NGC Journals

Michael Byrne

Changing Our Coinage

Hi everyone. I'm also a member of the ANA. We have some very good and smart collectors. We have kids that you don't have here with I believe is good. Now I have been there a while. And I  have read fifty blogs here there journals. And fifty forums that's were you ask a question of ask for help. Now these one hundred combined blogs and forums all what to change this and change that. Well here are some figures according to the Treasury Department of they made a dollar coin they would lose 23 milli
MIKE BYRNE

MIKE BYRNE

39
Mokie's Den

National Money Show Musings.

The weather was great, despite a forecast of some rain, the walk from the trolley station to the convention center was pleasant, and the ANA National Money Show turned out to be all that I expected. I had two purposes for attending the NMS. First, I had signed on as a volunteer for Saturday but knew the heavy lifting would be at the end of the show, when we had to pack up our considerable amount of "local sponsor club" stuff for storage until the next show in May.  So, I had duties to be sure, h
Mokiechan

Mokiechan

7
When I’m Wiser and I’m Older

Rest in Peace Bob Sr.

As they say, “when it rains it pours.” My step-father's father, Bob Wright passed away yesterday. I can’t say it came as a complete shock, but the timing was still surprising. I spent as much of the day as I could with my Step-father on Friday (3/28) while still making it back to my side of town to get my son from daycare – we live about 45 miles away from each other. The loss of Choya’s mother was the instigation for building the 1932 mint set and the other birthyear sets that we made
Revenant

Revenant

10
When I’m Wiser and I’m Older

Success!! (With the Micka Mouse Money)

After my son’s lukewarm response to the Chuck E Cheese 40-year tokens in the aftermath of his birthday party I left the tokens sitting out on my nightstand. Ben comes into our bedroom a lot in the mornings when he first wakes up and he likes getting things off my nightstand and playing with daddy’s stuff. Today he comes into our room and sees the tokens sitting there. He takes interest, picks one up, holds it out to me and says, “Daddy, I need it” - his way of telling me I need to get it ou
Revenant

Revenant

4
Michael Byrne

Mistakes With Tokens And Labels

Hi everyone. Well I just received five tokens back from NGC.Let me tell you I'm happy there slabed. However if you thought the Franklin Press was bad you should see what they did to my Newgate token. Don't get me wrong they do an excellent job. But when they make a massive one like this it causes me problems. I'm disabled. I can't go to shows there is no club by me so I do English auctions. That's the best quality.      Now I just can't get up and go to the post office. Someone has to go fo
MIKE BYRNE

MIKE BYRNE

10
The Roman Empire

The Triumvir Who Didn't Get No Respect

Newly edited and re-posted Owner's Comments for an ancient obol struck by Lepidus, part of The Roman Empire, an NGC Ancients Custom Set.   Participating in the Roman Empire’s genesis were many monumental figures of ancient history: Julius Caesar, his ally-turned-assassin Brutus, Pompey the Great, the famous lovers Marc Antony and Cleopatra, Octavian (a.k.a. Augustus), and then there is…Marcus Aemilius Lepidus (88? - 12? BC). If the name isn’t familiar, no wonder - Lepidus turned out th
Kohaku

Kohaku

4
When I’m Wiser and I’m Older

My continuing efforts to indoctrinate my eldest son

Today we had Ben’s 3rd birthday party at Chuck E Cheese’s (which my son still calls “Micka Mouse” because I don’t think he yet fully understands that Mickey Mouse and Chuck E Cheese are different characters, but he understands that they’re both mice). He loves going there and he’ll often ask, “can I got to Micka Mouse?” So it seemed like a great place for his party. The party was originally supposed to be March 3rd. We’d planned to have it really early just in case my wife was put on bed rest at
Revenant

Revenant

10
Michael Byrne

Why Do I Slab Conder Tokens?

