A tough hole filled with a quality coin.

Hit me, beat me, gag me with a spoon! Talk about being in the right place at the right time! 2012 is starting off on a fantastic note. I just added a 1967 SMS MS67RD Lincoln Memorial Cent to my Proof Set for a whopping $15.00. I have at least a PF69UC for every year from 1984 through 2011. Picking up high quality coins from 1983 and earlier to add to the set has been proving to be a bit of a challenge both in availability and cost. This wasn't one of my very best bottom fishing catches but it certainly was a good deal and was NOT a budget buster. I have a perfect example of a budget buster for you. Last night EBay had a 1977 S PF69UC Lincoln Memorial Cent sell for $33.99 while the FMV is $32.50. That IS a budget buster. I'm not complaining mind you. The price is what the market will bear. Heaven certainly knows that my budget cannot afford those kinds of prices.

The numbers on the coin are pretty sweet as well.

1967 Lincoln Cent -- SMS

NGC -- MS67RD CA (30), MS68RD (218), MS68RD CA (2), MS69RD (1)

PCGS -- MS67RD CA (18), MS68RD (71)

If you consider that the U.S. Government minted 1,863,344 SMS sets in 1967, an MS67RD penny with only 340 examples on the books as having been graded higher is an awesome addition to the set of any budget minded collector.

Okay, so you can tell I'm just a little excited to have picked up this bad boy for my collection. I have to admit, I'll be looking hard and long for other budget friendly additions. Lately, I've even found I'm willing to look at slightly lower grades that my budget can support to fill slots. That kind of bugs me a little and I feel like I've lost the battle when I have to resort to acquiring lower grades. I guess it's either that or just give up and I refuse to do that. I just love this hobby too much. Of course on the rare occasion I can save up a little money, I do take a stab at the pricier coins I need. I am still having trouble pulling the trigger on the price of a 1973 S Silver PF69UC Eisenhower Dollar to complete my proof set. I am convinced I can get the coin for less than $50 but only time will tell. I saw one sell for $81 the other day and that is just way too much money.

Putting the graded coins aside for a little bit, I got three more albums for some of my raw coins this Christmas. I'll be the first to admit I love getting back to my roots of collecting, the raw sets. My darling wife and kids got me a Buffalo Nickel album, an Indian Head Cent album and a completely unexpected Liberty Head Nickel album. There is just something about working with raw coins that really brings this hobby home. Anyway, most of the Liberty Head Nickels I have are good or very good. Finding a nice Liberty Nickel with the Liberty intact and some detail in the hair can be a bit of daunting task. I did manage to pick up an XF 1883 "No Cents" for a very reasonable price and I was most pleased to add it to my album. Now the real challenge will be filling the holes from 1883 to 1894 with some nice examples for each year. (I do not anticipate getting my hands on a 1913 Liberty Head Nickel, ever. Of course, I could always hit the lottery jackpot!)

Along the way I've also managed to pick up some nice upgrades for my Indian Head Cent collection. I do have a rather ambitious goal for this year of filling 15 of the holes in my collection. I know this probably confuses some folks around here. Face it, it is one of my collecting goals, having nothing to do with points or rankings and it certainly won't win me any Registry Awards. At least I won't have to listen to anyone whining about how they should have won an award when they didn't because I won the award. There just aren't any awards for raw sets just the personal satisfaction of working on something that is important to me and folks it just doesn't get any better than that. I rarely offer advice but for everyone not satisfied with the way the awards were handed out this year, "Take pride in what you do and feel good about you because it really doesn't matter what anybody else thinks." There is just no sense or point to soar grapes.

Okay, so now I'm starting to sound like Dr. Phil so I'm out of here. I will leave you with a picture of my new prize, the 1967 SMS MS67RD.

Have a great day,

Dennis