What do people collect?  (within the category of "ancient" coins)

Here are answers to this question from members of the Moneta yahoo group e-mail list, responding to this first post of March 20, 2004.
I have included, in square brackets "[...]"  dates and geographical regions for those readers who are not familiar with all the terms used by ancient-coin enthusiasts.  I put some parts in bold font to make make it easy to find the collecting area. 

The initial question:
Subject:  What's Your Specialty?

One aspect of ancient coin collecting that fascinates us is the specialty people choose. For us, as we're sure is true for many people, it has been an evolving process, as we refined what we find interesting. We saw in a Celator article a few months back, a nice explanation of why one collector had chosen Claudius Gothicus [Roman emperor, 268-270 A.D.] as a specialty. Doug Smith also has an interesting article on the topic. (of course!).

I think I've asked about this before, but there are undoubtedly new people on the list, and other people may have changed specialties. As I've mentioned, the focus of our collection is [Roman] imperial coins, from Augustus to Gallienus [1st - 3rd C. A.D.], and the object to have as much variety as possible, so as to have a "survey" of imperial coins, showing as many styles of engraving as possible. This is why we have many coins of Caracalla, and only two coins of Titus (well...price had something to do with that as well).

I've always thought that perhaps what we are doing is really not the best way to go about it, as we do not really have a great deal of expertise in any one area. On the other hand we have learned a great deal by being able to make comparisons between coins of different eras. And, our collecting goal insures that we have a lifetime of collecting before we reach our "goal" of having every style represented in our collection for the time period we have chosen.

So, we would be interested in how other people approach collecting, with respect to specialzation, and why - and if - they specialize in any particular area.
Thanks! Blake (and Ben) Davis
Hi Blake,
I collect Licinius and peripherally Constantinus and family [Roman, early 4th C. A.D.]. I chose these emperors because, for me at least, they represent the principal figures of the beginning of the end of Rome proper.

P.S. Excellent topic to discuss.
Best Regards,
Ricardo
"James D" I collect denarii of the adoptive [Roman] emperors: Nerva, Trajan, and Hadrian [Roman, 2nd C. A.D.]. I especially like these periods for denarii as there is a wide variety of reverse types, with a good number being "genius loci" types from Hadrian/Trajan (like ALEXANDRIA, DANUVIVS, VIA TRAIANA).

jd
I find this subject fascinating as well. I've always had a strong desire to collect, and I believe that for coins there are a couple of directions you can go: Depth and Breadth.

People commonly look to achieve depth in their collections: All the Gordian IIIs [238-244 A.D.] from Tarsus [in Turkey] for instance. For me it's a little broad, but includes Byzantine bronzes from Syracuse {Sicily]; and bronze [Roman] Provincials from Syria, Mesopotamia, and Cilicia. This is appealing because completing the series is often possible, and because you acquire a detailed knowledge in a specialty.

However, I believe there is also something to be said for breadth in a collection. People often shy away from this because it is awfully daunting to know enough about so many different areas to purchase comfortably. Also, there
is no end in sight and budget becomes an issue.

Breadth should not be ignored, however. People get tired of too limited a specialty, and instead of throwing in the towel it can feel liberating from time to time to buy that beautiful Greek tetradrachm or Republican denarius.

I think that in order to build a significant collection you must concentrate on depth, but you shouldn't be dogmatic. Spashing out for something outside your specialty from time to time can help you recover the same feeling you had when you started collecting.

Steve (scooperuk)
Magna Graecia {Greek Sicily] bronze. Most especially with any of the following - dog, dolphin, hippocamp, Poseidon head. So, if anyone wants to sell any........

