Just Bob

Most veteran numismatists won’t hesitate to help new collectors learn about our hobby and I’m no exception. I frequent a lot of coin discussion boards on the Internet and have witnessed the struggles and frustrations of the so-called “newbies” as they begin their journeys into this complex and intimidating past time. 
From my observations, one of the biggest hurdles that a lot of new collectors face is that age old narcissistic dilemma of “How do I make myself look like an expert when I’m new to the hobby?” 
If social media has fostered anything, it is the extreme importance for many of having high self-esteem and receiving overwhelming approval (i.e., likes) from the folks they see as peers, even if they may be completely unworthy of such accolades. 
Well, I’m here to help, because I’ve witnessed some newbies rise to the occasion and prove their worth on the world stage just by mastering a few key phrases that make them look like wise rulers within this vast Hobby of Kings. 
If you’re a new collector and you are jealous or intimidated by the knowledge garnered from decades of study by seasoned numismatists, just keep the following list of observations handy and use them in your responses to questions and comments on any coin forum. 
 If you see a thread where a forum member uses the word “penny” to describe a U.S. coin, ignore whatever the actual subject matter of the posting is and quickly correct the poster by pointing out that the proper term for such a coin is “cent.” You can even elaborate that the term “penny” should only be used to describe British coins, even though the U.S. Mint often uses the vernacular “penny” in its product descriptions. 
Similarly, if you see a posting about Buffalo Nickels or Mercury Dimes, do not hesitate to insist that the image on the nickel is a bison and that the subject on the dime is not a Roman God. Even though these particular coins have been referred to as Buffalo Nickels and Mercury Dimes ever since they’ve been in circulation, that doesn’t make it technically right and you need to steadfastly emphasize that conclusion. 
Moving onto quarters, when the United States entered World War I in 1917, the U.S. Mint covered the chest on the Standing Liberty Quarter with chain mail, indicating that this country was ready for battle. But don’t let this obvious politically motivated design change prohibit you from claiming that it was done solely out of moral outrage by the public over the bare breast seen on the 1916 version of the quarter. Even though nudity has been depicted on coins and medals for centuries, the debunked story of the bare breast controversy is much sexier than the boring WWI explanation. 
One of the first things a new collector will hear or see in print is “Do Not Clean Your Coins.” It is your solemn duty as an expert to expound this critical knowledge no matter what the circumstance or situation may be. If someone implies in a posting that they may run a coin under a water faucet because they dug it out of the ground, you need to reply immediately with a strongly worded chastisement reminding the person to NEVER EVER clean a coin. Even though some Third-Party Grading services will professionally “conserve” unsightly or dingy-looking coins for a price, you still need to stick to your proverbial guns and shoot down anyone else’s attempt to clean a coin. 
Speaking of Third-Party Grading (TPG) services, you no doubt have seen the sales premiums recorded for coins with certified grades encapsulated in plastic slabs. Although you very likely have never attempted to send one of your coins to a TPG, that should not stop you from recommending that others submit their coins to be professionally graded. If someone posts an image of a nice-looking modern coin online and requests comments on its condition or eye appeal, it behooves you to explain to the poster that it’s not possible to offer an informed opinion of the grade based on the photograph and you must advise that the coin be sent in for professional grading (even if the cost of the grading service far surpasses the value of the coin). 
Now let’s say you read a posting where a collector provides an image of a slabbed coin and excitedly explains that it was the final piece needed to complete his/her collection. Chances are the coin is very valuable and rare, since it had eluded the collector for so long. Consequently, you need to find fault with the coin, since it is likely not a high grade - or may even be damaged in some way. Although you may never be able to acquire such a coin, it is important for you to encourage your fellow collectors to strive for excellence in their collecting goals. 
Sometimes a collector will post an odd-looking or potentially rare coin and ask if other forum members believe it to be authentic. In this case, it is especially important for you to ignore the responses from other members and respond unequivocally that the coin is most definitely a fake. Also, memorize the letters “PMD” (it doesn’t matter what the acronym stands for) and use them to respond to any post inquiring about a potential error coin. Remember: Nothing expresses your expertise more in the collecting arena than telling another collector that their potentially valuable coin is actually worthless. 
There are many avenues for collectors to locate coins for their collections, including coin shows, coin clubs, coin shops and the Internet. Of course, no source is perfect in all circumstances, so it is important for you to point out any obvious faults and provide caution whenever possible. Remind your fellow collectors that most dealers will rip them off, that most collectors only have junk to trade, and that the Internet is full of scammers. Also, be sure to use derogatory terms like “feebay” and “regretsy” when referring to eBay or Etsy online marketplaces. 
Although you may have never read a coin book or periodical in your life, that shouldn’t stop you from frequently using the old adage, “Buy the book before you buy the coin,” especially when you want to mentor a young collector. If anyone responds by asking you to recommend a specific book, simply say the Red Book. 
And remind others that the hobby is intended to be fun and that there’s no need to get offended by satire.  

