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 Replies: 6 / Views: 1,712 |
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Valued Member
United States
157 Posts |
Anyone here (not a museum or other institution), formed a Roman or Byzantine collection by Sear number? How'd it work out? How far did you get? Tips, warning, advice?
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Pillar of the Community
 United States
7933 Posts |
I don't have a single coin in my collection yet with a Sear number, though I have a couple of targets, and a couple of outbids under my belt. It seems a daunting task unless one is young, well-heeled, or both.  |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
616 Posts |
I came to collecting ancients recently after collecting American coins. One of the challenges of any collector, especially with ancients, is focus. There's always more collectibles than money to buy them, so one has to decide what area to focus on. I soon found my niche which is deification issues. Collecting by Sear number just seems to be like collecting anything based on the alphabet. It's a valid method of categorization, but is it a realistic goal, and more importantly, is it interesting to you? In my 8 years in the hobby I've yet to meet anyone who collects that way, but we collectors are a pretty odd bunch so it wouldn't surprise me if someone pops up on the thread to admit to doing it. It's an interesting question so I'll watch too.  |
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Valued Member
 United States
157 Posts |
It's daunting, that's for sure. I'm not necessarily thinking there's someone who's gone alpha-omega on ~3000 (Byzantine) or ~>10,000 (Roman) coins, but it does seem like a good way for the completist to gather up all the issues under a specific ruler, or from a certain era, or of a chosen metal. If one doesn't specialize, anything other than this just seems scattershot to me. And if you don't have a specific focus or methodology, is it a collection, or is it an accumulation?
Edited by classic_coin
04/13/2021 12:29 am
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1554 Posts |
Sear's RCV is far from complete. It is intended as a price guide with a representative sampling of coins for novice to intermediate collectors. The current multi-volume set is greatly expanded from the previous single-volume but still, one rarely finds a perfect match for any given coin. Completists and other advanced collectors seem to prefer RIC which is an exhaustive listing of all varieties known to the authors at the time of publication.
I think Sear's Byzantine volume is more widely used by collectors of that series, partly because fewer references have been published.
Edited by Kushanshah
04/13/2021 12:44 am
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Pillar of the Community
United States
7933 Posts |
Quote:
If one doesn't specialize, anything other than this just seems scattershot to me. One of my areas of specialization is coins of Poland before the partitions. For each reign, I am trying to have an example of each denomination and each mint that operated (but not each type-mint combo). That expanded to an OFEY for the period of dated coins (1506-1795). It gives an organizing principle (i.e., not scattershot), while still being achievable (it's less than 1/10th the total catalog). It also gives me places where I can make a choice and leave the other options behind ... or not if I so choose. I think there probably are opportunities for organizing principles that would be less than the whole catalog. |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
616 Posts |
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And if you don't have a specific focus or methodology, is it a collection, or is it an accumulation? Great point. Come to think of it, I do no people here who collect all types of a certain coin - for example, all the reverses of a specific coin or coins, and that would match up with Sear since they tend to be grouped together. Different strokes for different folks, I guess. Honestly I'm just happy to see passionate people enjoying the hobby as much as I do. |
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Replies: 6 / Views: 1,712 |
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Posted 04/12/2021 10:14 pm
