If I knew then what I know now

Based on all of your experience can you share some of the things you would do differently if you were just now starting out in ancient coins?

For example
"I would do quality over quantity this time around"

"I would focus on the ___________ coins specifically"

"I would completely avoid _________ coins"

I'm a newbie and have read a lot of your tips for beginners. I thought something like this would also help us newer enthusiasts gain further wisdom from the veterans.

 

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"I would focus on the type 1 $20 liberty Gold coins specifically"
"I would completely avoid detail coins"
"I would do quality over quantity this time around" No quality is better.
Sorry I just notice this wasn't for US coins

 

Since joining CoinTalk, I regret not holding on to all the Lincoln cents with cuds, offset obverses and reverses, woodies, and lamination errors to name a few I have seen and cashed going through bags of cents over the last 50 years for $0.03. I buy $50.00 face bags from 3 local coin shops that they buy from the public and I get first dibs on them, since I have bought from them for over 30 years. My best guess is the number of cents that slipped through my fingers is in the many hundreds, if not thousands.
I was looking for the key and semi-key dates, as well as UNC cents only, before seeing the error experts replies on the coins posted from participants.

 

I would ignore bulk uncleaned coins completely and focused more on quality versus quantity when it comes to common types when possible.

 

I agree with @red_spork - focus on quality over quantity. I bought some hoards consisting mostly of undifferentiated late roman bronze. The FEL TEMP REPARATIO type of Constantius II is over-represented with about 80 examples. Recently I have gone for quality coins. You may want to focus on a particular period of time, such as the 12 Caesars, the adoptive emperors, the 3rd century, etc. I am trying to collect an example from each emperor, though.

 

I would focus on a specific era, i.e. Roman Republican, Flavians, LRBs, etc. Get to know the coins well.

I would avoid bulk lots for cleaning unless you know the seller and know the wares. Not much of numismatic value ever comes out of these bulk lots.

Without a doubt, quality supersedes quanity; however, we all have our budgets. So buy the best you can afford and don't worry about what others are buying. I could never keep up with @AncientJoe so I don't try.

Best advice I ever received regarding Ancient coin collecting: Collect what pleases you!

 

Although not an Ancient's collector, I always have to say quality is better than quantity. I've also avoided buying "fillers" for my collections (i.e., poor quality coins to hold the "space" in the collection until a nice example can be found). You'll probably pay too much for the "filler" and then lose out again when you go to sell it to fund the upgrade. Don't get me wrong, I'd love to already have a complete collection and get to upgrade as I go along but I don't have the budget. Also important: READ as much as you can BEFORE you buy the coin. Learn from the experts and others' mistakes; it's cheaper than learning from your own.

 

I would determine your collecting interest and have a general sense of what you want your complete collection to look like. Determining your end goal will help you set a realistic budget and keep you on track.

For instance, suppose you want to collect a set (however you determine a set) and it consists of 40 different coins. You think a reasonable budget for the set is $10,000, you are looking around $250 per coin. This gives you a sense of what you can buy, and will help keep you focused. Once you do this, you can start to play the what ifs like; that common variety coin in xf for $1000 is out of your range and you can't buy it. That rare variety in f for $600 is the type of material you will end up with, are you ok with that? If the answer is still yes, then go ahead, if you really really want that xf, or you would not be happy with the fine, then you need to adjust your budget or goals.

Second piece of advice. For almost every coin, in almost every grade, there are a lot of ugly examples that I pass on. Ugly because the style is bad, the strike is off, the surfaces are poor, etc. The number of coins I will not buy outnumber the ones I will buy at least 10:1. This applies for fine sestertius up to xf tets. Don't jump on the first coin in your budget range that fits your goals. Research the coin you are interested in, look at lots of examples online and in person if possible. Have a discerning eye and only buy coins that are really nice. Note, nice does not mean high grade, or expensive, it means that is has some redeeming quality that makes it special to you.

For example, check out @Curtisimo Anonymous denarius write-up on the front page. It's a relatively inexpensive example of the coin in a lowish grade, but lots of people spend more on high grade coins of lower quality IMHO. The centering on the obverse is perfect, no cracks, the reverse off centering doesn't affect design elements, the toning is beautiful (probably better in hand), and best of all griffin head is fully present and identifiable.

:https://www.cointalk.com/threads/th...-the-first-denarius-and-its-influence.300387/

Now do a search for that variety, and I bet you will turn up more than 10:1 pieces that don't have as much going for them as his does. Lots are high grade, or nicely centered, or nice tone, but very few coins in general have all the factors at once like his does. That was the best lesson I learned, take my time and really be deliberate and selective with the coins I purchase. I pass on most of what is offered or comes up in auction.

 

I think this is definitely something collectors should think really hard about. Your collecting goals will determine whether fillers are OK and I have met many collectors who regret purchasing them and others who end up wishing they had down the road because they passed on the only example of a coin they want that they ever had a chance to buy.

