I don?t know what it is, but I am having a hard time breaking away from my Morgan Dollar collection.

In my last journal, I opined that it might be a good time to take a break from Morgan Dollars and focus on other areas of my collection. My rational for temporarily shifting gears was an over-heating silver dollar market. What I failed to realize, as another collector reminded me, is that there are still good buys in the silver dollar market. While I was focusing on MS-65 & 66?s, I was unaware of the softness in the lower MS grades. That was until I began projecting the next moves in my Morgan Dollar registry set.

As I began charting my next steps, I found recent values for MS-63 and 64 Morgan Dollars to be mostly flat. Holding to my strategy of the best coin possible for a $200/coin average, I found I could add another 23 coins to my collection in MS-63 & 64 condition. This brings me to 52 MS-63 and higher coins out of 105 in my Morgan Dollar registry set that I will be able to acquire for an average of $200/coin! This latest projection includes an 1882 to 1884 Carson City short set to add to my 1885-CC.

After I complete this portion of my collection, I will turn my attention towards MS-60 to 62 examples. At that point, I will do likewise the rest of the way down the scale from AU to VG-10. When I get down to VG-10, I will hit the proverbial brick wall of the Morgan Dollar series in the 1881 & 89-CC, the 1893 & 95-S, and the 1894 Morgan Dollars. I will decide then what to do about the Morgan Dollar key?s short set, when and if I get there, as these five coins in VG-10 condition will cost me up to $6000 combined.

I never dreamed when I started ?Born on the Bayou? that now I would endeavor to complete the entire set. With this, I am thoroughly convinced that there is no cure for the collecting bug. Oh well, maybe I can slow down and become more meticulous about adding coins to my set. At this point, that may be the best I can possibly hope to accomplish.

I hope that you are all having a good Memorial Day. For the end of my post, I would like to repost a tribute I read and attach a photo of the current ?Medal of Honor? commemorative I recently purchased for my collection.

It is the VETERAN, not the preacher, who has given us freedom of religion. It is the VETERAN, not the reporter, who has given us freedom of the press. It is the VETERAN, not the poet, who has given us freedom of speech. It is the VETERAN, not the campus organizer, who has given us freedom to assemble. It is the VETERAN, not the lawyer, who has given us a right to a fair trial. It is the VETERAN, not the politician, who has given us the right to vote. Greater love has no one than this that he lay down his life for his friends. (John 15:13).

Happy collecting!

Gary