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coinsbygary

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Journal Entries posted by coinsbygary

  1. coinsbygary
    Make no mistake, I am a coin collector through and through, but occasionally I get interested in collecting paper currency.
    The definition of numismatics according to Wikipedia is the study or collection of currency, including coins, tokens, paper money, and related objects. However, when I typically think of the term, I rarely associate it with anything other than coins. Occasionally though, for various reasons, there is paper currency on ?The Other Side of the Aisle? that catches my eye.
    For most collectors, there is nothing like finding "out of date" currency in everyday commerce. Whenever I received old paper money for change during a purchase, I would remove it from circulation, just as I would if I received obsolete coins in my change. Two such finds were a 1934-A, Federal Reserve Note, $5 bill and a red seal, 1963 United States Note, $5 bill.
    Much like with my coins, I purchased most of the collectible paper currency I own from dealers. When I was a young lad, I bought my first paper note from a camera store with a rotating display case full of coins and paper money. Since I liked odd denomination coins, it was only natural that my first purchase was a 1953-C, United States Note, $2 star bill. Still enamored by $2 bills today, I bought two 2003-A, 32-note sheets, and had one sheet matted and framed as a gift to my son.
    Some time ago when I was in the US Navy my ship pulled into Pearl Harbor while in route to the Orient. At a local coin shop in Hawaii, I bought a 1935-A, Silver Certificate, Hawaii overprint, $1 bill. Since I love history, I could not resist the significance of this unique note in our nation?s history. Hawaii overprint notes were issued for use in Hawaii during World War II. If per chance the Japanese had conquered Hawaii, the United States could easily demonetize them and declare them worthless.
    Many people consider the educational notes of 1896 the most beautiful paper notes ever issued. Because of this, along with the strong allegories associated with the series, I bought a well-worn, ripped, and scotch taped example of the $1 educational note. The note, entitled ?History Instructing Youth? depicts a seated female representing history overlooking Washington DC teaching a young boy from the constitution. On the obverse of the note along the edges are the names of famous Americans.
    While my educational note was expensive, because it was well worn, it was affordable. This was not the case with the $2 and $5 notes; the cost of both these notes precludes me from ever purchasing them for my collection. That was at least until I found an adequate alternative.
    Every year at the ANA?s World?s Fair of money, the Bureau of Engraving and Printing issues commemorative prints. For three years beginning in 1971, the Bureau issued prints featuring reproductions of the three educational notes printed with plates prepared from the original master dies. Subsequently, I purchased all three prints for a reasonable price on E-Bay.
    I hope you enjoy the photo collage of all three notes. The $2 note is entitled ?Science Presenting Steam and Electricity to Commerce and Manufacture?. The central figure on this note represents science, the children, electricity and steam, and the seated women, commerce and manufacture. The $5 note created quite a stir and is probably the reason this series was short lived. The $5 note is entitled ?Electricity Presenting Light to the World? or ?Electricity as the Dominant Force in the World?. The central figure on this note holding a lit light bulb represents electricity. The problem with this note is that two of the female figures are bare breasted. It is said that Boston's society ladies took offense with this design, and subsequently some bankers refused to accept the notes in transactions. From this incident, the phrase ?Banned in Boston? was coined. Until next time, whether you collect coins, paper currency, or both, happy collecting!
    Gary

