It's all downhill from here!

The 20 coin short (1941-1947) set may be considered a relatively easy set to put together, when compared to the intermediate set (1934-1940) and, especially, the early set (1916-1933), but finding well-struck, lustrous, S-minted, 1940s coins is not an easy task by any means.

The last nice 1943 S MS 66 coin that I saw and that I really liked sold almost 3 years ago back in December of 2013.

I decided to pull the trigger on this one, because the strike is about as nice as I've seen, luster looks great, fields and devices are smooth and it has some interesting warm, golden toning about it; albeit NO CAC sticker.

Now, I only have 8 'easier' coins left to contend with that are considered 'widgets' and were all both well-produced and mass-produced. Four of which are Philly coins----the 1941 P, 1942 P, 1945 P and 1946 P. And the other 4 are Denver coins----the 1943 D, 1944 D, 1945 D and 1946 D.

Only the 1943 D and 1944 D will be slightly more challenging.

The theme of my short set has always been gem or better and well-struck, lustrous coins. I also try to find nice original pieces, if/when they crop up, and IF they meet my other criteria. I also look for OGHs and no-line fatties, when I can get them.

Just TWO coins in my set are 'only'; gems and the rest are premium gems with just one superb gem. I may add a couple more superb gems (MS 67s) before I'm done---likely the 1941 P and 1942 P coins would be good candidates.

I can see the short set finish line, now, as I am 60% complete with all of the difficult strike rarities secured and in place.

It's been challenging but still plenty of FUN.

I always advocate buying the tougher dates FIRST and that strategy has worked well for me, so far.

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