Parameters for your collection

And here are the “Augusti and Caesars who campaigned in Britain” coins I decided to keep:


Denarius, Crawford, Roman Republican Coins (RRC), No. 480/8 (March 44 BC - Alfoldi)
Coin obverse depiction: Julius Caesar laureate bust facing right
Inscription clockwise from right: CAESAR DICT PERPETVO (Dictator in Perpetuity)
Coin reverse depiction: Venus Victrix standing, facing left, holding statuette of victory on palm of right hand and supporting vertical scepter with left hand
Inscription vertical to right: L BVCA (L. Aemilius Buca, Moneyer)
Weight: 3.5g


RIC Vol. IV, SEPTIMIUS SEVERUS, Denarius, No. 335

Obverse: Septimius Severus,, Laureate head facing right
Inscription clockwise from bottom: SEVERVS PIVS AVG BRIT
Reverse: Victory (Britannia?) seated left writing on shield
Inscription: VICTORIAE BRIT


RIC Vol. IV, CARACALLA, Denarius, No. 231a

Obverse: Caracalla, Laureate head facing right
Inscription clockwise from bottom: ANTONINVS PIVS AVG BRIT
Reverse: winged Victory advancing right holding trophy
Inscription: VICTORIAE BRIT


RIC Vol. IV, GETA, Denarius, No. 91

Obverse: Geta, Laureate head facing right
Inscription clockwise from bottom: P SEPT GETA PIVS AVG BRIT
Reverse: Victory standing left holding wreath and palm branch
Inscription: VICTORIAE BRIT

RIC V (2), Carausius, Antoninianus, No. 475:


IMP C CARAVSIVS PF AVG ......................................... PA - X - AVG | S .....P

Draped, radiate, bust
London Mint.
3.9 gm.

RIC V (2), Allectus, Antoninianus, No. 33:


IMP C ALLECTVS P F AVG ............................. PA - X - AVG ..... S (Pax standing left) A
M L in reverse exergue.

Cuirassed, radiate, bust
London mint
5.1 gm.

RIC Volume VI, Lugdunum, follis, No. 17a, Constantius, Caesar of the West:


FL VAL CONSTANTIVS NOB C .............................. GENIO POPV -- LI ROMANI

Earliest obverse legend
10.1 gm.
Britannia invasion coinage produced in Gaul at unknown Continental mint

RIC VI, Londinium, follis, No. 47, Constantius, Augustus of the West:
CT (Cloke & Toone), No. 4.02.003, 1 May 305 - 26 July 306, Rarity: S


IMP CONSTANTIVS PIVS FEL AVG ....................... GENIO POPV -- LI ROMANI

Elevated to Augustus of the West after Abdication of Diocletian and Maximian Herculius
Earliest obverse legend style
Laureate, cuirassed, bust
Died at Eboracum (York) while campaigning against the warlike tribes of the North in AD 306
On his death bed, Constantius conferred Imperium on his son and companion, Constantine
Coin weight: 9.9 gm

RIC VI, Londinium, follis, No. 89b, Constantine, Caesar of the West:
CT (Cloke & Toone), No. 5.03.004, c. November - December AD 307, Rarity: R


FL VAL CONSTANTINVS NOB C ........................... GENIO - POP ROM
PLN in reverse exergue

Draped, laureate, bust
Genius with head towered and loins draped
Issued shortly after the death of Constantius following recognition as Caesar of the West by Galerius
9.3 gm.

Added via Edit: The following two Claudian Sestertii included in “Julio-Claudian coins” also belong here.

RIC Vol. I, CLAUDIUS, SESTERTIUS, Rome, No. 112, 50-54AD (36mm, 28.2gm)

RIC Vol. I, CLAUDIUS, SESTERTIUS, Rome, No. 109, 42-43AD (38mm, 28.0gm)

 

Log in or Sign up to hide this ad.

