Something I didn't really think I'd say at 34......

Hello all,

I haven't been on here in quite a while......lots of things have changed in my life very quickly over the past month and a half, and it's caused me to re-evaluate some of the things I've been doing in my life up to this point. It hasn't been anything really horrible, these changes. I'm not sick, nor is anyone in my family, thank God! Things are just new and different, mostly in a good way.

One of the things I've looked at was how I was pursuing my participation in this wonderful hobby of ours. I've been thinking a lot about this, and I've realized some things I was doing that maybe weren't so good. I realized that there were coins that I liked, but I wasn't pursuing them because I didn't think they'd work well as a Registry Set. I also realized that I was ignoring nice circulated coins, because they wouldn't be as good on the Registry. I was depriving myself of pursuing some coins that I really enjoy, such as Indian Cents, because I felt that they weren't "exotic" enough to be a part of my Registry collecting. Mainly, what I've realized is that the Registry, which started out as so much fun and excitement, has reached a point with me where it's become not very good for me.

So my friends, I've decided to retire from the Registry here on NGC at least temporarily and possibly for good. I need to get back to the basics with coins, back to the classical way of things with some good old Dansco and Whitman albums and some beautiful circulated coins. I need to get back to who I was back when I started out with coins in a serious manner in 1999, and this is the way for me to do this. I'll likely be taking down my sets here over the next little while to make way for those who are actively pursuing Registry participation. The last thing I want to do is allow my sets to become some of those irritating "zombie sets" that we all adore so much!

In closing, my time here has truly been wonderful. I've met some amazing people, both collectors and people at NGC, and learned so much from all of you. I wouldn't trade these things for the world. In closing, thank you all for everything over the past few years and best of luck and continued success to all of you as you go forward with all of your goals in life, not just those in numismatics.

Best Regards and Farewell(at least for now),

~Tom

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