How do you choose what to purchase?

I like this thread.
I sometimes ponder, about what my buying "strategy" is.
My most important rule, is that, I try not to spend too much money. What is "too much money"? That's a good question. For me, I don't want my coin buying, to have a significant effect, on my finances.
I have a limit, on how much I will spend, on a single coin, including shipping and taxes.
However, I've been tempted, to exceed that limit. At a recent auction, I bid $100 more than my limit, for a coin, but I lost the auction. That's the only time, that I've ever tried to spend more than my limit, for a single coin.
And I try not to spend too much money, per month.
For the last couple of months, I've been trying (unsuccessfully) to spend less, on coins, and coin books, because I think, I've been spending too much money on coins, and coin books, lately.
I have a lot of interests, in the world of coins.
I like ancient Greek, Roman Republic, Roman Empire, Byzantine, non-classical ancient coins, crusader coins, Spanish colonial "cob" coins minted in the New World, English copper pennies, and US coins.
In order to limit my expenses, I generally avoid all other areas, such as medieval coins (except for crusader coins), modern coins (except for US coins and English copper pennies), and non-coin artifacts such as ushabtis etc.
I've been collecting ancients for 3 years. During those 3 years, my areas of collecting have increased, because I kept finding new areas.
I also really like books about coins. That's another thing, I have to watch out for, because I've spent a significant amount of money on coin books.
I like coins that are old, coins that have an interesting history, coins that are beautiful, coins that have attractive portraits, and coins that are mysterious or mystical or spiritual. Coins from a faraway time and place. In other words, coins that "talk to me". Coins that inspire a sense of awe.

 

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Over my 30-year collecting "career," I've accumulated a lot of different coins, comprising several different sub-collections, from prutot of the Roman procurators in Judea to the VRBS ROMA and CONSTANTINOPOLIS commemoratives of the 4th century CE and everything in-between. I've got a little bit of everything in the Roman sphere and some Greek bronzes, too. So, I still make impulse purchases of things that catch my eye, particularly if I am enamored of their artistry, design, or if they are a good price.

However, I've had a fascination with the coins of the Antonine and Severan women for much of my coin collecting years. I've been diving deep into the coins of Faustina I and II over the past two or three years and I'm at the point where I can recognize rarities that otherwise go unnoticed at auction and I've acquired some true rarities in this way. It has distracted me from other pursuits, of course.



I watch several dozen auctions and online retail dealers' stock at least weekly and if a Faustina coin I don't have comes up and it's within my admittedly modest budget, I'll get it. I'm not too concerned about grade; it's all about completeness and rarity for me. I very much enjoy studying and researching my coins, trying to fit them into a chronological and historical framework (because they aren't dated). I enjoy writing my weekly "Faustina Friday" installments.

 

1. Is it an emperor I don't have yet?
2. Does it have an attractive portrait, relatively at least?
3. Is the legend complete?
4. Is the reverse better than average, and preferably, interesting?
5. Is it free of surface issues or other major distractions?
6. Is it an example I can be happy with without wanting to upgrade?
7. Will it be a long time before I see a better one?
8. Is it within (or close to) my budget for that emperor?

Since I moved into collecting Roman Imperial, I'm targeting an acquisition rate of about six coins per year. The list above helps me from going overboard and making rash choices.

 

The Crete one you stole in the auction........yes I'm still going on about that.

 

Nice thread
For me it’s very simple. I love ancient history.
I’m always looking for coins with an interesting history/story behind the coin and try to purchase the nicest one I can afford.

 

@kirispupis That's an interesting, rational and pragmatic strategy you have. For me rarity is relative since I am not only a type collector, but also try to find the best preserved example of a type that I can afford. A common type in great condition and/or of very fine style may be just as rare as a rare type regardless of the condition/style. Same goes for other factors, such as provenance.

Since I am collecting Quadrantes, Semisses and Tesserae and already have the more common types, I usually try to buy every type I don't have yet and then try to upgrade whenever possible. Luckily, great conditions are rather rare with these denominations and the rare types only appear every few years, so I don't really have to have a strategy other than: buy when available

There are of course exceptions, such as the latest Jacquier sale where they offered an entire collection of these coins. So I spent quite a lot more than I usually would.

One coin I bought there was the following Nerva Quadrans:



It's not a rare type at all, but the provenance (Este collection, see small silver collector's mark) is, especially if you only collect these small denominations. So I had to have it.

 

Great thread and interesting question, @kirispupis ! For a long time, I only collected coins that were in David Hendin’s, Guide to Biblical Coins. I sent copies of my Judaean coin poster to some of the dealers who I was purchasing from. Although it was not my intention, some dealers began to notify me when they were selling coins with Hendin numbers that are not on my posters

 

One thing I noticed in the course of this thread is some people talk about becoming "distracted". Let's talk about that a little bit. Sure, I understand the desire to want to complete a "set" of coins, whatever you may feel a "set" entails. In many ways I ran away from US collecting because of that dictated form of collecting, but still understand it. I have a nearly complete "set" of Sasanid drachms and tets by emperor, so pay attention when one I do not have comes up for sale.

However, why do we collect? Is it for the bits of metal? I, for one, collect to take my mind off of the day to day world, learn history, etc. A "distraction" can take away time and money from whatever your self ascribed "set" you wish to work on. On the other hand, its an opportunity to plunge yourself into a completely different geography and era of history. Its an opportunity to greatly expand your knowledge base well beyond numismatics into other areas. A "distraction" I went on was pre-Columbian proto-currency of the Americas. I collected every known type of Aztec "hoe money", and was in a position to buy a collection of rare Incan hoes from Ecuador. So, as far as I know, I have examples of every pre-Columbian hoe money made. This took me into new areas of geography, exploring trade between these civilizations I didn't know existed, etc. Was this really a distraction, or the reason people like me collect coins, to allow me to learn all kinds of interesting things?