Ben
Hello Jerry,

On the off chance you haven't seen Michael's Gordian III [Roman emperor, 238-244 A.D.] collection, this should provoke some serious drooling. :)

http://www.geocities.com/mihalkam/gordianiii.html

Like most ancient coin collectors these days, I started out with the uncleaned. ;) I then worked through the "any" bronze coin I could lay my hands on stage to collecting VF+ silver denarii of the 1st thru 3rd CE [Rome]. It then worked on me till I collected 1st CE [Roman] Imperial bronze and has now, most insidiously I might add, made me practice the dark art of Roman provincials.

Along the way, I've found a fondness for Aesculapius / Asklepios, healer extraordinaire, on both silver and bronze and have a small collection of Thasos tetradrachmii (?) [Greek], one of which I'm convinced is a fake. Let's not even talk about 4th CE bronze of Constantine or his brood. I have so damn many that I should obtain a Government grant and study them for the rest of my days! :)

Heed my warning about those damn provincials! Save your soul now and start collecting campgates instead! ;)

Pax,
William @ Aeratvs
From: "Jerry C" 
Subject: Re: What;s Your Specialty?
Gordian III {Roman emperor, 238-244 A.D.], both Imperial and Provincial.  Not the most awe inspiring set to collect, but the research into the historical significance of the coinage for this emperor and period is fascinating. Time consuming and difficult, but fascinating to me at least.
Regards,
Jerry

