Finding a focus

I have read a lot of posts on this board about finding a collecting focus. I would like to hear from others as to how they came to specialize in their coins of choice. I Bought an Otho denarius in April and then decided to complete the 12 caesars. Now that I have done so I am search of another focus.

At the moment I am enjoying the posts of others and I am waiting for a focus to find me. I want to be struck by a certain focus that fires my imagination. I should also mention that I do not tend to buy just anything shiny. I only own 20 or so ancient coins and 12 of those are the Caesars. So I do not mind waiting to find the next focus.


I would appreciate any thoughts you have concerning how you have approached finding the next step in your collecting goals.

 

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Well, I've been collecting for more years than I can count (I'm from West Virginia so I have to take off my shoes to get to twenty-one). I still have no real focus other than I stick to Greek and Roman Republic and Imperial up to Byzantine. Maybe I should have a focus, but perhaps I'm not smart enough. I just buy coins I find attractive within my budget. Sooo, I guess I'm one of those that "tend to buy anything shiny".

 

Mine fell a bit easily when I got into ancients. I always enjoyed women in history but admit I didnt collect modern women other then Liberty on U.S. coin. I started buying roman empresses like Domna, Faustina, Maesa and it all just started to be a norm. I still would by the men but I enjoyed the empresses more. Now I tend to be in a freeze since the majority of the ladies I need now are 3-4 figure type$.

I have slowed my lady buying and gotten more into Silver Tetradrachms. I especially prefer the tetradrachms from Antioch. But, I have my share of egyptian tets. The issue with Tets is they are fairly pricey so I have to save up longer or look for bargains harder but I do enjoy them.

 

I've collected modern American and British decimal because that as my pocket change where I've lived. It was my interest in medieval history which took me to Britain for my education, and which also influenced my focus on the medieval coins of Britain (and other 12th century coins). Since I began teaching, I've come to enjoy the history of trade and the connections between the east and the west, hence my new outlet of coins of the Silk Road (which is so varied, that I will never claim to be an expert in, but more a hoarder/collector of coins illustrative of events in my class)

 

I'm a bit like Bing, but being forced to sell off my collection just prior to the housing crash, followed by a few personal family tragedies, means I just returned to collecting a year ago and my 'focus' has been as scattered as my attempt to replace so many I no longer had.

But I seem to narrowing things down a bit for this coming year---only time will tell how that works out

 

I have not found a focus. I think I'm too new to ancients and "buy anything shiny."

Wait...that's not entirely true. In fact I do have a sort of sub-specialty, coins with military themes. LRBs - Glory to the Military types, campgates, captives, emperors in military garb, fallen horsemen, etc.; then older issues like legionary standards, captives...I would love a city-gate type, oh an emperor spearing a fallen warrior would be great...but I think you get the idea.

Other than ancients I collect military trade tokens, military payment certificates, chit books, and AAFES POGs so ancients with military themes fit right in.

For ancients I'm also interested in religious themes/temples. Hmm...think that's almost everything?

 

Its hard to tell you how to get a focus. Certain areas simply speak to you. I am a fan of multiple focuses, (obviously), and people think I just buy willy nilly. Sometimes I do, but I really do have many focus areas, like Sogdian, Cleo VII, Hunnic, Emesa stone issues, Pharos of Alexandria, art deco LRB, etc etc.

I collect what gives ME pleasure. That is the great luxury of ancient collecting, short of very few things like 12 Caesars, there ARE no predefined "sets". Buy what interests you, what makes you more interested in the history the coin depicts. There is not any wrong answer.

Btw, let me ask you a question @Orfew. Does the period of the 12 Caesars really interest you, or did you put that set together because its a "set", and someone told you what you should buy? If you did it because you are particularly attracted to the era, then fine, but if you did it because someone else told you "this is what makes a set" then you are doing it wrong. Read about coins, look at coins, read history, and decide what YOU find interesting. That is what it is all about here in our dark little corner, finding our PERSONAL satisfaction through coins.

 

I'm gonna let this sink in a little bit before I take it down the gutter...

 

I started collecting everything ancient and after a few years realized that I love the history and coinage of the Roman Republic and especially the Imperatorial period and especially silver. The coins have a stunning variety of designs, can often be had in really great condition (this eliminates RR bronzes in general for me), and are within my price range for the quality I desire (this elimates most RR gold).

Also, they are easily organized in a series that, for the most part, is fairly linear and easly understood by me (this eliminates Greek which I find intimidating). Crawford has an excellent and mostly comprehensive organization system which is fairly unique and helps tremendously when researching online.

Specializing has helped me understand much better what I'm buying, the available quality for any given issues, it's historical rarity, researching undiscovered provinances, and building a focused research library with only the specific catalogues and works for my needs.

Lastly, I hate the idea of Monarchs so that lessens my interest in Roman Imperial.

That's my story. I reserve the right to change my mind without notice.

 

collect what brings you the most pleasure.

 

West Virginia, you say? Six toes on one foot? Were your parents closely related?

 

I've collected "Ancient" Canadian coins for most of my life, but then stumbled across "Actual" ancients accidentally (I 'm actually pretty sure that it was Valiant Knight (Jango) because we were both talking on a CCF thread ... ummm sadly, I think it was a really cool thread that I think I got banned => The Never Ending Story)

... anyway ...

