I wonder how many of you take notes on what is out there that you might collect. Do you keep a paper (or digital) want list? Or, is your want list all in your head? Or, maybe you don't plan much in advance and just buy what pleases you at the moment. Long ago I used to take copious paper notes on what I saw in paper catalogs that I might like and what they cost (This note taking was largely made obsolete by the web and especially acsearch). I took extensive notes on Roman imperial historical types (made obsolete by Roman Historical Coins by Foss). A simple example might be all the types of the animal series struck for the 1000th anniversary of Rome under Philip. I still take lots of notes on any mini-series I might collect. Now I can make web pages that incorporate the information I assemble. It's my updated version of "notes" that I share with others. For years I have been interested in AE coins of Diocletian (284-305) and later. I have very many web pages on them, each of which is like notes on a theme that might be collected. Here is my latest page which is simply a list of emperors and mints that issued GENIO POPVLI ROMANI types, linked to pages with images of them. http://augustuscoins.com/ed/tetrarchy/GPRtypes.html Here is one example of the common GENIO POPVLI ROMANI type: Maximian, Cyzicus mint. 28 mm. 9.17 grams. IMP C MA MAXIMIANVS PF AVG KΔ in exergue RIC Cyzicus 12a "c.295-296" If you know very little about coins of the First Tetrarchy, that new page is not the place to start. An introductory page is here: http://augustuscoins.com/ed/tetrarchy/ If you want to skip the introduction, here is a page of links to pages about coins of the era: http://augustuscoins.com/ed/tetrarchy/extra.html I'd love to hear if you have a written want list, and if you take notes and what types of notes they are.
Note: Also sharing this answer in another thread... Keeping notes ... That is something I definitely do! Not sure how well these screenshots will come through, but if there's enough detail to see, notice the page and word counts... Sometimes in forums I'll refer to something as "from my notes files" or "my provenance glossary" or say that I'm going to add something "to my notes"... Here's what I mean by that: ACDCN = "Ancient Coin Descriptions, Comments, and Notes" File I like to use the "Headings" function in MS Word because I can then navigate through the different levels headings on the left side of the screen. ("BCE" stands for "Barbarians, Captives, and Enemies," a theme that fascinates me.) P&P = "Provenances & Publication" File The second file consists entirely of coins I already own. I have a spreadsheet to catalog my collection as well, but this lets me keep descriptions, photos, and relevant research notes in a way that I more easily look at. Those are the two most extensive files of coin notes (1,008 pages / >355k words). The next file is a "working file": My annotated 20th century (some late 19th) digitized auction catalogs and collections online. (Some have more annotation than those shown, some fewer details.) I've only just begun trying to edit and post some of them online (starting with Alexandrian). I figured something like a combination of https://www.rnumis.com/ and the annotations on http://augustuscoins.com/ed/catalogs/ PC = "Plate Checks: 20th Century Ancient Coin Sale Catalogs Online" Wow, just realized that's 1,100 pages of notes in the three files I use most. (I have many others, mostly considerably smaller. Need to break up the big ones again into smaller units.) Maybe a bit obsessive... Clearly not only numismatic bibliomania and "papyrophilia," but the related "scriptophilia" (or is it "scribophilia"?). I've only recently started trying to figure out how I can start editing and using a website to make whatever's useful in there available to others...
