Interviewing... @thewinedarksea
Interview #3, talking to an an American college student studying history who previously worked at a coin store attributing ancient coins. She also writes fascinating, detailed articles about classical numismatics at
, a substack I’d definitely recommend subscribing to…Where did you buy your first coin?
I don't remember where I bought my first-ever coin (I've been collecting since I was young), but I do remember where I bought my first ancient one: it was at the store I would soon start working at. It was a Constans II follis that was far too crappy for the price, but I still have it in my collection because I'm a very sentimental person.
What sort of coins do you collect?
The main focuses for my collection are Roman women sestertii and Justinian I front-facing portrait folles. For the Justinian folles I'm trying to make a mint set—there are seven mints total that made the coins with front-facing portraits, and so far I have three. The Roman women sestertii collection is much more intensive (I'm about 22% done as of writing), but I love the history behind them. I'm also a huge fan of Ptolemaic bronzes!
What's the last coin you bought?
I won an auction recently for a Seleucid stater that I wanted specifically for the reverse: it has a crab in the exergue that I thought was cool!
What advice would you give to someone keen to start collecting?
For new collectors I have a few tips and tricks I'd recommend to make the hobby less terrifying. First, study up! I'm not saying you need to know everything, but make sure to have your basics down. The more examples of real coins you see, the better you'll get at weeding out the fakes. Second, be patient! I talked to an older collector at the last coin show I went to and he gave me some great advice: you don't have to complete your collection as fast as possible. Don't feel like you need to speedrun your collecting goals, it's totally okay to just wait to find a better coin or to have more money to spend or whatever! Third, don't be afraid to ask questions! You're not going to know everything right off the bat—and no collector knows everything anyways—so if you ever have questions it's a good idea to just ask. Most numismatists love talking people's ears off when it comes to their specific collecting niche, which is a great way to learn more about different areas of the hobby.
Have you ever made a mistake collecting (if so, what)?
I bought a fake Achaemenid siglos pretty early on in my collecting journey, which is only slightly embarrassing because of how clear it was in retrospect (the weight was off, for one). I'm not super mortified about sharing this story because I'd bet most ancient coin collectors have made similar mistakes, and also because it was a good learning opportunity in the end.
What’s your dream coin (ie if you could have any, what would it be)?
I actually have a coin wishlist in my collection spreadsheet for when people ask me this! One of my dream coins is a Punic Sicily tetradrachm with Dido (?) on the obverse, but I doubt it'll be a realistic goal for a while.
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Another interesting interview. I like that these interviews give the uninitiated reader a wider knowledge of coin collecting. Thank you.