How do you "categorize" your Ancient Coins?

Interesting thread. Because my collection isn't very large, I keep mine in those plastic "Coin Albums" arranged by type - here are photos of my "Rome Big Bronze Empresses" album.

I keep these albums stacked by my bedside with my actual books where I can do some bedside coin "reading" at night.

 

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My way is much like TIF's but I suggest selecting a book you own for each major group and following that order figuring out where a coin would be if it were in the book even if it is not (and everyone will get a coin not in a book at some point. For many of mine, I use Sear. I hate the fact that Sear Greek separated Archaic coins from the later Classical ones. I also ignore the Sear Greek listings for coins like Parthian for which I use a different book for the order (there are several choices but Sellwood and Sunrise work. Unfortunately, there are updates to most books after a short while including some that change the order. We will each decide whether we reorganize each section every time someone moves a Parthian or not.

I do not key on RIC because of the way they interlace joint rulers. In some places in the late Roman volume there are four consecutive numbers with four different rulers. I prefer all my Diocletian listings together and all of my Maximianus following. Call me simple minded. I could be talked into Cohen order or even Frank Robinson alphabetical (Roman Provincials are listed following the Imperials of the same name) but Greek by alphabet stresses my brain more than the geographic method.

Here is a call for service from some of you our there that are smarter and more organized than I. Write up a simple plan for all ancients that specifies all major categories and has a few "other Asian" type catch alls that would say things like "Republican, Follow Crawford". The first draft of this would allow others to point out problem areas but could lead to a decent order

OR

Just follow the order used by CNG auctions. They have given it some thought.

 

Strictly date. I intermingle all the metals - gold silver and struck bronze - in each tray so as to keep date order. Many collectors don't - they typically file silver separately in trays with smaller openings. That in practical terms means I need to use 40-slot Abafils that are large enough for hefty 2 ounce struck bronzes. The only exception is my aes grave are separate because of the need for deep trays, and within the aes grave, the largest asses are separate again due their huge dimensions. The smaller asses including the prow types Cr.35,36 etc. all fit in 15-slot deep Abafils, so I keep to date order except for five coins that don't fit (one aes signatum bar and my four largest asses).

 

All of my metals are mixed though there is a pecking order of gold followed by silver then aes if the coins share the same date. Thus my collection of the coins of Antoninius Pius would be gold then silver then aes. The silver and aes coins would then be organized chronologically.

 

JULIO-CLAUDIAN DYNASTY 27 BC - 69 AD



* A JULIUS CAESAR

* AA AUGUSTUS AUGUSTUS 27 BC - 14 AD

* AAW LIVIA WIFE b. 58 BC m. 38 BC

* AASL AGRIPPA SON-IN-LAW b. 63 BC

AASLD JULIA DAUGHTER

* AASLS CAIUS & LUCIUS CAESARS SONS

AASLSP AGRIPPA POSTUMUS SON OF AGRIPPA


* AB TIBERIUS AUGUSTUS 14 - 37 AD

ABS DRUSUS SON

ABSS TIBERIUS JR. SON OF DRUSUS

ABB NERO CLAUDIUS NERO BROTHER d. 37 AD

ABBW ANTONIA WIFE OF BROTHER d. 37 AD

* ABBS GERMANICUS ELDER SON OF BROTHER

ABBSW AGRIPPINA SENIOR WIFE OF BROTHER d. 33 AD

ABBSS NERO & DRUSUS CAESARS SONS OF BROTHER


* AC CALIGULA AUGUSTUS 37 - 41 AD

ACW CAESONIA FOURTH WIFE


* AD CLAUDIUS AUGUSTUS 41 - 54 AD

ADW MESSALINA THIRD WIFE

ADS BRITTANICUS SON

ADSW AGRIPPINA JUNIOR WIFE d. 59 AD


* AE NERO AUGUSTUS 54 - 68 AD

* AEW OCTAVIA FIRST WIFE

AEWA POPPAEA SECOND WIFE

AED CLAUDIA DAUGHTER

AEWD STATILIA MESSALINA THIRD WIFE


AF CLODIUS MACER AUGUSTUS 68 AD


* AG GALBA AUGUSTUS 68 - 69 AD

AGCW CIVIL WARS 68 - 69 AD


* AH OTHO AUGUSTUS 69 AD


* AI VITELLIUS AUGUSTUS 69 AD

AIF LUCIUS VITELLIUS FATHER

AIC VITELLIUS & HIS CHILDREN

My Roman Imperial coins are categorized by a
alphabetical number, when i get another coin by Emperor, will add an A, B, etc. also I will add a number behind the Emperors number so I can keep track of where I bought the coin and other pertinent information.
Julio Claudian AA - AIC
Flavian Dynasty BA - BCAQ
Adoptive Emperors CA - CK
Severan Dynasty DA - DGM
Age of Military Anarchy EA - FH
Secessionist Empire GA - IB
Jovian & Herculian Dynasties And House of Constantine JA - JV
House of Valentinian & Theodosian Dynasty KA - KV
Final Collapse of Western Empire LA - LI
House Of Leo MA - MF

Also have a categorize system for Greek, Judean, Byzantine.

 

I have 63 coins, with at the moment 2 offered for sale. I have no problems yet of categorizing, it is very easy with the amount of coins i have. I have two display trays which can hold 20 coins and a few lose ones. The coins that are not in the displays are lose laid down in my cabinet. Of the 6 planks, i am allowed to have one completely for my coins. The coins are displayed by date, and the 5 Hadrian travel coins are laid down together.
I keep the coins with all the info in excel and give them numbers, organized by date of the ruler and I group them by the usual time periods, in sheets in excel: so imperatorial & 12 Caesars, adoptive, severan, constatine. I don't have coins of other periods (perhaps probus, but i put that one with constatine, how convenient), so that's easy. So i have my 'oldest' coin, of Sextus Pompey, in the Imp&12C period, so i gave that no. 1. When i have more coins of the same ruler, like augustus, the first coin i bought is the first numer (in this case, no. 5). The next 5a, then 5b. Well, at least that is the system now, because when i had fewer coins, i just kept numbering. So there is also augustus no. 6, and claudius no. 10 and 11. When i think of it, it makes no sense at all... This is just silly. Ok, now i have to work on a new system......

 

Since computers like to alphabetize things, I suggest making things easy on them. Rather than starting with 1, start with R001001.0000 so at a later date when you discover you accidentally became a specialist in something you can have a lot of sub groups and even multiples of the same coin. Today, you think you know what you will be up to in 2050 and I once thought my collection would fit in a smaller box, too. If you are right, nothing is lost by having a few unused numbers. Below is a photo of my newly purchased rd0052nt3485.

'rd' section is my code for Pertinax, Didius family, Pescennius and Clodius Albinus. I doubt I will ever run out of numbers for that group but re, rf, rg, rh, ri and rj are all Septimius broken into groups that made sense to me when I was buying every coin of his I could find in the 1990's. I change the 'nt' code when I make a major change to my lighting or camera equipment so I can tell which coins were recently reshot. Whatever the subject, photographers tend to have more photos on their drives than they can find easily. It is always easier to have too many available numbers than to have to add the 1000th coin to a three digit system.

My system fits me. Your system needs to fit you for many tomorrows.