My 2012 Numismatic Goals and Objectives

In my first draft for this journal entry I included a lengthy discussion on the importance of knowing your Philosophy of Collecting and having clear numismatic goals and objectives consistent with that philosophy. While I belief that this is an important area for discussion I will leave that topic for a future journal entry and concentrate on documenting my personal Numismatic Goals and Objectives for 2012.

Although I formulated my 2012 Numismatic Goals and Objectives at the beginning of the year I have been remiss in posting them in my Journal. At the end of the year it will be interesting to refer back to todays Journal entry to see how I did.

It is not hard to figure out from my Collectors Society name (JAA USA/Philippines Collection) that my special area of interest is the Philippines under U.S. sovereignty (1898-1946). I have always been a history buff and have a special fascination with the history of the Philippines under U.S. sovereignty. That interest dates back over half a century to when my father (JAA), a World War ll veteran who served in the U.S. Army during the campaign to liberate the Philippines, showed me the USA/Philippine coins and Victory Notes he brought back from the war.

In order to understand how I determined my 2012 Numismatic Goals and objectives it is important for the reader to know two important points about my personal philosophy of collecting. Point number one is that I collect US/Philippine coins and notes as part of a broader study of that historic time in US/Philippine history. The second point is that I put a high value on using my collection to share what I have learned about US/Philippine history with other collectors.

For the past several years the main focus of my collecting has been my competitive _USA/Philippines Type Set_.

http://coins.www.collectors-society.com/registry/coins/SetListing.aspx?PeopleSetID=51257

In January of this year NGC awarded that set a 2011 Best Presented Set Award. At the time that the NGC Registry Awards were announced my type set was 100% complete, fully illustrated and described and had an average grade of MS/PF 64.75. Twenty percent of the photographs were high resolution images (NGC Photo-Proof, PCGS True-View, or Auction Catalog photos) and eighty percent were low resolution (72 DPI) NGC images.

My first three numismatic goals relate to improvements that I would like to make in my USA/Philippines set:

1) Expand the Set Description of my _USA/Philippines Type Set_ to include more detail regarding the history of this series.

2) Upgrade the quality of the photographs of my _USA/Philippines Type Set_ so that 50% of the photographs are high resolution images.

3) Upgrade the average technical grade of my _USA/Philippines Type Set_ to MS/PF 65.0 or above.

My fourth and fifth numismatic goals relate to improvements that I would like to make in my other Competitive Registry Sets:

4) Have an Owners Description for 100% of the coins in all of my Competitive Registry Sets.

5) Have at least a low resolution image for 100% of the coins in all of my Competitive Registry Sets.

My next two Numismatic Goals relate to my Custom Registry Sets:

6) Complete my _1908 USA/Philippines Proof Set_ and unlock it for public view. http://coins.www.collectors-society.com/WCM/CoinCustomSetView.aspx?s=3586

7) Expand the Set Description of my _Coins and Medals of the United States Manila Mint_ Custom Registry Set to include more detailed information regarding the history of the mint.

http://coins.www.collectors-society.com/WCM/CoinCustomSetView.aspx?s=1113

8) Have detailed Owners Descriptions for 100% of the coins and medals in my _Coins and Medals of the United States Manila Mint_ Custom Registry Set.

9) Have images for 100% of the coins and medals in my _Coins and Medals of the United States Manila Mint_ Custom Registry Set.

My final Numismatic Goals relate to expanding my knowledge about this important time and place in American history and sharing this knowledge with the Collectors Society community:

10) Expand my personal reference library by at least four new acquisitions. For example: out of print numismatic journals, books, and historical documents.

11) Post at least two well thought out and illustrated Collectors Journal entries each month on some aspect of USA/Philippine coins or US/Philippine history.

As I stated at the beginning of this Journal entry these goals were formulated at the beginning of the year. At the time of this journal entry (2/28/2012) five of my numismatic goals for 2012 (goal numbers: 4, 6, 8, 9. and 10) have been attained and I am making good progress on my other goals.

The attached image is taken from an original color photograph taken by my father during the Liberation of the Philippines. The photograph shows Military Police at the entrance to Fort Stotsenburg.

Fort Stotsenburg is located 50 miles northwest of Manila. Prior to the fall of the Philippines Fort Stotsenburg was a major U.S. Army base and the site of the Clark Field Army Air Force base. Fort Stotsenburg/Clark Field was the first major objective for the Sixth Army on its drive towards Manila. General Walter Krueger the Commanding General of the Sixth Army assigned the task of capturing Fort Stotsenburg and Clark Field to XIV Corps 37th and 40th Divisions. The Battle for Fort Stotsenburg took place from January 24, through January 31, 1945. This photograph was taken between January 31, 1945 and February 2, 1945.

REFERENCES

Original letters written by my father during the Luzon Campaign

Smith, Robert Ross, _The Capture of Clark Field_ in U.S. Army in World War ll. The War In the Pacific: Triumph in the Philippines, (Center of Military History United States Army, Washington D.C., 1993) pages 167-186.

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