I ended-up loving these cool ancient coins (who wouldn't, right?)

So, I bought a couple of Roman coins because I knew of the ruler's names and/or just because they looked sooooo fricken cool, right?

Then I was bombarded by the fact that I could buy 2500 year old coins for the same price , or cheaper than Canadian coins from the 1900's => I was quickly on-board!!

So, as I was clumsily buying a few random ancients, some arse-hole started making random comments about my decisions ..... of course it ended-up being "doug" (who else, right?) => the dude doesn't seem to care who you are, or how much money you're spending => he merely tells ya what the facts are => the facts by doug sometimes leave a few marks, but they're always badges of knowledge!!

Oh, and although he seems to have 2,343,500 Sep-Sev examples, I once read that he likes to collect a bit of everything, so that became my mantra (shotgun scatter, with a hint of animal!! ... oh, the animal was my stevex6-slant)

Blah-blah-blah => animal archaic is my "ultimate target" ..... old animal coins

... man, I love ancient coins (ummm, what were we talkin' about?)

 

I do know what I'd like to have for a focus... but it's a little to expensive for me (ptolemy tets...).

Right now I just collect wherever my tastes are.

 

Ptolemy coins are very cool .... one of my off-chutes is trying to collect one of each of the P-gang

=> that in itself is an awesome lil' collection!! (good thinkin' Aidan)

Why not try to conquer that cool collection? ... I have Ptolemy examples from PT-I though PT-X (with a few missing)

=> how many Ptolemy dudes were there? (I'm jealous, that's a great collection goal) ... tight and very cool

 

Great question. I spent many years in post secondary education. In my undergrad days I was interested in Roman History and took a few classics courses. I also picked up some books on the Latin language. When I discovered several months ago that one could collect real coins of the emperors I had been reading about for years, I was hooked. I have just begun to re-read Suetonius' Lives of the Caesars after not doing so for several years. I also did several months of reading various sources including online boards before ever buying a single coin.

For me collecting the 12 was interesting because it was such a formative, and important time in the history of Rome. What also compelled me to collect the 12 was that there are just so many many interesting characters in their ranks. There are dictators, Murderers, conquerors, madmen, great builders, and statesmen. In short, I find the first 150 years or so after Julius Caesar to be fascinating.

I have taken a great deal of satisfaction out of collecting the 12. It has been a lot of fun. The best part, outside of the actual coins, has been exchanging ideas and thoughts with like minded individuals. I have learned much on the journey and have appreciated the input of those who have helped along the way.

 

"The Twelve?"

c'mon, man => that's weak

Orfew, you're way bigger than that (collecting the twelve is the equivalent of being a US collector in an ancient coin-world)

Grab yourself and find a real ancient coin-goal ...

=> you have great coin-sense => use it!!

 

I like the Ptolemies! Especially the large bronzes, I have a couple...

Ptolemy II

Ptolemy II, BC 285-246
AE42, 63.51g, 12h
Obv.: head of Zeus-Ammon right
Rev.: ΠΤΟΛΣΜΑΙΟΥ ΒΑΣΙΛΣΩΣ; two eagles standign left on thunderbolt, Θ between legs of left eagle
Ref.: Svoronos 463

Ptolemy III

Ptolemy III BC 246-222
AE 38.6mm, 41.6g, Alexandria mint
Obv.: Bust of Zeus-Amon right
Rev.: ΠΤΟΛΣΜΑΙΟΥ ΒΑΣΙΛΣΩΣ; Eagle standing half left on fulmen, wings closed, head right, filleted cornucopia right ascending from behind shoulder, E between legs
Ref.: Svoronous 974

Ptolemy IV

Ptolemy IV, BC 246-222
AE41, 38.6mm; 12h
Obv.: Bust of Zeus-Ammon right
Rev.: ΠΤΟΛΣΜΑΙΟΥ ΒΑΣΙΛΣΩΣ; eagle standing left on thunderbolt, cornucopia tied with fillet before, ΔI between legs
Ref.: Svoronos 1125

 

How'd you know? My wife and are are cousins, but that's like a whole nother family, right? Besides, doesn't 5 times 4 equal 21? Man you need an education don't ya?

No matter what anyone says, if you collect the coins you like, even the 12 caesars (which are my favorites as well), that's all that matters.

 

Since my eyes are not what they once were, I focus on large coins like silver tets and the occasional medal. A good strong portrait on a Greek Tet will always catch my eye and sometimes my wallet. Other than that, historic significance or artistic merit drive the decision. Since I like the details of a coin I try to buy EF if possible for the type. The result is that I usually only get a few coins a year. In the end, budget limits me when reason abandons me.

 

Very cool coins, Jwt ... I like your style

By the way => I can't wait for "The Twelve Lovers" to respond and say how important that time was in blah-blah-blah ...

2500 years available to collect .......

ummm, I'm gonna avoid that teeny-weenie time-period that 95 % of the dudes look at (really? => again, that is the US Coin version of ancient coins)

TIF's Alexandrians
Bing's AR Roman Republics
JA's dirty Nabooteens
Jango's crazy 5-6-7-8th century whatevs
Eng's Byzy stuff

Man, there are so many coin niches (gawd, try not to get sucked into "The Twelve")

Oh, but that's just me