I don't think this post is going to be long for the world - I'll probably pull it down in the near future because it's not going to have any relevance here beyond the fact that I know there are a few here that are probably curious and I don't know that I've really addressed it.
The rebound / recovery from a shunt revision isn't necessarily as bad as you might think it is from dealing with other surgeries on the body or thinking of it as "Brain surgery." Because they're not opening the gut, cutting into a lot of tissue and muscle. This isn't something where you spend days in the hospital afterwards while they're waiting for you to walk around the nurse station and waiting for you to have a good bowel movement. Yes, they are cutting into the person's head - there is an incision and a scar, but they're inserting a tube into the brain - they're not cutting into it or anything. In this case it was a step less than that. They just replaced his value. The tube / catheter going into his brain and the part going to his stomach were fine. They just replaced the valve - the hardware that's normally under his skin but outside his skull.
So, his recovery is almost immediate afterwards. He has to get out of the anesthesia and the have to make sure he's okay. We have to be careful about the cut to keep it clean, keep him from damaging stitches and keep it from getting infected...
However...
He starts feeling better immediately.
As in, they operated at 8:30 AM, he was out of surgery and awake by about 9:30 or 10:00 and before lunch time was even properly here, he had his appetite back and he was eating.
We were released the next day - about 30 hours after surgery we were going out the door and driving home. 
He was walking around fine, and not only that but jumping and trying to roll on his head of all things. He's feeling great and you have to hold him back and tell him to be careful - especially near his head and the incision.
He went home feeling fine, playing with toys again, eating like I don't think he's eaten in weeks.
The recovery is immediate, the only thing is the cut has to heal.
We went out on Tuesday night - just 4 days after surgery, and he stayed up late, walking on his own around the neighborhood, refusing his pediatric wheelchair so he could walk with his mother and walk up to houses. to say "Trick or Treat."





 

I thought I'd post an update on the recent journal on the 20 Bolivar coin.
I did ultimately decide to buy an MS65 1930 10 Bolivar coin to go with it and I got the coins imaged a while ago when I had them both in hand.
The nice thing about these two is that they slot into that Reform coinage type set that ends at 2005, along with my pre-BsF Venezuelan coins. So I didn't have to make separate sets for one or both of these like I have for so many other small European gold coins I've collected. Adding these also moved me from 25th place, briefly to 9th, before going down to 10th. So not quite as low there anymroe.
'

