NGC Journals

Eagles in Vermont

My collection so far.

Today I received my proof type II silver eagle and it is gorgeous, encapsulated in it's OGP with certificate of authenticity, from the West Point mint. I now have proofs from both San Francisco and West Point mints. I am happy with my collection overalll and have just eight more dates/years before my collection is complete in terms of years of issue. After that will come variations thereof, but a lot more slowly! I spent a lot of time and cash to get started but I feel I will have something wort
When I’m Wiser and I’m Older

Because the #1 set should be worth looking at...

So I'm probably going to come off like a bit of a "super judger" (as my wife puts it) while also preaching to the choir a bit, but I wanted to post about my the work I've been doing on my Half Cent set recently. I said recently that my wife gave me a 1955 Rhodesian Half Cent, following up on the 1957 and 1958 she'd given me at Christmas, buying things I'd put on my watch list.  Putting this coin in my set put it in the #1 spot in the category. And so, it was a #1 ranked set for me - wi
When I’m Wiser and I’m Older

Finally Ordered That 20 Bolivar Coin Last Night.

Back in October I mentioned that I was getting the green light to order another of my small Gold coins because of a mixture of money coming in from a bit of OT and a few other sources and I said at the time that I’d probably order a Venezuelan Gold 20 Bolivar from the early 20th century / pre-WWI era. Well… 5 months later, I finally ordered it. I was holding off for the longest time because we were simultaneously spending a fair bit of money on things we needed for the house, we were s
captainrich's Journal

Overall Achievement of Zero Points

We all set goals in our collecting pursuits, and when we successfully reach a goal there is a sense of overall achievement. The NGC Registry sometimes recognizes these accomplishments by awarding a user’s set with the designation of “Overall Achievement.” But usually, a collector’s sense of achievement is solely personal, since his/her set is sometimes lost within the rankings of hundreds of other sets - or the complexities of the set is lost on everyone but the person who built it. For ins
When I’m Wiser and I’m Older

You know, it’s really kind of amazing...

I told my wife today, “You know, it’s really kind of amazing: You combine antibiotics, with steroids, NSAID pain relievers, expectorants, nasal decongestants, and antihistamines, and a few hours later you feel a lot more comfortable!” I’ve had a sinus infection kicking my butt more and more for a week and a half and I finally went to the doctor today to get help being it. Drugs! Am I right? Yeah… Now that you’re all convinced I’m a pill head… I was walking out the front door
Revenant

Revenant in 2020 Awards

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When I’m Wiser and I’m Older

The persistence of half cents and half pennies.

I always thought of the half cent as something of the distant past. The United States didn’t produce any after 1857. However, I’m increasingly aware of the fact that other countries have made half cents and half pennies of and on until relatively recently. I have a set of Rhodesian pennies and half pennies from the 1950s and 1960s. Finding out that these half pennies existed was surprising but when I think about it I can understand it. For a long time there the UK pound
When I’m Wiser and I’m Older

Oh no.... Oh this (coin) is horrible. lol

So... Saw this... Just wanted to share and laugh and have this to remember this later for the lawls... I was looking for a nice 1956 Rhodesian Half Penny... It's the last date I'd need to have a complete set of the Giraffe design from the 1950s and 1960s during the pre-UDI, Federation period (assuming I get the raw 1955 I bought graded). I see a new listing that shows a raw coin and says in the title "Collectable Grade." And then I look at the pictures...  And... O.M.G..
When I’m Wiser and I’m Older

The problem with collecting modern coins in type sets with many countries...

The problem with collecting modern coins in type sets with many countries is that the coins look rather the same across the board. South Africa for example: Russia (I think this is Russian coinage anyway... if I remember right) Uruguay: Mexico: Others: Interestingly, when I've posted images in the past of the Zimbabwean Bond Coins and had people point out that they look like arcade tokens or make similar disparaging remarks,
When I’m Wiser and I’m Older

Joke not funny - needs Punchline.

In looking at the description for my Venezuelan set again it occurred to me that I never really closed the loop and brought it all back the coins and the set, so I ended up adding a paragraph towards the end that brought my discussion back to that set. But the whole thing got me thinking about an old routine from Ron White, when he stops, seemingingly in the middle of the joke, with no punchline to wrap things up. It just stopped and he said, "Joke not funny! Need Punchline." It was a
CoinsbyGary

An Improbable Medal Purchase

How did a medal I never knew existed become something I had to have in less than two months? Several improbable events, that’s how.   The improbable events started at the end of November as my wife, and I prepared to go on a cruise. Our 16-day cruise began in Los Angeles and ended almost 4,700 miles away in Miami through the Panama Canal. At the time, I was excited about transiting the Panama Canal. But I was especially thrilled to spend 16 days with my daughter, her husband, and my 17
When I’m Wiser and I’m Older

I'm going to have to think on this one...

