AN INTERVIEW WITH AUTHOR WAYNE SAYLES

Q: Please tell us a little bit about how you developed interest in collecting coins. Was there someone or something that initially piqued your curiosity and influenced your interest?

My interest in coins actually goes back to my very early childhood. When I was about three years old, I was watching my mother do laundry in an old wringer-type washing machine. The agitator had a bushing between the spindle and the agitator blade assembly. That bushing would wear out frequently and need to be replaced. It happened that a copper penny was just the right size and so my mother would periodically change pennies under the agitator. When she removed the old penny that day, my mother handed it to me. On the side that was not worn from friction I could clearly see the head of an Indian Chief. For a three-year-old, that was an exciting discovery. My interest in coins over nearly 70 years has always been nurtured by the thrill of discovery.

Q: After completing your degree, you published numerous literature volumes on ancient coins and even founded a journal. Please tell us a little bit about your creative process. How do you select a research topic and choose to pursue one avenue vs. another?

I have never consciously selected a research topic—they have always selected me. You used the word “passion” earlier. That is the driving force for most writing projects and it does not come through meditation or with premeditation. A writer, more often than not, is guided by the story. If one finds a particular event or phenomenon interesting, and follows that yellow brick road, the book, article or program will essentially write itself. The production of a journal is much different of course than the writing of an article within that journal. In many ways, the production of books and periodicals is an art that deals with the subliminal where writing deals with more palpable emotions. I’ve been very fortunate to experience both ends of that continuum.

Q: As a lifelong numismatist, do you have a recommendation for collectors that are just getting started? How do you build a successful collection you can be proud of.

I have often written on this very question, and my answer has remained unchanged over the years. Every meaningful collection requires focus. Choose an area of interest where success is measurable and attainable. Many beginning collectors of ancient coins attempt, for example, to collect a coin of each emperor. That may be easy to imagine, but almost impossible for most people to achieve. Conversely, focus on a single emperor can have its problems too. As an art historian, I find the subject matter of coins intriguing and have built several collections in that vein. The Spengler/Sayles collections of Turkoman figural bronze coins are a good example. Those coins appealed to me because of their iconography. They appealed to Bill Spengler because of their historical connections. By melding our interests, we were able to produce the standard reference to coins of this era as well as an innovative analysis of their meaning and purpose.

To read the complete article, see: Interview: Wayne Sayles (blog.coinsupplyplanet.com/interview-wayne-sayles/)

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