  2. coinsbygary
    I don?t know what it is, but I am having a hard time breaking away from my Morgan Dollar collection.
    In my last journal, I opined that it might be a good time to take a break from Morgan Dollars and focus on other areas of my collection. My rational for temporarily shifting gears was an over-heating silver dollar market. What I failed to realize, as another collector reminded me, is that there are still good buys in the silver dollar market. While I was focusing on MS-65 & 66?s, I was unaware of the softness in the lower MS grades. That was until I began projecting the next moves in my Morgan Dollar registry set.
    As I began charting my next steps, I found recent values for MS-63 and 64 Morgan Dollars to be mostly flat. Holding to my strategy of the best coin possible for a $200/coin average, I found I could add another 23 coins to my collection in MS-63 & 64 condition. This brings me to 52 MS-63 and higher coins out of 105 in my Morgan Dollar registry set that I will be able to acquire for an average of $200/coin! This latest projection includes an 1882 to 1884 Carson City short set to add to my 1885-CC.
    After I complete this portion of my collection, I will turn my attention towards MS-60 to 62 examples. At that point, I will do likewise the rest of the way down the scale from AU to VG-10. When I get down to VG-10, I will hit the proverbial brick wall of the Morgan Dollar series in the 1881 & 89-CC, the 1893 & 95-S, and the 1894 Morgan Dollars. I will decide then what to do about the Morgan Dollar key?s short set, when and if I get there, as these five coins in VG-10 condition will cost me up to $6000 combined.
    I never dreamed when I started ?Born on the Bayou? that now I would endeavor to complete the entire set. With this, I am thoroughly convinced that there is no cure for the collecting bug. Oh well, maybe I can slow down and become more meticulous about adding coins to my set. At this point, that may be the best I can possibly hope to accomplish.
    I hope that you are all having a good Memorial Day. For the end of my post, I would like to repost a tribute I read and attach a photo of the current ?Medal of Honor? commemorative I recently purchased for my collection.
    It is the VETERAN, not the preacher, who has given us freedom of religion. It is the VETERAN, not the reporter, who has given us freedom of the press. It is the VETERAN, not the poet, who has given us freedom of speech. It is the VETERAN, not the campus organizer, who has given us freedom to assemble. It is the VETERAN, not the lawyer, who has given us a right to a fair trial. It is the VETERAN, not the politician, who has given us the right to vote. Greater love has no one than this that he lay down his life for his friends. (John 15:13).
    Happy collecting!
    Gary

  3. coinsbygary

    INSANE!

    By coinsbygary,

    This current sudden rise in value of high-grade common date dollars is insane and shows no sign of letting up.
    Several months ago, I began a collection of what I felt were affordable MS-65 & 66 Morgan Dollars. Now my collection of 22 MS-65 & 66 Morgan Dollars is complete and resides as a custom set in ?Gary?s MS-65 & 66 Morgan Gems?. I started this set based on the hope that I could complete it at an average cost of $200/coin. For a while, I was doing pretty well until the value of common date Morgan Dollars in uncommon grades started sharply increasing. Fortunately, by the time I noticed the sudden change in market values, my set was nearly complete. In the end with a little help from ?E-bay Bucks?, my final average cost came to $203/coin.
    I would love to say that ?I saw this coming?, but the truth is that I am very fortunate to have gotten on this train just before it left the station. Since January, most of the coins in this set have seen double digit increases in value, with three of my MS-66 coins increasing 69% in value! I know this is not sustainable and that there will be a correction at some point. However, I have read several articles in the last week or so suggesting the current correction in silver is not affecting the value of high-grade common date silver dollars. This sudden increase in the price of silver may have started a demand that has yet to see a correction.
    The numismatic value of a coin is the value above the melt value of that coin. Increases in low-grade common date dollars are more in line with the coins melt value. High-grade dollars, on the other hand, have eclipsed their melt value to increase in some cases hundreds of dollars. In essence, the intrinsic value of a high-grade common date dollar is practically a non-factor.
    One of the biggest casualties of a rapid rise in the price of silver is the permanent loss of entry-level coins due to melting. Time will tell how this current loss of supply will affect the long-term market. Nevertheless, a drop in supply is sure to put upward pressure on what remains. Although high-grade silver dollars are in no danger of being melted for their silver content, the upward pressure from the bottom tier dollars is almost sure in some way to buttress the higher tier.
    A bad E-bay experience illustrates the difference a month can make. On April 3, I won an auction for a NGC MS-65 1902-O Morgan Dollar. However, the seller who had a 100% feedback score at the time never sent me my coin. I filed a customer care case with E-Bay, and they refunded the money I spent to buy the coin. One month later, I won an auction for a PCGS MS-65 1902-O dollar and spent 38% more than I paid for the original coin. Even though I won the case and got the refund, this incident unnecessarily cost me more money. The point of this illustration though is that it is an accurate microcosm of the market as a whole.
    Where do I go now that this portion of my collection is complete? I think I will take a break from Morgan?s for now and focus on other areas of my collection. As I stated in a previous journal, the increased activity in one area of the market is making for good buys in other areas. We?ll see what happens, but until then, happy collecting!
    Gary