   From: "Droite et Loyal"
Subject: Re: What;s Your Specialty?
Hi,
I collect [Roman] imperial coins, mainly bronzes, from Augustus to Commodus. [1st - 2nd C. A.D.]
All started back in 1999 when, still a student at the university, I
purchased a coin (a Cladius as- Titus' restitition, but I did not know it
back then, so I spent much time wondering what Titus had to do with
Claudius!) because I wishes to know something truly Roman. I have studying
History, and the early Roman Empire and its Golden age  had always been my
passion. In the years that followed I bought cheaps coin of the Emperors I
liked most and, gradually, I began to learn more about metal, types, dies,
reverses, and started to upgrade my collection etc...I short I was hooked!
In the beginning I wanted to have a single coin for each emperor from
Augustus to Romolus Augustus, but then I decided to stop with Commodus, the
last of the Antonini and the beginning of the slow downfall of the empire...
I give great importance to the portrait, for to me, coins are foremost a
'memento', an imagine of the men and the women I read about in my books and
for whom I feel admiration or curiosity...I also like the personalization of
the varius godnesses or virtues and I enjoy to discover why and how a
certain event was chosen to be commemorated on a coin...
Regards,
Ilaria
  From: "pdimarzio"
Subject: Re: What;s Your Specialty?
I got interested in ancients as an outgrowth of my collection of English
hammered coinage.  The silver penny is modelled after the denarius, so I
went out and got one ... and became hooked.  My focus lately has been
coinage of the Roman mint in London.  Since I'm still fairly new at this I'm
keeping to the folles of the Constantines [4th C. A.D.] as this material is relatively
common.  Eventually I'll work on the usurpers Carausius and Allectus.
I also like coinage of the earlier Emperors that feature British
inscriptions.  I stick to the VICTORIAE BRIT denarii of the Severans as the
bronzes are typically out of my budget.  I'll probably work on the AVG BRIT
obverse inscriptions at some point.
I've even reached back to Celtic England and have picked up a few pieces
that can be attributed to specific rulers.  All in all it's possible to span
several thousand years of coinage for rulers of the British Isles and nearly
impossible to get bored!
Paul
From: "Richard Conforti" 
Subject: RE: What;s Your Specialty?
After years of collecting mostly Roman Imperial, I came across a Syrian
Mark Anthony and Cleopatra [1st C. B.C.].  I was hooked on Cleopatra's portrait and now
have 44 of her portrait coins.
Richard 
From: Howard
Subject: Re: What's Your Specialty?
Hello All,
I collect a broad range of numismatic items.  I collect world coins,
odd & unusual currency, tokens, and ancient coins.  As for the
ancient coins, I rarely collect Roman.
My main interest is more Eastern.  I have concentrated on the coins
of Elymais, but I also have a fairly good collection of Parthian and
Sasanian coins [region of Iraq and Iran].  Lately, I have been collecting Islamic figural
bronze coins [fores of the crusaders, c. 1200 A.D.].  I also collect ancient coins from Southeast Asia,
almost anything before 1900 that is from Cambodia, Laos, Indonesia,
Burma, and Vietnam.
Sincerely,
Howard
From: tjbuggey 
Subject: Re: What;s Your Specialty?
In order:
1. Trajan - a true renaissance guy
2. Republic 90 - 80 BCE - Social wars and rise of Sulla = interesting
3. Artuqid & Zengid figural bronzes - Nice combo of classic and islamic
motifs.
4. Greek silver - really #1 w/ Trajan sestertii. These are what I save
up for -
5, Astronomical symbols - new
5. Anything else that jumps out at me.
That's as narrow as I have been able to push myself.
Tom
From: ancientroman
Subject: Re: Re: What;s Your Specialty?]
Well lets see what I collect. What ever they are ,I
have 1750 coins in my personal collection.I started
wit uncleaned coins 5 years ago and still enjoy
waisting my money on them.So much so that I started a
chat list for bottom feeders 3 yeards ago that now has
over 700 members.The uncleanedcoins@yahoogroups.com.
I then decided to get the 12 caesars in silver and
then I started on Republican Silver and bronze so that
today they account for 500 - 600 of my collection.I
have 73 silver denenarii of octavian / Augustus coinsalone.
I fill in other coins such as Marc Antony Legionary
denarii to the point that I have 50 or so in my collection.
Guess you could say if its ancient ,I might just have
it and thats including my two portrait coins of Cleopatra.
Joe 
From: Glenn  
Subject: Re: What;s Your Specialty?
I started out buying and cleaning uncleaned coins, so that has
influenced what I now collect. After becoming exasperated over the
endless Fel Temp Reparatio bronzes [4th. C. Roman] that show up in uncleaned lots, I
decided to make the best of it and start collecting them. They are
actually a very interesting group with many hard to find varieties,
and it's a real treat when I find a new emperor-mint mark combination.
I also collect bronze coins of Constantine the Great [Roman emperor, 307-337] because there are
so many different reverses and most of them are fairly inexpensive. (I'm a graduate student.)
Finally, I'm also trying to put together a collection of
emperor-on-horseback reverses, but that's going very slowly since most
of these coins tend to be more expensive.
Glenn 
My web page: http://mypage.iu.edu/~gsimonel/roman1.htm
From: "Kavan U. Ratnatunga" 
Subject: Re: What;s Your Specialty?
  Lanka [the island off the southern coast of India] from 200 BC to modern, including coins that circulated
  there. A very long Numismatic history. Since 1998 has gone on my website http://lakdiva.org/coins/
Maybe useful if someone compiles this interest information to a database which is currently empty at

            Best regards     Kavan
 From: "ProfJack" 
Subject: Re: Re: What;s Your Specialty?
Greetings,
    Ancient Greek, selected others until 100ad.
Jack

AS GRAVE and CAST AE  [Roman Republic, 3rd C. B.C.]
Since inheriting dad's collection i add to it as these come up.. usually at auction. al smith
From: "parthicus" 
Subject: Re: What;s Your Specialty?
Howdy all,
As you might guess from my Yahoo name, my main focus is on Parthian
coins [region of Iraq and Iran, 238 B.C. - 228 A.D.]].  I have about 250, almost all different by Sellwood or Shore
sub-varieties, in silver and bronze. The Parthians appeal to me
because their civilization combined wild, semi-nomadic elements with
elements of Hellenistic and Persian civilization, and did so quite
successfully, and this fusion is reflected on their coins.  Also, the
Parthians are somewhat mysterious compared to other civilizations,
such as the Romans or even the Achaemenid Persians, but not so obscure
that there are no reference books available. I've slowed down my
collecting a bit in the last year, though. That's the problem once
you've bought most of the common types- the rare ones only come up for
sale occasionally, and then they tend to cost quite a bit.