And finally the Britannic associated countermarked coins I decided to keep:


Pangeri 85d, (30mm, 15.2gm)
Imitative Claudian Spes sestertius
Countermarked DV (denoting half value) on obverse.



BMCRE, Vol. I, CLAUDIUS, SESTERTIUS, Rome, No. 120, 41-45AD (38mm, 29.2gm)
Obverse depiction: Claudius, laureate head facing right
Inscription: TI CLAVDIVS CAESAR AVG PM TRP IMP
Countermarked PROB (Probatum = approved) struck from locally made unofficial dies.



Agrippa Obverse & Neptune reverse As
BMCRE, Vol I, Tiberius, No. 168 (RIC, Vol I, No. 58)
Plate 26
Reverse: Claudius TIAV Countermark (A and V ligatured) in oblong incuse over head of Neptune



BMCRE, Vol. I, CLAUDIUS, SESTERTIUS, Rome, No. 123, 41-45AD (35mm, 22.3gm)
Obverse depiction: Claudius, laureate head facing right
Inscription: TI CLAVDIVS CAESAR AVG PM TRP IMP
Countermarked NCAPR in oblong incuse rectangle behind head (unknown mark on head)
Reverse depiction: Triumphal arch surmounted by equestrian statue of Nero Claudius Drusus
Inscription: NERO CLAVDIVS DRVSVS GERMAN IMP

……………

Plus a couple more makes the twenty coins that should keep me occupied and content for the rest of my days:


RIC Vol. II, TRAJAN, SESTERTIUS, Rome, No. 534, 98-117AD, (35mm, 22.6gm)
Obverse depiction: Trajan, head facing right, wearing aegis
Inscription: IMP CAES NERVAE TRIANO AVG GER DAC PM TRP COS V PP
Reverse depiction: Trajan galloping on horseback spearing a fallen Dacian soldier
Inscription: SPQR OPTIMO PRINCIPI - in exergue S C


RIC Vol I, CLAUDIUS, As, Rome, No. 113 (AD 50)
Obverse: Claudius, bare headed facing left
Inscription clockwise from bottom: TI CLAVDIVS CAESAR AVG P M TR P IMP P P
Reverse: Personification of Liberty, standing, facing right
Inscription clockwise from bottom: LIBERTAS AVGVSTA | S -------- C (left and right)

 

My goal is to have one Sestertius of every Roman Augustus or Caesar that issued this denomination (I am almost there, just need to upgrade a couple from "lesser" denominations), one of every Augusta (excluding the most expensive rarities), and a middle bronze of those individuals that did not issue Sestertii, from Julius Caesar to Postumus, in handsome grade and without dark patination.

100 is the limit. One coin per ruler.

No, I just see if something comes along that is a major upgrade without being unreasonably expensive. That happens less and less the longer you collect.
I rarely buy something that is not a Sestertius, but sometimes I do out of boredom

I practically got everything I wanted in three years.

In the beginning, Ebay, MAShops, and Vcoins only. Nowadays, auctions only.

Daily.

A lot! I only found three lost pedigrees so far, but those were quite exciting and I spent dozens of hours with research on those alone (including die studies).

About 100 on Roman history and coins.

 

- What metrics do you choose to add coins?

I am collecting a set of coins from Nerva-Antonines, trying to get at least one coin for each Augustus, Augusta, Caesar and important relation, and trying to cover a wide range of denominations. When I have the Imperials, I might add some Provincials. Ideally I go for attractive style, readable legend and roughly VF where not prohibitively expensive.

I am also considering adding a second collection of quadrans and semis to cover a wider time period. I would definitely have to have a less strict criteria, due to the rocketing cost for better than VF examples, and the lower likelihood that all legend will be present.

I'm also very constrained with regards to budget, because I am disabled and largely housebound, and have around £30 a month as a budget due to my inability to work. As a result, I would rather choose attractive coins that I can find every one or two months to keep the collection alive than wait for six months to buy a coin.

- Do you have a rough size of a collection in mind (10, 100, 5000, 1000, 50,000 coins?)

