I'm going to have to face the facts...

I believe that it was Albert Einstein who said, " The definition of insanity is making the same mistakes and expecting different results." ( often misquoted as "doing the same thing and expecting..."). Well I am either hardheaded beyond cure, thick as a brick or certifiable because for years I have been making the same mistakes and inevitably getting the same results.

The last I journaled--before the new year I believe--I had my fingers crossed as I sent 5 of my Walkers away for regrade. I was sincerely hoping for an upgrade or possibly a + or star for at least 4 of the 5 coins. I used my 5 free submission "coupon" on this instead of getting some of the "to be slabbed" pile taken care of. I have ASE proofs in boxes, foreign gold, old BU Washies with color, and Canada proof sets with the dimes and $2 polar bears I collect, all of which I keep meaning to get in slabs but keep putting off.

Instead, I again fed my insanity. How bad of a submitter am I ?? I may be the only person who routinely LOSES money on submissions. How is this possible you may wonder, well I'll tell you...........

You see, of the 5 Walkers I submitted, 2 were in old NGC fattie holders which sell at a premium and 2 had CAC stickers for being premium quality coins, which also sell at a bit of a premium. However my coins all came back in brand new shiny holders ( I guess they do this automatically--lesson learned here)..so I lose the value of the coveted old generation slabs and also the CAC value.

However this was not my first brainless moment. My prior submission was also a money loser. I had purchased the limited edition Canada proof set last year. Unlike the normal silver proof sets, there were only 5000 minted of this set and it was a pain locating one since the mint sold out in one day and dealers were marking it up accordingly. To cut to the chase, I submitted the set directly to NGC--hard oak box, COAS and untouched capsules..my results were that they all came back as (2)67's and (3)68's for my 5 coin set. The irony is that the coins were worth more raw than they are in slabs with such low grades for moderns. Now I'm without the box and COA also so cracking them out and putting them back in original packaging is not an option ( another lesson learned).

So I may be learning some lessons ( and they do get expensive), but my insanity persists. How do I know that I'm not cured? Because my pile of "to be graded" coins still sit on velvet lined trays waiting for my craziness to boil over and send in another batch for my next installment of disappointment.

Picked up this overlooked semi-key for my Barber Half set the other night. The 1909-O is not often mentioned when talking about Barber keys/semis but with an NGC gaded pop of just 81--in all grades-- and similar pop in PCGS...there just may not be that many of these still in existence ( at least with a collectible quality to them)..

PS: almost forgot..congratulations to everyone who was recognized by NGC this year for your excellence in collecting, whether it was assembling, presentation or journaling..all of the awards were well given. And thank you NGC for recognizing me and my love of my humble Walker set as well...

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