Where to begin...

Your signature says it all, I guess.

 

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Yeah, I had an addiction to Gordian III roaches. At some point I had over 22 of them before I decided to cut back and only keep my best 5. It's just so hard not to collect them when there's so many reverse themes, in such great conditions, at such low prices.

But at this point I've decided I needed more variety in my collection, so with my roach fire sale I ended up funding a few Greek coins. But for a beginner like you Gordian III should be one of the first emperors you get in silver. Won't find anyone any cheaper.

The next up in price is Philip I. A lot of his silver coinage range from $50 to $65 and it's still decent quality silver (well struck and none of the nasty devalued silver plated coinage that would come a decade later.)

Here's an example of a Philip I that I got for $50 three years ago:

 

This is the approach that suckered me into the hobby... I was rereading the Meditations at the same time as I was sorting through some modern coins I had inherited, and on a whim thought I’d see whether Roman coins were readily available online. A google search later the plan was to acquire one decent but affordable denarius with a portrait of Marcus Aurelius and stop there... then I thought it’s not going to hurt to get something issued by Trajan and one by Augustus too... and several hundred coins later here we are...

 

Someone above recommended Forum as a good place to get coins. As an absolute beginner (I’ve been collecting ancients for about 5 years now and still consider myself a beginner but feel I might just be able to drop off the “absolute” qualifier) Forum’s forum and database of articles was absolute invaluable and in addition to lurking around cointalk I’d highly recommend anyone interested in the hobby start absorbing as much as they can from it.

https://www.forumancientcoins.com/

 

Keep in mind though that not all vcoins dealers are great actors. Some are known to overprice their coins, so use the price feature to shop before buying. Can't tell you how many times I've seen a coin selling for $250 and using the price search feature I've found another in a similar state of preservation for $150 or so.

Also, stay away from desert patinas, especially if they are orange and come from a dealer called Zurqieh. He has been called out for fake desert patina on coins here before.

 

Whatever your budget may be, there will be a decision to make. Lets just say, to pick a number, you are able to spend $40 a month on coins. Do you buy a $10 coin every week or save up to buy just one $480 coin in the year? Sallent is right in his quotations on nice examples of Gordian and Philip but you can get coins worth half or double his numbers with no problem; with more looking you can get 1/10 and 10x. Grade is not the only thing. I'll use Philip as an example (I have more Philip coins than I have Gordians but I have both to excess). Eye appeal has a lot to do with price but certain reverses and some less common branch mints can make an ugly coin sell for more than a common type in great shape. How this affects your hobby choices is your decision. Would you rather have:
A 'special' coin variety poorly struck on the reverse?


...or one slightly different but better grade?


...or a Victory walking in not bad but less than perfect shape?


How about a raggedy edge coin with rearing horses?


...or maybe you would like a bronze?


Maybe you could get interested in the local coins struck for use in the Provinces (this was for Antioch).


I could never see collecting just one coin per ruler when there are so many choices. After over 50 years there are still emperors I do not have and never will. There are rulers with over a thousand choices (no one has them all). There is no rush to complete the set when you realize that there is no complete set. Which appeals to you?

I suggest being slow to buy and quick to study. Spend the money you would have wasted some other way and not the college funds. You can always sell off your 'mistakes' (often for a fraction of what you paid) or give them to friends who might get interested. Along the way, enjoy the trip.

 

It's hard as a new collector.. (I am still one!) so much information - it can be absolutely overwhelming.
I buy inexpensive coins but I have moved from $10 coins up to $20 to $50 coins - so buying a little slower... still super cheap compared to the majority of the collectors here. My yearly budget probably equals many collectors monthly budgets. Doesn't bother me at all as there are beautiful and important coins at every price range.
I love the history more than the numismatic eccentricities that many here enjoy. To each his own. I collect rulers from eras in history that are interesting to me. Others will collect "rare" variances in certain issues... not my cup of tea - but I still love reading their posts and learning what I can.
I suggest reading as much as possible and setting a small attainable goal and once achieved you will have learned a bit more and be able to set the next goal.....

