Am I missing anything critical?

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I keep all previous tags, envelopes, etc. as well. I really enjoy old hand written tags and such actually. I don't worry too much about trying to hide what I paid though. When I sell I generally try to sell coins at what I think is a fair price, which is usually whatever I paid, but sometimes more or sometimes less, and I keep my tags and all previous tags with coins when I sell them so buyers know exactly what I paid and where I got the coin. I could try to hide it but I'm not in it to make money. I'm just here to build a collection I like and occasionally help others build theirs when I can.

 

My bane is Gentleman Jack

 

This is my system as well, with several different binders of varying themes. Trays are beautiful of course, but I simply don't have room for them. I've been telling my wife we need to buy a new house with an extra room for my coining, and surprisingly she agrees. It may have something to do with the thousand coins in the bedroom.

 

This thread has been amazing. The amount of help I've gotten is overwhelming (in a very good way).

One quick question though...why is Alexander so oval? I hadn't noticed it as much until I put the images side by side. How do I even go about using a caliper on a coin like this?

 

I think typically you measure the widest point.

 

The ancients discovered that if the stationary, or anvil die was somewhat concave, the obverse of the coins struck up better, which is an important consideration on these types since the relief is so high. Likewise, if the movable, or striking die was slightly concave, the metal would be pushed better into the anvil die.

 

Be VERY suspicious of any ancients that are perfectly round. Quite often (but not always) they are fakes.

 

The anceint coins were not struck with any type of collar die. If the difference is great, then I note both the min & the max. If the difference is not great, then I list an average of the two measurements. Perhaps someone else will have a more precise answer for you.

 

In response to the original post, lose the gloves. Cotton gloves have no grip, making it much, much more likely to drop the coin. Hold the piece by the edge or place it carefully in the palm of your hand.

 

Hey...on the subject of dropping coins..........

Always try to handle ancient coins carefully by the edge OVER SOMETHING SOFT.
If when you drop one, you will ge greatful that there was something soft below it.

Also, some ancient metal can be extremely brittle and may actually shatter if dropped onto a hard surface.

 

Thanks for the replies. I figured it had something to do with the way these were struck, but I wasn't sure of the exact process used. I knew obviously that it must involve hammers and dies, but the whole anvil thing and concave dies and lack of collars, that I had no idea of. I'm glad to know a little more about how my Alexander was minted nearly 2300 years ago.

 

Neighborly is OK but Neighbors is better with only 9 digits. Zeros are represented by any letter not in the code word making it a lot less obvious which number is the zero and making it possible to make words for many prices which even makes it harder to read for those not aware of the code word. For example HUMP is $50.00 because UMP are all zeros. I keep all codes at 4 digits by designating one letter as 'hundred'. Lets use Y. That makes HYES $529. You lose cents on expensive coins so $100.98 codes as $101. Buying expensive coins? Pick to keep a letter that means 'thousand' but you will have to round to $10 or even $100 to keep four digits. Using Z as thousand you could have $1250 as NZEH or not using Z as NEYH. Since I don't buy expensive coins, I do not have a letter for the purpose. When you pay a quarter million for that EID MAR,you may need code EHAZ. I have used this system with a different word for 30 years now and it is easy once you memorize your word.

 

The keys to ultimate coin collecting:

A nice safe place to rest your coins:



A sweet method of sorting and displaying your cool coins ...



some operating expenses ...



an efficient location to conduct your coin-business ...



coin-support at home from your loved ones ...



Equals = nuthin' but coin-net!!

 

Steve, that is a remarkably organized battlestation you have there. Not at all what I was expecting from you!

 

I take it the exercise bike is used to generate the electricity used to power the computer?

 

unfortunately ... there has been a bit of a power-outage at the computer work-out station lately (*sigh*)

Big Lazy Steve

 

Ladies and gentlemen, my new labeling system. Number on top right is my personal catalog number where I can go and find out more information on the coin, such as place of purchase, date of purchase, price paid, etc.

Good start? I'm sure it will get better as I put more coins into the album and figure out changes that may need to be made to labels and catalog, but at least I finally have a system in place to get started.

This is hard work compared to the US coins where you just buy a slab and put it in a slab holder and forget about it, but I've had more fun today doing the labels and putting a catalog system in place than I ever had collecting slabs.

 

Am I missing anything critical?

Yes, patience. Slow down. Or 6 months from now you will find yourself with coins that make you scratch your head and say "why?"

 

42 is quite wise ... although you should be very happy with your new "system", you should definitely take a few secs to determine whether you know what your smartest next move might be ...

You've got a sweet Greek classic and a very cool A-Pius example (ummm hey, those sounds like my coin-interests!!?)



... just ribbin' ya ...

Again, before you do what I did => I ran randomly throughout the ancient coin-streets with scissors in my hands, not knowing what coins were eventually going to be my ultimate coin avenues (man, I was totally out of control and having a lot of fun!!)

... hey, wait a minute? ... I'm still doing that!!

=> keep-up the awesome and enthusiastic coin-work, Sallent (hopefully you don't run out of coin-cash before you figure-out your ultimate coin-goals)