My main collecting goal is comprehensivity within the types I collect, so as many types and varieties as possible. My goal lately has been to focus on the intersection of the questions "Can I afford a better example" and "Can I find a better example". If a coin might be the only example of a type I'll ever see, or if it is a rather pedestrian example of a rare type where a problem-free VF might be over $1,000(and thus, out of my reach) I would be inclined to take whatever example I find. On the other hand, if my main collection goal was not comprehensivity I would probably pass on many of the "filler" level coins and focus on better coins.

 

Exactly how I feel, and that is exactly the way I put together my collection of Roman coins starting 29 years ago.
No regrets whatsoever.
Nowadays I would not do it any differently. Collect what interests you.

 

Most recommend quality over quantity. For experienced collectors, I would agree, but not for beginners. You need to buy some coins to see what you enjoy owning. Don't buy lousy coins, but buy coins you like and are willing to learn about.

My advice for beginners is to not buy "I like it, except for ..." coins. A coin does not have to be high grade to like it and enjoy it for a long time. But, if the first time you see it you think "I like it except for the off-centering (corrosion, overcleaning, damaged eye, whatever)" I think you will not grow to enjoy the coin (no matter the price). Rather, the flaw that bothered you at first will bother you more and more. Buy coins you have reason to like without "except for".

 

Always, buy the best coin you can afford at the lowest price you can get.

 

I think most of the best advice has already been given, but for me I would simply have never sold or traded anything. Ever. There are so many types I wish I held on to. In some cases they are now out of my price range and in other cases some coins are just not available anywhere.

 

I would not worry so much about nailing down a particular interest. If you need to float around and learn some then focus on a specific area, so be it. I lingered around in US coins forever until I had a decade long break from collecting. Then I realized that with prices being what they were I could never probably do a collection that I really liked for my budget. Then I worked more in foreign stuff. I still have some ongoing collections in foreign, but as material either dried up or became prohibitively expensive, I found myself looking at ancients.

As it turns out, I didn't know a thing about ancients. But I have many friendly people on here. Turns out I really needed to immerse myself in ancients and kind of buy all over the place to learn the field enough to decide on what I wanted to focus on after all. As it turns out, I still like to have a wide variety of stuff to chose from that all technically still fits into my "declared" collecting goals. I like late Roman bronzes for the mintmark varieties amongst otherwise boring mass produced designs. So if I am at a show and all the one ancient dealer has is a pile of cheap late Roman bronzes of Constantine the Great, I can still look for varieties that I do not have and come out a winner and with a sense of satisfaction at having filled some spaces. If I am lucky enough to be at a show where there is a large selection, I try to add some more rare emperors to my one per emperor set. If the only examples of rare stuff are too expensive then I try to fill out my denarius collections for Septimius Severus and Julia Domna. All of these things bring me immense amounts of joy.

Along the way, I have been lucky to meet some nice people who have guided me to the right places to learn more and be a better collector. I think that is the most important piece of advice that I have for you: ask for help and follow the advice you are given. Find the free versions online of expensive ancient reference books. Use Wildwinds and these forums. Keep careful records which helps you solidify that information about prices/rarity/references/good sellers in your head.

And most of all, learn, enjoy and share what you find.

 

This. Selling a few rarities over the years has been my biggest regret. I've managed to replace most of them, but the ones I haven't are greatly missed.

 

I really regret passing on some fantastic coins over the years because they seemed overpriced at the time... whereas I honestly have never regretted taking a deep breath and pulling the trigger on something very expensive and very special.

 

Like Volodya, I really regret passing on some special pieces I have not seen again.

Still hoping another will come along.

 

It is possible to regret passing on a special piece, but coins cost money--usually in limited supply-- and the money not spent can be used to buy another coin, or several other coins. We often feel the negative (coin not bought) more than the corresponding positive (coins bought instead). Daniel Kahneman got a Nobel Prize in economics for work noting this type of economic behavior (negatives valued more than positives) and other behaviors that seem "not rational".

 

I would have (and currently am) focusing on nicer pieces with an Archaic and Classical Greek emphasis. I'll be selling mostly everything else that doesn't apply.

 

My advice might be a bit idiosyncratic. I started collecting in 2004 and was fairly avid through 2007. Then I went through a 10-year lull. Maybe bought 1-2 coins per year. I was still casually interested, just not avid or serious. Then I jumped back in late in 2016 and have been making up for lost time.

I wish I had more steadily collected. Even if I had collected only 10 coins a year for that fallow period, my collection would have 100 coins more than it does now. I’m not a quantity guy, but I think I missed out on a lot of collecting pleasure.

I wish I could tell myself 10 years ago that “slow and steady wins the race.” Building a discriminating collection steadily over many years is probably better than getting coin fever and running hot and cold.

My current approach is to set a monthly budget and try to make at least one purchase a month. So I might make one purchase where someone else makes a dozen. But that's all I can afford, so I try to learn as much as I can about the "coin of the month." It's been satisfying through 2017 and I hope that satisfaction continues.