I use a jewellery tray with 24 compartments, so I hope to keep my first collection within these confines, with each slot easily able to contain 2 denarii or one larger coin. When I delve into the quadrans, I will buy a second tray to store that collection.

- Do you work off of a "wantlist"? How has your wantlist changed over time? How rigid are you with following your wantlist and plans?

I have some very loose wants, like an Antoninus Pius with Marcus as Caesar, a Lucius Verus with the two emperor reverse, etc. But my budget means that I have to keep to a strict schedule, and I expect coins on my list to appear and disappear while I don't have the funds. Ho hum.

- What's the longest you've waited to find a coin you've wanted? How long have you been waiting for your current target?

Not really applicable because I am a very new collector.

- What portion of purchases do you make privately vs from auctions?

All from ebay and VCoins so far. I will look into auctions the next time I have some funds.

- How often do you handle your coins or look at your pictures?

A few times a week.

- How much time do you spend searching for lost pedigrees?

None.

- How many books/catalogs do you own or have easy access to?

Just Sear Roman Coins and their Values vol. 2, and the online resources, along with a lot of history and philosophy around the time period.

 

I occasionally buy cheap mint errors becausr I can use them to to help explain the minting process.

 

For me, my top goal is to collect the Roman Republic and build a collection that is as comprehensive as possible in bronze and silver, including new varieties as I find them. At some point I'd like to add gold but it is currently out of reach. A second goal is to collect a representative set of colonial, provincial, imitative and other related types. My biggest driving force is basically "do I have the type or variety or not" but I am also trying to buy attractive coins when I can be picky. I don't aim to have the finest known examples by any means, just coins that I find attractive.

Roughly 2,000 or so for the main collection as described above, perhaps another 300-500 for the "related" stuff.

My wantlist is essentially a list of all known types and varieties in my area. It's relatively easy for me to stay on for now because there's always something I like that I still need for sale but that probably won't be the case in another decade or two.

The longest I've ever waited for a specific coin was about two years, a coin I really liked but which exceeded my budget before lots even started closing and forced me to focus on other targets. I later had a chance to purchase it direct from the collector who won it in that first auction.

As far as my current target, my most recent purchase was in the recent CNG e-auction and wasn't even on my list of primary targets, but I'd been outbid on those and I felt this coin, while not rare, was attractive and hammering too low so I threw in a bid on it and won. That's not entirely uncommon for me when these sales with several attractive offerings are ending.

At least once a day. Most of the time I have my phone background setup to randomly rotate through my coin pictures. It's a nice way to help me learn to spot them when looking for provenances and it gives me a nice passive way to look at my collection even on busier days.

About the same amount of time I spend looking for the next target. I don't have a huge library of old auction catalogs yet but I've got several of the major catalogs in my area of collecting. I don't have too many pre-1970 provenances but I'd say that a quarter or maybe more of my collection has pre-2000 provenance and almost all of it has pre-Italian MOU provenance, not that much of it actually legally requires it yet.

I have around 10 or so references that I commonly use, including things like Crawford, Sydenham, Essays Russo, Essays Hersh along with some less commonly used ones such as Babelon, Bahrfeldt's Nachtrage and BMC RR. This is supplemented by a large digital collection of papers from Jstor, Academia.edu, etc. Finally I've got around 30 or so printed catalogs and maybe 150 digital catalogs that are used both for reference(RBW, Goodman, etc) and provenance searching.

I've also got the usual history texts like Livy but I've found myself using the online sources far more than the printed books for these histories due to ease of searching.

Probably 70/30 in favor of auctions

 

If you asked me these questions 10 years ago I'd have given a much different answer than today. 10 years ago I was fixated on building registry sets. Now I look for building specific years sets so I can enjoy a broader range of coin series. Also quality and eye appeal are the top criterion. In the end I have less than 10% the volume of coins I used to have.

 

Hmmm. I have around 6 or 7 hundred which include what I consider junk long overdue for a culling.