I do have a number of other mini-collections at the same time.  First,
I still collect Roman Imperial in silver and bronze, primarily coins
of the Twelve Caesars and Five Good Emperors, and any reverse types
mentioning Parthia.  I also seek out Islamic figural bronzes (Artuqid,
Zangid, and misc. others) and sometimes pick up a Sasanian or ancient
Indian coin that appeals to me.  I used to collect Chinese cash but
eventually lost interest.  I also have a small collection of US coins,
including State Quarters from circulation (one per state)- not very
old yet, but the price is right.  I also have several other non-coin
collections- but that's for another thread.  Cheers,
Robert 
From: dan
Subject: What's Your Specialty?
A.  Augustus [27 B.C. - 14 A.D.] Imperial and Provincial posthumous issues.
B.  The "Travel Series" of Hadrian [117 - 138 A.D.] in silver and bronze and all their
variants.
C.  Gallienus [253-268]
D.  The middle and large bronzes of Severus Alexander.  [222-235]
E.  Great Britain.
F.   I'll go with Tom's "Anything else that jumps out at me".
God bless!
Daniel
From: Fausta 
Subject: Re: What's Your Specialty?
I have been collecting ancients for some time now and have focused mainly
on the coins from the [Roman] provincial cities located in Turkey today, which I visit
trying to find links to some of the reverse types. I try to get Julia Domna [wife of Septimius Severus who reigned 193-211] or another empress as the portrait if possible. This is for now, anyway.
Kelly Ramage
Malter Galleries
From: Snake11312
Subject: Re: What;s Your Specialty?
I've always been interested in Claudius Gothicus & Aurelian [Roman, 268-275 A.D.] ; my two prize
specimens are:
Mint-State (or as close to it as possible) fully-silvered Gothicus with the
REGI ARTIS reverse, and an Aurelian denarius with the VSV mark on the reverse.
Dave
From: David John MacDonald
Subject: Re: What's your specialty?
        My specialty is overstruck Greek coins--not double struck, but actually
overstruck, coins struck on earlier Greek coins.  I must admit they are not
things of beauty.  In fact, most are quite ugly, but they are interesting,
providing information on many subjects, such as the relative dates of
issue, movement of metals, and monetary policies.  Besides, being of
Scottish descent, I cannot resist the notion of getting two coins for the
price of one.
        If anyone has any of these ugly, interesting coins hanging around
unappreciated, I would certainly appreciate hearing about them and maybe
even having a shot at acquiring them.
Mac
From: Grzegorz 
Subject: Re: What's Your Specialty?
I don't think I need to say anything other than paste my site's URL in
here:
http://probvs.info/probvs/
[Probus, Roman emperor, 276-282 A.D.]
Who knew (certainly not me!) that what I started collecting principally
as ancient artwork, would take over my life and make me care about
weights, die axes, and coin circulation in the Empire?
G/<
From: "Brett" 
Subject: Re: What's Your Specialty?
I started as many do, unfocused and buying whatever caught my eye...
especially  coins depicting Victory.  I quickly realized that
Victory appeared on about every other coin and came to the
realization that I'd have to focus my collecting interests. 

Having always been fascinated with the deeds and misdeeds of Julius
Caesar, Nero and Caligula, I decided to focus on the Twelve
Caesars [1st C. A.D.].  So, I began collecting denarii of the Twelve Caesars. I
particularly like those from Ephesus.  I later took a liking to the
larger bronze coins and began a collection of asses of the Twelve
Caesars.  I also collect Syrian AE of the Twelve Caesars with S-C
reverses. 

