VERY new to all this. If anyone has any suggestions where to start...

I'd be very happy to hear them. I had some roman bronze coins years ago, and learned to clean them by soaking in olive oil, you know that kind of thing.
Now, I've been making coin dies based on Early Medieval coins, mostly from Viking kingdoms in England. Cnut, Aedmond ect… 
But I'd like to get started collecting the real thing. Partly to study the designs and how the letter punches were made, but mostly because they're a cool bit of history. 
So, if someone can point me in the right direction, I would appreciate it!