Interviewing... 'OwenRocha'
Interview #8, talking to a college student who loves history and coin collecting, and has posted some educational series (coins from the Boston’s MFA collection, architecture on ancients) on r/Ancientcoins…
Where did you buy your first coin?
The very first ancient I bought was from the website APMEX. It was an NGC-graded Constantine II “Gloria Exercitus” nummus from the Nether Compton hoard. I got it two and a half years ago and prior to that had been collecting mainly American coins. I was amazed that you could own a coin from thousands of years ago and purchased it even though I knew nothing about this area of collecting.
What sort of coins do you collect?
I am mainly interested in Greek coinage but have also gotten into Roman Republican and Imperial. I recently got my first Byzantine and Sassanian coins as well, which filled out my collection nicely. I think it is nice to have a range of time periods, rulers, and locations.
What’s the last coin you bought?
Most recently, I purchased an Antoninus Pius as with an elephant on the reverse. This coin is really special to me because it was in the Boston Museum of Fine Arts’ collection from 1932-2004. I love the museum as well as their ancient coin gallery (highly recommend!), so I knew I needed to get one of their coins at some point.
What advice would you give to someone keen to start collecting?
I would say to meet people who are knowledgeable and learn as much from them as you can. Coin shows are great for this, as well as your LCS (local coin shop) or online communities like r/Ancientcoins. Books have also been a huge help to me with learning the basics of the hobby: I would recommend both “Coinage in the Greek World” and “Coinage in the Roman World”.
Have you ever made a mistake collecting (if so, what)?
I luckily haven’t purchased any fakes yet, but I would say my biggest mistake was overpaying on the first coin I got, since I knew nothing about ancients at the time. I also had an Athenian Tetradrachm get lost in the mail which really sucked (at least I got my money back).
What’s your dream coin (ie if you could have any, what would it be)?
One of my dream coins (there are many!) is a Syracuse tetradrachm signed by Eukleidas with a front facing portrait of Athena on the reverse. I think these are absolutely spectacular looking. Other coins on my dream list are the Syracuse dekadrachm, Syracuse 100 litra with Herakles fighting lion, and Ephesus bee/stag tetradrachm.
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That Syracuse tetradrachm is a beautiful coin. Great interview, as ever!
Thank you. I really look forward to my Thursday interview.