How do you choose what to purchase?

Thought I'd start a thread on strategies we use to choose what we buy and don't buy.

Mine has progressed since I started (which was last year).

Stage 1: Buy every Roman emperor and Greek city state possible.
Stage 2: Upon realizing how impossible that was, make a list of the most interesting ones.
Stage 3: When I started to specialize in my story of "Philip II, Alexander III, and the Age of the Diadochi" I researched coins that I felt help tell this story. In order to not go crazy, I imposed some rules:

• Should be coins attributed to specific people or groups of people, not as much cities.
• Cities are allowed if they either have significant strategic impact on the story, or if they depict an individual during that person's lifetime.
• Ideally, coins should be attributable to when that person was alive. There are exceptions: my Amastris stater is posthumous because I got it at a great price, or it's not possible to attribute a coin to that exact time (Chandragupta Maurya).
• Personal issues are preferred to "In the Names and Types" issues. For example, Kassander, Alexarchos, and Pumiathon minted both Alexanders and their own bronze coins. The bronze coins are preferred.
• The person must have either directly dealt with Philip II and/or Alexander III, or must have directly dealt with more than one of the principle actors after the death of Alexander III (Seleukos I Nikator, Ptolemy I Soter, Antipater/Kassander, Antigonos I Monophthalmos/Demetrios I Poliorketes, Lysimachos)
• Exceptions are possible if the coinage is remarkable (Patraos, Alexarchos, Mytilene with both Philip II + Alexander III) and tells an interesting aspect of the story during the same time period.

My rule is I'm only allowed to buy coins from this list. Additionally, coins are divided into three groups:

• Common - if I don't win this coin at auction, I'll see it again soon
• Rare - I'll see the coin again, but it may take 6 months to a year
• Super-rare - it could be a few years before I'll have a chance at this coin again, if ever

Only on special occasions (birthday for example) am I allowed to go for common coins. For rare coins, I'm allowed to bid but how aggressive I am depends on how much I've spent recently. For super-rare coins, I'm always aggressive.

When I first made the list, I had 9 coins. I soon expanded it to 18 and felt there couldn't possibly be more. I now own 53 coins in the story, covering 57 different people + places. There are 16 remaining on my list, but it's been almost a week since I added one.

Here are a few from the collection.

Lysimachos, 321-281 v. Chr. Tetradrachme 287/281 v. Chr., Perinth. Kopf des vergöttlichten Alexander / Athena mit Nike-Statuette auf Cippus und Schild, Beiz. Monogramm und 2 gegenläufige Pferdeprotomen. Thompson in Festschr. Robinson (1968), -, vgl. 256 HGC 1750q; vgl. Auktion Naumann 63, 566 (stgl.) Thompson, Armenak-Hoard (=ANS MN 31, 198 - Müller, Lysimachus - Arnold-Biucchi in Festschr. Price (1998) - 17.08 g. Feine Tönung, Unpublizierte Variante (?) Kleiner Randfehler im Avers
Ex Dr Busso Peus


Macedonian Kingdom, Philip II AR Tetradrachm. Pella mint, ca 354-349 BC.
Laureate head of Zeus right / ΦIΛΛIΠOY, Philip II, diademed & in kausia, on horseback left, raising right hand
22-24 mm., 13.68g.,
Ex N&N Collection


Tetradrachm (Silver, 26 mm, 17.08 g, 8 h), Susa, circa 296/5-281. Laureate head of Zeus to right. Rev. BAΣIΛEΩΣ / ΣEΛEΥKOΥ Athena, brandishing spear overhead in her right hand and holding shield in her left, standing right in quadriga of elephants moving to right; above to right, spearhead; before elephants, monogram of MΩ. SC 177.2.
Ex Leu


EL Hecté 332 BCE
Mytilène
10,5 mm 12 h. 2,57 g.
Ex CGB


PAPHLAGONIA, Amastris. Circa 285-250 BC. AR Stater (23mm, 8.88 g, 12h). Head of Mên right, wearing Phrygian cap decorated with laurel branch and star / Aphrodite seated left, holding in extended right hand Nike, who crowns her with wreath, and cradling lotus-tipped scepter in left arm; rose to left. Callataÿ, Premier, Group 2, 43 (D17/R21 – this coin); RG 5; HGC 7, 356.
Ex Sigmund Collection.
Ex CNG 1999
Ex CNG 2021

Please share your strategies for collecting!

