Byzantine, and related coins, were not my first serious passion in coins and may not be my last. I have assembled probably the finest certified Mint State Franklin Half set, a wonderful Mercury dime set, a die variety accumulation of high grade bust halves and several other miscellaneous items through the last twenty years. Before starting a new collection, the first thing that I study is whether an item is under appreciated or not. I did not want another Morgan dollar or Lincoln penny set. I was cherry picking Franklin Halves during the early 1980's, long before the masses realized how rare a well preserved piece was. The Mercury dimes were very similar. A change came over me with the bust halves, I needed to challenge myself and increase my numismatic knowledge. It was not just a date or mint mark any more but a die variety that mattered. I learned how important a research library was and started accumulating a large number of books, periodicals and auction catalogs. Currently, my library numbers into the many thousands of items, for which I am ever grateful to have. One problem arose with the bust halves, it had already been done. There were already very complete reference materials available. The possibility of using my knowledge was becoming remote as most dealers attributed their higher grade coins. The search for finding something exciting was limited. Then it happened.
One day I was in a local coin dealer's store looking over the stock, hoping to find something of interest, when the proprietor showed my a solidus of Justinian I, Sear 140. The coin was in very fine condition at best, but when he quoted me a price of $120.00, I knew that this had to become mine. Over the course of the next two years, I started looking for information about this coin and became absolutely amazed at how little was known about this particular period in time. This is when I knew that I must start a collection. At first, I went slow, looking through past and present auction catalogs, dealer lists and the occasional ancient dealer at coin shows. Acquiring knowledge about a subject is absolutely mandatory before committing money or at least serious money.
The history of the Byzantine era is amazing. Throughout my formal education, this period of time was passed over within maybe fifteen to thirty minutes of lecture time. And now I come to find out that, this continuation of the Roman empire allowed for one of the most stable and affluent civilizations to exist in recorded history. Also, the transformation of the pagan Roman world into the Christian civilization that the western world has today is also utterly amazing.
The coins in this collection are just my window into that time period. When I am studying them, I can imagine what it was like to live during such a period. With the collection spanning almost 1000 years, I am also intrigued with the consistency that is reflected within the coinage.
My goal is to accumulate a world class collection and to promote the knowledge of this era to a much broader group than is currently interested. I once asked a prominent ancient coin dealer how many serious Byzantine coin collectors were there? He replied, "Including yourself or not?" The coinage of this period is available in a variety of condition and price ranges. The price for a unique piece is not too many factors more than a common one. A coin of superior condition is only slightly more than one of average condition. The coin magazines all talk about how people like Brand, Pittman and Eliasberg did what they did, and one of the underlying truths was that they all pursued their collections with knowledge and by looking for the under appreciated items. Hopefully, one day this collection might be judged from a similar view point.
Some of the side benefits of this collection and
the research involved is the appreciate and learning of additional languages
and making friendships with people all over the world. Few of the
better reference materials are in English and it is surprising how fast
one can learn a language (at least enough to read) when there is a overwhelming
desire. I recognize that learning technical languages does not help
me in conversation, but it is really neat to be able to determine what
is written is several languages (German, French and Italian - not Greek
yet, but someday...) The friendships that have been made I believe
are to be life long ones. Currently, I correspond on a daily or at
least weekly basis with as many as fifteen different individuals from China,
Austria, Italy, Greece, Germany, Switzerland, England and all over the
United States. I have already taken several trips both domestic and
aboard to meet with other late Roman and Byzantine enthusiasts and all
I can say is that these encounters have been some of the highlights of
my life.