My criteria is a) do I like it and b) can I afford it. That's it really.

 

- What metrics do you choose to add coins?

I add coins that I find interesting. No other reason. The interest could be a myriad of reasons, from historical importance, to design, to other history related to the ruler, to significance in local commerce and coinage.No limitations, which is why I came to ancient coins. US coins have parameters OTHERS have tried to impose on me, like you allude in your original post of "US coins have 137 Types". I will not be told by others what I "have to have".

- Do you have a rough size of a collection in mind (10, 100, 5000, 1000, 50,000 coins?)

Right now I own maybe 4000 ancients (I own US and world coins as well) that I would say need to be in flips and attributed properly. My parameters for that decision would roughly be about $40 in value should be in a flip, lower can be in bags. Will I stop? No. I have no idea where it will top out at, maybe 10,000 ancients. I have probably about another 3000-4000 that are just in bags, and I will leave there, (sub $40 per coin).

- Do you work off of a "wantlist"? How has your wantlist changed over time? How rigid are you with following your wantlist and plans?

My wantlist change over time of course as I buy some from my wantlist and as I see others I was unaware of. I collect various categories and areas simultaneously, having subcollections like Merovingian, CLEO VII portrait, and others that are pretty scarce to get buying opportunities. Since I have some scarce sub-specialties, I have to have many going to be able to have opportunities to buy. Others are more available, like Persis silver, Sasanian, Hunnic, etc. Right now my want list, if I had to think about it, probably is about 300 coins I want to buy if I find it for a reasonable price, at least ones I am aware exist.

- What's the longest you've waited to find a coin you've wanted? How long have you been waiting for your current target?

I waited over a decade for a Christopher silver Byzantine. Gold was easy, but silver tough. Three weeks after I finally got one a group lot of Byzantine silver came up with another one, so I bought it too. Tens years of waiting makes you cranky... I also waited about a decade for a Cleo VII portrait tet to buy that was a better trade off of detail versus price. Quite a few AG/barely recognizable pieces, and a few gVF/horribly expensive pieces I saw come and go. I finally found a pleasant F that I could justify buying.

- What portion of purchases do you make privately vs from auctions?

More auctions, but that is a function of me not going to ancient coin shows. With auctions I can buy from anywhere in the world via the internet.

- How often do you handle your coins or look at your pictures?

Not often enough. I am waiting for retirement to be able to play with my coins more. Anytime I look inside the SDB in boxes half of the coins I do not remember at all purchasing. Its fun!

- How much time do you spend searching for lost pedigrees?

None really. I am always conscience to retain whatever info I got with the purchase and document auction firm and lot number I got it from, but do not chase them personally.

- How many books/catalogs do you own or have easy access to?

No idea about catalogs, as most in cases in the basement. Books on ancient coins only and not history? Maybe 650, and another 250 on US/World coins.[/QUOTE][/QUOTE]

 

1. What metrics do you choose to add coins?

1a. Balance and completeness. I want my collection to look at first glance like an essentially complete and balanced collection of Roman Republican coins. All metals, gold, silver, struck bronze, cast bronze. All relevant eras. All key types. All denominations including the weird ones. And paradoxically I want to achieve that using the fewest number of coins. I don't think one can have a complete-looking collection of RR coins numbering less than about 500 pieces. There would be too many gaps. So that helps the next question.

2. Do you have a rough size of a collection in mind (10, 100, 5000, 1000, 50,000 coins?)

2a. RBW had about 2000 types and at its max I had about 1400 types. Currently I'm at about 800 but my 800 are a far better cross section than my 1400 were. This is because I've swapped out relatively repetitive types such as "bigati" or full runs of prow bronze series for more key types that are more expensive such Imperatorial or full runs of aes grave. I recently completed the wheel series of aes grave from as to sextans and that's gonna have much more visual impact than completing eg the OPEI series of struck bronzes. My ideal target collection size would be about 1000 but I'm not sure I'll ever climb to that again due resources (and resources another are a key metric, whether time, or means to get coins)

3. Do you work off of a "wantlist"? How has your wantlist changed over time? How rigid are you with following your wantlist and plans?

