| Most collectors of ancient coins begin with a general overview collection. Coins are purchased that have some appeal to the individual but it is not always clear exactly what that appeal was. Later on some direction tends to organize the collection. Commonly this is a expansion of the general collection; an attempt to get one coin of each Greek city or each Roman Emperor. The third step in the progression of collecting style is the concentration on some specialty. For many of us this is a defense mechanism used to fend off the question: 'What do you collect?' The honest answer is: 'Coins that I like at prices I can afford' but it is simpler for a dealer to be of assistance if we can give a little hint as to the direction we would like our collection to follow. This essay is intended to point out a few examples of areas of special interest that can serve to add direction to a collection. While the examples given are things that this one collector has found interesting, this is not to say that these suggestions have any more merit than a hundred similar areas of interest. Perhaps if you read why I found these areas interesting you will be able to select a specialty that fits your particular collecting desires.
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Good collectability is added by the fact that Septimius issued coins from more than one mint: each with a distinctive style. Coins of Septimius Severus are cataloged in the standard references but the works are in serious need of revision and updating. This opens a possibility of study and that feeling of accomplishment that comes from being able to recognize facts not widely known among, or important to, general collectors. So, why do I collect Septimius Severus? His coins are common enough to be found easily but include rare items worth seeking out. His coins offer variety due to the variety of reverses, the period of years covered by his reign and the use of more than one mint.
And finally, his coins offer a possibility of study and discovery of previously unknown information.
Probus used a number of very distinct obverse styles while both used a number of mints but did not mark coins with mint marks making it too easy to separate the various issues.
Books on these issues are not common or complete so there is a lot of room for serious study.
Of course a specialty does not have to be just one emperor. Some collectors look for various examples of a type and follow its development over the years. This could include 'Horses on Coins',
'Ships on Coins', 'Astronomy/Astrology Related Coins' and hundreds of other topics. Some rulers are best collected as a group due to they way their histories were intertwined. This certainly includes the family of Constantine or the issues of the Tetrarchy founded by Diocletian. 
Greek coins allow specialty from several angles.
Easiest is to concentrate on one particular city ('Coins of Athens') or time period ('Archaic Greek Silver').
The huge variety of types on Greek coins suggests collections by type
('Sports on Coins' or 'Animals'). One specialty by denomination is covered in my discussion of very small Greek silver but other collectors (hopefully with more available cash) will prefer to collect only tetradrachms or dekadrachms. 
A common specialty in Greek coins is collecting coins perceived to be of fine art style. 
Technical collecting could center on mint errors (Brockages, multiple strikes etc.) or even coins showing a particularly interesting degree of silver crystallization or bronze patina.
This collector has always been fascinated with the silver plated fourrees and other ancient items of questionable parentage. Barbaric and even counterfeit coins take on a certain respectability as they near 2000 years of age. 
The important thing in selecting a specialty is to find a proper fit for the individual collector. Persons with a great deal of money and not much time will probably be happier collecting a series of Greek silver that has been exhaustively cataloged and well documented;
persons with more time than money will find fulfillment in less well trod paths with more to study and less to buy. Persons with failing eyesight will avoid fractional obols or die studies while persons with the ability to make fine distinctions will enjoy a 'flyspecking' specialty requiring counting the knots on the ribbon of the laurel wreath or the like. What is best for one collector is boring for the other but everything is available within the overall realm of ancient coins.