I say embrace distractions. Chase the new and shiny that attracts your attention. We are not in a race, there will never be a "winner" amongst our collections. Its for you and you only, so take it where your heart and intellect lead you.

 

This is a fun thread!

It is even more fun to see that people seem to generally be quite organized and linear about their approach, while others "let the wind blow free" and follow their passion without a lot of process. And both groups are equally happy!

 

You sound exactly like me except I have about 20 years on you for collecting ancients. I collect everything you do with exception of English pennies, (have a couple hundred but do not "collect" them), but the addition of protocurrency, ancient Chinese, extensive Thai collection, etc. Careful, you will be surprised by the quantity and diversity of what you accumulate. I tell myself I am setting myself up for a fun retirement. I literally have very little idea of what I own, figuring retirement is when I sort it all out.

 

One thing I didn't mention in my original post, is the reason I have such a system.

I collect "stories" rather than coins, and the story of Philip II, Alexander III, and the Era of the Diadochi is the one I'm most interested in (by far). I therefore strive to pick up coins that help me tell that story.

Why do I not pick up other coins? It's simply about budget. My wife isn't crazy about the costs of some recent purchases, so the list artificially constrains it. Already, most of the coins I'm after are rarer. That means most auctions don't have something that I want, so I skip them.

Eventually, I'll have either picked up all 16 remaining coins, or I'll be left with one or two that are for the long haul. After that, I have a list of cities related to this era that I'd like, and who knows after that.

 

I buy what I find interesting, but for the most part I find all the Roman Republic coins interesting. The silver and bronze(and hopefully one day, gold) of the Second Punic War, I find particularly interesting from a historical, numismatic, and economic policy perspective and my goal is to collect as close to comprehensively as possible, including in some cases issues that would have the same catalog numbers but noticeably different styles(some of which I'd argue should be cataloged separately in future publications). I am also interested in overstrikes so I have on occasion bought multiple examples of a type where one is overstruck and the other isn't, or they're overstruck on different types. In a few cases I've even bought multiple examples that are fairly similar, just different dies and I felt the engraving styles were different enough to be interesting and worth having duplicates.

I will say that provenance definitely adds to my enjoyment and can sometimes push me over the edge on acquiring a coin or help me decide which is worth my budget between two different targets that are expensive enough that I can only chase one. I'm not someone who won't buy anything that isn't pre-1970 or anything like that but all things considered, especially with auction prices what they are right now relative to most of the time I've spent collecting I feel better about paying 2020-2021 pricing on coins with good provenances.

 

A couple of emendations to my original post, based in part on what some others have said.

Of all the different types of ancient coins I've collected over the last few years, I have to admit that my favorite is probably my collection of 60+ Roman Republican coins. Partly because they're so varied and visually interesting, and partly because I'm fascinated with the symbolism and historical meaning attached to so many of them. There's so much that can be learned about individual coins and moneyers. Far more than is typically the case for individual Roman Imperial or Provincial coins. Which is why my write-ups tend to be so much longer!

(However, I have no interest in Republican bronzes or in anonymous denarii from the period before moneyers were named on the coins. So I do not compete in those areas with our several members who are interested in them.)

In mentioning only my focus on interesting reverses, I don't want to leave the impression that attractive obverse portraits are unimportant to me, particularly when it comes to Imperial coins. Especially if a particular emperor or empress is expensive to obtain, I'd rather not have an example at all if I can only afford a poor or even a mediocre portrait. Which is why I made sure that my one Tiberius denarius, my one Galba, my one Pupienus, my one Balbinus, and so on all have good portraits. And why I don't have an Otho yet. When I have multiple examples of an emperor, I can focus more on finding interesting reverses. I don't need to buy any more denarii of Trajan, Hadrian, Septimius Severus, Severus Alexander and so on unless there's something about the reverses that particularly appeals to me. And that's even more true of antoninianii of emperors like Philip I or Gallienus.

I have a special fondness for coins depicting children.

And coins depicting animals on the reverse, mythical or otherwise.

What can I say -- I'm a shallow sentimentalist.

My ancient Greek coins comprise only 21 of my 300 ancient coins, and four of those are actually what I'd call Republican Provincial coins. Everything is subject to change, of course, but right now I think it's unlikely that ancient Greek coins will ever substantially increase as a percentage of my entire collection. Which is why the ones I do buy can probably mostly be classified as single examples of famous "types" -- e.g., one Athenian owl, one Athena/Pegasus stater from Corinth, one drachm from Istros with inverted male heads, one Kyzikos boar/lion diobol, one Gorgoneion/anchor from Apollonia Pontika, one Boeotian shield/amphora stater, one Aspendos wrestlers/slinger stater, one Alexander III drachm, one Rhodian Helios/Rose plinthophoric drachm, one "man on dolphin" nomos from Tarentum, one satyr/griffin from Pantikapaion, one Seleucid and one Ptolemaic tetradrachm, one cistophoric tetradrachm from Tralleis, and two Thessalian League Zeus/Athena staters -- only because they were basically a package deal. Obviously there are plenty of other famous ancient Greek types I'd like to have, so for the most part buying more than one variety of any such type isn't something I ever plan to do.