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~*~*~ Lord Marcovan Ancient Greek & Roman Provincial Collection ~*~*~
lordmarcovan
Posts: 43,198 ✭✭✭✭✭
(New collection in May of 2014. Not too much here yet, but stay tuned.)
So how does a novice like myself "plan out" a collection of ancient Greek coins?
That was easy enough, when I was working on a Roman "Twelve Caesars" collection.* I knew what I needed to complete that set. Even with a wider Roman Imperial "Emperor Portrait" collection, one can create a checklist, though the full set of more than 200 rulers is practically impossible for anyone, even great museums.
But... Greek coins? They don't assemble themselves quite so easily into organized "sets" like that, which is one reason I've never attempted a coherent collection of them before, much as I've enjoyed the few pieces I've owned. Most people collect these coins along artistic themes, like animals or mythological deities and creatures. There's nothing wrong with that at all, but such "theme" collections are a little open-ended for my tastes. I usually prefer a "planned" set so I can see where I'm going and get some feeling of "progress" as I "fill each slot" and get closer to "completion".
Of course there is no way any person could ever hope to ever have a "complete" collection of any kind of ancient coin, as the variations are almost infinite. But to start off with, I picked a basic (yet still very challenging!) type set, to consist of one coin from each major heading in the Wildwinds alphabetical index of cities, regions, and rulers. Not every subcategory, mind you- just the top level categories listed in black text on the index. That alone has more than 90 entries, and will be a daunting pursuit, particularly on my modest budget! But this should give me a more varied and well-rounded collection, and teach me more than if I'd just stuck to one region or kingdom.
I will likely focus mostly on bronze and smaller silver coins, as the big silver is expensive and the gold is, for me, untouchable. In the past, I've submitted some of my ancients to NGC for slabbing, but this will be a "back to basics" collection of raw coins. I've come around to thinking that spending all that money on pricey plastic slabs is a little silly, at least for a larger collection as this may one day become. A few favorites here may wear NGC slabs and do double-duty in my "Eclectic Box of 20" collection*. But for the most part, I will keep the newer additions raw so I can hold them in my hand and appreciate their aura of antiquity.
Obviously, this very ambitious project will keep me busy for a long time, if I stick to it, and I may never complete even the "basic" plan I've mapped out here. I'm sure my ideas about the parameters of the set will evolve over time, and I may eventually develop a more specialized focus on one or more particular areas. But initially I'll just try and see how many coins from these basic categories I can get, and learn as much as I can.
Wildwinds Greek & Roman Provincial alphabetical index by city, region, or ruler
That page is where you'll see all the subcategories. I am only going for the basic, top-level categories (shown in black text there). Not all of the coins are truly "Greek", either. Some other cultures got pigeonholed under that index.
Aeolis
Aigina
Aitolia
Akarnania
Apulia
Arabia
Argolis
Arkadia
Armenia
Attica
Axum
Babylon
Baktria
Bithynia
Boeotia
Bosporos
Bruttium
Byzacene
Calabria, Taras: silver obol, ca. 250 BC
Campania
Cappadocia
Caria
Characene
Cilicia
Commagene
Corcyra
Corinth
Crete
Cyclades
Cyprus
Dacia
Egypt
Elis
Elymais
Epeiros
Etruria
Euboia
Frentani
Galatia
Gaul
Illyria
Indo-Parthians
Indo-Scythians
Ionia, Teos: silver trihemiobol, ca. 500-450 BC
Judaea
Kolchis
Kyrenaica
Kushans
Laconia
Latium
Lesbos
Lokris
Lucania
Lycaonia
Lycia
Lydia
Macedonia
Mauretania
Megaris
Mesopotamia
Messenia
Moesia
Mysia
Numidia
Paeonia
Palestine
Pamphylia
Paphlagonia
Peloponnesos
Persis
Phoenicia
Phokis
Phrygia
Picenum
Pisidia
Pontos
Rhodes
Samaria
Sardinia
Sarmatia
Scythia
Seleucia: bronze AE19 of Antiochus VIII, ca. 121-120 BC
Sicily, Akragas: silver hemidrachm, ca. 410-406 BC
Sikyon
Spain
Syria
Syrtica
Thessaly, Rhodian Mercenaries: silver drachm, ca. 175-170 BC
Thrace
Thraco-Macedonian Tribes
Troas, Birytis: bronze AE8, ca. 300 BC
Umbria
Zeugitana
So how does a novice like myself "plan out" a collection of ancient Greek coins?
That was easy enough, when I was working on a Roman "Twelve Caesars" collection.* I knew what I needed to complete that set. Even with a wider Roman Imperial "Emperor Portrait" collection, one can create a checklist, though the full set of more than 200 rulers is practically impossible for anyone, even great museums.
But... Greek coins? They don't assemble themselves quite so easily into organized "sets" like that, which is one reason I've never attempted a coherent collection of them before, much as I've enjoyed the few pieces I've owned. Most people collect these coins along artistic themes, like animals or mythological deities and creatures. There's nothing wrong with that at all, but such "theme" collections are a little open-ended for my tastes. I usually prefer a "planned" set so I can see where I'm going and get some feeling of "progress" as I "fill each slot" and get closer to "completion".
