You have discovered something more valuable than all the 70's in the world. You have excellent sets that you enjoy, and in the end, this is all that matters. The rabbit hole to 70's is one fraught with outrageous costs and lots of frustration. This only ends in burnout. Keep doing the best you can and enjoy the journey. In doing so you will find  satisfaction in this wonderful hobby. Yes, it is all about the art! Finally can you tell the difference between most 69's and 70's? I can't, and I'm willing to bet you can't either. Such competition benefits NGC the most as people are sending them countless submissions in search of the ever elusive 70. Instead search for that next wonderful piece of art! Gary

Yeah… what you're complaining about here isn't really "coin collecting" to me. It's collecting registry points and working / paying to try to win icons and certificates.

Almost everyone here does this to some extent and, as Gary suggests, it's good for NGC and a big part of the reason for why the Registry exists and is free - it makes money for NGC. But I think collectors from 1981 - and most of the rest of the population, including my wife - might look at all of us and think us slightly mad. 

A worthwhile concept to consider here is "value," expressed in this case as enjoyment. Do you really get enough additional "value" / "enjoyment" out of the 70 vs the 69 to justify the incremental cost of it?

4 hours ago, coinsbygary said:

You have discovered something more valuable than all the 70's in the world. You have excellent sets that you enjoy, and in the end, this is all that matters. The rabbit hole to 70's is one fraught with outrageous costs and lots of frustration. This only ends in burnout. Keep doing the best you can and enjoy the journey. In doing so you will find  satisfaction in this wonderful hobby. Yes, it is all about the art! Finally can you tell the difference between most 69's and 70's? I can't, and I'm willing to bet you can't either. Such competition benefits NGC the most as people are sending them countless submissions in search of the ever elusive 70. Instead search for that next wonderful piece of art! Gary

I agree that the difference between a 69 and a 70 makes no difference with the naked eye. It is always nice to get a coin rated 70 though

1 hour ago, Revenant said:

Yeah… what you're complaining about here isn't really "coin collecting" to me. It's collecting registry points and working / paying to try to win icons and certificates.

Almost everyone here does this to some extent and, as Gary suggests, it's good for NGC and a big part of the reason for why the Registry exists and is free - it makes money for NGC. But I think collectors from 1981 - and most of the rest of the population, including my wife - might look at all of us and think us slightly mad. 

A worthwhile concept to consider here is "value," expressed in this case as enjoyment. Do you really get enough additional "value" / "enjoyment" out of the 70 vs the 69 to justify the incremental cost of it?

I really started heavy in collecting in my later years..... but I've been collecting since I was a little kid. So you could say 1971 was my start. I'm still surprised I held on to those coins through my life (military, marriage, divorce, moving, etc) without losing them. 

I just need to get back to the basics..... so many raw coins. So many proofs from different countries..... hard part is who or what country do I send in? Got quite a few that could use some conservation as well!

56 minutes ago, ChrisInJesup said:

I just need to get back to the basics..... so many raw coins. So many proofs from different countries..... hard part is who or what country do I send in? Got quite a few that could use some conservation as well!

As I've discussed here several times, I have a binder full of various raw coins in flips that will never be graded. They don't require it and it would be a bad use of funds. This place is good for some things but it isn't everything.

Probably half my collection is in 'raw' and will never get graded. Most of those were bought in different times when I had a lot more trust in vendors and especially auction houses. I send in relatively few coins now because all the ones I wanted to have graded have been.

I do enjoy showing my coins on here and the 'competition' spurs me to make my collection better and more complete rather than to try to 'beat' another collector. However, I won't buy a 64 to improve a 63 but I will buy a 65 to improve a 62. I'm also a sucker for a deal and if I can spot a nice coin going cheap in auction then I will often bid on it even if it's a duplicate or not central to my collection.

I have also sold duplicate coins to another collector who is in 'competition' with me on one particular series. 'Beating' him in the rankings is not all that important to me but having a good relationship with another collector is.

6 hours ago, Jaggy said:

.

I have also sold duplicate coins to another collector who is in 'competition' with me on one particular series. 'Beating' him in the rankings is not all that important to me but having a good relationship with another collector is.

Good attitude. 

8 hours ago, Jaggy said:

I have also sold duplicate coins to another collector who is in 'competition' with me on one particular series. 'Beating' him in the rankings is not all that important to me but having a good relationship with another collector is.

There's been an occasion or two where I had a coin that was very good in a slot for a series I wasn't passionate about and a collector that was much more into the series asked to buy it and I let it go where it could be more valued.

On 6/5/2021 at 5:50 AM, Jaggy said:

However, I won't buy a 64 to improve a 63 but I will buy a 65 to improve a 62.

Reading this a few days ago has had me thinking about one of my PMG sets where I have a number of 66s but 67s and 68s have become more common and cheaper in recent years. I find I simply can't get myself excited to replace a 66 with a 67 or a 67 with a 68, but I am sometimes interested in bumping a 65 to a 68.

On 6/8/2021 at 7:57 AM, Revenant said:

Reading this a few days ago has had me thinking about one of my PMG sets where I have a number of 66s but 67s and 68s have become more common and cheaper in recent years. I find I simply can't get myself excited to replace a 66 with a 67 or a 67 with a 68, but I am sometimes interested in bumping a 65 to a 68.

I agree..... if you have a 68 to 70 coin.... it still looks good too the naked eye. Upgrading a 65 to a couple of points higher does make a difference as well. Of course, as with all coins, beauty is in the eye of the owner..... not the rater. I'm already learning that the persons rating these coins are truly a judgement call.  I just looked over 2 identical coins of the same year (a 69 & 70) under a magnifying glass and it is hard to tell the difference. Now when you look at the same situation of a 67 and a 69.... almost night and day. I said almost.... don't have enough samples yet.

1 hour ago, ChrisInJesup said:

 I just looked over 2 identical coins of the same year (a 69 & 70) under a magnifying glass and it is hard to tell the difference.

Well, given that a 70 is supposed to be perfect under 5x or 10x magnification, you'd expect pretty much exactly that.