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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;dougsmit, post: 2153789, member: 19463&quot;]We will all have opinions but it comes down to what fits you.&nbsp; I am much more pleased by good surfaces on worn coins than even slight roughness on higher grade ones.&nbsp; That makes me in the minority.&nbsp; </p><p><br /></p><p>I see an early decision that needs to be made as what you expect for that $200.&nbsp; Is this the $200 you spend in a month on snacks and &#039;bad for you beverages&#039; (define that as you wish but I&#039;m not talking about nutrition here) OR the $200 you put in some form of savings/investment that you hope someday to allow you to stop working and live off the fruits of earlier wisdom.&nbsp;&nbsp; I collect with the full intention of dying with the coins in my possession.&nbsp; Certainly I don&#039;t mind if I see a coin worse than mine selling for ten times the price but that is not why I bought the thing and I don&#039;t get that profit unless I sell.&nbsp;&nbsp; If you are collecting to watch your net worth grow and plan to sell for a profit when the market dictates, I have a serious piece of advice for you.&nbsp; Do not listen to anything I say.&nbsp; My suggestions are aimed at furthering enjoyment and knowledge.&nbsp; There are plenty of investment advisers out there.&nbsp; Pick carefully. </p><p><br /></p><p>I have a very general collection with quite a few coins that no one else here has any desire to own.&nbsp; Specialties tend to find you rather than you seeking them.&nbsp; After you collect generally for a while you will see trends that suggest specialties.&nbsp;&nbsp; I have several minor sub specialties that represent things I once found appealing if they are not currently active wants.&nbsp;&nbsp; I have one major specialty which rarely gets a new coin because I rarely see something I don&#039;t have (except in the collections of friends who collect the same thing and are better at it than I am).&nbsp;&nbsp; My favorite ancient history professor in college advised us to know something about everything and everything about something.&nbsp; That is how I advise you collect.&nbsp; Be the person the rest of us will want to ask a question about something and know enough about the rest that you understand what other people are saying in their posts even if you can&#039;t answer their questions.&nbsp; Own the coins that parallel your knowledge.&nbsp; Pure students will do a die study of EID MAR denarii (~$100k each) but collectors like me know more about coins we can afford. </p><p><br /></p><p>Paul M. correctly advises that you can save up those $200 doses and buy a $400 every other month or even a $2400 coin each year.&nbsp; I&#039;ll point out that you can also buy 10 coins at $20 each.&nbsp; This is a matter of fit if you are not trying to make money.&nbsp; One $1000 coin is easier to sell than 100 $10 coins.&nbsp;&nbsp; I have coins I really like that cost under $10;&nbsp; my most expensive coin is just under $1000; most are in the middle $20-200 range.&nbsp;&nbsp; I posted a page showing my favorite coins. Some more expensive and cheaper coins appear there side by side but you should expect more of those favorites are higher priced. </p><p><a href="http://www.forumancientcoins.com/dougsmith/favs.html" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://www.forumancientcoins.com/dougsmith/favs.html" rel="nofollow">http://www.forumancientcoins.com/dougsmith/favs.html</a></p><p>There is no better advice than that given several times before.&nbsp; Buy what you like.&nbsp; Some of us call these coins that &#039;speak to you&#039;.&nbsp; Do not buy one because I like it.&nbsp;&nbsp; Most of all, don&#039;t buy coins because some dealer wants to sell it to you.&nbsp; Enjoy.</p><p><br /></p><p>I wrote this a couple hours ago but somehow failed to send it.&nbsp; I do that a lot anymore.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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