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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;Valentinian, post: 2706409, member: 44316&quot;]Many of us wonder what theme we should collect. Those of us with lots of experience agree there is no &quot;should&quot; to it. But, when you want to focus a bit, you might consider making a list of the types in your theme.</p><p><br /></p><p>A portrait series of the twelve Caesars with twelve entries on the list comes to mind. Or, a portrait series of all the emperors recognized at Rome (about 70). [This list &quot;recognized at Rome&quot; has the virtue of leaving out some extremely rare and expensive usurpers.] Another possibility is to specialize (partially) in a particular emperor. I know someone who collects only Constantine, and someone who has considered collecting Postumus (that would be a huge list) and then Crispus (a much more limited list).</p><p><br /></p><p>I know collectors with no list in mind, and others with extremely detailed lists who search hard for the types they are missing.</p><p><br /></p><p>I wonder how many of you are list makers?&nbsp; I certainly am. I still have paper &quot;type set&quot; lists of the AE types of late Roman emperors (late Roman emperors do not have too many types each) that I made decades ago. Now my lists begin on paper but are transferred to the web when I am ready.</p><p><br /></p><p>Here is one type issued by Theodosius (and others):</p><p><b>Type 5</b>:&nbsp; AE3.&nbsp; GLORIA ROMANORVM</p><p>Emperor right drags captive and holds labarum</p><p>364-388&nbsp; [<i>RIC</i> also lists it in the period 388-392 at Trier]</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]610106[/ATTACH]</p><p>Theodosius</p><p>18-16 mm. 6:00. 2.49 grams.</p><p>RIC Aquileia 45b1</p><p><br /></p><p>That reverse type is one of the most common of all Roman types.</p><p><br /></p><p>Late Roman AE makes a good area to collect if your budget is limited. The great majority of types are among the least expensive of all ancient coins, and the rarer types occasionally come along at reasonable prices. Long ago I decided to look into all the AE types in <i>RIC</i> IX, the volume on Valentinian to the death of Theodosius (364-395). Eventually it resulted in the site:</p><p><br /></p><p><a href="http://augustuscoins.com/ed/ricix/" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://augustuscoins.com/ed/ricix/" rel="nofollow">http://augustuscoins.com/ed/ricix/</a></p><p><br /></p><p>It is a large site with many pages. Even if you use the site regularly, I&#039;ll bet there are interesting pages linked to the main page that you haven&#039;t found yet--it is that large.</p><p><br /></p><p>The site has &quot;type sets&quot; for the emperors. At first, the sets were lists (my old lists!) linked to the pages with descriptions and images. Some type sets still are simple like that (because I have not yet gotten around to improving them). Over the past week I revised the type-set page for Theodosius. Now it has images and better descriptions, as well as the old links. One entry is illustrated above. The page is here:</p><p><br /></p><p><a href="http://augustuscoins.com/ed/ricix/TheodosiusSet.html" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://augustuscoins.com/ed/ricix/TheodosiusSet.html" rel="nofollow">http://augustuscoins.com/ed/ricix/TheodosiusSet.html</a></p><p><br /></p><p>If you got interested in Theodosius (there are books written on him, so the subject has some depth) you might decide to collect his AE. The whole project would be inexpensive, with only a few types you are unlikely to see offered. (If one comes along and I see it, you would have to compete with me, but not many others, for it.)</p><p><br /></p><p>Making lists requires research that prepares you for buying coins. Lists help you decide what you want and the research helps you learn what it is &quot;worth&quot; when offered. Making a list is part of the hobby and, itself, does not cost money, so it is a great pastime between purchases. (Now, we can just read CoinTalk threads all day, so maybe you don&#039;t need to pass the time.)</p><p><br /></p><p>Let us hear about a list you have on paper or in mind and an example of a coin on it.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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