 

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Do I like it, can I afford it.

 

Does it catch my eye, is it going cheaper than the going rate, do I not have anything else I'm saving up for at the time instead, are my bills paid for the month, and do I have food for the month?

If yes to the above, we have a new purchase.

 

I collect stories mainly more than bits of metal. If I like the story, if it reminds me of an aspect of history I wish to remember, etc. OTOH, whatever I dang well please, boredom, etc. My rule of thumb in life I use is as long as a man has taken care of his family, (nice house, good car, plenty for food, clothes, etc), then I never question what he spends the rest of his money on. I do all of that, and save about 35% of my paycheck per year, so whatever is left over I have no problem wasting on coins.

 

At the moment I'm immersed in studying Celtic history and numismatics. I've acquired only one coin for my Celtic set, but I'm currently reading Berhardt Maier's densely detailed The Celts, in addition to watching the BBC documentary. I have de Jersey's Coinage in Iron Age Armorica, which is very informative, and I've ordered Daphne Nash's Coins of the Celtic World. I've also ordered the catalog of Sotheby's 1969 sale of the Paeonian Hoard, which is purported to record a number 3rd century BC Danubian imitations.

I don't necessarily buy the book before the coin, but I do buy a lot of books with it. I need a story also - the story of the culture from which the coin came.

 

For me, I almost exclusively collect antoniniani, potin tets, and LARGE provincial bronzes.

My criteria:
a) is it affordable for my current life situation
b) is it a "good deal" - ie, cheaper than usual
c) do i like it

if yes, then by all means.

I really like large coins. If its big, and the state of preservation is reasonable, then it's a buy.

The grade on this coin is not very high, but its a huge 32mm so I'll take it.

 

That is a very good strategy. @kirispupis . You have clear goals in your collection. But I mainly use the one mentioned by @Pishpash .

Usually my purchases go with these rules
- Roman Imperial - they need to be from an emperor/empress I like and I know I can afford. It is useless to want an imperial coin from Tranquilina. Or, random example, Didius Julianus, although they tend to be somehow affordable in low grades - but do I want a coin in a very low grade, especially if they are expensive?
I got myself a low grade Julia Titi because she's not common and I'm OK-ish with paying 120 EUR. But I wouldn't be with 600 EUR for a very worn coin.
Also I want to avoid the "standard" reverses with somebody standing or seated, holding something in hand. Of course this eliminates 90% of the coins (this doesn't mean that I ignore the coins with "standard" reverses) but I am trying to get coins as "original" in design as possible
- Roman Provincial - coins from cities I don't already have. I am not interested in collecting a city only. Same rule as before - interesting reverses if possible.
- Greek - as many cities as possible. And iconic coins, such as the Aspendos stater from my avatar. Or the Pontos Amisos with Perseus. Or Thasos with the satyr kneeling, the kind of coins that a collector will recognize instantly

I do not have a subarea that makes me want to specialize on it. So I prefer to have a large pool of choices.
Here is an example of a coin that follows my rules, although I prefer slightly better condition (but I do not consider this coin garbage)

A ruler I am interested in. A non standard reverse. And of course, a decent price, that I am comfortable to pay.

 

I see something on here and start to see if I can find it on-line... 1) Oooo...I can't afford that or 2) lemme order it. Otherwise, I see something in a shop that catches my eye and I can afford it.

