It's pretty cool going through all of the coins that we have picked up down through the years. Talk about "memories"....

Greetings Collectors,

For the kids it down to "clock watching" time and all are just counting off the minutes 'til they can open their stuff. I think I have heard somewhere that there will come a time when "ONE GIFT" will suffice from one loved one to another??? Is there like an "age cut off" when this is supposed to happen?? Anyway I'm just happy that I have all three kids in the house at one time and I'm not having to "bribe" any for their company. So while I have one on their laptop, the oldest boy on his guitar and my daughter hanging on Face-book and Twitter, and dad, well he's where dad usually is, at the dining room table with a bunch of coins and books/mags.

It's borderline eerie that even though the coins I'm holding, have not been seen, much less held, for many years, almost every one sparks a section of the brain that re-calls all of the hows, whys & whens of how each came to be in my possession. Coins to me, are funny that way. I guess it's because they are technically money and most of us are fairly observant when it comes to our money. But I just thought it worth mentioning that of the coins pictured, I remember each one as far as about when I got it and from who it was procured from. Each one of all of these almost "worthless" (value wise) pieces of metal have a story, and so far today I have entertained myself watching "mental re-run playbacks" about how each one came to be. And the beauty of it all, all of this joy has materialized with a cost of nada.

Well it's off to the store for some last minute food shopping and maybe a stocking stuffer or two and then our evening around the tree with each family member opening one gift. Then in the morning, all heck will break loose. But I will say that the effort and the cost of this happy time can not be put in a dollar figure. There is no way the amount of joy and fun that these three kids will have could be equated to anything else and no matter what the cost, I feel it to be the deal of the century because there is no way you could go out and buy this much happiness for the measly amount it all cost. These kinds of moments are what life is all about and to have a few coins thrown in for good measure is like the "cherry" on top of the most delicious banana split around.

Again Merry Christmas to all. Don't forget to capture as much of this happy time on film as you can. And then when all the gifts have been opened and the kids are off downloading music to their new MP-3's or playing that much anticipated video game on their PC, the rest of us can escape into a great article on our favorite coin series. Happy Collecting!

WKF

The silver to gold ratio is 47.085 This figure is fast approaching the "mid 40's" I'm sure there is a lot of you that have watched this ratio fall since I have been posting it. It was in the low 60's in late summer and in the high 50's since I have been posting the figure. As I said in my last post, there are those in well respected areas of the metals market that say the ratio will fall to 16 to 1. I am of the mindset that the ratio of where it stood for decades and decades is where it will settle out, which is 20 to 1. (Twenty silver dollars to one $20 gold piece) Regardless of where it ends up, coins, be they silver or copper or other, is a pastime that is way past "worthwhile" and enjoyable.