New pictures and preparing my first submission to NGC

Today I took the day off of work, as I just returned from vacation yesterday and I wanted to enjoy the entire week off, not a one-day work week. It was nice having the day to relax, and I also organized some of my collection and updated some photographs.

Many of you replied to my "eBay woes" post last week. That post was prompted by the search for my last coin for the SMS Sacagawea $1 set. I received the 2009-P SMS $1 graded MS69 yesterday, and today I thought it was the right time to update all of the SMS coin photos with the same lighting, cropping, etc. I have now completed the Sacagawea SMS set (2005-2010) all in MS69/SP69 grades, and the set is currently ranked as #1. All of the coins are top population except for one (there exist four 2005-P SMS coins graded MS70 by PCGS - none by NGC), so the set will fare as #2 at the lowest. You can check out the new photos and the complete set by going to my profile page.

On another note, I am preparing my first shipment of coins to NGC for grading. It has been a learning process, and until I receive them all back in slabs I'm sure there will continue to be much to learn. I'm prioritizing my first submission to include several of the foreign coins I have been purchasing as part of my "Horses" custom set. Most of the modern issue coins are impossible to find slabbed (because they are not "rare" nor made of precious metals) or if you can find them slabbed they are ridiculously expensive to purchase. I thought this the perfect opportunity to learn the process. There are some coins worth less than $0.50 and with huge mintages that are listed on eBay for upwards of $80-$100 slabbed. However, I can purchase the same coin raw-uncirculated for less than $5 and pay the ~$20 to have the coin slabbed myself. Seems like a no-brainer.

Below is one of the coins I plan to submit for grading. It has nominal face value, but is a beautiful modern coin from Kazakhstan. Some of the scroll work on coins from the former USSR and from the Arab countries are absolutely stunning...this one is certainly among them.

All the best, and happy collecting!