From humble beginnings to where I am today

As a grade school child of 8 or 9 years old, my dad got me started on classic coinage (Buffs, Mercs & Walkers among others) by giving me Blue Whitman folders and quite a few circulated coins for me to fill them with that he had obtained, in his younger days. I was never able to fill that 1938-D Walker hole and that really challenged and intrigued me.

Those old blue folders listed the mintage numbers underneath that hole and it was LOW for the 1938-D and that also sparked an interest in me, as I was attracted to the RARITY of it.

The old folders broke the series up into TWO separate folders. I believe it was 1937-1947 for part two, which I had, as a child. I had no idea that there was a whole separate PART ONE folder for the coins from 1916-1936!! When I discovered this years later, as a teen---I was blown away and dreamt about acquiring those early coins.....so RARE, so beautiful and soo very SCARCE in better condition.

When I was about 26 or 27 years old; I started visiting local B & Ms again and I bought a raw 1940-S in XF for about 6 bucks! Then I bought more and more raw coins from 1941-1947 in XF-AU condition. I also picked up a few 1930s Philadelphia coins in the same grades. My local B & M guy (now deceased) had an XF 1938-D that I had always wanted for about $95 bucks, so I saved for it and I eventually bought it. He also had a 1917 P in 63 and a 1918 in XF. I would look at them and just WISH.

Not long after that, as I looked through Coinage and Coin World I saw an ad for a 1917 S reverse in XF 45 from Paul Puckett. After a few pleasant conversations with him and his wife; I purchased the coin. Paul was a fair, kind and honest man....God rest his soul.

Later still around 1996; I bought my first NGC CERTIFIED Walker coin---a 1916 D in MS 62 from The Arizona Numismatic Corp. (if my memory serves me correctly). It was softly struck (hence the MS 62 grade) but was 100% original. I held it for many years (about 15 years, to beexact!) before selling it to a fellow board member to help me purchase an MS 64 upgrade in 2011.

All the while; I attended local and major coin shows throughout the late 1990s and early 2000s. In the course of doing so; I met a wonderful man named Joe who was a dealer from New York. I struck up a great friendship with him and I bought many wonderful raw XF/AU early dates from him.....a 1929-S (wonderful coin), a 1917 D reverse and a 1917 P.....all in AU condition! He also had a 1938-D XF that was nicer than the one that I had, so I bought that one, too! I also bought a 1934-S MS 63 from him. I remained very close with him, until his passing about 4-5 years ago. He was so reputable that he bought back many of the raw coins that I purchased from him years earlier and I used the money to help me with building and improving my certified set.

During the 1990s I did A LOT of reading---mostly Coin World and Coinage and I was intrigued by Bruce Fox and his Walker book and his company Golden West Numismatics. I would drool over and wish I could own his raw Early Walker offerings in mint state. Around that time; I remember reading and fantasizing about an all MS 65 or better Walker set of NGC and PCGS graded coins that sold for a then astonishing record amount of $250,000 ( it would be impossible to pay that today, as it's worth many times more, now)!!

I joined the NGC Registry in 2005 and I bought some certified MS pieces all in that same year.....a 1918 MS 64, a 1917 MS 64, a 1927-S MS 63, a 1938-D MS 65, a 1920-S MS 62 and a 1918-D MS 63. All of them came from eBay but for the 1918 MS 64, which was my first ever Heritage purchase.

I was dormant for about 4 years, as I was working on my career and paying off debt. I got really serious in 2009 and I joined the NGC chat boards that same year. I wanted to realize my dream of building a FULL MS set of Walkers! That was the year that I bought my 1920-D MS 64 to get things started again.

Fast forward 7 years later and I haven't looked back. I am very close to realizing this goal. I am almost 75% complete and I have all of the early coins but for the 1921-S and 1919-D. I am having a blast filling out the short set coins and the Philadelphia middle date pieces. VERY soon I will have 59 of 65 coins and be 90% complete. I also have over 100,000 registry points, now, in my Walker set...another milestone.

In summary, Walkers still do it for me----their amazing and artistic beauty, their incredible RARITY (both conditionally AND absolutely) meaning that they have foundational rarity. Foundational rarity is a coin that just wasn't saved and has low mintage numbers to boot. Of course, I am speaking primarily of the EARLY Walkers but some of the coins from the 1930s are tough, too, especially the branch minted coins of Denver and San Francisco. They also have so much HISTORY associated with them, as well.

Walkers are a joy to collect. They bring me peace, pleasure, friendship (of fellow collectors) and a potential investment return.

I just love them and it is a long term venture for me. I am still always learning and also trying to help and to educate others. I am proud of my accomplishments but am also humbled by some of the great and more accomplished collectors out there---some here and ATS and many others who do not participate in the Registry programs or the chat boards.

Here is my latest---the toughest Philly coin from 1934-1947 in overall mint state condition and second in high grade mint state.

My best to you all!

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