coinsbygary

I hear you Jackson. I've also been moving that way slowly but surely. It seems that recent events are hastening that move for me these days. At any rate, I am consolidating my collections to those that I really enjoyed when I was younger. My focus today is my theme based custom and type sets. All the best, let us know how it goes for you. Six or seven years ago I stuffed a Mercury Dime folder and thoroughly enjoyed the experience. After stuffing the album and with my photograde guide I set out to grade the dimes. What fun! Oh BTW, I still have that Mercury Dime album and I periodically take it off the shelf to look at it.

Gary

A couple of comments, first coins are minted to circulate while medals are not. Coins necessitate the need to be minted in a manner that they have lower relief to circulate with designs that are acceptable to the general public. Coins must also be made according to certain weights and measures. Medals on the other hand can be minted in high relief and struck on larger blanks made of a variety of metals. Furthermore, I believe that the sculptors of medals are less politically restrained. This allows them to create medals that are truly beautiful works of art. The other comment I have is that the medal you picture is absolutely gorgeous! The high relief on most medals make them artistically stand out and this one is no exception. The relief on this piece is absolutely stunning!

Gary

Well I got page 3 finished, two more to go! This picture is yet a little bigger than the other two just to see how large a file the boards will take.

Well it was raining most of the day today so I finished page 2. The last picture I posted I re-sized to 640x480. This one is 800x600 and hopefully it shows better.

Nice coins and nice grades for the coins that NGC would grade. I kinda understand North Korea but the rest NGC didn't grade? I can also see your point about being able to add the other submissions to your set seeing that others have had them graded in the past. That said NGC is opening up on a lot of different coins and medals that in the past they would not have graded. For instance, all the medals I have added to my Laura Gardin Fraser set. On those I emailed NGC before sending them and actually had them reply once by asking me to send photos of the medals, just to be sure. The whole thing for us as collectors is to be able to display them in sets and in your case have your granddaughter to examine them without getting her fingerprints on the coins!

2 hours ago, VPhillips said:

That's a fantastic idea!  And, they really do look like they're in the album!

 

How much did that 7070 album run you nowadays?  I've heard they're upwards of $100 or more...

Not at all, since Dansco re-issued the album for a limited time I got it from a supplier for $32.44 with postage!

I'll post them in this thread as I finish them!

I also have one of the 2 Flamingo coins that was burnished and graded on submission at MS-69. However, unlike yours mine is the 1974 struck in cuni with the coat of arms on the obverse rather than the queen. Regardless, I'm with you I love the burnished finish on any metal it is struck. (That said, silver is much better than cuni)! It looks like yours like mine was also struck at the Franklin Mint.

In a manner of speaking you can call these a die variety. For instance minted at San Francisco without the mint mark. It is similar to the 2011 anniversary set uncirculated SAE which is indistinguishable from a normal SAE except that if you sent the box the mint mailed the set in unopened for grading you could have the label designate the the coin was part of the set.

Gary

2 hours ago, jackson64 said:

I like it--has character and is distinct. If you ever sell it, you'll recognize it immediately if it ever comes up for sale again somewhere else.

That's what I thought, so I went looking through some old Heritage listings to see if it had previously sold. I found that it sold at least once in 2004 in an NGC holder. Interestingly the grade was MS-63, the same as the PCGS holder.

Wow! What a nice pick-up! It reminds me of my first pick-up this year from the Isle of Misfit Slabs (PCGS MS-63). Unlike yourself, I picked this one up through a dealer that is searching for upgrades to my typeset.

Congratulations, there is nothing quite like getting one of those plaques. I have gotten a few of those plaques in the past and now that you got yours, I can expect mine in the mail any time now. There is a real sense of accomplishment with the plaques because to get one of those your set must stand out in a crowd of other great sets! Congratulations!

Gary

Very nice!

Gary

Alan

I am copying the message I sent to you yesterday.

I was chuckling to myself as I read your latest post about those little coins that you and I have trouble seeing the details. I have photographed many coins and only when I have blown them up and examined the images have I noticed things I had not seen before. That happens when you take an interest in photography and in particular macro photography. You are well on the road to better pictures. Oh and BTW, congratulations on the coin!
Gary