The Full Library of Garys Coin of the Month Journals represents much of what I enjoy about numismatics and coin collecting. Together with collecting coins, I also enjoy history, writing, and photography. All of these aspects combine into what has become Garys Coin of the Month.

More than merely collecting coins into sets, I want to know the who, what, where, when, and whys of the particular coins that I collect. Concisely, I have a desire to know who designed or commissioned the minting of my coin. I want to know what my coin represents, or what message the coin is conveying other than that of a medium of exchange. The where of my coin centers on the nation issuing the coin and its peoples. The when of my coin brings into focus the coins historical context, and the why my desire to know for what purpose the coin was minted.

These curiosities coupled with my love of writing and a desire to present my coins in a way that is aesthetically pleasing to myself, and others led to Garys Coin of the Month. The goals of Garys Coin of the Month are simple. First, I research the coin in hopes of discovering the five Ws associated with that coin as listed in the previous paragraph. Subsequently, I re-tell the coins story in my own words. Finally, I take high-quality photographs of my coins and edit those into collages using Photoshop Elements to create artistic images.

One of the things I enjoy about writing is the opportunity to editorialize what I think are the main themes of a coin into its proper context. Additionally, I try to keep things simple and interesting in the hope that my readers will take away something of significance from reading my articles. Furthermore, I enjoy the feedback I receive from my readers both good and bad. That feedback consistently encourages me to improve upon my writing skills.

The coins I have featured come from all over the world representing five continents, with a few of them hailing from island nations and colonies. Generally speaking, the coins I highlight fit into one of my custom or registry sets. Oftentimes the Coin of the Month post will be incorporated into the coins Owners Comments portion of the set that it is contained. Additionally, my Coin of the Month articles have featured proof, mint-state, and circulated coins in all types of metallic compositions.

Please enjoy perusing my set, and in particular view all the pictures of my coins using the slide show feature. A few of my articles have been condensed to fit into the Owner Comments. The following is a link to The Full Library of Garys Coin of the Month Journals. I know I have referred to this set in a previous post, but now the set description employs this post above and JAA USA/Philippines Collection tips for sprucing up Custom sets.

http://coins.www.collectors-society.com/WCM/CoinCustomSetView.aspx?s=11573

Happy Collecting and all the best for the upcoming awards!

Gary

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