How Exactly Do You Go About Collecting Roman Coins?

I started collecting any ancient I could find in the early 1980s and Roman coins exclusively by 1990. At first I was after Roman silver, collecting Republican by denomination (mostly denarii) and Imperial by emperor also by denomination. But it was all old ground travelled better by countless others before and alongside me. Nothing distinctive was going to come out of it. Later I added large Provincial bronze, but in my hands that is not well organized.

However I had been collecting the literature as well, and in it learned about the fascination to be found in collecting the all too common late Roman bronze coins by mint. To my eye they were not as pretty or easy to read, but the possibilities for new discoveries were endless, and I was hooked. Still am. And some of them (many) are very attractive in a good photo.

If I were starting today I would make a point of acquiring as much of the literature as I could, whether in hard copy or as links online. Both have MUCH to offer, and will amplify whatever collecting style floats your particular boat. Not just catalogs, but articles and discussions of numismatic problems.

I enjoyed putting a personage collection together to include the Emperors themselves and as many of their household that had coins issued.

While doing that I discovered I really enjoyed the few Republic issues I obtained, and expanded backwards with those.

Next thing I knew I thought expanding into Byzantine in the other direction would be fun.

Finally I needed a few Greek issues to even things up from the ancients perspective.

Next thing I knew I had several hundred coins that I really loved.

Like selecting any coin set, I only bought what I truly loved. I already knew buying cheap was not a good way to proceed. So now when I take my albums and look at them, consulting history as I do, I can walk through time.

I can only speak for myself, but I started by reading books and websites for several months before buying my first ancient coin. this is how I found my eventual focus. You will hear any people tell you that you should find your focus by finding out what is interesting to you and I wholeheartedly agree.

In the course of my reading I was most influenced by the Lives of the Caesars by Suetonius (also known as the 12 Caesars). I remember having and other sources many years ago in my undergraduate years at the university.

I my mind I found it difficult to believe that anyone would not be interested in this incredibly influential century or so of roman history. there were stories of murder, suicide, victories, defeats, building and plundering.

This period began with a Roman identity crisis in that Julius Cesar became a bit too close to being a king and was killed for it. Augustus who was so popular that many of his coins were hoarded for centuries. Tiberius who ruled at the time the Christ was crucified. The mad Caligula who started off as a good ruler and became a monster. Claudius who invaded Britain is also an interesting character. There is also the story of Nero and his debasement of the coinage as well as the burning of Rome. What follows Nero? A civil war of course. Galba a governor under Nero takes control at the age of 73. Otho commits suicide rather than subject the empire to more bloodshed. Then we have Vitellius known mostly for his Gluttony.

It does not end there of course. Vespasian conquered Judea and used the proceeds to start the Flavian amphitheatre (also known as the Colosseum). After the death of Vespasian his son Titus would complete the colosseum. This period ends with Domitian who was nowhere near as good a ruler as his brother or father.

I have completed my set of the 12 Caesars, and overtime I look at them I am reminded of the many stories these coins tell. I am currently upgrading coins in the set which might take me several years. I do not think there is any danger of getting bored with such a formative and interesting period of time.

Some more advice. Many people will tell you to start off with
cheap coins and work your way up from there once you build some confidence. This is not how I started. My first coin was a denarius of Otho. If you know the area in which you want to collect I see nothing wrong with this approach but it does bring up 2 warnings. First, do your research before buying a coin. This means holding coins and examining them carefully so you get a good idea of how to identify a fake. Secondly, when starting out the most important thing you can do is to find a trustworthy dealer. This person may become both as great source of information, and a trusted source of further purchases. Build relationships with dealers and other collectors.

Lastly but most importantly, HAVE FUN. Spend times on this board and others and learn from what other write and from what they collect. Find out what you are interested in and pursue that for which you have a passion.

Good luck

I used to buy everything that I could afford to...
After a while, I decided to buy only beautiful, affordable and interesting coins. I tried to make a small file about every coin before purchasing the next one (as you can imagine I failed, at those moments I was in a warship detached in a different city so when I visited my home I was not so self disciplined and always bought one or two coins).
In this moment I´m exposed to a very great temptation because I usually buy great lots to sell and of course I always pick several coins...
So to understand my method: I have no method at all.
Or perhaps my method is similar to the method of the mad sniper, I shot to everyone at range.

I know there are several members on here who like to collect portraits of the same emperors. On paper, the dates all start to squish together, and it can be hard to remember that many emperors ascended to the title of Augustus as teenagers or young men and died after decades of rule. I believe that Marcus Aurelius and Caracalla are some of the more popular in this respect--their coins start out with boys, and progress to show bearded, wise old rulers.

You could also collect Gallienus, who rode the Roman economy into the ground through constant debasement of the silver coins until they were indistinguishable from the bronzes.

Some general guidelines: Republic or Imperatorial/Imperial? If Imperial, silver/bronze/gold?
I only collect imperial silver and my collection trails off as the silver content drops in the mid 3rd century.
My initial focus was on collecting 1 coin/emperor from Augustus to Diocletian, but doing that I found the consecratio (deification) issues fascinating and so my collection has that as a focus. I also like the depiction of women on coins of the era, since I find that stylistically they are more pleasing than those of the men.
It also brings history alive for me - such as Plautilla's holding Caracalla's hand on the back of some of her denarii. He later had her exiled and killed.
Or Faustina I's consecratio issue. It's a very common coin but I've been to her temple in the forum, which is also depicted on one of her deification coins.

There are some coins that I will never get - like Elagabalus's 3rd wife Annia Faustina's denarius. Only a handful exist. But the point isn't to "collect them all" - it's to experience the joy of learning about a vanished people through the artifacts they've left behind.

Everybody has their own 'style' of collecting ancients but some standard frameworks are to try to get a good example of as many emperors as possible, picking a favorite emperor or time period and collecting as many nice specimens as you can from then, or just buying what you find interesting either due to the history of a coin or the aesthetics. I definitely fall into the third camp with a little bit of the first. Personally I like having coins from as many cultures as I can, especially if they're also aesthetically pleasing. I like having as many emperors as I can, again, especially if the coins look nice. There are several emperors of whom I have more than one coin, either because I've upgraded a coin, I've gotten a good deal on a good quality coin, or I liked the design on a coin even if it wasn't a straight upgrade of whatever I had before. Sometimes I start reading about a certain historical period and just get the bug to pick something up to hold in my hand while I'm reading. If only I could find something affordable for while I'm reading I, Claudius...