Ancient Coins: What Should I Collect?

Beginners on ancient numismatics often get a bit overwhelmed when picking a theme due to the sheer variety of coins out there. Coming up with a set and a collecting objective is a very personal journey as you discover what you like and what you truly want to collect.

In today´s video, lets go over some suggestions of questions you could ask yourself as you figure out what should you collect.

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[David-jwkm]

You are literally the best person on YouTube

[victorvanmurray]

A good video as always! After collecting romans for a while, i took a deap breath and dived into greeks, persians etc. I was a bit sceptical at first, but now i regret nothing!

[wollin]

I personally started collecting coins as a 8 year old kid, with current foreign coins, my first one being the Italian 500 lire, in two colours. For my tenth birthday, I was offered a worn 10 centimes bronze coin of Napoleon III, and as I had (and still have) a passion for History, it was like a shock that I could possess a capsule of the past. Then 19th century French coins, and later French royal coins. Then I disovered in catalogues and shops Roman (Starting with a nice Gordian III 's antoninianus) and "gothic" coins (from 1250 to 1400). And finally, Ancient classical Greek coins (from 430 to 330), and still Roman coins (from Vespasian to around 270), of which I have a small yet very nice collection.

[tavuzzipust]

My collecting has always reflected my historical interests and readings, at the moment I'm into Julian II.

[reneebarguen]

I collect coins of different American denominations I particularly like Silver Eagles walking liberties, and I have an interest on ancient coins which I’ve got a small collection of but I am learning that you have to have quite a vast amount of historical knowledge which I have somewhat of being a novice in Roman history I have somewhat knowledge unparallel to you. I love your channel because you love to teach, which I appreciate very much keep up the videos and the good work you must be. I think a university professor in history somewhere in Europe. Thank you for your videos.

[Buzzygirl]

I've been collecting ancients for about 20 years now. I started out with Roman imperial coins, intending to collect one of each emperor. That got too expensive, and then I got bored with Roman coins and discovered the coinage of their contemporary civilizations. I have a few ancient Chinese coins but the coinage of the Celtic tribes really grabbed me. So now I collect those mostly. Someday some other civilization may interest me. I basically collect what I like and I rarely show or discuss my collection with anyone else anyway, so I don't care what anyone else thinks of it.

[silverbarr]

Thanks for the content. Though it is older past videos, I recently picked up an interest in ancient coins so your content is helpful to me.

[wormius]

I’m sticking to Roman Antoninianii, with a beautiful AE3 of Constantine the Great as an exception. It looks nice to line up all the crowned Emperors

[arthurhwang]

People always say to me “So you are a collector ?” and I always reply “No, that sounds far too grand. I accumulate things that I love”.
This was made more clear to me by what he said right at the beginning of this video : that what he bought early on was “closer to a random accumulation of coins” than a collection.

I would not say that what I buy is random. I have two rules : that the object is exceptionally beautiful, and that it brings to mind the romance of culture, history, and civilisation, that it has a compelling story and is a precursor of dreams.

So I have a fabulous Dan mask with its headdress of cloth and feathers, and I think of how it was danced, and the village and the laughter and the rhythm. And a Dogon wood carving that brings to mind those mud villages hugging the cliff-side and their ancestral altars where these sculptures lay for centuries awaiting libations and sacrifice, and cylindrical grain silos that look exactly like ones depicted in Han Dynasty Chinese tomb Sculptures from two thousand years ago. I have an exquisite sixth century Buddha that was worshipped in some shrine or temple, and I imagine what the worshippers wore, what they thought, the wars during the “Age of Division” and the chaos. And a Jewish silver Hamsa, a symbol used by Moslems and Christians and Jews alike (variously called the Hand of Miriam/Mary/Fatima, how this is likely because it is an ancient symbol of Mesopotamia, before these divisions were even dreamt of. Pre-Columbian figurines, Japanese prints of actors in the “Floating World”, a wonderful, dream-like world of pleasure, of Samurai and Geisha. A revival rococo silver candlestick : what laughter in what drawing room ? A shilling of Elizabeth I, the Virgin Queen, the Spanish Armada, Drake and buccaneers and treasure ships. A Henry III penny simply because its design is so modern it reminds me of the Starbucks signage. And a denier from the Albigensian Crusade : the Cathars and the castles and the slaughter. A tetradrachm from the Emperor Vespasian, because I read a whole series of novels about him by Robert Fabbri so I feel I know him !

So I am not a “collector” looking for a “theme” in order to form a “marvellous collection”, and I would not want to be : to be so confined. I am a gatherer of beauty and of dreams : the dreams of culture and of civilisation so necessary in today’s darkening world.

[bass_masterson]

Your videos got me into this hobby (ancients). I'd only previously focused on American coins as I figured ancients in decent condition would be too expensive. After watching some of your videos, I finally decided to look, and go figure, they are affordable after all. I have two main goals:

1. Collect the bust of each emperor from Augustus through Commodus (what I consider to be the last emperor before Rome started its decline in power).
2. Collect one of each Imperial denomination from this period. Only the aureus and gold quinarius are proving difficult to financially justify!