Of course there is no way any person could ever hope to ever have a "complete" collection of any kind of ancient coin, as the variations are almost infinite. But to start off with, I picked a basic (yet still very challenging!) type set, to consist of one coin from each major heading in the Wildwinds alphabetical index of cities, regions, and rulers. Not every subcategory, mind you- just the top level categories listed in black text on the index. That alone has more than 90 entries, and will be a daunting pursuit, particularly on my modest budget! But this should give me a more varied and well-rounded collection, and teach me more than if I'd just stuck to one region or kingdom.
I will likely focus mostly on bronze and smaller silver coins, as the big silver is expensive and the gold is, for me, untouchable. In the past, I've submitted some of my ancients to NGC for slabbing, but this will be a "back to basics" collection of raw coins. I've come around to thinking that spending all that money on pricey plastic slabs is a little silly, at least for a larger collection as this may one day become. A few favorites here may wear NGC slabs and do double-duty in my "Eclectic Box of 20" collection*. But for the most part, I will keep the newer additions raw so I can hold them in my hand and appreciate their aura of antiquity.
Obviously, this very ambitious project will keep me busy for a long time, if I stick to it, and I may never complete even the "basic" plan I've mapped out here. I'm sure my ideas about the parameters of the set will evolve over time, and I may eventually develop a more specialized focus on one or more particular areas. But initially I'll just try and see how many coins from these basic categories I can get, and learn as much as I can.
Wildwinds Greek & Roman Provincial alphabetical index by city, region, or ruler
That page is where you'll see all the subcategories. I am only going for the basic, top-level categories (shown in black text there). Not all of the coins are truly "Greek", either. Some other cultures got pigeonholed under that index.
Aeolis
Aigina
Aitolia
Akarnania
Apulia
Arabia
Argolis
Arkadia
Armenia
Attica
Axum
Babylon
Baktria
Bithynia
Boeotia
Bosporos
Bruttium
Byzacene
Calabria, Taras: silver obol, ca. 250 BCCampania
Cappadocia
Caria
Characene
Cilicia
Commagene
Corcyra
Corinth
Crete
Cyclades
Cyprus
Dacia
Egypt
Elis
Elymais
Epeiros
Etruria
Euboia
Frentani
Galatia
Gaul
Illyria
Indo-Parthians
Indo-Scythians
Ionia, Teos: silver trihemiobol, ca. 500-450 BCJudaea
Kolchis
Kyrenaica
Kushans
Laconia
Latium
Lesbos
Lokris
Lucania
Lycaonia
Lycia
Lydia
Macedonia
Mauretania
Megaris
Mesopotamia
Messenia
Moesia
Mysia
Numidia
Paeonia
Palestine
Pamphylia
Paphlagonia
Peloponnesos
Persis
Phoenicia
Phokis
Phrygia
Picenum
Pisidia
Pontos
Rhodes
Samaria
Sardinia
Sarmatia
Scythia
Seleucia: bronze AE19 of Antiochus VIII, ca. 121-120 BCSicily, Akragas: silver hemidrachm, ca. 410-406 BCSikyon
Spain
Syria
Syrtica
Thessaly, Rhodian Mercenaries: silver drachm, ca. 175-170 BCThrace
Thraco-Macedonian Tribes
Troas, Birytis: bronze AE8, ca. 300 BC Umbria
Zeugitana
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Comments
I have not yet listed them, but when you're looking for a cheap Aegina (Aigina?) turtle or tortoise, let me know as I have two to sell (they're both the turtle issue)
Taler Custom Set
Ancient Custom Set
<< <i>You have some work ahead of you! >>
Indeed I do. This will be very challenging and will take years, if I stick with it.
But in maybe a year and a half of collecting Roman Imperial coins I had amassed almost a hundred different coins, and not all of them were inexpensive late bronzes, either. Had that collection not been cut short and sold off after my 2008 layoff, I would have stuck with it and it would have been pretty impressive by now. Considering my budget, it was a pretty impressive collection then, and I was near the height of my enthusiasm for it when I broke it up.
If this collection feeds a similar enthusiasm and gives me as much fun and learning as the Romans did, I will probably stick with it. In the last year I have sold off most of my coins, reorganized, and been looking for a new direction. I have picked up and put down a few short-lived projects and have probably seemed a bit flighty, but once I find the right project to grab my attention I'll probably settle down for a while.
Could this be that project? We'll see.
Taler Custom Set
Ancient Custom Set
I think it is a testament to the collectibility of Roman and Greek ancients that if you have some patience you can amass quite a collection at reasonable prices. I've found that too and even with the occasional $70-100 coin you have to purchase, you still have the joy of buying several other coins for $10-20 much more often.
I still want my interactive map though.
<< <i>Your Avatar coin you purchased is a stellar start! >>
Thanks. It is off at NGC being entombed in pricey plastic right now (so it can do double duty in my Box of 20 set), but that's probably my last submission for a good while.
That piece is likely to remain the "jewel" in this collection for some time, as I can't afford for the rest of this set to be at that level of quality. I've been mostly window shopping in the $50-150 range, and will only occasionally go above or below that, most likely. So I'm definitely not going to give you and SE1795 a run for your money. But hopefully we'll see how well I can do on a limited budget.