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Closing in on the Obscure One - GSA Soft Pack Addition

1892-P GSA Soft Pack Added to My Collection Today I added an 1892-P Morgan Silver Dollar in the GSA soft pack to my collection that is ranked number two. There are only 2 graded in the soft pack, so this is a rare one indeed. This coin is also the highest graded coin for this date in the GSA soft pack. I am closing in on the number one graded set, which I refer to as the Obscure One. Why? Because his set is OBSCURED from my and everyone's view. Who owns the other graded coin? Does the
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Reclaiming My Rightful Position on the Throne

Long Live the KING!!! Once upon a time, a long time ago, NGC brought forth new registry set categories for an obscure group of Morgan and Peace silver dollars accumulated by a few adventurous, and some might say foolhardy, collectors. These collectors toiled away in relative obscurity in pursuit of their passion, often maligned and misunderstood by other more mainstream collectors. They frequently overpaid for coins for reasons not comprehensible to most collectors. The coins were referred
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Almost a 68...

Highest Graded Non-CC Morgan in the GSA Hard Pack This beautiful Morgan received the highest grade of all the non-CC Morgan silver dollars in the GSA Hard Packs at MS67+ (plus). It is my understanding that the plus grade signifies that the coin is at the high end of its assigned grade, and close to the technical requirements for the next higher grade, in this case MS68. So close...but not quite. I added this coin to my set today, and am inching ever closer to the coveted number one spot.
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VAMTASTIC

A New VAM Set Focused on Morgan Dollars in the GSA Soft Pack I have been lucky to acquire some VAMs in the GSA soft packs over the last few years, and decided to start a new registry set. These coins are rare enough already, it is kind of crazy to even try to assemble a VAM set. Here is one of the rarest in my collection to date, a VAM 117 for an 1878-P 7 tail feathers with a reverse of 78. To check out the rest, go to: http://coins.www.collectors-society.com/registry/coins/SetListing.as
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1935-P GSA Soft Pack Peace Dollar

My First Significant Coin Added in 2012 Keeps My Set #1. 2011 was a difficult year, though not necessarily from a coin collecting perspective. The poor economy continued to take a toll on the 99% of us. Lower income and home values have devastated many families. Vacant store fronts and foreclosures are common in most neighborhoods. I cut back on my own coin purchases in 2011, but did buy several coins in 2011 from collectors that needed to sell for economic reasons. Despite the terribl
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A Pure Points Play!

How I added 1,320 points to my Registry Set AND put $710 in my pocket!! There seems to be a lot of active discussion and controversy on Collector's Society Journals lately related to Registry points and how they are not fair, or seemingly random, and don't reflect current market prices or rarity of the coins. I now join the fray. Can you imagine NGC trying to determine the points assigned to each coin in an attempt to fairly represent the worth and rarity of a particular coin in a particula
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Back in the Saddle

A new addition to an old set Dear Journal: My non-CC GSA hard pack Morgan dollar set has been quiet for a long time, with only one coin added in the last 3 years, until now. This 1898-O is now the second coin I have added since October of 2007. These coins are very rare, and are seldom seen in the marketplace. Due to their rarity, prices can be volatile. When prices really began moving up in 2006 and 2007, I stepped to the sidelines, and wondered if I would ever be able to add another ra
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My Highest Graded GSA Soft Pack - MS66 Monster!

These were sold as circulated coins by the government in the 70's for $3 each. I just made my first MS66 Morgan Silver Dollar in the GSA Soft Pack holder! How sweet it is! This 1883-O is a rather common date in the GSA Soft Packs, but this is the only 66 for the date. I bought this ungraded and thought it had a shot at 66. It is very clean with a touch of rim toning. As of this writing, the GSA soft pack population report shows this new MS66 as 1 of only 3 graded MS66 for all dates (1878
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1877 Proof Set Almost Done - 20 Cent Piece Added Today

It Took Me Four Years to Find This One! My 1877 early proof set is made up of cameo proofs graded 63 or 64. I have been looking for a 20 cent piece that fits this criteria for almost 4 years. One PF 63 Cameo finally came available and I had to have it. Who knows when another might come along. So I bid strong and got it. The irony is that, after waiting 4 years for one to show up, 2 more came to auction within the next 3 months after I bought this. One was graded 64 cameo and the other 63
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A Journey Ends Here

Now What? I have been looking for an 1884-CC MS67 in the original GSA holder for about four years. Several have become available during that time, but I was always a day late or a dollar short. My quest recently ended with the purchase shown below. It is probably the last upgrade to my set I will make. Any upgrades from here are substantially more expensive, and I cannot justify the cost in my own mind. It is thrilling to get that last coin I have been looking for, but at the same t
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1883-CC Common Date GSA Morgan Added - Graded G4

So what's the big deal?? I recently added an 1883-CC Morgan silver dollar to my registry set. It's not uncirculated, it's not AU, it's not XF or F. It's graded G4 (Good). It's also worth 1,271 registry points...why? The Carson City Mint produced 1,204,000 silver dollars in 1883. In the 1960's, after being hidden away in government bank vaults for almost 100 years, over 3 million silver dollars were discovered, including over 750,000 from 1883. During the 1970's, these coins were sold to
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A Milestone Passed

200,000 Points in the Registry Dear Journal: As much as I enjoy collecting coins, I also enjoy sharing coins and stories with other collectors on the Registry. While I don't particularly care where I am overall in total points or rankings on the Registry, I do enjoy competing on individual sets. I have been adding some coins lately, and one day, I looked up to see that I had crossed the 200,000 mark in total Registry points. I stopped in my tracks and did not add any more coins that day.
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I Way Overpaid For This Coin!!