My standards:

-Must have all details present in the original strike (see all letters and be able to distinguish facial features, etc.)
-Wear is OK, as long as it doesn't remove the original strike's features
-Must be fairly well-centered; strike axis is not important to me
-No deep corrosion/pitting (some roughness is OK, but it must not obscure detail)
-Flan cracks must not interfere with any details of the coin
-Must not be posthumous (for the emperor's bust goal)

-Exceptions can be made based on cost (either a coin is so cheap I can overlook a small disqualifier, or they are so expensive I have to settle for a lesser example), or based on personal attraction to a coin (Tetradrachm of Nero struck in Antioch, for example. Hard to find with a full strike, but I found one which has Nero's name on the obverse and an impressively large eagle one the reverse, and I liked it better than the more fully struck, less worn examples.)

I also have an interest in a large number of random coins, based on historical interest/significance, or just aesthetics. We'll see where I go once I meet my current goals. Who knows! That's what's fun about this hobby, oh, plus you get a hold a piece of history in your hand!

[nathanielscreativecollecti]

Thus far my collection is based off of whatever coins I receive in the cleaning lots. I have a large number of fourth century pieces that vary in condition and quality and a set of third century pieces some of which are really pretty, one Probus is my favorite coin. I love the color of patinas. I want to start accumulating base metal coins of each emperor.

[kaml]

I'm still kinda sorting through what I want to collect more seriously. Right now I'm trying to have a coin from every century (that coins were made) and am only a few away from completion.

[billybob-cgig]

Wish I could have seen this video a month ago. Started buying over the Thanksgiving holidays. $20, $30, $40 price range and that's in ngc holders. No theme, no thought

[AlbertoSanchez-bpov]

Excelente video, muy bien argumentado y de enorme calidad como es costumbre. Te sigo desde principios del verano y este canal me ha ayudado muchísimo a empezar una colección que comenzó diversa, pero en la que ya todos los caminos conducen a Roma, y a la Roma imperial. Estos son los parámetros que se van fijando por ahora:
1) Conseguir, al menos, una moneda de todos los augustos, cesares, emperatrices y usurpadores que sean posibles, desde Octavio hasta Rómulo Augústulo 2) Plata, bronce o preferiblemente ambos, de la mejor condición y belleza que pueda pagar, exceptuando los más raros en los que cualquier moneda vale. 3) Adquisiciones (de momento puntuales) de alguna belleza griega y bizantina 4) Conseguir algunos lotes a buen precio de monedas bajoimperiales para aprender a clasificar.

Muchas gracias, y enhorabuena por tu canal.

[colbystearns]

I'm primarily interested in Roman coins but it's hard for me to think about specializing certain eras, themes, etc. since not every historical figure fascinates me enough to justify spending a lot of money, I wouldn't want to spend hundreds (or even thousands) of dollars on a Didius Julianus or Aemilianus coin for example just because it's rare, there's other cultures that I'd like to get coins from like the Persians, and a lot of good quality coins can get prohibitively expensive for eras that I would be interested in collecting like the Julio-Claudians.

That being said, I think I have two sets in mind, a theme of having every Roman denomination and a historical era of the Severan dynasty. I think having one of every denomination is doable and can allow me to dabble into eras that I wouldn't be able to get a full set of (I managed to get a sestertius of Marcus Aurelius in fair condition for example) and the Severan dynasty is a relatively overlooked era of Roman history which helps lower the demand for the coins, thus making them more affordable to purchase (at least for now), but also incredibly fascinating at the same time, since it represents a transition from when Rome was unstoppable to when they almost get destroyed by the Crisis of the Third Century. I already have two denarii of Caracalla and Alexander Severus and at the time of this post I bought this lovely denarius of Julia Domna, which would be the first portrait of an empress in my collection.

[oliet]

Roman coins from the Republic to Emperor Constantine XI /fall of Constantinople as well as cultures and Empires that interacted with them or in which I’m interested, such as the Sasanians, Himyarites and the Islamic Caliphates

[darbysdownhomedetecting]

I metal detetect so i have a extensive coin collection but i live in the United States so my oldest dug coin is a kGlll 1762 sixpence. So i decided to start collecting Romen Coins. Im working on the 5 good emperor's for my first coins in my collection.
Thanks for sharing 🙏

[redwlf]

sadly im one of those collectors who just buys a bit of everything. I went from my 1st Kassander AE bronze $13 in poor quality, to a Nerva Denarii, back to my latest a Alexander lifetime drachma and everything in between. I just buy coins that interested me, and boy there are hundreds and hundreds. Right now im trying to find a affordable Alexander TET, lifetime or post. I don't mind over paying, but I also dont want to spend $700!

[asheland_numismatics]

Great video! I mainly collect United States coins, ancients are a more recent direction. I do like the 1st and 2nd century Roman emperors and empresses. Greek coins are cool too, I recently got an Athenian Owl. I guess I’m just buying what I like so far but thinking each coin through before making a decision. Your videos by the way, are making my recent ancients direction really fun. 👍 keep up the great videos! 😄

[markp]

Ancient history is too big, too diverse, and too interesting to specialize. If you want collect broadly and with no theme besides "ancient", go for it. I have collected for 20 years now, and my collection has only become less focused (and far better, it reads like a history textbook!)
That being said, this is a good video with a lot of good questions. It's just important to remember there is great merit in the scattergun theory of collecting too!