I rarely follow my own advice.

 

I think I got some good guidance on where to start...

Wherever it takes me, ill go.

I used to want to be a set collector because I thought that's just what people do. I saw a man in his mid 80's who told me it's not worth it. That we don't have enough time to get every coin ever. That changed everything for me, his 70 years of life before my birth gave him that experience to speak that way.

I will pull that into my new burgeoning ancient interest.

 

I used to have around 150 coins before downsizing to re-adjust the focus of my collection. I currently have 128 coins. The main reason for my readjustment was coming to the realization that ancients is such a broad field (spanning 1000 years and hundreds of kingdoms and empires) that no matter how hard I try, I will never have it all. So I stopped chasing one of each emperor and instead decided to buy whatever coins speak to me. I sold off the ones I didn't care for, and purchased stuff I actually wanted.

Lesson #1: This hobby is not about ticking off boxes or filling holes, but rather a wonderful journey that will take you to places and historical events you never knew existed. All you have to do is set aside your US coin collector type of thinking and let your own conscience, passions, and sense of aesthetic take you to discover things you never expected. This is an adventure, not an accounting seminar.

Lesson #2: This hobby can be as expensive or as cheap as you'd like, if you only do your research and get the best value for your budget. There's plenty of choices at every budget level to satisfy pretty much everyone.

Case in point, here's just a very small portion of the coins which I paid less than $100 for. If you learn and shop wisely, less than $100 can get you some sharp and legible beauties. No need to settle for almost illegible coins that are barely identifiable.



I've probably spent $15,000 in 5 years collecting ancients, but that's because I have expensive tastes. In all honesty, I could have had a collection just as nice and big as the one I have now for less than $5,000. Sure, I wouldn't be able to have my Julius Caesar, or Marc Anthony, or Seleukos I tetradrachm, etc...but trust me when I say there are tons of beautiful and interesting coins that cost a fraction of any of those coins I mentioned, and far more coins than any of us can count would fit that bill.

Which brings me to lesson #3: This is not a competition.

No matter how much money you have, there will always be someone out there who can outspend you and make your budget seem insignificant. But we're not here to compete with each other. Most of us are extremely diehard ancient coin fanatics, and we love it when members share anything from a $5 coin to a $20,000 coin. I'm speaking from personal experience when I say that as much as I enjoy seeing the ultra expensive beauties some here have, I've also sat there and drooled over some $30 or $50 coin someone posted in a tread. We are coin junkies, and we love seeing and sharing coins no matter how cheap or expensive they are.

 

This has been a fun discussion to read with lots of nice coins to look at and reflections from different collectors to think about. I've been "seriously" collecting ancients since June of 2015. I first got interested in 2013 and bought an unseen group lot, here's the photo:



This group lot was purchased from another member here at CoinTalk and it worked out to each coin costing $5.45. It took another year and a half before It became a passion.

The coins that set me off the deep end:


Septimius Severus , AD 193-211
AR Denarius, 3.3g, 20mm; 1h; Rome, AD 209
Obv.: SEVERVS PIVS AVG, laureate head right
Rev.: PM TRP XVII COS III P P; Neptune standing left, holding a trident, foot on globe



Philip I, AD 244-249
AR, Antoninianus, 3.7g, 21.5mm; 1h; Rome, AD 247
Obv.: IMP M IVL PHILIPPVS AVG; radiate, draped & cuirassed bust right Rev.: P M TR P IIII COS II P P; Felicitas standing left holding caduceus & cornucopia.


My collection lacks focus. All cultures and periods interest me and my collection reflects this. So far it's been fun. I hope you find some coins that interest you.

 

You've been getting some great advice, I'd definitely add my voice to those who may suggest that you obtain a diverse sampling from a variety of eras and cultures before jumping into any particular specialized focus. My first ancients were Roman, but I've fallen in love with Greek coins and find them more aesthetic and interesting per dollar spent in most cases. Follow your nose, sample widely, and don't prematurely box yourself in. You may decide that you actually prefer the large-flan Byzantine folles or Sassanian drachms over whatever you start buying at first, though I agree that you really can't go wrong getting an appealing big fat sestertius or nice denarius to hold in-hand and "absorb".

