It was April 17, 2011 when I bought my first two ancient coins at the Ft. Lauderdale coin club monthly show, and my collecting life was changed forever. At the time I was only collecting US coins, but had recently become very interested in Roman history, and I remember telling myself "probably unlikely I'll find them, but I'll try to keep an eye out for any affordable ancient coins" (like some of you I had assumed they were all expensive!). I ended up spending only $25 on the Gallienus and Constantine II below. My collection has grown and diversified since then, welcoming Greek, Islamic, Byzantine, Germanic, medieval, even a couple of Chinese coins, and of course more Roman coins. (some highlights) Ancients collecting has also played a major role in my love of reading and learning about ancient history. Knowing the history and events behind the coins I acquire and the various rulers, objects, animals, and mythology they depict, makes them much more than just coins in my eyes; they are also fascinating, invaluable windows into human history and the lives and events that shaped it. I also think about the ordinary people back then that handled these coins and how life was like for them, and that, apart from the time periods and cultures they lived in, they were people just like me and you: with lives, interests, feelings, goals, hopes, and dreams. Thanks for taking the time to celebrate my decennalia of ancient coins collecting! Feel free to post any coins you want, and/or any stories or insights about ancients collecting and what it means for you!
Congrats to your milestone, @ValiantKnight . Great coins in your collection. I especially like your Seleucid tetradrachm.
Congrats on 10 years @ValiantKnight you have certainly picked up some wonderful coins. That Ptolemy tetradrachm is a real lovely example.
That’s an impressive highlight reel. Congrats on 10 years. I have been collecting longer, but I don’t think my highlights are as impressive. Good eye.
Congrats ValiantKnight, hopefully to another 10 years of collecting ancients. And I think you need to change your avatar with one of the ancient coins you show.
Congratulations, @ValiantKnight! I wish you many more years of happy collecting. Those are wonderful coins. I've been collecting ancient coins myself for either 3 1/2 years (consistently and almost exclusively), or 35 years (occasionally, i.e. less than once per year, until 3 1/2 years ago), or 58 years (since I bought my very first few LRBs for about 25 cents each at the local coin shop as a child). Depending on how one counts!
It’s tempting and I’ve certainly thought about it in the past . But ultimately I don’t mind continuing to show my pride for my heritage Perhaps later on I’ll change it, but not now. Thanks everyone for the comments and likes!
Great post @ValiantKnight — My first ancient coin purchase was not a single coin, but a boxed collection. I saw the ad in the back of a Biblical Archeology magazine. I wasn’t shopping for coins at the time and was not a collector. I was shopping for holy relics.
With all the awesome coins and knowledge about them that you post, I would have assumed you’ve been collecting full-time for all those 58 years! Even though I’ve only collected ancients for 10 years, all my life I’ve been intrigued/fascinated by old and historical objects (fossils, old US coins, etc.). In addition to coins, I also have a small fossil collection, and an even smaller ancient artifact collection (just a couple of cheap bronze rings, handles, etc., but I also recently bought an artifact that’s a little on the pricier side, which I will share on the forum soon).
Nice collection. I have only collected ancients for about 2 years. But, I only collect uncleaned coins that I can't identify up front. Then I spend the time needed to clean, identify and put in my album. Very nice. Show more when you get time.
Many congrats VK!! Here's a late Roman Vota for you (Valentinian II, Antioch AE4): I still need to take a photo of the baby brother of your awesome Justinian Rome follis (thank you again for making it available to me!), but here is the lovely Secret Santa Republican I got from you in my first year on CT, and which I treasure (look at those fabulous horses!): Censorinus et al. denarius (82 BCE), Crawford 360/1b With our several overlapping interests it's great to have met you through this board!
