What is this all about anyway?

This is the first of what I plan as weekly journals relating my thoughts, concerns, experiences and learning as I continue my numismatic journey in 2009. This entry is really just an expanded version of my bio. Enjoy for what it's worth!

I've always had an interest in coins and collected the usual coins out of circulation for a few years when I was a youngster. They still sit in their Whitman blue folders and are probably worth exactly face value - but I don't plan to get rid of them. My mother was the one who introduced me to coin collecting. When she was in her twenties she collected coins out of circulation as well, including Mercury dimes and Indian Head cents (still circulating in the 1950s and 1960s).

I decided to get back into collecting in the fall of 2004. My first venture was to assemble a short set of Walking Liberty half dollars in raw AU condition. I assembled these coins over about a three year period from eBay and from a few coin shows in my area. The set expanded to 1939 to 1947 by the time I was "done". It rests now in an Intercept Shield album and does look good. The most interesting part about this experience was learning how one dealer's AU may be high-end almost Mint State and another's may really just be XF. I'm sure my collection has examples of all three grade levels since it was my learning experience.

My second interest is large cents, especially Draped Bust and Braided Hair. I can not bring myself to collect these coins in slabs - having them in 2x2s is enough imprisonment. My biggest problem with large cents is that I can attribute the early dates with little difficulty using Sheldon's Penny Whimsy, but I can not attribute a single Braided Hair late date. I may have to stick to a date set of them and maybe some obvious die varieties like repunched dates, etc...

My latest interest is the Capped Bust Half Dimes. I wanted something non-copper but still "classic" when I can't find coppers that fit in my collection. I'm starting a date set but am sure that I will be getting into varieties before I know it.

My current "fun to work on" sets include a Jefferson nickel album in circulated condition (most collected from bank-wrapped rolls, the rest from dealers) and a short set of Mercury dimes in MS-65/66 condition. The Mercs are part of my Registry set on here. I don't know when I will continue working on the Dime Type Set, but it's there as well.

This isn't my entire numismatic story, of course. More anecdotes, lessons learned, thoughts/observations, and interesting history will follow throughout 2009.

Happy New Year! May your numismatic wishes come true this year...