You know you're addicted to ancient coins when...

1. You consider medieval coins as modern.
2. When someone hands you a bunch of coins as change, you need to mentally convert them to drachmas/denarii.
3. When watching movies based on ancient Rome/Greek you explain "hey! I have that guy!"
4. You grow mushy whenever you see the number 323.
5. Your partner tells you to stop buying coins, so you pick up some obols and hemiobols.
6. You plan social engagements around auctions.
7. You've calculated the value of your home in talents.
8. You've also calculated it in sestertii.
9. You add "CE" to dates on all your checks.
10. You can point out where ten cities that no longer exist are on a map, but you need a GPS to find your own house.
11. When travelling in Europe, you're disappointed that medieval villages don't have older buildings.
12. Your friends insist your entire collection is fake.
13. When you hold your coins, you have to do it in private because you get all giddy at holding 2000 years of history in your palm.
14. You know the exact time the mail man delivers your mail.
15. Guests are warned before entering your home by your spouse/partner to not mention anything about ancient history.
16. There are subtle groans and cries from your family when a guest responds that he/she hasn't seen your coins yet.
17. You have to remind yourself at New Years that the years are increasing now.
18. You can convert to pounds, Euros, CHF, and CAD at a whim, but you need a calculator to figure out tips.
19. The first thing you do when you wake up is check out the coins that were listed overnight.
20. You normalize the spellings of Greek places/names to your own preference, but get annoyed at sites that use a different orthography.

Obligatory coin:

 

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From an addict , my tet with description:

 

What? No, I'm not addicted at all, I swear! I can quit any time I want! I just don't want to quit...

 

21. You find yourself screaming at the television, "No, no, no!!! That is NOT the way Crispina wore her hair!!"

 

Yep

True

Fun list!

 

I'm good, only about 15 of those apply to me.

 

Haha those are all so true.

22. You figured out what you could bid on in a Triton auction using all of your 401k.

John

 

Wonderful thread idea!!!
And hilarious list
Kinda like, "You might be a redneck..." but instead, "You might be a coin-aholic..."

23. You grow mushy whenever you see the number 336.
I got your back @Alegandron

 

...24. The only cash that passed through your hands the last months is 1500 years old, or more. (this is actually true for me).

A random coin:

 

25. You know more about the reverse varieties of your favorite types than what’s on the reverse of the coins in your pocket

 

You're out shopping, see two guys talking who you're sure you know, but their names escape you. Then momentarily you think: "Oh now I know! Youthul Nero is talking to Maximinus Thrax!" (Or similar.)

 

LOL yes! 336

 

26. When the browser shows the 12 frequently visited sites: numisbids, biddr, sixbid, vcoins, ctalk, nomos, roma, naville, leu, vauctions, cng, wildwinds

 

27. When your ancients collection reaches a critical mass, collapses, and becomes a black hole, which ultimately swallows the entire planet.

 

28. You spend hours upon hours over the course of months reading up on the lives and history of individuals, and then watch a Youtube video only to learn that you've never even known how to pronounce their name correctly.

In my case: Trajan (Tray-han), Vespasian (Vesp-ass-ion), Drusus (Druh-sus), etc, etc

 

Boy, isn't that the truth - judging by just your three examples, I'm probably pronouncing all the other names wrongly, too...yikes!

 

Call me foolish. But I oftentimes will date my letters with the Roman Year as well, that is "Ab Urbe Condita"=A.U.C. 2022=2775 A.U.C. I could fancy myself a true Roman, as well it is a perfectly legal date for Western Civilization. Ole' "Dennis The Short" was off about at least Four Years anyway: Ex. "January 8, 2022/2775 A.U.C."
I suppose better experts follow the Greek. Experts also disagree about the specific date of the Year vs Roman Year-off by possibly a year. What's more no one is absolutely positive about the year of the founding of Rome either.

 

Sorry, that was C.E. 2022.

 

You're in for some giggles when you hear Pupienus.

 

But are those pronunciations really correct? Who's to say?

I went through the same angst before my first ancient coin show when realizing I was probably mispronouncing everything. Worried about embarrassing myself at the show, I embarked on a quest to learn the correct way to pronounce every name and place I might need to say only to find a wide array of choices. Vespasian, for example. After going through that exercise it seemed "vess PAY shun" was the correct way.

At the coin show every dealer seemed to pronounce any given name differently so I relaxed a bit... but it still bothers me.

In recent weeks I've gone through the same thing as I'm thinking of making a video presentation for a coin. Must've found at least a dozen "correct" ways to pronounce some of the names and places.