few of us have kids, including me. She just has no college fund.

The little girl is cute, but you sure look creepy in that photo.

 

[Andrew McCabe]

While I'm sure you have social lives, I'm assuming most of you guys (and I assume most ARE guys) don't have spouses or children, at least ones you are actively supporting.  That makes sense of the contrast between y'all's collecting behavior and my own.

Hmm not necessarily a good assumption. I've a large extended family that I'm supporting, with numerous dependent relatives who need health or education assistance, and a kid (just one). She's 8 turning 9. I think she's getting interested. For new year I gave her three Roman bronzes: a Janus temple As of Nero, an As of Vespasian, an As of Faustina junior, as well as a bronze of Lysimachus with an Alexander portrait. All very worn, but she'd heard of Nero already, knew of the Flavian amphitheatre, was interested in the story of Marcus Aurelius the philosopher emperor, and had heard of Alexander. I also added one mediaval piece, a Phillip and Mary groat (again, she'd heard of Henry VIII and his six wives so could make the connection), a modern Greek 30 drachma showing the map of Greece (one of the nicest modern coins I know) and an Egyptian pound showing the Aswan dam, so associating the modern and ancient world. Later on that same day she managed to find Sear RCV and asked me to show her her coins. At the age of 8 this may be a passing interest but any father daughter bond that involves an essentially dull hobby must be very welcome. The family know that numismatics are part of my makeup and are happy for me to jet off to NYINC and such like (under the guise of a "coin conference"). As inferred from my earlier posts on this thread, the coin purchasing side of my collection only needs limited amounts of new cash anyway, it's in my view reasonably well managed. There's a payoff from all those hours days and years spent checking retail and auction sites half a dozen times a day, and keeping in close contact with other collectors, and that is much more economical collecting opportunities than those seen by perhaps less obsessed collectors.

[manpace]

Well I did say "most" and not "all".

When I first started getting coins in the mail and bathing them in distilled water, Thing 1 (3 at the time) would get coins from his piggy bank and douse them in water from the sink.  They have little magnifying glasses, so when I get out my "pieces of money" they grab their magnifiers and demand to look at some.  None have been lost so far that I can think, the biggest scare was when Thing 2 dropped an Istros drachm and it was found across the room buried in the carpet.  My fault for letting him have it.