  4. coinsbygary
    Investor, collector, or both? There is nothing like a robust conversation to get the juices going.
    One of the things I love about collecting coins is that there is no right or wrong coin to collect. There is only what the individual collector enjoys collecting. This effectually brings diversity and variety to our hobby. I am also heartened by the fact that the king?s hobby is no longer just the king?s hobby. Anyone of any financial means can collect coins. I still enjoy finding coins in circulation that, for the most part, have stopped circulating. That occasional ?wheatie? I find only costs me a penny! Most people start collecting by plugging Whitman folders. When I was a much younger collector, I enjoyed plugging a Lincoln Memorial folder. I particularly liked trying to find all the dates and mints of the series in circulation. This scavenger hunt gave me hours of enjoyment as I constantly checked my change for a date and mint I was missing.
    When I was young, there were only proof sets and mint sets of our circulating coins. Now if a modern commemorative coin grabs my attention, I will add it to my collection. The state quarters in silver or clad offer diversity to our coins that was unheard of before 1999. For a short time, my son plugged a state quarter folder much as I did for Lincoln Memorials. Unfortunately, he lost interest. However, I believe many other young and old collectors alike have not.
    Now many years later, I own classic and modern, proof and circulated, foreign and US coins of every type of coining metal. Talk about diversity, it resides in my collection! I collect coins that to me have interesting designs and beauty. I have often spent more to have a coin graded and placed in a holder than it will ever be worth because it fits into one of my theme collections.
    No one wants their coins to go down in value. However, to buy that special coin for my collection, I have often paid more than the coin was worth. The key here is relative, for instance; I may pay $25 for a coin that is worth $12.50, but I will not pay $2000 for a coin that is worth $1000. I consider the $12.50 premium I pay as the cost of having fun in order to add that coin to my collection.
    My recent interest in Morgan Dollars is based strictly on a desire to collect coins rather than use them as an investment. However, I would be a liar if I told you I am disinterested in the performance of my coins in the marketplace. The current commodities' market is taking us all on a ride and my Morgan Dollars are swept up in this buying frenzy. If the key to investing is buying low and selling high then I should be selling my Morgan Dollars. However, while I am tempted by the prospect of capital gain, my coins are not for sale. This effectively removes any possibility of my collection being an investment. Circumstances in the future though may change my perspective, but for now I am simply a collector.
    As for points, cumulative points are a joke, last time I checked my ranking is 608; whoopty do, personal milestones is all they are. The only thing that matters are that points within a set are equally applied to all the coins in that set... What do I care if a ?prezzie? is one point or a thousand as long as everyone with a MS-65 coin has the same amount of points? That said, I do scratch my head at the current rational for awarding points. To tell you the truth, I own many valuable coins that have no points because there are no competitive sets available for them. These coins reside in my custom sets where the hobby is all that matters.
    So until next time happy collecting, and posters keep those posts coming, I am enjoying the current blogosphere conversation because nothing gets me to think more about my own collection than differing perspectives.
    Gary
  5. coinsbygary
    My day at the Central States Numismatic Society nets two new coins for my collection and a whole lot of fun.
    It is a rare treat for me to attend a major coin show, so when the opportunity arises, I usually try to make the most of it. Since I live a little less than 3 hours? drive from Chicago, my latest opportunity presented itself a couple of weeks ago Friday at the annual Central States Numismatic Society coin show.
    With every show I attend, the experience of the previous show helps me to prepare for the present show. For instance, last time I learned that most dealers do not accept credit cards on the bourse floor by having to walk several city blocks to find an ATM. This time I loaded up with cash from my local ATM before leaving for the show.
    So, with cash and ID?s in hand (One year my wife did not have her ID with her, and they almost did not let her in) and a day off work, my wife and I hopped into the car for the drive to Chicago. Personally, I have found that Friday is the best day to attend a show. The advantage to Friday is that most people who might attend the show over the weekend work on Friday. With a smaller crowd and earlier attendance comes the first pick of coins available at the show.
    Another important aspect of preparation is to know exactly what you are looking for and how much you want to pay for it. I had one coin in my target list, and I was looking for an MS-65, 1901-O Morgan Dollar. When we arrived at the show, I immediately embarked on a scavenger hunt to find my treasure. A lot of the fun of a coin show is in the hunt. I must have searched through more than a dozen glass display cases full of coins before I found a dealer that had just what I was looking for and at a fair price.
    Now with my treasure in hand and money left in my pocket, my attention turned towards adding another type coin to my collection, and I resumed the hunt. However, in my search for early coppers, I did not find a suitable certified example to add to my collection. It seems when dealers pack to go on the road, they like to pack their heavy hitters and for the second year in a row, all I could find were MS examples and rare lower grade coins. One dealer whom I have seen advertised in several periodicals left me his card and invited me to call him when he got back home, so I just might take him up on that.
    While on the hunt to fill holes in my type collection, I found a dealer with two MS-63, 1883 no-cents nickels. Needing this fairly common and inexpensive coin for my collection, I reveled in the fact that I could choose the better of the two in a side-by-side comparison. Furthermore, the dealer gave me a great quote on the coin, and it was a sale. Now with two nice coins in hand, I called it a day.
    My poor wife, on the other hand, is quite bored with the hunt and the many conversations I enjoyed with other coin-collecting zealots. However, she seemed to enjoy the educational displays and spent most of her time there. I must admit, several of the displays were appealing to me also, and in particular, an ancient?s display with coins from all the places the Apostle Paul from the Bible visited on his journeys. As an extra special treat, the owner of the display approached us and talked about the coins and other artifacts in his set. This owner was also quite innovative with his display design in that he had the coins elevated in the display on a piece of glass with a mirror behind the coins so you could see the reverses. I left hoping the owner of the display won an award for his very handsome and informative display.
    Overall I had a very enjoyable day, and I am looking forward to the ANA show in Chicago this coming August. Until then, may you enjoy unearthing the treasures for your collections.
    Gary