3a. When in my initial collection build from 1990 to about 2010 I worked off a strict want list per an Excel spreadsheet that had all Crawford varieties listed. I then hit a wall. Adding varieties became impossible due to rarity - I was adding by then maybe 30 a year, a tiny number in a collection of 1400. So I completely changed direction and went towards my current metric of balance and quality, which requires fewer coins but more money for key types. I permitted myself to sell less key varieties to enhance how my collection looks and that's how I've moved from 1400 pieces of rare debris to 800 quality.

4. What's the longest you've waited to find a coin you've wanted? How long have you been waiting for your current target?

4a. By this point in my life there's no rarity that I haven't owned and thus nothing I'm especially targeting. I wouldn't mind getting a damaged and holed ex jewelry oath scene gold. I'd really like a solid silver Cornuficius (I had a plated one but recently traded it with a friend). There a struck bronze I want - the 42 gram first struck semis issue from Luceria. And I'd like a second EID MAR (I sold my previous one in 1999). Aside from these I think I've most key types already.

5. What portion of purchases do you make privately vs from auctions?

5a. 50%/50%. Retail/private are consistently better and cheaper for me than auctions because I really know my stuff so I can grab or negotiate bargains without competition. Two days ago I bought a very rare Roman Republican denarius type. (Mark Antony Cr.496/3) from a jewelry shop in Hamilton, Bermuda. There was a couple of mounted coins in the window display and through dogged determination I made contact with the goldsmith, and raided his workng metals box where I found this denarius. You have to be absolutely dedicated to finding stuff. At auctions I have no special advantage hence many of my best coins are private finds.

6. How often do you handle your coins or look at your pictures?

6a. Daily, handle. Hourly (when awake), pictures.

7. How much time do you spend searching for lost pedigrees?

7a. Average 10 hours / week but with spurts eg when I visit the Fitzwilliam. Between 500 and 1000 hours per year.

8. How many books/catalogs do you own or have easy access to?

8a. About 1000 at home. Don't know exact number but my library has over 100 feet of shelves full of coin books. Ah that probably means 2000 as most of my catalogues are 1/2 inch thick

9. (unasked). Resources?

9a. I devote about my local minimum wage in new money on my collection each year. Not much, but within capacity. Recycled resources from coin sales account for 80% or more of my collection improvement resources. Books are a heavy drain because unlike coins they don't generate duplicates to sell. Time, probably I devote 1000-1500 hours per year on collecting of which about 50% is provenance time, 25% hunting for coins and 25% collection management including planning disposals. That doesn't include web browsing or messaging friends.

 

- What metrics do you choose to add coins ?

Different ones depending on which area of collection you consider : what talks to me for the generalist collections, more comprehensive for the sub-sets or specialized collections (mainly Dombes in that respect, as I would like to build a complete series by type and year of minting (fortunately there's only one workshop), but also UK and now Jean II le Bon)


- Do you have a rough size of a collection in mind (10, 100, 5000, 1000, 50,000 coins?)

1000 maybe of what I consider my collections. But also 2000ish modern world coins, but they don't count, really


- Do you work off of a "wantlist"? How has your wantlist changed over time? How rigid are you with following your wantlist and plans?

No. I know what I need for the themed collections, otherwise I jump on what appeals to me


- What's the longest you've waited to find a coin you've wanted? How long have you been waiting for your current target?

Years
I have no current target at the moment

- What portion of purchases do you make privately vs from auctions?

I don't know


- How often do you handle your coins or look at your pictures?

Everyday, at least pictures


- How much time do you spend searching for lost pedigrees?

None


- How many books/catalogs do you own or have easy access to?

200ish

Q

 

While this has changed over time, essentially the primary question is "is it interesting". Currently, provincial coins with unusual reverses or reverses which tell a story or which have an unusual deity rank highest, especially coins of Roman Egypt. I will however still buy a coin from any era if it strikes my fancy in some way.

