Numismatics covers many different areas. I doubt there are many people who collect in all areas. I, for instance, have no interest in exonumia of any kind and don't collect currency or ancients, even though I will read about each. So what are your interests? Please check any box if you think you would consider purchasing any item in the category indicated even if it is not your primary interest. You may select as many items as you wish.
Moderns, and medals (along with commemorative issues) charm me, but beyond that, not much else. I must confess that I do subscribe to ancients, but more for 'history', rather than collecting.
@sakata I think we have somewhat similar collecting interests. My main area is world coins from 18th century to 1950's primarily, but not exclusively, made of silver. My secondary area is collecting and studying contemporary circulating counterfeits of the above.
Interesting Poll. I checked all of the choices you posted, except precious metals only. I collect those also but not exclusivly. I collect all types of numismatics and related items. Even letter openers, post cards and such from World Expositions to go with my Exposition medals and coins.
I voted "yes" to all but the two paper money categories (I don't collect paper money, but could perhaps one day be tempted by some older types, especially US fractional currency and German Weimar-era notgeld.) The only other poll option I didn't vote for was "precious metal coins only" since I'm not so exclusive. I prefer precious metal coins, but don't rule out appealing base metal coins.
For me it is primarily "home country". Except that the euro area is more than a country, so ... when it comes to acquisitions, I focus on euro circulation coins and commemorative €2 pieces. But as for what I find interesting - lots of stuff, primarily modern coins from Europe and North America. Christian
I guess I'm the opposite of a lot of people. I respect my home country's coins, and do enjoy them, but here in the USA our coins just don't go so far back in history as those of other countries and civilizations. And part of the appeal for me is learning the history, geography, stories, and romance of other lands, which is what makes me a primarily World coin collector. (I do like US coins, too, though, and the USA is a part of the wider world, of course.) I like to travel by collecting, through both time and space. Also, US coins being more in demand by our larger population of collectors, they tend to be much more expensive in relative terms. I've found World, Ancient, and Medieval coins to be a much better value. Coins have also taught me 90+ percent of what I know about geography, history, geopolitics, mythology, and other subjects like the Arts and culture. That little bit of knowledge that got drummed into me in school when I was half-asleep in some classroom while an equally-bored teacher droned on just didn't sink in as well.
I'm on the same page as LordM. I like US coins and occasionally pick some up, but the better ones are just too pricey and there are way too many sharks in the water, as well as "doctors" in the "clinic".
Egads, if the only criteria is 'consider purchasing', well, I can say yes to them all--even though some are strictly limited and unlikely to expand. In fact, I HAVE purchased or acquired them all. The only caveat (and I edited my response to remove the vote) was 'precious metals only'. PMs are just another category for me vs. an 'only'. And, though I love gold and silver coins, some of my coins are mere clay, so can't even say I limit the collection to metal let alone 'precious' ones. And, I've even added errors to the mix lately...
My choices were 5, 8, and 9. But I think you left a few areas out - the history of the coins, and the actual minting processes throughout history. And - grading and the history of grading, and the care and proper storage of the coins, and the proper cleaning of coins. All of which have a huge impact on everything else in your list. So huge that probably more questions and discussions have centered on those things than just about anything else.
I answered "coinage of my home country" because it's my first and greatest love. I am currently concentrating almost exclusively on a specific issue from another country. Welcome to my life. Anyone who can hold to a single specialty in numismatics is a better person than I.
My main interests are US coins (modern and classic), World Coins (mainly English Victorian coins right now), and I enjoy learning about Ancients and Medievals although I don't have any at this point.
On a site where most of the collectors are based in the US, I'm really not surprised that the majority of responses are "home country." US collectors (usually) vastly prefer US coins to foreign. That being said, foreign coins have been gaining ground based on their artistry, rarity, heritage, value, and increasing visibility. I think I'm most surprised that your poll currently has "medals" above "ancients." Medals, tokens, and exonumia always seemed to me to be the backwater, one-stop-light sleepy town that old geezers in rocking chairs talked about while smoking a pipe.