But You Know What - I DON'T CARE!! Here we are in the middle of the worst recession in my lifetime, and I bought this coin for moon money. Why? Why not! I didn't invest it with Madoff in his ponzi scheme - I would have lost it all if I had. I didn't invest it with the crooks on Wall Street - I would have lost 50% if I had. So I am feeling pretty good, even if I did overpay for it. This coin is rare in the GSA Soft Pack, with only two graded. This one at AU58 and one at AU53. How much
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Coin Photography and Presentation

I have been working on this for quite some time... Coin photography can be very frustrating for me at times. The reflections from the plastic grading slabs or GSA holders are difficult to get rid of. Camera focusing is not always sharp. Presentation is awkward and difficult when working with square pictures and round coins. It goes on and on. Through a lot of trial and error, and a little help from others, here is my latest...I really like the look.
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2009 New Year's Resolutions

One 2009 Goal was Completed in 2008. As we were heading into the last few months of 2008, I started thinking about my coin collecting goals for 2009. One 2009 goal I wanted to accomplish was to complete my Morgan Silver Dollar GSA set in Deep Mirror Proof-Like condition. I had been working on it for about four years, with just one coin left. The remaining coin was the 1880-CC Reverse of 78. There are only 10 graded in DPL, so they don't surface for sale very often. I had been looking for
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New Registry Set Added Today - I am Number One

I am also the only one...for now. NGC added a new registry set category today - Morgan Dollars in GSA Soft Packs. It has been a long time coming, but the wait was worth it. I was the first collector to add a coin to the new registry set...but will certainly not be the last. There are many collectors of these coins, many with much more substantial collections than mine, and I hope that all of them add their sets to the registry. I am really looking forward to it.
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Ephemera...

I learned a new word today. One way I justify (to myself, and to my wife) spending time on coin websites such as the Collectors? Society website is that it is ?educational.? While it is hard to justify all of the time I spend on the Internet looking at coins, I now have positive proof that it is educational. I learned a new word today ? Ephemera! In case you are not familiar with the meaning of this word, it is defined as?items of collectible memorabilia, typically written or printed ones,
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Three Pennies For Three Women

How I Finished a Collection Dear Journal: Like many coin collectors, I started as a child, probably 9 or 10 years old. I can remember going over to my grandmother?s house in San Gabriel, California, and she would tell me stories about life in early California. I would stare at her in wide-eyed disbelief to hear how when she was a child, her family used to travel to see the Rose Parade in Pasadena in a horse and buggy. No internet, no ipod, no TV, no cars. On occasion, she would give me
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I Don?t Give a VAM!!

Or do I??? VAM stands for Van Allan and Mallis, two well-known numismatists that study coins for variations, many of which cannot be seen without large magnification. Leroy Van Allen and A. George Mallis have written several books on coin varieties and are considered experts in their field. For Morgan Silver Dollar collectors, the variety or VAM for a coin can make a significant difference in the value of the coin. When I first heard about Morgan Dollar VAM?s, I thought it was most absurd.
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Mystery Coin Contest Winner

And the WINNER is?..CT?s Coins!!!!! I continue to be impressed with the depth of coin collecting knowledge among members of the collectors society. The contest was to identify the mystery coin by type, date, mint mark, variety, and grade, by only looking at a picture of the reverse of the coin (see picture below). A seemingly impossible task?but the members were up to it. Thank you to all who submitted their best guess and to those that thought about it, but could not figure it out. I only
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The Dreaded Estate Sale

Don?t Be A Victim Dear Journal: I often wonder whether all of those coins listed for sale on ebay as part of an ?Estate Sale? are really from the estate of someone who passed away. I did a random search on ebay for coins with ?Estate? in the title and got almost 2,000 listings. There is a certain attraction to a coin, if you think that it has been sitting in someone?s safe deposit box for 20 or 30 years, and it is now seeing the light of day for the first time in ages. Everyone is looking
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Mystery Coin Contest!!

Test your skill and knowledge and maybe even you could be a winner!! Good evening and welcome to The Mystery Coin Contest. I posted a journal earlier and included a picture of the reverse of a coin. I had a few kind comments, thank you for those, and a few curious members who wanted to know more about the coin. I have included the same picture here. Your mission, should you decide to accept it, is to identify the coin by type, date, mint mark, and variety, by only looking at the picture
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Rifle or Shotgun?

What is Your Weapon of Choice? Coin collecting can take many forms and styles. When I started collecting, every coin that interested me got a spot in my collection. If there was a hole in a Whitman album for it, I kept it. It did not matter whether it was a penny or a dollar, whether a U.S. coin or foreign coin. Changes in directions occur frequently. Searches for coins are easy. The coins are readily available and attractively priced. I call this the shotgun approach. Knowledge and e
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Coin Hogs Unite!!

SUUUUU-WEEEEET!!!! At the request of some coin hogs, I am republishing this journal from a year ago. They say reading it inspires them to go out and buy more coins?is this a good thing? Here you go? We know who we are. We have some money, but we always need more. We postpone purchases of non-necessities. We let our houses fall into disrepair to save cash. We eat at inexpensive restaurants when we could afford better. We drive older cars when we could have newer ones. We don?t care.
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One Sixty Seven

A New Addition Dear Journal: As a collector of GSA Morgan Silver Dollars, it is rare to get the opportunity to acquire one graded MS67. I recently acquired such a coin for my non-Carson City set of GSA Morgan Silver Dollars. It is my first coin graded MS67 for this set. As of this writing, there have been only seven coins graded MS67 for all dates in the population report for GSA Non-CC Morgan Silver Dollars. There are three coins for 1879-S, including this one and one graded MS67 star.
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