  6. coinsbygary
    If you were to represent the pool of money available to buy coins as a pie, silver dollars are currently taking a much bigger piece of the pie.
    No one can deny the sudden surge in value of high-grade common date silver dollars. Conversely, there is evidence showing that the inverse is true concerning copper and smaller silver coins thus proving that with every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. In other words, for the savvy collector there are some good deals in the marketplace.
    There are several numismatic alerts that I subscribe to via e-mail. One of those alerts that help to prove my theorem is a weekly NGC market report. This report is a small sampling of marketplace activity showing changes in coin values. Most weeks the samplings are of little relevance to my collecting interests. This week?s report is quite different and directly relates to my collection and my recent post on the high price of silver.
    This week?s report highlights the top five and bottom five 20th Century performers. Three of the top five coins are common-date MS-64 Peace Dollars. The other two are also common-date Peace Dollars of lesser MS grades. Month over month 03/11 to 04/11 each of these coins had risen between 24% and 25% in value. Of particular interest to me is the value of an MS-64 1923 Peace Dollar from my collection, rising from $64.80 to $80.40 in Fair Market Value.
    Of the bottom five coins, three were high-grade Lincoln Cents. One coin, in particular, a red 1924, MS-66 Lincoln cent fell 8.48%, from $2240.00 to $2050.00! Showing that smaller silver coins are not immune to the current market rage, the Fair Market Value of a 1942, MS-68 Walker fell 8.07%, from $6440.00 to $5920.00 and a full band 1941, MS-66 Mercury Dime fell 10%, from $75.00 to $67.50.
    What does this mean to me? Well, with my MS-65 & MS-66 high-grade Morgan Dollar set complete, I?ll hold off on expanding my Morgan Dollar collection for now. Instead, I think I will focus on my 19th Century type set and other sets that meet my core collecting goals.
    Other personal experiences relate to this post along with my attendance at the Central States Numismatic Society Convention in Chicago last week that I will elaborate on in my next post. But until then, happy collecting and to all mothers, a happy Mother?s Day!
    Gary
  7. coinsbygary
    1885 was a very good year for my Morgan Dollar collection, but not so for the Carson City Mint.
    A number of significant events occurred in 1885; among them were the births of World War II Admiral Chester Nimitz and General George Patton. In 1885, the magazine ?Good Housekeeping? hit the newsstands and Mark Twain?s ?Adventures of Huckleberry Finn? was on the way to become a best seller. In 1885, we saw significant advances in medicine with the first surgical appendectomy and an effective vaccine against rabies. On the social and business scenes, the US ?Salvation Army? organizes, and technological giant American Telephone & Telegraph (AT&T) becomes incorporated. In 1885, the Washington Monument was dedicated and the ?Statue of Liberty? arrived in New York. However, in the middle of all these significant events and a new administration in Washington, the Carson City Mint closed in 1885 simply because its administrators were of the wrong political persuasion.
    With this as a historical backdrop, I recently completed an 1885-year set of Morgan Dollars. Among Morgan?s, 1885 is a relatively easy year to assemble in mint-state condition. My year set started with the most difficult coin, the 1885-CC. Current Fair Market Value lists this coin in MS-64 condition for $720, and I acquired this coin in the mid 70?s as part of the ?LaVere Redfield? hoard for around $90. Two other coins, the 1885 and 1885-O have a Fair Market Value of $215 each in MS-65 condition. Both coins I recently purchased for ?Gary?s MS-65 & 66 Morgan Gems? custom set. This leaves me lacking only the 1885-S and the more I thought about it, the more it seemed a shame not collect the entire year set. Subsequently I began perusing E-Bay listings for the 1885-S Morgan Dollar and briefly considered a MS-62 example for $272. I declined to buy this coin because it cost more than I wanted to pay for a coin that does not otherwise fit into my collection. Furthermore, there are still a few more coins left to purchase for my custom set. After searching through several E-Bay listings; I bid on and won an acceptable AU-53 example for slightly less than FMV and less than half the cost of the MS-62.
    Because I love coinage history, I am fascinated at the pedigree of my 1885-CC Morgan Dollar. First is the coins? origin in Carson City, Nevada. Nothing says ?old west? like a Carson City Dollar minted with silver most likely mined from the Comstock Lode. Additionally, the 1885 dollar was the last coin minted at Carson City until 1889 when a new presidential administration came into office and the mint re-opened. The Carson City Mint minted silver and gold coins through 1893 and served as an assay office for some time thereafter.
    The second half of my coins pedigree pertains to my coins? previous owner LaVere Redfield. LaVere Redfield was a man who liked hard currency and did not trust banks (kind of sounds like a lot of us today). From his estate in Reno, Nevada, he amassed a hoard of over 400,000 silver dollars and stored them in the basement of his house. In those days, silver dollars were readily available at face value through local banks and casinos. It is said that LaVere Redfield bought his dollars by the $1000 bag, and dropped the bags through a coal chute into a hidden area of his basement. This accounts for the excessive bag marks on many of the coins from the hoard. After his death in 1974, his heirs auctioned the entire hoard for 7.3 million dollars and from there the coins were sold to individual collectors like me.
    Below is a photo collage of my 1885-CC Morgan Dollar, so until next time, happy collecting!
    Gary

