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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;Gavin Richardson, post: 2706474, member: 83956&quot;]Thanks for this, Warren. I am one of those who has benefitted from your pages long before I knew you in this virtual forum.</p><p><br /></p><p>I agree with you about the virtues of focus, though I’m pleased to see your rhetoric here is not prescriptive. I know some (e.g., Doug) who insist on collecting what you like--lists be darned--and ultimately that’s probably what most of us do in our own ways.</p><p><br /></p><p>I’m a collector who enjoys having a focus since the infinite variety of ancient coins can yield a kind of option paralysis. I focus on the coins of Constantine for budget reasons, the wealth of reverse types, and his pivotal place in history.</p><p><br /></p><p>I can’t say I keep a proper paper list, but I use Victor’s Constantine pages and Glenn Simonelli’s Constantine collection as a kind of checklist of types. These function as a ready list for my purposes.</p><p><br /></p><p>Partially in response to Sallent’s “Confessions of a Numismatic Sinner,” I’m in the process of overhauling my Constantine collection and really nailing down RIC numbers whenever possible and arranging the coins’ virtual and physical display in chronological order. I’m on Spring Break right now, so I have the time for it. Back in college I would spend my spring break emptying my bank account, getting sunburned, and trying to talk to completely disinterested girls. Cataloguing coins in my home is much cheaper, healthier, and Julia Domna can’t walk away from me in mid-sentence.</p><p><br /></p><p>So for the first time in about 13 years of collecting, I finally have a mental understanding of the order of Constantine bronze coinage. Such is the benefit of “preparing to collect.” And this undertaking is guiding me on what my next purchase(s) should be.</p><p><br /></p><p>Finally, I do collect plenty of other coin types. I bought a Constantine Sunday night. My previous three coins were a Jewish War Year 2 coin, a Claudius as, and a Constans “barbarian / hut” from Arles. I’ve adopted a 3:1 guideline (not rule). If I’ve bought 3 non-Constantine coins, I try to be intentional about making the next coin a Constantine to keep that collection moving forward. Of course it’s a guideline and not a rule. But after a few years, I think I will be really glad that my collection can be broad but still have “depth” in at least one area, with my own numismatic expertise benefiting as well.</p><p><br /></p><p>The 3:1 guideline helps me maintain the focus and discipline that aid my approach to collecting.</p><p><br /></p><p>Oh, and on the “list” is a Constantine Genio Pop Rom from London. Early coin as Augustus. The photo is a CNG pic from Wildwinds.</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]610137[/ATTACH][/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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