I am also assembling a collection of each emperor (lifetime
project!) with a good portion of the 3rd century complete.  Finally,
I also collect Thracian Chersonese [Greek] and Morgan silver dollars.  So, I
began unfocused, then I focused, and now I find myself again
unfocused!  That's easy to do with ancient coins!!!

Here's a link to photographs of part of my collection for those
interested:
http://www.socalcoins.com/OCACCBrett.htm
Brett
From: Doug
Subject: Re: Re: What's your specialty?
I became interested in ancient coins about eight years ago, mostly because
of their incredible variety.  I had become very bored with collecting US
coins as a kid, since there really isn't much difference between a quarter
with 1965 on it and one with 1978 on it.  With ancients, it seemed as though
there was an entirely new area of history opened up to me with every new
coin.
I read all of the advice on this list and elsewhere to develop a specialty
("you can't collect them all") and I tried.  I really did.   For a while, I
thought I would specialize in late Roman bronzes (cheap, reasonable variety,
good catalogues easily available), then maybe Roman provincials from Thrace
and Macedonia (cheap and great variety), then Turkoman figurals, and finally
I dabbled with maybe specializing in coins of Antioch from all eras.
But I just couldn't do it.  Every time I'd go to a show or get on ebay, I'd
find something entirely new and different that I couldn't resist -- feudal
France, Celtic, 19th century Indian princely states, Kushans, Byzantine,
Ghaznavids, etc., etc. I'd buy them all.  My more focused friends, who have
gorgeous collections of Greek and Roman Imperial coins, pointed out that I
was ending up with a grab bag of cheap coins with no rhyme or reason.  But
it has finally become clear that my wandering eye is incurable (just in case
my wife of 30 years somehow stumbles on this, let me make clear I am
referring ONLY to coins).
So finally I've decided that I'm specializing in not specializing.  The only
organizing principle is that I will try to collect one coin issued by every
coin-issuing state/city and every ruler.  Of course, I'll never come
anywhere close to accomplishing this and even my much more modest goal of
just developing a checklist of every coin-issuing state/city and ruler may
never get accomplished.
But I'm having fun with my non-specialized specialization (and developing a
very interesting numismatic reference library while I'm at it).
Doug
From: "David L. Tranbarger" 
Subject: Re: What's Your Specialty?
Hello all,
My primary interest these days is in Hunnic coins and
some related Central Asian series. I am also
collecting Northumbrian stycas [England, dark ages], though it is
increasingly difficult to find quality material of
interest. If any of you are interested in these areas
please feel free to contact me off list so we can
compare notes. 

As a dealer, I always have to fight the urge to
collect everything and sell nothing. So I tend to form
some specialized collections, learn as much as I can
about the series and then move the collection into
stock, hoping that the depth of the offering and my
acquired experience will help the items sell. Some
recent examples, and areas still of interest:
- Barbarous radiates.  [c. 270 A.D.]
- Dark Ages- Vandals, Ostrogoths, etc.
- Pennies of Edward I,II and III.
- Arab-Byzantine, Umayyad and 'Abbasid coppers.  [7th C. A.D.]
- Islamic issues of the Mongols.
Lastly, I have only recently begun setting aside Greek
bronzes. No rhyme or reason, just a study collection.

Regards,
Dave Tranbarger
 
From: "Tom(jawboney)"
Subject: Re: What's Your Specialty?
Aurelian is my main focus, along with trying to get a coin from each [Roman] emperor
and empress, a life long task.
The Aurelian [270-275] section of my home page http://tomross.ancients.info/ is up and
running, it will be a work inprogress forever, me thinks.  It can actually be a benefit if you are trying
to attribute coins of Aurelian. All the coins of Aurelian from the RIC are there, I am currently working on
adding unlisted coins, varients ect.
If you check it out and see some mistakes, I am sure there must be some,
don't hesitate to let me know.  HopeThis site can be of some help.  My inspiration for it comes from Greg"s
Probus site, if mine ever becomes half asgood as Greg's I will be happy.  > http://probvs.info/
Tom
From: tjbuggey 
Subject: Re: Thanks to All for Responses re: Specialty
Blake,
on my website, I provide links to 18 online collections and
probably a few others that are under other headings. I have not
given this much attention since updating it months ago. If
anyone has a collection for which they would like a link, please
contact me.
Tom
 From: Robert
Subject: Re: What;s Your Specialty?
I collect Faustina Senior denari [Roman empress, 2nd. C. A.D.] , some interesting
bronze types of Faustina Senior, Roman Provincial
Antioch, Roman Provincial Seated Tyche of Antioch
types, and any interesting architectural types of agood buy.

