In reading posts from new collectors, and thinking back to my own dilemma, I thought we could cobble together some advice for new collectors reading here on
collection strategies. When I was starting, the dilemma for me was between a few nice coins, or lots of more common ones.
My initial interest was in
ancient coins in general, but specifically those with a
biblical connection. I did a lot of looking, and neither the art
nor history of the
Byzantine Empire appealed to me. I liked the art and
history associated with many of the
Greek coins, but many were outside my
price range, and it
still lacked that
biblical connection. I initially gravitated toward the
Judean bronzes, and collected a number of those, but quickly learned my language limitations as I couldn't decipher the Hebrew. I collected a few Persian coins as well, but I didn't find
joy in having more than one (or maybe two) Persian
Siglos with the Great
King, as they all tended to look the same to me. Now, I was in love with the silver though. Prior to discovering ancients, I was in love with silver coins anyway in my
collection of American coins. Something about the look, and feel, of a silver coin calls to me.
I tried a few
denarii of the later Empire (
Hadrian), and while I liked the silver and I could decipher the Latin legends much better than Greek or Hebrew, again, the
history of the period just did not call to me. I continued to browse coins, and as always, tried to learn more
history. As it all came together, the silver of the
12 Caesars (Imperators and Republic as well) became my true love. The silver metal was my thing. The period covered the formation of the
Christian religion. As an attorney, I've always
had a love of government formation, and this period saw a shift from a Republic to an Empire as well, and that
history really called to me.
Had I purchased a few, nicer coins, I don't know that I would have
had the
budget to experiment through these various periods to end up with something I truly
had a passion for. Several experienced collectors encouraged me to buy nicer coins as it would be better for my
collection and resale if it ever came to it. I suppose that's true, as I have more
prutah than I could hock at a coin
fair, but that was
part of my learning process.
Off to the races, I started collecting what I could. Within the
12 Caesars, it quickly became clear that the Flavians were probably the most common, and therefor, the most affordable, and I acquired a number of coins. As my
collection progressed, I learned more (about the hobby, availability, prices, and myself), I found that I did not need pristine pieces, but I desired to upgrade some of the more common, but worn,
denarii I initially picked up. The
price difference between a worn
denarii, and a nicer example, on the more common
types, was not that much, and my enjoyment was
enhanced by having nice devices and
complete legends. In my own journey, I
had gone from a number of common, more affordable coins, to fewer, nicer examples in my own collecting practices.
Inspired by another recent
thread that took a tragic turn, I thought we could pool the experience of our board here for some advice on
collection strategies. I know this advice has been given to many on individual threads over time, but I wanted to have a
thread to collect it in one place. If we get a
good pool of advice, I'll make it a sticky topic for beginners on this board like common mistakes and books.
1. What to collect and why (Greek,
Roman,
Byzantine)?
2. Fewer, nicer coins, or more coins of a more common or worn variety?