Hi everyone. This is probably the most asked question concerning Conder Tokens. Some reasons are justified why they should not be. Let's go there first. The big dealers and sellers and experts will tell you that the grading companies do not know allot about these. There right. P.C.G.S. Does not even mention edge writing. This is important concerning rarity. Some labels are wrong even here in NGC. I wrote a journal on the Franklin Press. They have it down as a colonial. It was not made here and n
MIKE BYRNE

MIKE BYRNE

28
The Roman Empire

Rome's Second Most Famous Dictator

Newly Edited and Re-Posted Owners Comments posted on an ancient denarius struck by Lucius Cornelius Sulla,  part of the Roman Empire Custom NGC Ancients Set...   Julius Caesar may have been Rome’s most famous dictator, but he certainly wasn’t the first. Dozens held the title in the early Roman Republic, wielding varying degrees of absolute power, up until 202 BC. After that, the title was seemingly abandoned for more than a century, until someone rose up to claim it again: Lucius Corne
Kohaku

Kohaku

10
The Roman Empire

Et Tu, KOSON?

Newly Edited and Re-Posted Owners Comments posted on an ancient Dacian/Thracian stater mimicking Brutus' designs,  part of the Roman Empire Custom NGC Ancients Set...   Marcus Junius Brutus (85 – 42 BC) was the son of Brutus the Elder and Servilia Caepionis. Servilia was also mistress to Julius Caesar, prompting uncertainty regarding Brutus’ true biological father. The young Brutus started his career working for his uncle, Cato the Younger. He later held important political posts and m
Kohaku

Kohaku

2
The Roman Empire

The Coin That Killed Caesar

Newly Edited and Re-Posted Owners Comments posted on an ancient denarius struck by Julius Caesar when he reigned as Rome's Dictator for Life,  part of the Roman Empire Custom NGC Ancients Set...   The Coin That Killed Caesar is the dramatic epithet attached to denarii, such as this example, featuring a lifetime portrait of Julius Caesar.  Before that time, Rome’s coinage had never portrayed the face of a living Roman.  Beyond breaking from numismatic tradition, these coins also proclai
Kohaku

Kohaku

6
When I’m Wiser and I’m Older

Plot twist! The MS62 1888 10G resurfaces!

Some of you may remember from my post about getting my MS65 1888 in early 2018 that, at the time I won that coin, I’d only seen one other coin of that date come up for sale that had been graded by NGC. That wasn’t too surprising given that, at the time, only 20 had been graded by NGC and, even now, only 22 have been encapsulated by NGC. I don’t think I’ve ever bothered to check this before but PCGS has graded a total of 33. So, assuming there hasn’t been any that were cracked out and/or re-
Revenant

Revenant

8
Michael Byrne

Collecting in Dansco Albums or Any Albums

Hi everyone. Well the first proof set has been released and they have a special gift. It's nice but there is no place marked for them. These albums depending on which ones you like perform a great service to collectors just beginning  at any age. Now where do you get the coins to put them in. I get mine from the mint. One reason the proof, and proof silver, are untouched. The uncirirculaded sets P& D also are important.  Now many of you think there not worth anything. There not valuable
MIKE BYRNE

MIKE BYRNE

18
The Roman Empire

The Elephant and the Snake

Newly Edited and Re-Posted Owners Comments posted on an ancient denarius struck by Julius Caesar,  part of the Roman Empire Custom NGC Ancients Set...   Ancient coins provide us with a palpable link to a specific time and place in history. Their wondrous, diverse iconography frequently epitomizes the setting in which they were struck. More than a means for exchanging goods and services, they publicized - and even influenced – the very course of ancient history. A notable example is thi
Kohaku

Kohaku

6
Mokie's Den

The Age of Manufactured Rarity

As you're all aware, the US Mint is giving us all an incentive to purchase their proof sets, and uncirculated set in the form of 3 different Lincoln Cents with a West Point Mint Mark.  One of the W Lincolns, standard proof, is already in the wild and will soon be slabbed by the tens of thousands, the other two, a reverse proof, and an uncirculated version.  This is a very smart marketing decision by the Mint, they have guaranteed themselves higher sales for each of the three sets and they have a
Mokiechan

