I have noticed over the last few months that coins outside of my 12 Caesars collection are not getting any attention. In fact I have moved over half of my collection to paper envelopes stored in a red box. I looked at the box a few days ago and realized that I have not looked at those in weeks because there was a nice thick layer of dust on the outside of the box. This is no way for nice coins to be treated. On the other hand I have been spending some time every day looking at my 12 Caesars collection and thinking about upgrades. On top of this I have become fascinated with the minuscule differences in legends and other details on the 12 Caesars coins. Members like @David Atherton and @Jay GT4 have been inspiring with their pickups of rare Flavian coins, and this feels like an area I would like to explore in more depth and detail. Over the last several weeks I have picked up a number of interesting coins and I feel that my 12 Caesar's focus is more than enough to sustain my interest and passion for the hobby. I have very much enjoyed collecting the coins outside of the 12 Caesars, but it is time to let someone else enjoy them. I have not decided how to get rid of them yet, but they are doing no one any good inside the red box. Does anyone else have experience with refocussing their collection?
Wow, really? I thought your historical figures goals were fantastic and fun! Don't be hasty in getting rid of things. Next month or next year you may change your mind and wish you hadn't sold those coins.
Orfew - when reading your posts over the last year it is obvious that you have a passion for this area of your collection above the others. Becoming a specialist certainly seems to have been something that has been evolving. Best of luck with this decision - looking forward to learning more about the era of the 12 Caesars through your acquisitions.
@Orfew, I made the same decision a while back to focus primarily on medieval and especially English hammered coins. I sold a bunch of nice Roman coins and missed them for a while but got over it pretty quickly. My collection has been all over the place and that is fun but there is just too much to learn. Like you say, the only way to find those rare coins is to focus. I found that my collection of coin related books started to get out of hand too. I have two and a half shelves of coin books. Don't get me wrong I love having them almost as much as the coins but it gets very expensive too. As I'm sure you know some books sell for we'll over $100. I still have quite a bunch of nice Romans and I will probably keep most of them at least for a while but when it comes time to sell them I won't hesitate to send them to good homes.
I've done it. I went from a collector of all things ancient to strictly Roman Republic some years back. I sold probably 90% of my non Roman Republican coins but kept a few that still brought me joy or otherwise seemed worthwhile keeping. I've never regretted selling a single coin. When coins you own no longer float your boat, for whatever reason, I say sell 'em and turn them into coins that do!
Thanks for the compliment brother. I've refocused a few times and I think I'm ready to do it again. I think I'm only going to keep Southern Italian, because that's where I'm from, a few Julio Claudians and my Flavians. Everything else I think will go. It's just tough taking that first step. Torex is coming up soon though, maybe Robert will take some off my hands. Trading coins you're no longer interested in for ones you really want is a great way to fund new acquisitions without spending more money.
@Orfew is right to do so. I've refocused my collection twice. Once when I got out of medieval and Indian coinage to focus more on Roman coinage, and I'm currently doing so by selling off some of my Gordian III and a few other coins to put the money towards beefing up my Greek coinage. My collection has been the better for it. With my initial refocusing, I was able to strengthen my Roman collection to levels I only dreamed of, and with the current refocusing I hope to strengthen my Greek collection as well, while still maintaining the bulk of the solid Roman collection I've built. Sometimes a little selling here and there is not a bad thing, especially if the money is used wisely to focus and strengthen your collection in new areas you find exiting and appealing. I don't believe in the old school idea that you must never sell any coin. It's not like Orfew is talking about selling the whole lot and walking away...then I'd say he was crazy. But a little refocusing will probably serve to better his collection and bring more enjoyment to the hobby. Go for it brother.
Unless it's a rare coin, or a one off, chances are he'll be able to buy another of the same type later if he changes his mind. I say sell what you don't like as much, and use the money to buy the coins you like. Life is too short to be stuck with something you don't find enjoyment with, at the expense of not being able to get the coins you want.
this year i came to the conclusion.. i'm trying to buy 3 or the 12 caesars in silver that i lack...in december one came up for sale and i'd already spent my money on some other coins that were really mediocre, but completed a 'set' i was aiming for before years end... now i'm going to try and not buy(altho i have 9_9) any others but stay focused on those..(good luck to me ) ..the same reason peeps climb mountains i reckon
Well Sallent, I guess I was the crazy one since I sold my entire collection about three years ago. I told myself I was done. I had been collecting for over thirty years. The person I consigned them to said now I could start over again. I said to myself no way. Well, here I am again and I love it. My former collection was Roman Imperial but it was all over from early Imperial to late. Now I'm concentrating on Impertorial and Imperial from Augustus to approximately Decius. At least that's the plan.
This is my mentality as well. Tastes change and many coins aren't particularly rare. I've recently assessed my collection, adding a "time to replace" to each coin: how long would it take to find a comparable example of the type. I'm not planning any selling at the moment but it is a worthwhile factor to consider if something truly irreplaceable were to come up that would otherwise be too expensive.
Orfew, I went thru an internal rebellion similar to what you are experiencing now about 7 years ago when I decided to sell my Greek & Parthian coins. I did keep 2 Parthian & 2 Greek coins for aesthetic reasons but all the others were sold. I refocused on Roman coins from the 3rd century of the CE to the fall of Rome & the Byzantine era. This new focal point coincided with my historical interest that narrowed over time. Go with your gut feeling, you won't regret it .
That's a good point. I guess if the coins Orfew wants to get sell aren't particularly rare and if he isn't sentimentally attached there's not much reason to regret getting rid of them.
Another internal rebellion was when my wife told me : « there are coins everywhere in the house. If you want to buy new ones, you have to sell some of them.... ». That’s what I did, but I rather call this a « changing of focus in my collection »......
When I’m debating whether to sell a coin, I consider how difficult it would be to replace if I changed my mind. If the answer is “very difficult,” then I don’t sell. I always find myself happy later that I did not sell the coin as it is really special for one reason or another.
I've had plenty experience de-focusing - I know, it's hard to believe coming from a specialist! When I first started I only collected denarii of Vespasian, Titus as Augustus, and Domitian as Augustus. Next, I decided to expand to all Flavian denarii. Then came the decision a few years later to collect Flavian imperial silver. Five or so years after that Flavian provincial silver was added to the list. And just last year Flavian imperial and provincial bronze. I haven't regretted any of those choices. Whatever you decide to do, make sure you are happy with your focus, that's all that matters.