I started collecting Faustina Senior because my first
coin was one of her denari. Specifically it was one of
her more popular denari having a peacock walking
right, looking left, on the reverse.

I started on the Roman Provincial path because there
were not as many collectors and the variety of types
was astounding. I then proceeded to focus on Antioch
and the Seated Tyche of Antioch types (of any city) as
a best practice but I still have many others that
don't fit into my main Roman Provincial focus (just
because they were interesting). Antioch appealed to me
because it was a great crossroads between Greek, Roman
Provincial, Roman Imperial and Biblical collections.
Antioch also appealed to me because of the rich
history of the city. If you get a chance, read
"Antioch Actress" by J.R. Perkins. It is a good
historical fiction novel and has a good view of
Antioch and the religeous climate during Trajan's
rule.
Later on I will be building a website to display my collections.

Happy Collecting,
Rob 
From: Philologus 
Subject: Re: Re: What's Your Specialty?]
I collect coins that are referred/alluded to in the Bible, and coins which likely circulated in the "holy lands" from 400BC to 100AD.  I fell in love with ancient coins the 1st time I held one. (Hearken back to the earlier thread on the 'mystical' or 'magic' sense some experience from ancients.)  I chose this particular area because I do a lot of biblical and biblical-era teaching.  I sold all my American coins a few years ago to fund my new ;-) ancient collection.  [I also have a small collection of primitive money (West African "slave trade money"/Manilla).  I chose this area because I lived in West Africa for 5 years.]
Peace!
  - Russell
From: rider dennis
Subject: What's Your Specialty?
I collect coins of "Tyre" [A city on the coast of Lebanon].  Previously, I collected Greek coins, but
when so much became available through ebay and the internet.  I lost the
fun of the hunt and besides I couldn't afford everything that I wanted.
So, I decided to tightly specialize.
Why Tyre?  I wanted a place with many cultures and history, which leads
you to the middle east.  Israel has so many biblical collectors, so I
turned to Lebanon/Phoenicia.  Of the Phoenician cities, I liked the
Egyptian influence and dating on coins of "Tyre" .  I visited the city
for the first time just this year and will be adding some pictures to my
site.
Coins of Tyre allows me to collect  "Persian" they controlled "Tyre" for
200 years, "Greek" city coins of "Tyre", "Macedonian" after they took
Tyre, "Ptolemaic" I - V, "Selukid" from Antiochus III to Demetrius II,
"Biblical" "Shekel of Tyre" and of course the "Romans" had a mint in
Tyre that was not as prolific as Antioch, but with some really
interesting Mythical reverses.
I got my wish to return to the hunt, the coins I need are very rare and
I only buy a handful (usually expensive) coins per year.
I still have my Greek coins and add to them occasional and I sometimes
upgrade my 12 Caesar set.  I got out of my Roman emperor set over 20
years ago after buying a Gordian II (nearly a months salary for me at
the time) and when it arrived I got no thrill - just another emperor
that I didn't have.  At that point it was apparent that the rest of the
set was just a matter of money.
Please note that I lost my dot.com and my site is now dot.info
Live long and prosper,
Dennis 
From: "JoBar&Associates" 
Subject: Specialty
I collect third century Roman Imperial Bronze.  However, if I were to start a collection today it would be the coinage of Roman Egypt.
Buy the way, I could use a Gordian II Bronze.
Bright Blessings,
Joseph
From: "aaronemigh"
Subject: Re: What's Your Specialty?
My collection is mostly Greek silver, though I do have the obligatory
(11 of) 12 Caesars collection, a small collection of limes denarii,
etc.  My collection is not as focused as it could be, but it is
clustered around several areas:
1. Fourrees.  There is something wonderful about an ancient coin that
was designed to deceive.  I enjoy knowing at least some aspects of