Mokiechan

19
The Roman Empire

Cicero and the Divine Bull

Newly Edited and Re-Posted Owners Comments posted on an ancient bronze featuring Deiotarus, King of Galatia, part of the Roman Empire Custom NGC Ancients Set...   In 3rd century BC, a conglomeration of Celtic tribes migrated from Europe into central Asia Minor, eventually founding their own realm of Galatia, the “land of the Gauls.” Due to their central location, Galatians factored in local power struggles, often opposing Rome. Of particular note was Manlius Vulso’s infamous 189 BC gen
Kohaku

Kohaku

3
The Roman Empire

The Founding of Rome: The Tale of Romulus & Remus

Newly Edited and Re-Posted Owners Comments posted on an ancient denarius featuring Roma, Romulus and Remus, part of the Roman Empire Custom NGC Ancients Set... According to ancient mythology, the Trojan prince Paris presided as judge over which goddess was fairest: Hera, Athena, or Aphrodite. To aid the decision process, each deity paraded nude before him – inviting centuries of artistic interpretation – and offered the choice of an enticing bribe: world domination (Hera), military prowess
Kohaku

Kohaku

3
When I’m Wiser and I’m Older

Maybe I was wrong about the pricing on the 20 Trillion note…

In fairness to a seller that I have and now continue to do business with I think I need to take back my earlier assessment that they overcharged my wife when she bought that ungraded Zimbabwean 20 Trillion Note for $60.    I guess the thing that should have been my first clue was that they’ve always offered returns and gave us a perfect, no-fuss return on the note and I’ve always been able to get very reasonable prices from them on so many other things, including most of my oth
Revenant

Revenant

4
Michael Byrne

The New Silver Good or Bad Idea?

Hi everyone. Well my sons started collecting the state quarters. He likes them so he continued. Well we came to The America the Beautiful Quarters. Now for the first eight years there was never a problem. Always the same. He likes MS 69 and bought the silver proof coins. We get to this year. It seems the ATB quarters are made with the new silver. I said this should be good. Well they came out and no one had them. Except the mint sets. So I started to ask why. I contacted my regular seller who ha
MIKE BYRNE

MIKE BYRNE

10
Mokie's Den

NGC TOO?

These items which are often seen in nationally distributed magazine ads seem to be creeping into Daniel Carr Land.  What do you think?
Mokiechan

Mokiechan

11
Mokie's Den

Looking for Some Feedback

There is a gentlemen doing business in Colorado that makes amazing reproductions of US coins. Even though his copies are exquisite, he gets away with not affixing the word COPY anywhere on his coins because he creates Fantasy pieces.  I own two of his Peace Dollars, one dated 1918 and one dated 1965.  The 1918 is in high relief (like the 1921) but also includes the infamous broken sword that caused so much controversy before the Dollar was released.  The 1965 Dollar is obviously meant as an homa
Mokiechan

Mokiechan

30
Mokie's Den

The Type that Keep Growing

So, I had put together a little custom set of the 4 Lincoln variations from 2009 , the 2010 Union Shield Lincoln, and the Lincoln President Dollar.  But, as I was putting together the set, I decided it should be a Lincoln Type Set.  At first I thought, add the Lincoln Illinois Half Dollar, the Proof Lincoln Bicentennial Silver Dollar,  along with the Wheatie Proof and Memorial Proof (just ordered).  Now, I am thinking I also need a VDB, a Steel Cent and a Lincoln Memorial Zinc Cent (Since I alre
Mokiechan

Mokiechan

10
Mokie's Den

Back Again For Keeps

I used to frequent the NGC site about 8 years ago.  Back then I had a different handle.  I just found my old journal entries and they are interesting reading as I see the things that concerned me back then.  I will be gradually adding new content to the site as a thought or two strike.  In the interim, glad to be back and happy to see some folks from that time are still here. Mokie  
Mokiechan

Mokiechan

9