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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;dougsmit, post: 8193968, member: 19463&quot;]Tejas summarizes the situation well.&nbsp; In today&#039;s very digital world, ancient coins are quite analog.&nbsp; All EF coins are not equally EF.&nbsp; All interesting coins are not equally interesting.&nbsp; All rare coins are not equally rare. All imperfect coins did not become degraded in the same way.&nbsp; When we choose between that single coin and the 100 commons we have to face many other factors.&nbsp; Are the 100 coins all the same type?&nbsp; If all that matters is grade we should not care but I can&#039;t recall meeting a collector whose choice was collecting ancients by the mint roll.&nbsp; When we have a hundred of the &#039;same&#039; thing we are very aware of how they are different rather than how they are alike.&nbsp; </p><p><br /></p><p>A question for specialists:&nbsp; Do you feel the need to have an example of each of the common coins in your specialty?&nbsp; Do you get more satisfaction out of owning the finest example of something that exists by the thousands or the finest example of the very few known?&nbsp; What if the finest known is only VG?&nbsp; In my specialty collections, I want the VG but in my general collection, I&#039;ll hope that finest &#039;dog&#039; finds a home somewhere else.&nbsp; The 1834 book on Roman Coins by Akerman only listed what he decided were &#039;rare&#039; coins.&nbsp; He did not waste space enumerating all the types that existed but filled two volumes with &#039;rarities&#039; even ranking them according to which were most rare among the rare.&nbsp; In 1999, David Vagi gave us a priced guide which, for example, listed a generic price for denarii of Septimius Severus in three grades (starting at $15) and then added eleven &#039;better&#039; types that ranged from $5 more to twenty times as much in the same grade. His upgrades were based on market demand rather than rarity with a couple common but popular coins being listed separately and no mention of many types seen less frequently.&nbsp;&nbsp; Of his eleven, I have only five.&nbsp; In 1999, the difference between F and EF seemed to average around 10x.&nbsp; Today?&nbsp; </p><p>Obligatory coin images below show the Vagi mentioned &#039;upper&#039; types I have.&nbsp; Each was +$5 in fine or as much as 3x in VF compared to the basal listing. I&#039;d call mine VF.&nbsp; Are these now $50-100?&nbsp; Should I prefer a part share in one of the more desirable coins listed at $400-1500 in the same grade?&nbsp; This is the decision we all make. </p><p>[ATTACH=full]1435093[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=full]1435094[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=full]1435095[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=full]1435096[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=full]1435097[/ATTACH] </p><p><br /></p><p>For those not familiar with it, the link below is my January 2000 review of the David Vagi two volume set.&nbsp; It is sometimes easy to find single volumes offered separately not always mentioning that they only are offering one of the two.&nbsp; It is also possible to find some sellers asking several times as much as others so do shop around before buying.&nbsp; How much is it worth?&nbsp; As with the coins, that is very much a matter of opinion.&nbsp; </p><p><a href="https://www.forumancientcoins.com/dougsmith/book.html#vagi" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://www.forumancientcoins.com/dougsmith/book.html#vagi" rel="nofollow">https://www.forumancientcoins.com/dougsmith/book.html#vagi</a>[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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