So, I’ve talked a fair bit about my plan to make a signature set / custom set around the Venezuelan coins I submitted and just got back… but I think I’m going to table that for now and focus instead on building out two competitive sets:

Reform Coinage, Type Set, 1879-2005, Circulation Issue Sets | NGC Registry | NGC (ngccoin.com)

Set Details | NGC Registry | NGC (ngccoin.com)

Reform Coinage, Type Set, 2007-Date, Circulation Issue Sets | NGC Registry | NGC (ngccoin.com)

Set Details | NGC Registry | NGC (ngccoin.com)

In the signature set I’d been debating how to define my slots and what slots to have and here that’s done for me. When I am struggling with slot definitions and descriptions, I find it is rarely a good sign for the set. Recall: Gradually, Then Suddenly was my 2^nd attempt at a Zimbabwe Custom Note set. The first one I deleted and metaphorically burned out of frustration.

Perhaps, more importantly, these competitive sets can live in the New Registry, with the updated presentation style, and pretty set banner images, and they avoid dealing with the laborious old custom set system.  I can focus on the photos and the descriptions for now and worry about tangling with defining my own set boundaries later, when that part of the narrative starts to crystalize in my head more. While I felt awkward and weird about it at first I really have gotten more comfortable and familiar with the new registry format over time. I like how it looks more, and I like being able to add the extra little bit of flare with the banner images.

It was different when I’d originally (wrongly) gotten it into my head that I’d be stuck with the coins split between 4 different sets, but it looks like I’m going to only have 2, and 1 of those is going to (most likely) collect all off the hyperinflation era coinage that came out in the lead-up to and after the first redenomination. Only the older, coins from before the introduction of the Bolivar Fuerte go in the other set. This lets me build a solid, already mostly complete and filled competitive set with all the Hyperinflation coins that are the part of the set that I enjoy the most and the part of the timeline that I enjoy talking about the most. It doesn’t hurt that all the highest grades I got in the submission – the 3 68’sand the 69 - hit in this set, and that MS62 can be banished to the other set, making for a pretty solid little group overall.  As a random bit of context, what I combine under 1 signature set for "Gradually, Then Suddenly" on the PMG side would be about 8-9 competitive sets, minimum.

NGC, I’m very happy to realize and say, breaks the set in 2007 with the introduction of the Bolivar Fuertes. PMG, on the other hand, breaks the set at 1999, with the passing of the new constitution and the switch-over to the new government under Chavez. NGC also keeps the Bolivar Fuerte coin in the same set with the Bolivar Soberano coins – possibly for no other reason than to avoid having a Bolivar Soberano category that only has 2 slots / coins. But this is different than what you get with PMG, where each of those currencies get their own category. In fairness to PMG, there are 13 Bolivar Fuerte notes and 14 Soberano notes, so there are enough of each of those to support their own categories, where, for the Soberano coins, there simply isn’t.

I put in a request to Ali and the team early this week to see if they’ll add slots for the 3 2021-dated Bolivar Digital coins and they added the slots only about 24 hours later. So, I’m going to be really pleased with this set category because it will house almost everything I have and want to show, highlight, and emphasize – for now.

I do like the idea of later extending this back to the 1960s coins that were the last silver coins and following not just the run up in the denominations, but also the preceding debasement that occurred with the switch from Silver, to predominantly nickel coins, to nickel-clad steel. I think that sounds like a fun set – I just acknowledge that I’m not there yet.

Unlike with Zimbabwe I’m coming into a slightly more established category. I’m not the 1^st ranked set (a set with coins actually listed in it) to be added in the category – mine is / was the 5^th created. And there is some solid competition here. FAS_Coins has a 53% complete set. I call him out because I recognize him from the PMG side. His Venezuelan collection extends back to the early days of the country with 19^th century coinage. It’s a very impressive Coin & Note combining, PMG/NGC, platform crossing collection. I can come close to matching him in the 21^st century stuff but I can’t touch what he’s built with the 19^th and 20^th century issues. I just wish he uploaded pictures more … because he… doesn’t. He has 1945-dated, P-31 specimen notes (in 67 EPQ!) on the PMG side. No pictures. But, his is far from the only set I can’t come close to competing with on older Venezuelan coins – I’m ranked 24^th in the category… so I’m a ways down the list.

But, as of now, my main personal collecting goals heading into October and November will be getting pictures taken of the 3 new 500L coins, the Rhodesian penny set, and the Venezuelan coins, and photoshopping together banner images for the Rhodesian penny set and the 2007-Date Venezuelan Set.

I linked my wife to the new Venezuelan set to show it to her. She looks at it and says, “No picture?” (There’s no set banner) “It’s a brand-new set. I’m working on it.” “Somebody’s slacking.” “Thanks, Dear.”