  8. coinsbygary
    I could not have chosen a better time to start a high-grade Morgan Dollar collection than now. In addition, there is evidence to show that the value of low-grade, common date Morgan Dollars and the value of silver are joined at the hip.
    There has never been a better time for me to start a high-grade Morgan Dollar collection than now. Since I started collecting MS-65 and 66 Morgan Dollars in January, I have seen a monthly rise in the value of my collection, and more specifically my MS-66 coins. With five MS-66 Morgan Dollars in a collection of 17 to date, I was hoping to buy one more MS-66 for my collection. However, because the value of high-grade, common date Morgan Dollars has risen so dramatically, I will have to forgo that and finish my collection of 22 coins with MS-65 examples. Time and time again, my strategy of buying the tough coins first has paid off.
    Naturally, this begs to question why the sudden rise in value. I believe the answer lies directly and indirectly in the rising price of silver. Before the advent of bullion coins, people looked to old United States silver dollars as a means to buy silver because of their high silver content. At $40/oz., the silver value in a dollar is about $31. Presently, there is evidence showing a direct correlation between the silver spot price and low-grade, common date Morgan Dollars.
    For the sake of argument, I?ll use an 1879-S Morgan Dollar to illustrate a trend that is shared with all other common date silver dollars. As of 4/1/11, Numismedia Fair Market Value lists a G-4, 1879-S silver dollar at $32.20, or a mere $2.28 above the silver spot price of $37.91/ounce. Interestingly, the same coin on 11/1/10 with silver at $24.66/oz. was worth $16.85 (FMV 5/1/10 through 11/1/10) or in other words, $2.22 below the silver spot price. Today most collectors will not pay $32.20 for a G-4 silver dollar when they could own an AU-58 example for $37.95. These two market factors (low collector demand and high silver demand) combine to make melting low-grade silver dollars much more profitable.
    The high price of silver has broad implications for the coin market. Where the values of silver coins are not directly influenced by the silver spot price, they are indirectly. However, scarce and rare date coins have different market influences. For instance, I own a VG-10, 1895-O silver dollar worth $253 FMV. A year ago, this coin was worth $276, and the current value has not changed since 8/10. Therefore, silver market corrections have little bearing on the value of scarce and rare coins.
    An example of a coin indirectly influenced by the price of silver is my MS-66, 1879-S Morgan Dollar. This coin, like the lower grade coins had no appreciable change in value through much of last year. Starting in December of last year at $275, this coin is now valued at $356. This coin, like my 1895-O Morgan Dollar has numismatic value well beyond that of silver content. However, it is visibly clear that the current rise in silver is creating more demand for high-grade common dates. If this coin simply tracked the silver spot price, its value would only be between $290 and $300. Relatively inexpensive high-grade coins combine to offer a collector an aesthetically pleasing coin with a good potential for growth. Obviously, if there is a correction in the silver market, the value of my coin will go down some but the hope is that there will be a higher benchmark price before it reaches its previous levels.
    Of course, all this value is only on paper, and I will not see a real profit unless I sell. Since I do not intend to sell my collection anytime soon, I will settle for the paper value and enjoy the ride. Things should be interesting in the coming months. It is an exciting time to be a coin collector!
    Gary
  9. coinsbygary
    Simply put, I love coin collecting and I use the registry to catalog, organize, and display my collection.
    I have enjoyed the healthy debate these past few days concerning the registry and the reasons' people participate in it. Many good and valid points have been made, but in the end, what matters is that you are happy with why you participate. For me this debate has caused me to re-evaluate my position and that is a good thing because it keeps me focused and on track.
