Posted 11/06/2015 6:04 pm
I like those Caracalla's, Albert. Great idea, creating a series that shows him aging this way. I also think your idea, austrokiwi, of starting with the narrative prior to the purchase, is intriguing.
Like you, Albert, I collect ancients and - years ago when I began - I collected across cultures simply based on my spontaneous interest in the coins themselves. Thus I used to own Greeks (Seleucid, Ptolemaic, etc.), Roman (both Republican and Imperial), some Sassanian, Indian, etc. Over the years I became more interested in "Non-Classical" cultures (to use Wayne Sayles' term), and especially in Parthian silver coinage. I decided the "anything goes" collecting attitude was getting stale for me.
I eventually sold off almost all of my non-Parthians to reinvest in Parthian AR's. In the past few years I've expanded slightly to include coins from Elymais and, lately, the Kushan Empire. I know that I will not venture outside of these three cultures since I want to keep my collecting focus pretty narrow. I enjoy collecting within self-imposed parameters like these since it's often more challenging and competitive...so the "victories" (like snagging a Parthian or Elymaean rarity that I really wanted) are really meaningful and rewarding. Of course the likelihood of disappointment is perhaps greater too...and I have had lots of those over the years.
Like you, Albert, I collect ancients and - years ago when I began - I collected across cultures simply based on my spontaneous interest in the coins themselves. Thus I used to own Greeks (Seleucid, Ptolemaic, etc.), Roman (both Republican and Imperial), some Sassanian, Indian, etc. Over the years I became more interested in "Non-Classical" cultures (to use Wayne Sayles' term), and especially in Parthian silver coinage. I decided the "anything goes" collecting attitude was getting stale for me.
I eventually sold off almost all of my non-Parthians to reinvest in Parthian AR's. In the past few years I've expanded slightly to include coins from Elymais and, lately, the Kushan Empire. I know that I will not venture outside of these three cultures since I want to keep my collecting focus pretty narrow. I enjoy collecting within self-imposed parameters like these since it's often more challenging and competitive...so the "victories" (like snagging a Parthian or Elymaean rarity that I really wanted) are really meaningful and rewarding. Of course the likelihood of disappointment is perhaps greater too...and I have had lots of those over the years.