A feature of these that I find quite interesting is that they do not say 10 Bolivars or 20 Bolivars. They give the weight of the coin and the purity of the gold. This goes nicely in line with the theme and my thinking on this unofficial type set I've been building - these coins come from a time, barely a century ago, when gold was the one true currency of the world, and all other currencies where just different ways of expressing weights of gold / agw.
I've been told that an Argentinian type set that I asked for will be created soon, and I've been slowly working on building out a submission to send it that will hopefully lead to the first competitive sets in 2 Argentinian categories - one made for my request. And these two sets are going to form the two parts of my new project "Brought forth with pain," which are going to focus on the Argentinian battles with debt that have taken them through 8-9 defaults (depending on who you ask/what source you use) and about 5-6 currencies since about 1807. My collection and my project is going to focus on the last 2 of these currencies - the ones relevant to my lifespan and which are the easiest to collect - the Austral (1985-1991), Peso Convertible (1992-Date).
My rough plan for now is for the Austral set to discuss the three older periods of debt crisis / currency crisis, and for the Peso Convertible set to deal with just the more recent troubles including the debt crisis that started around 2001, which has continued with related ups and downs for the last 20 years.
Like with "Gradually, then Suddenly," there's a quote here that's going to be the theme of the set essentially -
“Debts are like children – begot with pleasure but brought forth with pain.” - Moliere
Argentina has, at least with what I've seen so far, generally been a country with a lot of resources and a lot going for it, but they'll get into debt in good times - begot in pleasure - and then the debt becomes supportable in bad times - when a war starts or when global commodity prices tank, or both.
It's also interesting to me that, while Argentina is a former Spanish colony, it is actually their interactions with the UK and the United States, as the holders of the global reserve currencies, and the banks in those countries, that have bedeviled the country the most.
But I'm getting ahead of myself. I think it'll be an interesting story to read more about and find a way to write about and structure a narrative around the coins.
While there is absolutely not a 1:1 correlation, you can see how historically a debt crisis lead to an inflationary crisis that lead to the death of the currency and a new national currency. The Real survived the default in 1827. The Peso Moneda Nacional survived the defaults in 1890, 1951, and 1956. But you see the default in 1982 followed by a new currency in 1983 and 1985 and the default in 1989 helped crash the Austral, leading to the Peso Convertible, which, after 20 years of trouble, seems to be enterign a bit of a death spiral.
List of Defaults:
·       1827
·       1890
·       1951
·       1956
·       1982
·       1989
·       2001
·       2014
·       2019-23
List of Currencies:
·       Real (1813-1881)
·       Peso Moneda Nacional (1881-1969)
·       Peso Argentino (1983-1985)
·       Austral (1985-1991)
·       Peso Convertible (1992-Date)
 
I guess I need to stop using Venezuela going forward and make a new category for posts about Argentina. 

The first of the packages of Venezuelan Coins from the Ukrainian dealer arrived. The box that came was the 2nd one shipped, containing the 2021 Digital Bolivar Coins. The first package is still showing it was last seen in Kiev. I guess we'll see on that one – but I’m mostly considering that one a lost cause after over a week with no updates. I’ll just be pleasantly surprised if I’m wrong. But at least I already had some of those from a prior order and dollarwise what I got this weekend was the bulk of the order.
For a package that started its journey by leaving a war zone, the “last mile” to my house seems to have been almost more dramatic, at least with regard to the tracking history. It was supposed to be delivered a week ago on Saturday, then USPS didn’t actually attempt and said it would be delivered on Monday. Then they scanned it as being at the post office and didn’t try to deliver on Monday. When the NGC box came on Tuesday I was expecting that knock to be about the Ukrainian package, but, nope. Then, finally, on Wednesday, when I was about to just file a missing package report, it finally got delivered – but by then it had kind of had its thunder thoroughly stolen for the moment by the certificates and the graded coins coming back.

