... or how to add free coiins to your collection!

Journal for the week of January 30 through February 5, 2012Started this week off with a great acquisition... 14 Roosevelt Dimes in PF70UC, from 1998 through 2011. Now, I have most of these in my collection, but needed the 98,99 and 2000. I know what they go for on eBay on a per-coin basis, and bid accordingly. I was very lucky, however, to get them at a super great price... $16.61 a piece, including a free NGC storage box and free shipping. I took the three I needed, and put the remainder on eBay. it looks like my prediction will prove to be correct, which will have given me three needed coins for free... and free is good Here are my bargain finds for this week: 1998 Roosevelt Dime in Pf70 UC 1999 Roosevelt Dime in Pf70 UC 2000 Roosevelt Dime in Pf70 UC 2000 S Jefferson Nickel in PF69UC 1997 Memorial Cent in PF69UC 1945 P Wheat Cent in MS65RD 1942 Mercury Dime in MS66 2010 D Lincoln Dollar SMS in MS68 2011 P Johnson Dollar in MS67 1999 P New Jersey Quarter in MS66 1999 P Delaware Quarter in MS66 2008 S Sac Dollar in PR69DCAM PCGS 1978 S Washington Quarter in PR69DCAM PCGS 1982 s Washington Quarter in PR69DCAM PCGS 1984 S Washington Quarter in PR69DCAM PCGS 2003 S Arkansas Quarter in PR69DCAM PCGS As I said back in the beginning of the year, I wanted to add to my pathetically sparse Wheaties collection, and was finally able to grab this 45P at a good price. Wheaties were the first coin that I 'ooed' and 'ahhed' at back in the 60's when I found one in my change. It was also the first time that I realized that coins changed over time, and that I could collect different series of a coin. I have a pretty nearly complete set of wheaties in the raw, and one of the ones I want to send in for grading is my 1909 VDB, which is not uncirculated, but sits squarely in the XF-AU crosshairs. The third Merc dime I was able to acquire for my new short set was this gorgeous 1942 in MS66. It cost $5 more than the other two, but it was also a grade higher. I figured I'd grab it since it looked so lonely I had a choice of a couple of dates to grab (wish I could have gotten them all!) but I chose the 42 because that's the year of my mother's birth. Sorry to say she passed too soon back in 2001, and that I miss her immensely, but I get my 'collector' genes from her The last few finds are PCGS coins... I have a few PCGS coins in my collection, although I have never put them in my NGC registry; I have a couple of collections on the PCGS registry. These coins (the Sac dollar set, a few statehood quarters and a couple of the Statue of Liberty commemoratives) were obtained at super great prices, and I wanted to have a few examples of PCGS coins to show and compare. After the debacle with the World Registry decision, I have decided to add more PCGS coins to my collection, and possibly move complete sets to PCGS... in case the situation deteriorates further. As I stated in a journal earlier this week, I have sent in my first coins for grading... I got the submission acknowledgement this evening. Eagerly waiting... My new camera and imaging set up is coming along nicely. With some great advice from moondoggy, I am getting used to the controls and settings, and improving my results. Here the latest addition to my Merc collection taken with my new toys! I know it has a pinkish tinge... working on learning all the new settings to try and get that white balance figured out!Happy Collecting!