But not as much as I hate my failing eye sight!

I guess I chalk this one up to inexperience and a learning lesson. When I got the 1981 S proof set in the mail, I got very excited. My eyes and magnifying glass had me convinced I had picked up a Type II set. Well, last night I was looking at the set more closely with a 10X loop and it became very obvious that the set was Type I. That made the decision to crack the set because the coins were not mounted properly and rubbing on the plastic case a non-issue. Still, I proceeded with extreme caution as insure the integrity of the coins was unaffected by my actions.

One by one I extracted each coin taking ever possible precaution not to touch or drop each coin. Then I lightly air dusted each coin to get the plastic shaving from the case removed. (Not sure if air dusting is an appropriate method but given the various options I had available to me, it seemed the least potentially damaging course of action.) Each coin got carefully placed in its own individual holder then I carefully examined each with the 10x loop.

Susan B. Anthony ? nice strike no flaws, knicks or scratches that I could see. Well good! It stays in its holder for future grading considerations.

Kennedy Half Dollar ? Obverse looks very good, nice clean crisp strike. Reverse (sigh of disappointment) a nice strike except the top of the shield on the eagle clearly has pitting imperfections. No way is this one going to get a PF70. Hummm, I have a hole for it in my album so in it goes. It will be definitely cheaper to buy any other grade.

Washington Quarter ? The coin has pretty good strike on both sides. The only thing I can find is a small spot on the obverse where the copper is showing through the top clad layer and one small milky spot on the reverse, another one that will not rate a PF70. The quarter also is starting to tone gold, yuk! (I really do not like toned coins at all!) Since I am not a fan of toned coins nor of Washington quarters, I?ll keep this in its holder for future consideration, i.e. sell it on Ebay or give it away to a kid that collects quarters.

Roosevelt Dime ? This one has a major flaw on it. Apparently it was not polished correctly and there is a significant section just over the ?LIBERTY? that is missing its luster. Well, this one is certainly not destined for grading but I do have a hole in my album so in it goes.

Jefferson Nickel ? Old TJ has black carbon specks in his hair that are only noticeable under the 10X. The reverse strike is okay but not super great. It is definitely not a FS nickel. Fortunately, I have a hole in my album for this one as well.

Lincoln Penny ? A very clean nicely struck coin until you turn it in the light a little and notice the small, very small, gash in the base of the Memorial on the reverse. There is now way this will ever have a chance of getting a PF70 and anything else isn?t even worth sending it in for grade. It will stay in its holder and be given to a kid collecting pennies.

So when all is said and done, I have one coin, the SBA 81 S TI, that I have for grading consideration and the rest are relegated to lesser roles in the world of collecting. I am a bit disappointed that the set was not a Type II but for what I paid for it I faired pretty well. The experience I gained and the practice of working with the 10X loop I consider invaluable. I guess I just took another step in the journey and in hind sight it really wasn?t a bad step.