I'm ready to move back to coins in a big way!

Greetings Collectors,

It's been a while since I posted a journal here and while there are some of you who probably wished I was gone for good, I'm back. I want to thank those of you who have stayed in contact & you are aware of the issues that have been keeping me very busy. For those of you that don't know...

For the most part it has been the health of my dad. Actually he's my step dad but he and I have been alot closer than my real father and I ever were. He has been in the hospital four times in as many months so I have been living at the hospital with him and driving the 90 odd miles each way to come back home to have my boys every other weekend and take care of the cat etc. But he has recovered nicely at age 82 from his third stroke and just talked to him on the phone and he had gone to town today to eat at his favorite resturant. A very big move in the positive considering where we were in the month of Feb & March.

I have been operating my coin & jewelry business on eBay from between his home and mine and have picked up for the most part, all the silver bars I wish to own. I will keep watching and pick up a rare one here or there but for now I am calling it "mission acomplished". The last bar I got was the "crown jewel" of my collection. It's a 40.2 ounce "Chovanak" old pour bar made from silver mined around Helena Montana almost 100 years ago.(5th column from left & 4th bar down) The other two "biggies" are a pair of "Universal" silver corp kilo bars over to the left of center in the photo.(actually 4th column from left and 4th & 5th bars down) And there are many other bars with most having a "decimal" in the final weight tally. Such as 25.42 & 12.36 ounces etc. I have quite a few 5+ ounce bars and 10+ ounce bars and then several odd weight ones such as 19.2 and 16.87 etc. Out of all pictured here, the rarest/most scarce is the big "Chovanak" along with a "one ounce" "baby brother" version.(located 8th column from left, & 11th down from the top) These two Montana bars are followed very closly in "rarity" by the four bars to the far left which were mined & minted by "Consolidated Mines & Metals". The one at the top is a 10.23 and going down the column, a 5.23, a 5.24 & a 5.28 ounces. But these bars like my coin sets have consumed my time & funds for a few month period, only to wane and have another love take their place. I do feel like a prostitute sometimes the way I jump from one love to another. It has always been this way, even with my coins. Focusing on a certain series with a vengence for a period of time only to jump to yet a different one with the same zeal.

On coins I have not been completely quiet as I have picked up a few more pre-1933 gold coins and have aquired about 14 more Franklin halves in NGC holders (they are the most strict in their grading standards when it comes to "full bell line" coins and thus worth far more than their PCGS counterparts) The two I am most proud of are my new MS-65 FBL 1953-P & a 1960-P, also a mint state 65 with full bell lines. These two and even more so the '53 are very rare coins when graded this high. (There are less than a couple thousand coins that grade higher than 65 FBL in the entire 1948-1963 series with only 10% higher than MS-66 with Full Bell Lines & those very few 67's are mosly concentrated in 4 or 5 dates & mints) I can almost "see daylight" when it comes to completing this series in all MS-65's with the "Full Bell Line" designation. The only "stopper" will be the 1953-S in Full Bell Lines. The last MS-65 FBL of this year sold for over $25,000 at a Heritage auction. I was able to upgrade my MS-65 of this date & mint to a very nice "brilliant" coin in a NGC MS-66 holder. (non-full bell line of course). I have posted the pics to my Franklin set #1 of the 1953 & 1960 but forgot to do the 53-S. That photo will be included in my gallery soon.

So anyway I am going to step back into my sets in a large way with my Franklins & Walker halves my main focus in silver and in gold it will be pre-1933 $20's (type three Liberties) and my little $2.50 pre-1908 gold. I am still on the lookout for deals in any of the 2008-W uncirculated gold, both Eagles & Buffalos. A pretty large purchase of late was a 4-coin set in the "burnished" uncirculated. I think I nearly "stole" this 2008-W and have sent the 4-coins off to NGC Monday looking for the "elusive" 70's on all 4. The only modern coins I am buying are that one low mintage year of 2008. I am staying away from the proofs but no 08-W unciculated gold coin is safe from me if the price is right, as I really think that, one can't go wrong buying any uncirculated coin from that year and mint, even the Platinum and maybe even "more so" the Platinum as their mintages are "scary low".

I am going to spend the next few weeks catching up reading as many of all of your journals that I can. I understand there is quite a bit of "new blood" here at the CS. I wish all of you well. Until next time, Happy Collecting to all! and I hope you enjoy looking at my 600+ ounce mini-hoard.

WKF