For the first time in about 2 years, I’ve received a grading credit from NGC, and I’m actually faced with thinking about how I wanted to use it. A couple of years ago I knew I wanted to reholder the 10G set and I immediately saw that credit as a chance to build a graded set of Zimbabwe coins for a registry set. Last year I knew before I even finished the Zimbabwe set that the next thing I wanted to do was Venezuela – and I even went out-of-pocket on most of that because I’d already use
Revenant

Revenant in Registry

6
Why I like coins

Congrats to the 2022 winners

Congrats for those that were selected in 2022. So many winners in such a large pool of users on NGC, kudos to the judges going through all these individuals. I personally feel honored (and humbled) for being selected for one of my sets out of this pool. Looking forward to seeing winners for 2023!
ChrisInJesup

ChrisInJesup in New

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When I’m Wiser and I’m Older

My Thanks, Again!

Well, NGC and PMG announced the awards today around lunch time. Let me first say Congrats to Mike. I was happy to see so many familiar names, but I was most happy to see his name pop up on both the NGC and PMG side. Also congrats to many of the others I've often seen on the forums: The Welsh Dragon, ChrisInJesup, Physics-fan3.14, libertad1998, lehigh96, Ray USMC,... Hopefully I'm not missing anyone there but, gosh, it is a long list these days. NGC is increasingly generous on that fron
Revenant

Revenant in Family

11
When I’m Wiser and I’m Older

Sometimes you wonder if they're watching... but they're probably not! lol

So I made my post a few weeks ago about picking up that 1981 200 Lire and I talked about wanting to get a 1980 because of the design of that coin and how fitting I thought it was for a tribute set to my wife. At the time I was hitting up eBay to see if I could find any of the 1981 graded by NGC - most likely from this same seller because this seller seems to be about the only one offering modern Italian issues graded by NGC. But I didn't find any. So that had me looking for raw e
Revenant

Revenant in Italian Coins

2
When I’m Wiser and I’m Older

People just make it hard to be nice...

One of my wife's favorite reasons to laugh and roll her eyes at me (other than my nerdy coin-collecting ways) is that she thinks I'm far too polite to people that come to the door trying to sell solar panels and telemarketers... It's how I was raised. I try to be nice and civil and give people soft but firm nos. I try to respect the fact that they're just trying to earn a paycheck and a living, and I try never to abuse or be rude to them. And yet, lately, I find these people testing my pati
CoinsbyGary

With Friends Like These

...Who needs enemies, or so the saying goes. Recently, a fellow coin club friend who collects modern coins notified several club members and me of a new Canadian-minted coin that I was unfamiliar with. The UHR-proof coin he referred to is the stunningly beautiful 2023 Canadian Peace Dollar. This coin has selected rose-gold gilt surfaces with an obverse luster that pulsates as the coin is tilted in the light. Having already spent what I budgeted for coin purchases this year, I just had to grit my
When I’m Wiser and I’m Older

So... 6 next year?

So, the awards deadline has come and gone, and I made the joke to Shandy along the lines of, "Well, I lost the 50 Lire this year, but I managed to win in 4 Italian categories instead of 2 this year, so that's cool, right?" Her response was, "So, you're going to get me 6 next year, right?" "You planning to up my budget? " More seriously, my quip back to her would be that I'll feel pretty good about it if I manage the defend the title on 2 or 3 of these 4 next year. I seem to be decently good at c
Revenant

Revenant in Italian Coins

5
When I’m Wiser and I’m Older

Very Pleased with How These Came Out!

Okay... So I was working during naptime and in the evenings over the weekend, and work has been slow the first half of this week - both because the client on my main project isn't answering my questions and I think because they're not putting much on me right now having just gotten back from being at the hospital for two weeks, so I've taken pictures, and edited them and done some writing... but I just really want to show off these Rhodesian Penny photos and these banner images because I'm reall
When I’m Wiser and I’m Older

I think I might just be out of time on this one…

Sam was finally allowed to go home last night. We had a follow-up with his pediatrician today and he should get to go back to school and ease back into normal activity on Monday. Ben is still, somewhat comically, trying to get his new front teeth in. It was very difficult getting out of there. I have rarely wanted to call a nurse a insufficiently_thoughtful_person to her face so badly. They tried to give him 2 vaccines in his two thighs at the same time and didn't restrain his hands while I
Revenant

Revenant in Family

2
Collecting world coins

Napoleon is finished - almost!

It has been a while but my graded Napoleon typeset is now complete Congratulations must go to @Mac5 who reached 100% first. Next challenge will be a Custom Set and will be one coin per mint, only about a third of the way there so that may take some time as most of my Typeset are from Paris - mintmark A. A project for the next few generations will be the Sets for Italy, Spain, Westphalia, Holland and all the tokens and medals before even attempting date runs. As we don't have