Also, since you're trying to entice friends (presumably teenage males), I'd wholeheartedly recommend obtaining "dynamic" antiquities/artifacts in addition to coins. Arrowheads, javelin tips, sling bullets, spearheads, axes, blades, tools etc. tend to be very impressive in-hand and get the juices flowing in a far wider array of uninitiated folk versus little old coins inscribed in languages none are likely to be fluent in. Many are surprisingly inexpensive too. Passive/decorative artifacts are great as well, and having a range of items from the era and culture of the coins you possess paints a far more comprehensive and tangible picture of ancient life than coins alone can accomplish, and vice-versa.

 

Common Chinese coins are as cheap as dirt. I got all of these for 50¢ each.



There are many (hundreds!) different types and varieties that can be had from reputable sellers for less than $5 each. As my Chinese collecting interests involved, for the first year I could not fathom paying $10-15 for Chinese coins, but then my tastes grew to the more-expensive stuff.

To get an idea of the variety available, all but 27 coins in this picture cost less than $15, with the vast majority of those costing less than $5. I only see 8 that cost more than $50.

 

That pile would go well in my “pile” thread from earlier. Great assortment!

 

I’ve found that buying coins with stories and being willing to tell the stories entices young people more than anything. I have many friends who had no interest in coins whatsoever because they had the age-old conception that it was all about filling the holes.

For example this one:



On the reverse is a depiction of Marcus Sergius. A description of Marcus Sergius is found in the seventh book of Pliny’ Natural History, published in AD 77:

Nobody - at least in my opinion - can rightly rank any man above Marcus Sergius, although his great-grandson Catiline shames his name. In his second campaign Sergius lost his right hand. In two campaigns he was woundedtwenty-three times, with the result that he had no use in either hand or either foot: only his spirit remained intact. Although disabled, Sergius served in many subsequent campaigns. He was twice captured by Hannibal - no ordinaryfoe- from whom twice he escaped, although kept in chains and shackles every day for twenty months. He fought fourtimes with only his left hand, while two horses he was riding were stabbed beneath him.
He had a right hand made of iron for him and, going into battle with this bound to his arm, raised the siege of Cremona, saved Placentia and captured twelve enemy camps Gaul - all of which exploits were confirmed by thespeech he made as praetor when his colleagues tried to debar him as infirm from the sacrifices. What piles of wreathshe would have amassed in the face of a different enemy!

 

We did a series of Threads called "What your Budget buys --" in which we had several price points where folks piled on examples of coins.

You might have some fun by choosing your budget point and see what kind of coins folks on Coin Talk posted for those price ranges. It may help you with your thoughts on buying cerntain coins.

@zumbly did a super job starting the threads, administering, and organizing this fun tool.

Here are a few of the threads to get your thoughts flowing:

https://www.cointalk.com/threads/what-your-budget-buys-index-thread.303991/

https://www.cointalk.com/threads/what-your-budget-buys-bargain-bin-edition.302206/

https://www.cointalk.com/threads/what-your-budget-buys-30-edition.302412/

https://www.cointalk.com/threads/what-your-budget-buys-50-edition.302556/

https://www.cointalk.com/threads/what-your-budget-buys-100-edition.302708/


You can also further SEARCH: What your Budget buys

Here is a favorite coin of mine: (I like to post coins)

Carthage - Sicily AR Litra 4th C BCE 9.5mm 0.65g Palm Tree Horse Head SNG Cop 74 EE Clain-Safanelli RARE

 

If you have family history in France, the Romano-Gallic secessionist empire of the third century AD has a rich numismatic history that is fun and relatively inexpensive to collect. Coins of Postumus, Marius, Tetricus etc. These coins were issued on the Roman third century model, so you would learn something of the third century Roman imperial coinage as well.

 

Here are the seller´s pictures of a big, heavy, and brassy Hadrian Sestertius that I bought on Ebay today for just 20 Euros. Can´t go wrong with that, I think!