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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;Alegandron, post: 2491429, member: 51347&quot;]Hmmmm... Ancients are cool.&nbsp; I enjoy collecting as a HOBBY.&nbsp; I am an end-consumer, and not an investor.</p><p><br /></p><p>I used to collect US (started almost 50 years ago when I was 9 - looks like we are the same age...), but became upset with all the artificial slabbing and silly rating numbers.</p><p><br /></p><p>I enjoy history, so Ancients became very interesting.&nbsp; That was 25 years ago... I started out very slow, a few coins from trusted friends (before the internet), and slowly grew my collection.&nbsp; There are MILLIONS of Ancients, but spread across over a thousand plus years of history...&nbsp; And, many cities, states, areas, etc. minted many varieties.&nbsp; Many folks start with Roman Emperors.&nbsp; Yes, there are &quot;years&quot;, but in many cases (before the Empire) &quot;years&quot; were not definite.&nbsp; And many coins that I collect (BCE) mostly do NOT have &quot;years&quot; or few have &quot;mint marks&quot; stamped on them.</p><p><br /></p><p>As a US collector, your paradigm for collecting will shift when you move to Ancients.&nbsp; It is also perfectly ok to HOLD and TOUCH your coins.&nbsp; Generally, no worries there!&nbsp; Most of the Ancients people here do NOT want their coins slabbed.&nbsp; Respectfully, there are a few that do.</p><p><br /></p><p>I started by following where my Historical interests lead me:&nbsp; I enjoyed Philip II and Alexander III the Great and the amazing rise of Makedon power.&nbsp; Additionally I have always loved the rise of the Roman Republic (all BCE).&nbsp; Today, much of my collection revolve around those two core areas.</p><p><br /></p><p>I suggest to take your time researching before purchasing.&nbsp; Watch the CT Ancients Forum, read and watch the pics from many of the excited posters.&nbsp; Get a feel of what is &quot;cool&quot; to you (all of it is to me, but certain areas really grab me.)&nbsp; Then, when you take the plunge, I would suggest trusted sources such as Vcoins, Forum Coins, Warren Esty, Coin Talk sale thread, MA-Shops, coin shows with dealers focused in Ancients, and SEVERAL other sites - many of those sites are mentioned in other threads... use the thread &quot;SEARCH&quot; button when you have questions!&nbsp; Some are already answered for you.&nbsp; EBay is good ONLY with trusted sellers.&nbsp; A high percentage of other people sell Ancients on eBay that may or may not know they are selling fakes.</p><p><br /></p><p>Key is (at least for me!), do your homework, research, watch, learn, and FOR ME, it is a HOBBY not a BUSINESS... so, HAVE FUN![/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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