The time has just melted away.

Oh my gosh, where has the time gone? It was two years ago when I first found the Collectors Society and in about two weeks I will have been a paying member for 2 years. It has been close to two months since I last posted a journal. Now, Thanksgiving has slipped by us (I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving) and Christmas is right around the corner. If time is money, then I should be a rich man!

As usual, I continue to struggle with budget constraints, probably more so than in previous years. I have to be extremely selective about adding coins to my sets and I've done pretty well I think. I am most pleased with my $5.00 Coins for Kids Roosevelt Dime collection. I've managed to pick up a few over the last few months and give away a few to some promising young collectors. The set is growing nicely and has even spawned a satellite set of Full Torch Roosevelt Dimes. The master set has 25 coins in it and the Full Torch Set has 8 coins in it. Quite frankly, up until this week those $5.00 dimes was pretty much all I could afford over the last few months.

Before I ramble too far, I must tip my hat to gherrman44 for a darn nice piece on IKES not too long ago. (Yes, while I haven't written much I have been following the other journal entries.) I also want to weigh in on the whole thing about the SAE's of late. All of the different comments and expos?s have provided me with much entertainment. Please ladies and gentlemen, do not take offense because I am sure that my ramblings have left others shaking their heads at time as well. I certainly mean no SAE collector ill will. Perhaps, if I had the means I too would attempt to put a collection of SAE Dollars together as well but they would not be at the top of my list. For now, the SAE along with the 5 ounce ATB coins (?) fall into my "Big and Overpriced Piece of Silver That Really Isn't a Coin Category."

While the last few months have been quiet for me, I have managed to make a few inroads especially after this week. It seems with start of the holiday season and the mad shopping frenzy of the weekend; the week of Thanksgiving is always a cost effective week for me to buy coins on EBay. Apart from the dimes I've managed to pick up, I am most pleased to have added 3 circulation IKES to my MS set. All three are MS 65, yes I would much have preferred MS66 or MS67 coins but at the premium they seem to command I will not shell out the money for them (not that I have the money anyway). (And YES, for the record, I am green with envy over gherrman44's absolutely beautiful collection of Eisenhower Dollars.)The three I got were all $15.00 or less. I also filled the 1913S hole in and got a very nice BU 1970S Small Date and an exceptional 1952 BU to upgrade my Lincoln Cent Album. While we are on the topic of Lincoln Cents, I would be remiss not to mention a 1972S MS66 I snagged for much less than $20. There is also another large copper in my collection as well, 1851. I need to get a closer look at it to figure out its N-number. Finally, there was my "I think I'll buy this on a whim purchase". (Believe me these do not happen very often!) It looks like I am starting a new circulated set of Kennedy Half Dollars. For less than $5.00, I picked up a 2007D SMS MS 68 Kennedy Half. I wasn't the only one looking through coins lately either. My youngest son, Alex, was most pleased with himself when he proudly showed me the 2008D Alaska State Quarter he managed to find to fill one of the few remaining holes in his State Quarter set. For some reason finding the 2008D series in circulation around here (NC) has proved most problematic. Side note on quarters here, I sure haven't seen any ATB quarters in circulation, not a one, in about six months.

With Christmas 27 days away, I am hoping Santa will leave perhaps the 2011 Mint and Uncirculated sets and a new album or two for some of my raw coins. I even told my kids if they wanted to get me inexpensive presents, rolls of coins are always a big hit for a Christmas present. Every once in a while my oldest daughter manages to pull off a real coupe and nab me a roll of solid date uncirculated pennies from the bank. Of course, I also hinted that if she could pull off a roll of half dollars that would be awesome. I actually need a couple more storage boxes for graded coins as well but I think I will just outright buy those for myself. () Christmas morning and the Christmas tree is always a good excuse in this family to get the inexpensive odds and ends we tend to forego during the course of the year.

Well, I do not have a picture for you with this entry. With all of the coming and going and other holiday activities around here I just haven't had the time to set up my make-shift photo lab to get a picture of one of my new coins. Honestly, my entry feels naked perhaps I might add a photo later. So until the next time, be well.

Dennis