    It is said that you cannot control what others do, what you can control though is how you respond. For instance, I wish I had a larger budget with which to buy my dream coins. That said, I will most likely never own a 1907 high relief wire rim Double Eagle, unless someone gives it to me like the one ?COLLECT-A-BILLS? received for filling out a survey. Now I can choose to whine and moan about ?COLLECT-A-BILLS? luck, or I can share with him in his excitement of acquiring a dream coin. The choice is a no-brainer, as I rather share in his excitement! When it comes to high-grade number one registry sets, I am just glad that someone has the means to assemble, and display for everyone to enjoy, sets I could never dream of owning. I spend hours perusing other sets in the registry, and enjoy every second of it. In fact, perusing other sets stimulates me to dream of the coins I hope to own and without dreaming, my collection would not be what it is today. As for the 1907 Double Eagle, I have been dreaming of this coin ever since I was a young boy and who knows maybe one day I may realize my dream. Until that time, I am quite content with my MS-69, 2009 Ultra High Relief Double Eagle.
    In the registry, I have three sets that are top ranked, and each is number one for a different reason. One of my sets (Austria 100 Corona, 1892-1916, Circulation Issue) is number one only because no one else is competing. Not intending for it to be the highest-ranking set, it serves as a placeholder for another of my sets. In fact, most of my competitive sets serve as placeholders for other sets (this is where the cataloging and organizing come in). Another set (Netherlands 10 Gulden, Wilhelmina I, 1897-1933, Circulation Issue) started as an obsessive competition. However, this set has evolved into something much more. For instance, I may never have the means to assemble the best Morgan Dollars in the world into a complete collection, but I have the means and desire to collect the best Wilhelmina 10 Gulden coins. Regardless of what you think about number one registry sets, collecting the best coins possible into complete sets is good for the hobby and preserves a numismatic heritage for future generations. The third set, (First Spouse Gold $10, Proofs) in becoming number one, took me the longest time to acquire and cost the most money. In the process of becoming number 1, I devised clever buying strategies to acquire PF-70 coins as cost efficiently as possible all the while enjoying the journey. In the end though, after all that time, effort, and money I found arriving at number one to be a bit of a disappointment, especially when compared to the Wilhelmina set. In other words, I gain a greater sense of accomplishment with the best coins I can afford in registry sets that become a legacy or heirlooms rather than ?just? another number one registry set.
    NGC allows for other types of competition that are more subjective than a certificate based upon whoever has the most points. In many respects, this part of the competition is much more inclusive. Case in point, I won one of five 2009 ?Best Presented Set Awards? for my 20th Century Type set. This set, populated with average MS coins was ranked 15th when I won the award and includes a MS-64 1950-D Jefferson Nickel that garners 1 registry point! To win the award, I had to impress the judges with more than simply nice coins. I had to have good photos and owner descriptions also. This award means the most to me because not only did it require the greatest amount of time and effort, but more importantly, it is a reflection of what I enjoy most about coin collecting. For those who want to do their own thing, there are custom sets that allow you to define the set. In 2008, I won the ?Most Creative Signature Set Award? for my ?Inspirational Ladies? custom set with a mix of United States and foreign coins. For me, these two aforementioned awards are much more satisfying than the certificates for of the reasons I gave, and because they come with a plaque and a certificate for five free photogrades. Furthermore, I much rather hang a plaque on my wall than a certificate even though I currently hang both!
    Keep dreaming and you will be surprised at the coins you will have a few years down the road.
    Gary

