But the decision also makes me happy!

Hello all,

This past 2 weeks I've been doing one of 3 things: either working, watching playoff baseball (GO YANKEES!!!) or mulling over a really major decision!

The major decision is the subject of this journal article. I've come to the conclusion that I'm going to sell a portion of my coins. This is a sad decision, I've never met a coin I didn't like (well, I guess that's 1% untrue, as I don't really care for the Anthony dollar), but it's also a happy decision.

Here is my reasoning. I was trying to collect way, WAY too much. As a consequence, I was spreading my collecting budget over a bunch of sets that I like, but didn't really feel the passion for anymore. So, I've cut out a lot of sets, lessened the scope on some others (for example, I decided not to include the modern commemorative gold in my commemorative sets, although I may get a handful that fit into my custom sets), and decided on a major focus for my remaining coins.

You will probably noticed I cut out all my 19th century mint sets and replaced it with the 19th century type set. This is half of my focus, as I still feel the passion for the 19th century designs.

The other half of my focus will be my Wild West custom set, and coins (mainly 19th century) from the western mints. The western mints are of course New Orleans, Denver, Carson City and San Francisco. However, a few gold coins and silver dollars will be found from the Philadelphia mint.

Ok, I suppose you all are probably wondering how I can say this is also a happy decision. Well, I do have a passion for currency. This passion stems from my years (19 to be exact) in the printing industry. I've found I can live with a nicely circulated VF or EF coin, but my currency has to be Gem Uncirculated, Excellent Paper Quality or I don't buy it. As you probably can figure, the older currency can be very pricey in those higher grades. So this decision frees some money up in my budget, but also keeps my coins focused. As a corollary to this, my pickiness factor on how my mint state coins look is going up too. Since I'll be having fewer coins, maybe I can raise the condition on some I buy.

So, I will be selling some coins in the next few weeks and months, while it will be sad for me, I'm looing forward to adding more top quality currency to my collection. There are 2 pieces I really want for my Wild West custom sets (the Chief silver certificate & the Bison Legal Tender) and these will set me back 5 figures in the condition I want, so something has to go so I can raise some money.

I'm really relieved now, since I've made the decision, so I think this is a good time to stop writing.

Coin of the Journal this time is the obverse of the 1862 gold dollar I recently acquired.