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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;Valentinian, post: 4848874, member: 44316&quot;]What makes something collectable? Presumably it is interesting. Mentally stimulating. You can be proud of knowing what you know about it (very high grade for type?). It&#039;s neat. Others will think you have something special or worthwhile. (I wish other readers would add to this list of reasons to collect.)</p><p><br /></p><p>One other reason is that you already collect something and the item helps fill a set. A 1914-D cent is pretty much like the other early Lincoln cents, but if you collect Lincoln cents you know the 1914-D is special and you want it, or &quot;need&quot; it. It&#039;s in your mind.</p><p><br /></p><p>It&#039;s a decision. Are US mint commemoratives neat? Are you proud to own them?&nbsp; Is it a set that requires completeness? What is the motivation for collecting them at all? You started and have too many to quit?</p><p><br /></p><p><b>Collecting is a hobby of the mind</b>. US history is interesting, but I am of the impression that most collectors of US coins don&#039;t stop with a type set illustrating its history. They would run out of things to collect. They must continue with things only of interest to collectors only because they learn to play the game. They have to redefine &quot;interesting&quot; to include tiny differences in grade or other concerns that seem cult-like. Many questions in the US forum are about grade. If you can&#039;t tell how interesting a coin is without knowing its grade you have joined a cult and succumbed to its dogma. A doubled-die coin is of no intrinsic interest. Admit it. Collectors have told collectors to care and they joined the cult. Worship the grade and worship the doubled die or be shunned!</p><p><br /></p><p>On the other hand, some collectors collect types of genuine interest in series areas where you won&#039;t run out of things to collect. Some people think Roman history is interesting. It is well-illustrated by ancient Roman coins. Others prefer Greek history. Many collectors of US coins have reasons for not delving into ancient coins (haven&#039;t heard of them, don&#039;t know any Roman history, don&#039;t know they are easily available, expect them to be too expensive, don&#039;t have a mentor, don&#039;t know where to learn enough about them to not pay too much or buy fakes, don&#039;t want to learn anything new, etc.). </p><p><br /></p><p>Many of us who collect ancients started with US coins, but switched and are very happy about it and would be glad to tell others how to switch to collecting real coins made to be spent. You will not have to be mad at the US Mint. Start here:</p><p><br /></p><p><a href="http://augustuscoins.com/ed/numis/" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://augustuscoins.com/ed/numis/" rel="nofollow">http://augustuscoins.com/ed/numis/</a></p><p><br /></p><p>or at some of the many CoinTalk threads for beginners such as:</p><p><a href="https://www.cointalk.com/threads/where-to-begin.339487/" class="internalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://www.cointalk.com/threads/where-to-begin.339487/">https://www.cointalk.com/threads/where-to-begin.339487/</a></p><p><br /></p><p>More are listed here:</p><p><a href="http://augustuscoins.com/ed/threads.html" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://augustuscoins.com/ed/threads.html" rel="nofollow">http://augustuscoins.com/ed/threads.html</a></p><p><br /></p><p>A recent purchase, costing $34 including S&amp;H:</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]1170832[/ATTACH] </p><p><br /></p><p>Roman emperor Aurelian (reigned 270-275), who had a very interesting career I won&#039;t describe here. I am just making the point a coin can be historical, worthy of lot of research (the part of the hobby that doesn&#039;t cost too much), and pretty nice for not a lot of money. </p><p>22-20 mm. </p><p>IMP AVRELIANVS AVG, radiate crown right, draped and cuirassed</p><p>CONCORDIA MILITVM&nbsp; (he is getting along with the army--necessary for survival!)</p><p>If you know nothing about ancient coins, there would be a lot to learn about this one coin. It would be lot of fun. Join us. We would be glad to help you come over to &quot;the dark side.&quot;[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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