Beginning collectors may be concerned about what to collect, reference works, and rarity. Answers from the members of this forum usually resemble "Collect whatever interests you," and "Don't worry too much about rarity." I am a big fan of reference works because your knowledge informs what you like. Relevant to this, long ago I wrote for Coin World an editorial. It is reproduced here, with two coins illustrated that were not illustrated in the original editorial. http://esty.ancients.info/numis/CoinCollecting.html
"One cost $12 and the other $330. Assuming I am not crazy, there must be something in my mind that made the one so much more valuable than the other." My collection has so many examples of this but in most cases I think it is too much to assume that I am not crazy. I realize in the long run that I pay way too much for some coins and way too little for others. If I were to try to sell them, I would not only have to find another person equally crazy but another person crazy in the same way I am. There is no way I would pay $330 for the coin here discussed but I recently paid $340 for a coin I'll bet no more than two people here could separate from a pile of $34 coins. This is a case of knowledge not only informing me what I want but of equally well making me crazy if we use throwing money around a measure of that condition. At least when we throw money based on information, it is not randomly throwing. Does that make me less crazy?
I understand that some people focus on the accumulation of wealth and see scarce coins as a suitable investment, others are more interested in their rarity and collect based on that factor. Personally though, i have no interest in the monetary value of coins and neither their scarcity. For me coins give a tangible connection to the period in history they were minted and therein lies the fascination. They are almost small time machines that with a little bit of imagination can transport you back to their origins. Reading pages of text concerning one or the other emperors is always interesting but having a coin from that emperor in the one hand while reading of the emperor only magnifies and intensifies the pleasure of reading history.
I'm sitting on a plane reading Alberto Angelo's A Day in the Life of Rome. More coin history books are in the suitcase. My hobby-related book tastes have shifted from dry attribution catalogs to books with richer details and interesting stories. It has added a very enjoyable dimension to my newest hobby.
Collecting ancient coins really is a hobby of the mind. Going from totally confused three years ago to now knowing enough to think hey, I really like this hobby.
My favorite college professor said, "It is more fun to know than not to know." It turns out that was the single most important thing I got out of those four years.