how the coin was first spent!
2. Gorgons [Greek facing heads].  Along with a slew of the obligatory drachms of Apollonia
Pontika, I have a decent sampling of Parion drachms and a few of the
later (and somehow less interesting) 3/4 drachms and hemidrachms; a
few Neapolis drachms and hemidrachms and a crossover with interest
#1, an archaic fourree Neapolis stater with no plating breaks.  Quite
a few random fractional issues featuring gorgons as well (Abydos,
Selge, Maroneia, etc. and one or two I haven't figured out yet).
3. Istrian silver.  The two-heads type seems quite clearly to mean
something, and nobody knows what.  I especially like the earlier
issues on the Milesian standard, and the fractions.
4. Lycian staters.  There is something deeply mysterious about Lycian
money.  I find its strangeness wonderfully appealing.
5. Thracian silver in general.  I enjoy the energy and exuberance of
these coins.  I am particularly fond of my Ainos tet and a couple of
tetradrachms from Akanthos, and a decent assortment of different
types from Thasos.  (By the way, does anyone know a good reference
for an archaic satyr-and-nymph type that, at 2.80g, seems to be a
tetrobol?)
6. Sicilian silver.  Unfortunately I'm not the only person who
realized these are beautiful, but I've got a smallish collection of
artistically amazing tetradrachms and didrachms that afford me
considerable pleasure.  The sheer beauty of the classical issues here
is in my opinion unequalled.
7. Fractions of Asia Minor [Greek coins minted in Turkey].  I love the seemingly infinite variety of
these tiny little coins, many of which seem to be close to
unattributable.  It's hard to imaging keeping track of money
consisting of a tenth of a gram of silver -- and of course impressive
that so many of these are quite beautifully engraved.
8. Danubian imitative issues.  I enjoy the wild Celtic artistic riffs
on themes from mainstream Greek coinage.  "Imitative" is not really
the right word for these; they are more properly reinterpretations,
which is what makes them so interesting artistically.  Most of my
examples are Philip II derivatives, with some that are Alex III /
Philip II mules, some that riff on Thasos tets and some others.  I am
really not sure what these were used for.  The weights and purity are
all over the map, and I am not sure I believe the standard
explanations regarding gift tokens.
Quite honestly, these areas of interest developed organically, and I
continue to collect whatever calls out to me.  It just seems to be
these areas that have been doing so in recent years.
Yours,
Aaron
From: tom 
Subject: what's your specialty
Hello all-
I have wondered down the timeline from most of the posts on this list
and am comfortably ensconced in the 9th and 10th centuries in France.
The Carolingian era is rich history and offers a nice variety of
coinage, but much more circumscribed that the huge wealth of Roman
coinage. It also pairs nicely with my travel interests.
You can see what the era has to offer at  
http://home.eckerd.edu/~oberhot/fcarol.htm
One of my current projects is a visitors guide to Carolingian France, a
great excuse to dust off the passport and roam around the French
countryside. It is captivating to stand of the site of the Battle of
Fontenoy (841) and image the clashing armies of Charles the Bald, Louis
the German and Lothaire I. Today this is farmland, and the battle site
is marked by a monument at the side of a country road.
We're all captured by moments in history and part of the pleasure is
sharing this all with others.
Cheers,
Tom 
From: John 
Subject: Re: What's Your Specialty?
My principal theme is to collect one coin featuring each of the 'Gods & Rulers of England';
 
It starts with the Roman Republic series which feature nice obverse portraits of roman gods, worshiped later in Britain, there are over 40 different deities featured, then moves on to the roman rulers of Britain, early byzantine depictions of Christ and then on to through English kings & queens from the 8th century to present day.
 