 

My collecting priorities have focused over the past 40 years or so on trade coinage, that is, coins that have been accepted, on a large scale, across countries, kingdoms and regions. This interest began with collecting Spanish colonial and mainland 8 and 4 reales coins, both milled and hammer struck. For ancients, the focus has been on Athens and her owls, both Athenian and imitative.

A secondary priority has been on individual coins that have artistic and historical import. For artistic coins, the focus has been on the tetradrachms of Syracuse, when I can afford them. For coins of historical significance, the Roman sestertii and Roman provincial coinage are a favorite of mine, with the many interesting combinations of emperors and empresses with a variety of reverse themes from a number of interesting cities (provincial coinage). The imperial series of sestertii are hard to beat in the respect.

Edit: I don't want to give the impression that I limit the term "artistic" to the coinage of Syracuse, whose merits are undisputable. I find even crudely produced coins often have their own artistic merit.

Minimalist art, 2,100 years ago:



A portrait with a modernist touch:

 

My collection focuses on the general Roman/Greek era, but also the much more niche South Indian Tamil kingdoms.
With European coins, I mostly collect Imperial Rome, I don't have any particular emperors in mind, except I wanted a coin with a bust of Julius Caesar (doesn't matter if lifetime or posthumous) and I got one extremely cheap this year itself. Now I'm looking to upgrade my worn adoptive era coins to better ones.
Although I have a new itch for some early Roman Alexandrian tetradrachms.

However with the South Indian coins, they are much more harder to come by than the Northern counterparts, but I find this area of numismatics to be really underrated, given kingdoms like Pandyas and Cholas existed since the time of Alexander III to the time of Renaissance. Almost every coin I have in this section was bought unintentionally, meaning I had to get it when I see one, and it doesn't help when most of the coins are also misattributed!

But with any coins, my criteria is, does it interest me, does it look good? and last but not least, does it give the bang for the buck!

 

At this point I have three primary prerequisites: (1) a reverse that interests and appeals to me, and isn't just "someone standing there"; (2) what I consider nice enough condition and an attractive enough design overall for me to find the coin visually appealing (and I certainly have different standards for different types; for example I'll buy a Roman Alexandrian billon or bronze coin in considerably lesser condition than an Imperial silver); and (3) I can afford the coin without spending so much that I'll feel terribly guilty buying any more coins at all for the next couple of months.

In the 4 1/2 years or so that I've been more or less actively collecting ancient coins (after 30 years of collecting British coins and historical medals) -- my total right now happens to be exactly 300 ancient coins-- I've generally shifted from Roman Imperial denarii and antoninianii (originally one for each emperor or empress or other royal family member), with a few bronzes sprinkled in and also a handful of Greek coins, to adding additional coins I liked for some individual emperors rather than continuing with accumulating different emperors for their own sake, to adding some LRBs and siliquae, to adding some Roman Provincials and to the beginning of my Roman Republican collection, to a somewhat greater interest in Roman Alexandrian coins, especially as Republican coins have become more expensive just in the last couple of years. And to my first two ancient gold coins in the last year. I still like every one of those categories, though. It isn't as if I've abandoned any of them completely.

I certainly have no grand plan. I imagine that I'll keep going where my interests and my finances take me in the future..

 

I'm pretty in line with you @kirispupis
It has ebbed flowed and changed again for me.
I do my best to decide what fits my needs. Is the coin dope to me?
Much like with my love life, I was just filling holes early on. Getting what I could. Now, it's what is beautiful to me? What sings to my eyes and mind? And does it add to my perception of my collection?
Certainly the selection of coins you've shown fit all the criteria. Those are some dope coins!
Here are some dope coins of mine that I'd gladly buy again:

 

This is my hobby.

No rules.

Follow my passion.


NEXT!

 

My collection, started in early 2019, is mostly the result of:
- is it art to me?
- **OR** even if somewhat ugly, is it historically important to me?
- the I decide if I'll go to the mat for it or do a lower bid and be OK if I lose
(and all that mostly has to do with how often I have seen such a coin, in such a condition, in any auctions)

And, of course, if it is BOTH beautiful AND historically important, then I consider how much less food my dogs, cats, and I can deal with (LOL!).

