...On the Lincoln Commemorative and Bruce Wilmore's focus

Last week I received my proof Lincoln Commem and then I received an email saying my Uncirculated Lincoln has been shipped. If the Uncirculated is anything like the Proof, wow, I can't wait to see it. I believe all of you who have already received the Lincoln commems know what I'm talking about. I feel (and yes, this is my personal opinion) that the Lincoln commems are a close second to the most beautiful modern commem issued. As all of you probably realize, my main interest is coins with a western them, so my No. 1 favorite (from an artistic view) is the 2001 Buffalo commems. Well, the Lincolns are right up there too. I'm attaching a pic of the obverse of the proof.

I must give thanks to Bruce Wilmore. Bruce, your thoughts on focusing your collection were presented much better than I could articulate them. Money is tight with me right now, so I've been looking through my coins with an eye towards how they look. Possibly a little background here is in order. I also really, REALLY like currency. With a background in the printing business, grade and looks are really important to me with my notes. It's funny, I can put up with much more (toning, bag marks etc.) with coins; but when it comes to currency, I want them CRISP, I want the ink to be VIBRANT. In short, I want the perfect piece of currency; at least as perfect as I can afford. In fact, I've let some go because I couldn't afford the price. So, all my notes will have the Exceptional Paper Quality notation, or the note won't be in my collection (exlcluding obsoletes).

So, here is my BIG decision!! I'm looking through my coins and this is my criteria. First, I will decide the best grade I can afford for each series that I collect. For example, my Franklin halves will be at least MS63, and all will be Full Bell Lines. My Morgan Dollars will be a little harder, I'll try to get 65's within my pricing limits, and then go from there downward.

Secondly, NO TONING. Buffalo nickels may be the exception to the rule, but we'll see how it goes. So consequently, WHITE and LUSTROUS will be the order of the day.

Third, very minimal bag marks. I was looking at some Morgans in Teletrade auctions earlier this evening, and this may be rough, but in a way, that's good because I can be saving up money while I'm looking for that perfect example. :-)

For copper coins, I'll probably be looking at a compromise of RB coins. Some of the Half Cents and Large Cents may be Brown, while any Lincolns for any mint sets I decide to do will probably be RED.

In conclusion, I have resolved to really try to follow Mr. Bower's precepts of fine strike and eye appeal religiously.

Thanks for reading all of this, I know I can ramble, but it's all been building up inside me for the last couple of weeks, it's good to get it off my chest.