Its the sort of theme that keeps you busy for life!
 
Regards,
 
John 
From: Delane 
Subject: RE: What do people collect?
Hello Folks,
I might as well chime in with what has become my passion in ancient
coinage; perhaps others might have something for me or want to trade :)
I don't rightly know how these collecting areas emerged, just that my
interests gravitated to them over the past 10 years.
1. Alexandrian coins, predominately unusual drachms
2. Coins of Marc Antony, predominantly Legionary Denarii
3. DIVI Series antoninianii of Trajan Decius  [249 - 251 AD]
4. Sestertii (all)
5. Imperial Fractions of all types
6. Imperial Architectural coins in all metals
7. Imperial medallions (in Bronze)
8. Aes Rude & Aes Grave
My secondary focus includes:
9. Greek Bronze coins of Sicily
10. Rare denarii, As, and Dupondius (imperatorial and imperial)
Regards,
Delane 
From: "rocksrme2003"
Subject: what do people collect
I have a great deal of fun cleaning uncleaned ancient coins so I
collect anything I find so my gatherings run from thrace maroneira to
a jeton from germany. however I am being drawn towards byzantine
coins although idying scythates I find bewildering and the
provincials from viminacium
brian 
From: "dhhay"
Subject: What do people collect?
My current primary collecting focus is ancient coins of Rhodes.  Over
the past ~10 years, I have also focused on silver & bronze coins of
Sicily, and early Macedonian kings.  Sometimes, if it tickles my fancy,
I pick up a nice ancient from Italy or Mainland Greece. Over the past 25
years or so, I have meandered from US coins, to hammered English, to
Romans, a few Celtic, and finally to fairly specialized areas of ancient
Greek coins where I am today.

I really like good coin reference books, but I try to only buy them at
discount prices. (My wife thinks that I actually enjoy starting trouble.)
Coin collecting is more fun than exercising, and it keeps me out of the bars.

Don
From: Delane
Subject: RE: Re: Collecting lists, or how to collect

Here is a short list of collecting areas I've come across.

Regards,
Delane Hewett

Fourree
Fake
Mule
Unpublished
Animal
Countermark
Error
Overstrike
Commemorative
Family
Marriage
Posthumous
Reverse Personification
Travel
Provenance
Dynasty
Find/Hoard
Architectural - Other
Nautical
Civic
Restoration
Portrait style
Mythological
Nostalgic
Portrait - Facing
Portrait - Left
Portrait - Heroic Bust
Portrait - Aegis
Zodiac/Astrological
Ships/Galleys
Architectural - Lighthouses
Architectural - Bridges
Architectural - Buildings
Architectural - Temples
Mythological Creature(s)
Victory
Fortuna
Herakles
Concordia
Symbol
Mint Mark
Legionary
Captive
Portrait - Janiform
British Commemerative
Saecular Games
Liberalitas
Architectural - Columns
Architectural - Statues
Architectural - Aquaducts
Architectural - Roads
Architectural - Ports
Ex. Kasch Collection
Countermark
Chariot
Horse(s)
Propoganda
Succession
Pontificial Implements
Prow of Ship
Trophy
Architectural - Shrine
Architectural - Altar
Architectural - Funeral Pyre
Famous collection/pedigree (Ex. Ryan Collection)
Architectural - Triumphal Arch
Elephants
Architectural - Public Exhibitions
Architectural - Camp Gate
Fractions (small change)
Consecratio
Judea Capta
Denomination
Ex. Museum Collection
Unpublished specimen
Particular city/state


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