No, it doesn't matter. It is only limited by budget. I will likely not add many coins to my collection this year or for the foreseeable future due to lack of funds (thanks, hurricanes Irma and Maria ). Instead I'll focus on better organization and reading about the coins I already have... which could easily take a few years .

I have some "wantlist" coins and a tremendous number of "watchlist" coins-- those which catch my interest in some way and I mark them in some manner (saved on ACsearch, saved to a watchlist, bookmarked, set for notification on Numisbids, etc). A coin's inclusion on such a list doesn't necessarily mean its purchase is imminent .

I've only been collecting ~5 years so not that long . Perhaps 3-4 years for a couple of coins.

90+% from auctions.

Daily.

Not a lot of time because most of my coins are not likely to have appeared in pre-internet print auctions. For the more "important" coins I own, I do spend some time looking for unreported prior sales and appearances.

~20-30 books, a couple dozen old catalogs (not counting catalogs received from auction houses since I started collecting), and many dozens of old or public domain digital books or catalogs.

...

My primary goal is to have fun with the hobby-- learning things as I go, perhaps educating others in some cases, all while acquiring fabulous little bits of history and art .

 

Incredible story!

 

James, I don't look forward to the day when life makes me do what you have done with your collection. It hurts my heart (hopefully, not prematurely) but I respect your pragmatic approach towards it and generosity with the folks on the board about your process and some of your stuff. You're a truly a gentlemen who is relinquishing the pursuit.

 

I'd pose this as a poll but the software isn't quite flexible enough for multiple questions:

- What metrics do you choose to add coins?

Roman Republic issues from the earliest times with cast coinage to when Octavian was crowned Augustus by the Senate, which is where I stop. I primarily collect all denominations and types in silver, have a handful of gold, and a growing problem with aes grave cast coinage which means I attract them home recently like stray dogs. I don't really dig struck bronzes, though I have a few. I do have a serious problem with Imperatorial I'm considering going to see a specialist - maybe hypnotism. I'm a problem.

The coin has to speak to me, be in a top quality condition for the type, and have a good possibility of finding an old provenances. Provenances to me are very important. I like excellent, old collection coins. ​

- Do you have a rough size of a collection in mind (10, 100, 5000, 1000, 50,000 coins?)

No, the collection will grow until I run out of the money I have allocated to this hobby. I'm semi retired and the funds do have an finite end somewhere. When I run out, I may decide to focus even more by selling offshoots of the collection that could be pruned free up funds for focus coins. Or sell some furniture, or a car. Maybe a kidney.​

- Do you work off of a "wantlist"? How has your wantlist changed over time? How rigid are you with following your wantlist and plans?

Anything Roman Republic is fair game and I buy opportunistically like others have mentioned. ​

- What's the longest you've waited to find a coin you've wanted? How long have you been waiting for your current target?

Still waiting for many targets. About 15 years and counting.​

- What portion of purchases do you make privately vs from auctions?

70% Auction, 30% private​

- How often do you handle your coins or look at your pictures?

The bulk is in the bank but stragglers that have yet to go to the bank get handled every few days often. Pictures definitely daily. ​

- How much time do you spend searching for lost pedigrees?

More time than searching for the coins. Probably 80% is pedigree research.​

- How many books/catalogs do you own or have easy access to?

My library is excellent and purpose built for supporting Roman Republican numismatics research. I have probably nearly 1000 titles between books and catalogues with a strong selection of antique catalogues from the early 20th century.

When not at home, I spend time at the ANS researching. Between that, 98% of the material I need is available to me. ​

​

 

- What metrics do you choose to add coins ?

At the moment I have four active collecting themes. My primary focus is on coins with dies engraved by Renaissance artists-- Benvenuto Cellini, Francesco Francia, Leone Leoni etc. These coins are all rare and expensive. Since my budget is quite limited, acquiring these is based on availability and price. Condition has to remain a secondary concern, although I don't want anything worse than about VF.