I had also ordered some more 7-coin sets of the Bolivar Fuertes coins from a dealer in Utah I got Zimbabwe coins from. I'd bought 5 sets of these from a dealer in Turkey before I saw that this Utah dealer also had them - and at a lower price if buying several sets. I decided to order more just to have some from another dealer / source.
The coins from the Utah dealer are very nice and may well be better than the others from Turkey. I have all the coins labeled with what dealer they came from. It will be interesting if all the "Best" ones we pick are from the new sets when we finally go through these.
I've been holding off on going through these with Shandy in part because I wanted to have them all together first - or as close to it as possible. But I've felt the desire and need to start moving on these growing as the Zimbabwe submission moved closer to being done and home - time to fire off the next round, right? And that this point I really have almost every thing I wanted and needed and I don’t feel like holding things up for that 2nd Ukranian package that may never come. So if it ever does I’ll just do what I did with the many, many waves of Zimbabwe coins – pick the best of each group and compare the best of each group against each other until I arrive at 1 coin to submit.
I’m yet to find someone offering either just the 50 Bolivar Fuertes coins or sets that include the 50 Bolivar Fuertes coin at a price I consider reasonable for these. The jury is still out on what to do about that and I may just proceed without them for now, just like I initially proceeded without the $2 and $5 coins with Zimbabwe, and proceeded the 2nd time with Zimbabwe without a new / better $10 and $25 coin. Sometimes you just have to make progress where you can and wait for better opportunities on other things.
This may be one of the more egregious cases of “scope explosion” I’ve ever pulled on myself. What started as getting 1 of the new 2021 Digital Bolivar coins has turned into:
-          5 Denominations of the Original Bolivar from the 1980s.
-          5 higher denominations of the original bolivar from the early 2000s.
-          7 denominations of the Bolivar Fuertes coins from ~2007
-          3 later denominations of the Bolivar Fuertes added ~2016
-          2 denominations of the Bolivar Soberano
-          3 denominations of the “Digital” Bolivar
25 denominations spanning 3 redenominations and 4 currencies over about 40 years… Yeah… So much for one little coin… I’m a lunatic, but you knew that already.

I'm thinking I’ll try to get these out with some 500L coins in May - if I can convince Shandy to let me get away with it. We cracked open a couple of Italian Franklin Mint sets the other day for a 1983 and 1987 500L for that set. The 1987 looked great once I got it out but the 1983 looked a little disappointing once we got to see it bare. So now I’m looking into a couple of options on trying to get another, hopefully better, 1983.
I also found a seller offering what they described as “Gem Uncirc” $10 Zimbabwe coins for the first time. So, I ordered a few of those, which should be arriving any day now and I’m hoping for good things. If those look good I’ll probably add that to the Italian coins and the Venezuela coins if and when those go out to resolve one of the last major weaknesses of the Zimbabwe set.

The last few weeks have been very busy. Perhaps this is why I was so surprised to find a package from NGC in my mailbox today. I was so excited that I did not make it to the front door before I had the package ripped open and the coin in hand. Usually, I make an effort not to open coin-related mail outside, but my excitement got the best of me.
On any note, I received an 1881 S Morgan Dollar graded MS-64 with the notation of “2020 NGC Registry Award Winner” on the label. This is the only silver dollar I have in my collection, but I plan to display it along with the plaque. The cert verification images do this coin no justice, so I took a few very quick pictures. Photographing silver dollars is entirely new to me, so this proved an interesting experience. As I noted in one of my previous journal entries, I have been slowly gathering lower-value coins to hone my photography skills, so photographing this coin was a real treat for me. I am not entirely happy with how the pictures turned out, so I plan to retry once I have more time.

In 2019 I won the most creative custom set award, and that plaque has been proudly displayed on top of the bookcase behind my desk since it arrived. I plan to take a trip to Walmart tonight to find a stand for the 2020 award so that they can be displayed together. I can’t help but wonder how my wife will react when I add it alongside the other. She is very supportive, but she still likes to tease me about my “mega nerd” hobby now and again.

I had the pleasure of speaking with one of the higher-ups at NGC the other day to request a special favor, and it reconfirmed everything I knew about NGC. I am a small-time collector, yet this gentleman took the time to discuss my request and encouraged me to send my items his way. It never ceases to amaze me how dedicated NGC is to the hobby and how willing they are to go the extra mile to help collectors. I have already figured out how to spend the $500 grading credit generously provided by our hosts to further my collecting goals, which I hope to detail in a future journal.
I want to thank NGC and the staff for their consideration, and I look forward to competing again this year!
Once again, congratulations to all of the winners!