Some of you may be curious to know something of my background and what led me to become so absorbed in the subject of ancient numismatics.
I was born near Harrow, in north-west London, during World War II and had an early exposure to ancient history on a school visit to the site of the Roman city of Verulamium (St. Albans) in Hertfordshire in 1953. The deep impression left by this experience has stayed with me ever since and was responsible for my enthusiasm for ancient (especially Roman Imperial) history during the later years of my education. I eagerly devoured knowledge at a pace which can only be driven by an inner passion for a subject and knew the names, dates, and biographical details of all the Roman emperors long before I had any real comprehension of the coinage which was produced in their names.