My other collecting areas are coins of powerful women and openly of gay rulers or with gay themes and small greek silver. For these, price is also a major factor because I want to dedicate as much of my budget as I can to the much pricier Renaissance issues. I have focused more on acquiring the rarer ones when they become available than finding the right examples of the common ones. For more common coins or coins that I am interested in buying eventually I keep extensive watchlists on numisbids, sixbid, and biddr.

- Do you have a rough size of a collection in mind (10, 100, 5000, 1000, 50,000 coins?)

I have an small abafil case with 20 spots in it for my main collection of Renaissance coins. Due to the rarity and expense of the coins that seems like a good target number for me. I currently have 9 coins in there. There are 5 more on my wantlist that are current targets, a dozen or so more that I would love to have but don't know if there will ever be examples that I can afford, and maybe another 5 or so more common coins that I may choose to add if the price/example is right. My other collections all seem to also have goals (at the moment) of about twenty coins. I don't have an upper limit set, but I don't anticipate having more than 150-200.

- Do you work off of a "wantlist"? How has your wantlist changed over time? How rigid are you with following your wantlist and plans?

I have a wantlist for each of my subcollections. If I find a new coin that fits the collection I'll add it to the wantlist (sometimes even after having purchased it-- just for the satisfaction of crossing it off). I also have general wantlists for potential future subcollections (islamic coins, baroque papal coins, signed greek coins, coins of Hadrian relating to Egypt). I try to be rigid about adhering to it because otherwise I don't have the funds for the Renaissance issues when they become available.

- What's the longest you've waited to find a coin you've wanted? How long have you been waiting for your current target?

This is a tricky question to answer. I waited about 6 years before buying my first Cellini coin, but that was based on money more than availability. My current target I've been waiting for for just about a year.

- What portion of purchases do you make privately vs from auctions?

I tallied up my purchases from the last year: 25% ebay, 37.5% auctions, 37.5% vcoins/ma/other dealers

- How often do you handle your coins or look at your pictures?

I handle my coins a couple times a week and look at pictures daily.

- How much time do you spend searching for lost pedigrees?

Very little. I'd like to get a hold of some old italian catalogues to look for my main pieces in.

- How many books/catalogs do you own or have easy access to?

I do most of my research online using lots of public domain and database sources. I have only three honest-to-god coin books.

 

It was kind of you to say those nice things @Carthago - thank you. Of course eventually everyone who posts here will have to face the same thing. It sneaks up on you. Years ago I wouldn’t have believed I would be making a post like this on a message board - but here I am. I did want to take a pragmatic approach to this, and avoid some of the pitfalls that so many of my collector friends (of all sorts of artifacts) made which often led to much heartache and difficulty for their survivors. BTW, I have considered different ways of disposing of my coins and discussed them with other CT members, but I have settled on the procedure I outline here.

As I posted elsewhere, I have four children, five grandchildren and six great-grandchildren none of who have the slightest interest in Ancient coins. I didn’t want my wife, Beverly, to be stuck with the gloomy and complicated task of disposing of a large quantity of my coins when I die, so we agreed that I would keep the twenty coins I list for me to admire, play with and cherish and that I would sell (or otherwise dispose of) the rest - the money derived to go to her to do with as she pleases - only fair in my opinion. We agreed that she will hold on to the twenty coins I have selected after I die in case one of my progeny should develop an interest in them and become (hopeful but forlorn hope?) a collector/enthusiast. Whatever eventually happens to them is beyond my control anyway - I just don’t want her to have to worry about disposing of them.

If Beverly should die first I intend to hold on to my twenty coins and eventually (if I become incapacitated, etc.) give them to my executor to dispose of as he/she thinks best.

 

Very interesting questions.

What metrics do I choose to add coins?

