I did it! I finished my ancient collection! One full page for ancient Greek coins, and one full page for the Roman Republic and Empire. Just joking.... I will never be finished. But this is a milestone - I have achieved my initial goal for my ancient coins. I guess now I need to decide whether I continue to expand (e.g. split the Republic from Empire, and then also create a Western Roman Empire and an Eastern Roman Empire) or start upgrading (or do both...). One thing I've realised is that I don't actually like bronze coins all that much. The eye appeal of silver is what excites me. So I will not be buying bronzes going forward, unless the patina makes the coin absolutely pop (like on the Claudius II Antoninianus below). Anyway, here are some photos of my complete collection (which unfortunately turned out very yellow).
Wonderful collection and display! I actually prefer bronze over silver - I like how the patina adds its own character to a bronze coin. But we all see things differently and I appreciate all points of view.
great collection, thanks for sharing! I think you have the anchor pointed the correct way for the eastern Mediterranean. I like that you have added some history with the coins.
Thanks for the encouragement on the presentation guys, I like where I've landed with it, and it includes suggestions I received on CT
Nice collection. 20 coins is a pretty decent place to stop and reevaluate your direction. I could easily see you going in a number of directions: further specializing, broadening focus for more of an overview (e.g. adding Byzantine, Chinese, Indian, Judean, etc.), upgrading what you have (I see a couple of opportunities that wouldn’t be insanely expensive). Whichever way you go, you’ve got a solid group to base things on.
Sweet, that is a nice milestone. I have the same set-up as you, except I'm now working on filling up page #14.
I don't think I will ever be done until I get Regalianus and Uranius Antonius and an Antinous. But I probably won't, hehe Congrats on achieving the milestone!!!
Thanks @Paul M., I note that I already have Eastern Roman Empire/Byzantine, but I don't consider them part of my ancients collection because all the coins I have are after 500 AD (they start at Maurice Tiberius). But you're right, I could easily expand via another page of Eastern Roman Empire coins, between 395 AD and 500 AD for example, and then another page exclusively Western Roman Empire between 395 AD and 476 AD. In terms of the Greek coins, I'd love to swap out my Ptolemaic Hemiobol for a Ptolemaic Tetradrachm, and the Drachma for.... well, almost anything else It was one of my first ancients and I don't like it all that much, partly because it's not really Greek and not really Roman, and partly because there has been a question mark in my mind regarding its authenticity for some time.
