Another Slot filled in an Important Mint Set...

Greetings Collectors,

Just wanted to share a new coin that came today. This MS-62 was won at auction on eBay for a very fair price for the condition it is. As most of you know my favorite silver coin set is the Franklin Half Dollar in mint state and to round out my "top three" in silver is the Walking Liberty Half and coming in third is the Mercury Dime. These latter two sets are ones I am trying to complete in what some call the "middle set" (1934-1947 & 1934-1945) respectfully. But my real love is pre-1908 Liberty Gold in the $2.50, $5.00, $10.00 & $20.00.

For the majority of April & May I have been on a Franklin tear and have added approx. 20-25 coins with most being duplicates but did plug a few holes in some MS-65 Full Bell Line coins I did not have in my Franklin set #1. Many of course were 65-FBL coins that looked way too nice to pass on but ones I already owned. In set one I had most in PCGS holders and I have been slowly aquiring NGC examples to replace those PCGS coins in set one so that I may have a shot at an award for a "best presented" as I don't stand a chance for anything else with some of the sets I am competing against. I have the beginnings of a very nice set but ranking in the high 30's is a far cry from a set as nice as the guys who are in the "top ten or twenty". "Dave100" is ranked #5 in mintstate & #11 in the Franklin proofs and has a great bunch of coins. Most are all MS-66 FBL and he even has a few 67's as well. If you get the chance, take a look at Daves sets. They are absolutely awesome.

But as far as my buying of late, I started at our coin show here in Jacksonville the last weekend in May picking up a few gold Liberty's (a $5 & a $10) and have spent the rest of this month of June up to present picking up a few more $10's and $5's along with one $2.50. This is my "next to the latest $5" that arrived today and I have an 1893-O $5 on the way from Teletrade, a very nice low-mintage coin that appears "undergraded" sitting in an NGC AU-58 slab. I am certain that I need to get a handle on my spending as it has gotten to the point I am close to being "out of control". I was very proud that I "just said NO" last night on Teletrades Wed night auction as there was a very nice 1879-S $2.50 in AU-58 that went for less than $300 and I sat there with my finger on the trigger but watched as 10:00 pm passed without me clicking on the next increment. It's odd but I have to admit that it felt just as bad as it did good for my refraining from picking up yet another gold piece.

The coin pictured here fills one more slot in my 1901 mint set which commemorates my great grandfathers 1st store opening. (better close up pics of just the coin are now in the gallery of this mint set) My grandfather opened store #2 in the mid-30's. The year 1901 was a very important year for our family along with 1935 and of course the year 1853 was as well as this was the year we had our Irish start in America. The mint set this coin pictured will rest in will be a very expensive set to complete if I were to finish it, with the likes of a 1901-S Barber Quarter and the two hard Morgan Dollars (1901-P&S). But the 1853 mint set consists of what looks like a zillion coins with lots of "branch mint" C&D gold along with gold and silver pieces from New Orleans. I could probably spend the rest of my days completing these two mint sets. I am going to try and "chip away" at them a few coins every year to the both and may end up lacking at least one coin for the '01 set and probably several in the 1853 set. But oh well, that's what this coin collecting is all about. Happy Collecting! to all of you.

WKF