I’m interested in portraits of all rulers great and small. Primarily this has been Roman rulers, but I’ve added Byzantine, Greek and British to my scope.
Recently I’ve added “wow” factor as a parameter. I used to be happy with filling holes with a miserable Libius Severus AE4 just because it’s rare. But now I want coins with eye appeal, coins that look like treasure. So now I upgrade my miserable coins to better ones.

With the above in mind, my collection will only ever be a few hundred pieces.

My wantlist is along these lines - I want the best coin I can afford of each ruler. I want a magnificent Elizabeth I crown or a Julius Caesar aureus.

Half my purchases are from auctions, a quarter from Vcoins, a quarter from MA Shops and the rest from eBay and private sales. eBay isn’t what it was unfortunately.

I don’t care for pedigrees. It’s great to have a coin with a great provenance, but that’s not a consideration at all. I know if I like a coin by looking at it.

Don’t hate - but I have zero books or catalogues. I don’t have any need for this in the internet age, but I look forward to being corrected.

 

I'm waiting for the original poster to give us an answer to his own questions!

 

- What metrics do you choose to add coins ?

I actively seek out Roman imperial and provincial issues, primarily 2nd and 3rd century. That doesn't mean I won't add a Seleukid, Greek or Judean coin if it appeals to me. I'll pick up a Republican coin, too, if it has a more interesting design than Roma/quadriga. Can't afford gold. I am particularly fond of the following areas: dual portrait provincial coins, coins portraying various pagan deities, women of the Antonine and Severan dynasties (I've been actively acquiring Faustina I coins of late, particularly seeking the lifetime issues and those with veiled busts), Gallienus, Trebonianus Gallus and Lupa Romana coins. If there is an unusual variety, I will scoop it up, particularly if it's a good deal.

- Do you have a rough size of a collection in mind (10, 100, 5000, 1000, 50,000 coins?)

I like to acquire coins often. I'm of the "I'd rather have 10 coins worth $50 each than 1 coin worth $500" school. I imagine I'll have about 3000 by the time I leave this world.

- Do you work off of a "wantlist"? How has your wantlist changed over time? How rigid are you with following your wantlist and plans?

I have a want-list for my areas of interest: coins I don't already have. That said, the interest in my subcollections is fluid and changes over time. It depends on if I see something interesting and I'm inspired to go off into a different direction.

- What's the longest you've waited to find a coin you've wanted? How long have you been waiting for your current target?

I don't really have a fixed want list, but pick up interesting items along the way, so I'm not really waiting for anything. I will, however, see items for sale in my "specialty" areas that make me say, "That's an item I have never seen for sale before; I had better get it while I have the opportunity." I have several coins that are quite scarce but went unappreciated by others.

- What portion of purchases do you make privately vs from auctions?

I would guess: 20% V Coins, shows and private purchases; 80% auctions.

- How often do you handle your coins or look at your pictures?

Just about daily.

- How much time do you spend searching for lost pedigrees?

Very little. I'd like to do more in the future as acsearchinfo's coin recognition software gets better.

- How many books/catalogs do you own or have easy access to?

My go-to is Sear's RCV and I have all 5 volumes. I also have all the old volumes of RIC. I have volumes 3-6 of BMCRE. I have print copies of AMNG 1, Ruzicka, Lingren 2-3, Tameryazev and Makarenko, and catalogs of various museum collections. I use online Moushmov a fair amount. I also use online Cohen, but mostly to compare to descriptions listed in other sources -- Cohen reports on coins that are probably forgeries or are inaccurately described in his sources. I have digitized, public-domain versions of most of the BMC Greek volumes.

I like old catalogs available in the public domain online -- Sulzer's collection, the Mionnet volumes, Wiczay, and AMNG III.

I search at acsearchinfo to help attribute unknown coins. I mostly use them to identify die-matches and to get a sense of how scarce a certain issue may be by seeing how many have come up for auction over the past 15 years or so.

I have a lot of old catalogs going back to about 2000. I have perhaps 8 years worth of The Celator in print. General numismatic works -- not references -- perhaps 20 others.