Numism > Help For the New Ancient Coin Collector
Not sure what to start collecting
Potator II:
I believe there is no standard theme for collecting. The theme you will chose will be yours, and nobody should tell you if it is right or not. And it might be an original approach of collecting that nobody had the idea of before you.
Welcome in the galaxy of ancients, and have fun
Potator
David Atherton:
When I first started collecting Roman coins I based my area of specialization on history. I love the history of the late first century and as a child I remember reading Suetonius, pouring over an Atlas of first century Rome, and watching all those cheesy Hollywood Roman epics.
Picking an era (Flavian) that is historically interesting to me is very important. I have since fallen in love with the coinage of the era.
Vitruvius:
One way in deciding what coins to collect is to figure out what interests you about ancient coins. What about the Romans or Greeks inspires you? Are you awestruck by their military? Does any one emperor stand out as being the most influential? I'm a civil engineer so naturally I'm attracted to individuals that "built" up the empire (Augustus, Agrippa, Hadrian, etc.).
This may help you decide what "inspires" you about ancient coins.
I hope this helps!
basemetal:
I must say once again, your theme will find you. You will one day decide, or even over a period of time, that this group, theme, whatever, appeals to you in a way that others do not. I have coins of Valens scattered about my desk like confettii, but the large coins of Antininous Pius and Vespasian are carefully guarded treasures.
Cleisthenes:
I agree with the mettle of Basemetal's advice. As he said in a previous post, "Your theme will find you." You're in for the ride of your life once that (those) special coin(s) get(s) behind the wheel. I think he's also right about being forced to choose between collecting modern coins and ancient coins. There are beautiful modern coins, but if I were forced to collect modern coins or no coins at all, Pez dispensers is definitely a better option. I think I'd start with cartoon characters.
Cleisthenes (Jim)
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