For reasons unknown to me, I have never been attracted to "completing sets" nor have I been attracted to getting a specific themed collection, or specific mints, or emperors, or whatever. It is primarily about art to me, to be honest. Thinking that each was made by hand is a major draw for me.

But looking over what I have, clearly the Greek coins win most of my money. And I really have a hard time passing up a fine Syracuse tetradrachm. But I do have a few special Roman coins to be sure.

 

Love this thread and the responses so far.

To go back to another previous thread on how collections evolve, my collection started with an LRB when I was 12 and I was hooked. That evolved into collecting Roman denarii and antoninianii but also expanded into medieval European and ancient Greek coins as I explored other areas. I began to consolidate into a few areas:

• My Roman collection of primarily denarii, antoninianii and LRBs (although I also have a few asses, dupondii and sestertii, as well as some Roman Republican, including a few aes rude and aes formatum that I found myself long ago)
• A Greek Magna Graecian collection consisting primarily of sub-collections of Metapontum and Tarentum, but also Messapian coinages of Brundisium, Hyria/Orra, Graxa, Samadi, and Uxentum. I have also begun a sub-collection of medieval Apulian coinage from Brindisi and Bari
• A collection of the coinage of East Friesland (Ostfriesland) from the early mediaeval period (the earliest Frisian coins were minted in the 6th/7th centuries but mints like Emden and Jever began minting around 1000 AD) into the Prussian period

The Messapian and Ostfrisian themes were easy to pick out because that's where my ancestry comes from, so it is easy to passionately collect in these areas. That doesn't mean that I am restricted to collecting just these coins though - over time, I have branched out to get a few coins of Alexander the Great, or those great Knossos bronze issues from the Roman period, or a few of Medieval England (I lived there in my formative years), or a Crusader coins like those silvers of Bohemond III, or... well, you get the drift.

But back to how I choose what to buy. The coin has to be attractive, it has to have some historical significance, and it has to be affordable (although the coins I can afford now are better than those when I was younger ). On the Roman side, I am trying to build out the main emperors but have a fondness for the adoptive ones, especially my avatar Hadrian. On the Greek side, I have occasionally branched out into interesting types - for example, I got myself a nice example of the Athenian owl Tetradrachm given its current affordability due to the recent Turkish hoard purported to be from the "Ten Thousand" campaigns.

Apologies for the long, drawn-out explanation... I guess it just goes to prove the point which continues to be made in all of these discussions, which is to let your collection take it to wherever you want it to go. There are no rules except the ones you choose to follow. Let your passion guide you!

 

1) See large lot
2) Recognize something good in said lot
3) Buy it with dreams of flipping and playing "red paperclip" to owning a dream coin or financing the next Disney vacation
4) Get the coin in hand
5)

This strategy has accounted for essentially my entire 200-coin Greek collection, my "Roman collection addendum" binder (about 15 sheets X 20 slots, mostly full), and probably half of my "eastern" binder as well.

For my Roman collection, I sadly hit the ceiling where very few <$1,000 rulers remain, so I've decided for now to double back and flesh out the areas that interest me, namely the Nerva-Antonine and early Crisis eras. Some rulers simply can't be represented in a "one each" manner, so I let myself expand in that direction. One rule that's been in place since the beginning is that any Roman coin usually has to have an excellent portrait.

For my Indo-Sassanian collection, I'll buy it if it either 1) is a type I don't have yet, or don't have many, 2) shows something that is usually out of sight on the die, or else an interesting or unusual style, or 3) if it's clearly part of a hoard, I buy as many as I can afford.

 

Because I like travelling to where ancient cities once stood, I feel like I was there at that time when I buy a coin from that place, sounds wacky but that's what drives me.

 

Hey you've got one of my coins in that list....

 

Which coin is that?
These are all mine