Numism > For the New Ancient Coin Collector
Common Mistakes for Beginners
SC:
Many excellent pieces of advice. Especially regarding books - I literally get 10 times the enjoyment out of my collection by being able to read about both the coinage and the history as by just possessing the coins.
I would add one: "Don't specialize too early."
That may seem at odds with people who say to focus, which I'll admit is important, but by not specializing too narrowly too early you will keep many roads open for the future.
Some of my first puchases were lots - both uncleaned and just plain unattributed - from the so-called "Holy Land" region. I was interested in Roman Imperial coins and these lots seemed like a good deal. However, they included Greek cities, Seleucid, Ptolemaic, Judaean, Nabataean, Roman Provincial, Byzantine and Islamic (itself comprising a whole host of different types - Umayyad, Abbasid, Fatimid, Ayyubid, Turkoman, Ottoman, etc). I now have separate collections of each of these types of coinage and own several books on each of these types of coinage as well. While my main area of interest in late Roman bronze my overall enjoyment of the hobby has been increased greatly when I received these "extra" coins in lots.
Shawn
Andrew McCabe:
--- Quote from: areich on August 26, 2011, 06:28:23 pm ---I'll second what Rover said, the mistake in that is thinking that you need a reference number to be a collector.
A reference to a catalog you do not own is useless and will likely be wrong. Trust (almost) no one, don't copy references you can't check. There are a lot of coin sellers (and of course collectors) that also just copy and paste references and know little, sometimes nothing about the coins they sell.
--- End quote ---
yes yes yes yes yes!!!! wise words andreas.
A reference to a book you yourself own (e.g. "type is like Sear RCV 1234 but with head left rather than right, and with legend ending COS III rather than COS II") is of far greater numismatic value and demonstrates more serious numismatic study on your part than a copy-pasted reference, likely wrong, to a book you don't own and don't understand, and that your source may also not have owned or understood.
So you should refer to your own books, or to internet references which you can yourself check, e.g. "exact same type as acsearch.....".
This rigour, of referencing catalogues or internet sources which you actually have access to, forces you to LOOK and STUDY your coin and to note similarities and differences with your own reference sources. Eventually you may buy RIC. Then you will enjoy the pleasure from scratch of referencing a new book, which you can check yourself. But you may also decide you never need it.
Andrew McCabe:
--- Quote from: otlichnik on August 29, 2011, 05:10:33 am ---I would add one: "Don't specialize too early."
That may seem at odds with people who say to focus, which I'll admit is important, but by not specializing too narrowly too early you will keep many roads open for the future.
--- End quote ---
Spend the early collecting years in understanding what you like. Buy the best quality you can afford from a range of areas that interest you. There are no rules to start with. There is merit in assembling a collection of nice coins that ranges from Greek, Roman, Byzantine, Mediaeval, Renaissance, Enlightenment, and Modern eras, slowly and carefully, and then allowing the coins you have chosen to steer you down a collecting path for decades to come. You can still keep your representative collection. Just understand that whilst a representative collection of everything from Greek to Modern is a lovely thing, if it grows in size without any specialisation it can become a mish-mash. So there comes a time to stop a general collection and pursue a specific path.
crawforde:
Spend the early collecting years in understanding what you like. Buy the best quality you can afford from a range of areas that interest you. There are no rules to start with. There is merit in assembling a collection of nice coins that ranges from Greek, Roman, Byzantine, Mediaeval, Renaissance, Enlightenment, and Modern eras, slowly and carefully, and then allowing the coins you have chosen to steer you down a collecting path for decades to come.[/quote]
Great post, and what you say is probably true for most collectors of Ancient coins. I will disagree on a small point, at the beginning, Quality (and Rarity) may not have nearly the importance they may acquire later on.
At the beginning the most important aspects affecting my purchasing decisions were historical interest, and identifiability.
For example, my first ancient coin purchases were Roman Republican denarii. Then I picked up a couple Greek bronzes, after that interest kept moving east, no depth (except in Chinese), but plenty of breadth. I did enjoy buying unattributed and/or uncleaned lots, the identification process is an enjoyable learning process that will push you into buying the reference books you need at the moment. After a while focus just happens.
Do NOT buy unattributed lots (or anything) at eBay until you are very familiar with a series, FORVM often has nice bulk lots for good prices, and you know they are genuine.
Purchase individual identified Good Quality coins from a good source when you begin to focus, or when something pretty catches your eye. Eventually you may notice that the last 5 or 10 purchases in a row were all in the same area. Now, improve your library and prepare to dig deep :).
In the end the shallow representative collection can still bring enjoyment and historical perspective.
I like to play a coin related game with my kids, we "buy" some "silk or tea" with a Chinese coin during a specific time period, then "trade and sell it " across the continent and into Europe (many possible routes) until we end up with a Roman coin in our hands. Looking at the changes in fabric, designs, etc. and talking about them is fun. We all learn a lot doing this.
Numismatics is a deep field there is no end to what one do, just stay with what gives you joy.
SkySoldier:
When I started 20 years ago, I bought what interested me and used dealers I saw in Coins magazine or in The Celator. I've never been a big Ebay fan, unless I've researched the seller, or see him on this board. I was burned on Ebay but fortunately, it was under $100.
I didn't start specializing until about five years ago. I've also found that reading the books first (RIC, Sear, etc.) gives me a better feel for what I want and in which direction I want to go. I really like Vagi's work because of the historical summaries of the emperors, which whets my appetite (until I get sticker shock). Also, A.H.M. Jones' work on the later empire was a good read and an education on Diocletian's overhaul of the monetary system. Hendy's works are also great for context as well.
In the end, even while I'm browsing within my specialty (Probus), I tend to buy what I like, especially provincials, and I've never been disappointed.
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