My continuing journey to a top Britannia registry set and putting these tough times in perspective.

Despite all the bad that is happening, there is some good too. I had this post on Britannia collecting ready Sunday, but because of all that is going on within the Society, I felt the timing was not right. For those going through adversity I have encouragement.

In January I came across adversity of a different kind, while traveling in Brazil on a mission trip, I took seriously ill. I was hospitalized there with a potentially life threatening illness. Due to gall stone blockage, I contracted pancreatitis. By the grace of God, this condition was quickly diagnosed and my healing rapid. Thankfully, I was released from the hospital four days before returning home.

While in Brazil I pulled a 1 real coin out of circulation, that coin will always memorialize my stay there and what God has done for me. I sent the coin to NGC for certification and it pulled a grade of MS-64. This coin is not worth the $2 I claimed on my submission, but in terms of sentimental value, this coin is worth much more. The coin will eventually go into my signature set and if you wish to see a photo of it, the certification number is 2756113-009 and you can view it on NGC?s certification verification.

I make no bones that I am a Christian, so I want to use a Bible verse to illustrate a point. The verse, Romans 8:38-39 states, ?For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus.?

Now for the illustration, if you have to sell a portion of your collection to get by, do not let this fact crush your collector?s heart. Remember, what does not crush you will only serve to make you stronger. Keep the fond memories you forged building the collection to encourage you. Continue to add to your collection, as I said my Brazilian coin of little value means much more to me than how much the coin will fetch at auction. I am sure you all have coins in your collections that mean more to you than filling a slot in a registry set. Do not let this economy separate you from the joy you have in collecting coins. During economic tough times, focus on these things. The economic pendulum will eventually swing back and we will once again be vigorously adding coins to our collections if we just do not lose heart. Had I died in Brazil my collection would have went to my wife and eventually my children, who have vowed to liquidate the entire collection. Now that is putting things in perspective. Hang in there Mr. Thompson and do not lose heart.

Now a portion of the good news I have to share with my collecting community:

Almost two months ago, I opined on a journal post about collecting Silver Britannia?s. Since then many things have changed including the first NGC coin grading MS-70. Additionally, there are changes within my registry set worthy of commenting on in a journal post.

One of my strategies in building a competitive registry set is to purchase large lots of coins and submit them to NGC for grading. I decided to start replacing the lower grades in my set first, and then work from there. Recently, I purchased five 2009 Britannia?s, three 2008?s, and three 2006?s. Inspecting the coins I found two 2009?s and one 2006 with the characteristic scuff marks on the queen?s cheek. It seems because of the high relief on the obverse, and the coins moving in their holders, scratching is frequent on the high points of this coin, especially on the queen?s cheek. Since MS-69?s are my goal, I decided to leave those coins out of my submission and instead focus on the three 2009 Britannia?s, three 2008?s, and two 2006?s.

Last Friday my coins cleared quality control, and I must say I am happy with the results. All three of the 2009 Britannia?s made MS-69, one of which will plug a previously empty 2009 slot in my set. Of the three 2008 submissions, I have two MS-67?s and one MS-68. For whatever the reason the NGC population report shows the highest grade for 2008 Britannia?s is MS-68, so for now the MS-68 will do nicely in my set, upgrading a previous MS-64. Of the two 2006 Britannia?s, one was MS-67 and the other MS-68. Of course, I would have liked a 69, but more importantly, the MS-68 upgrades a MS-62 in my set.

Another strategy I employ that makes upgrading easy is purchasing existing certified coins. Last week I purchased a 2002 PCGS MS-69 Britannia on E-Bay. The advantage to purchasing certified coins is that I do not have to purchase large lots of raw coins. This spares me from having to spend money to buy the coins and then get them graded. I used this coin to upgrade a MS-67 in my set. All told, I boosted my points total by 432 points!

From here on out, the going gets a little rougher. Next on my list for upgrading are two 67?s and a 64. After that, I have five 68?s left to upgrade. To spare myself a large expense I will have to be more discreet about the coins I submit. I do not want to submit three coins to upgrade a 68 and have them return as 67s. Along the way to upgrading my set, I have to hope for the elusive MS-70 in one of my submissions. Knowing that such coins exist only encourages me to try to find one for myself.

Gary