  10. coinsbygary

    Good Progress

    By coinsbygary,

    My reflections and observations on the progress of ?Gary?s High-Grade Morgans? and ?Gary?s MS-65 & 66?s?.
    Greetings all, three months ago I started a new collection based on MS-65 & 66 Morgan Dollars at an average cost of $200/coin. My research showed that approximately 22 coins or 20% of all the dates and mints met my criteria. Now that my custom set, ?Gary?s High-Grade Morgans? is 64% complete, it?s a good time to reflect on the progress and quality of the coins I have acquired to date.
    Of the 14 coins I purchased, five are graded MS-66. Included within those five coins is a four-coin 1879 to 1882, S-mint short set. One of those coins, the 1882-S, is CAC verified solid for its grade and as such is likely the closest I will get to a MS-67 Morgan. The fifth MS-66 is an 1898-O dollar with beautiful lightly frosted luster. In order to meet my budget constraints, I acquired all these coins for less than Numismedia Fair Market Value with the 1898-O purchased for 35.6 % less than FMV. In fact, I was so encouraged by the 1898-O, that I began to think it possible to buy the other four MS-66?s within my budget. On a side note, all the MS-66 coins except for the 1898-O have risen in FMV the last two months in a row.
    Two of my Morgan Dollars, an 1878-S MS-65 and 1880-S MS-66 have semi proof-like surfaces that photograph well with a slight cameo finish. Another coin, the 1885-O, is graded proof-like 65 by NGC and yields 224 more points than the equivalent MS graded coin. I had the 1885-O on my E-Bay watch list for a little less than a week, and with 7 minutes left in the auction noticed that no one had placed a bid. Desiring to obtain at least one proof-like coin for my collection, I placed my bid for the seller?s minimum and won the coin. For a coin that cost slightly more than the FMV for the MS equivalent, it was 17.8% lower than the FMV for the proof-like coin.
    Another coin, an 1887 PCGS MS-65+, I acquired through a Teletrade auction. I placed my maximum bid on the coin at just below FMV for a MS-65 example. When the auction began, the bid went right to my maximum, and I thought I would lose the coin. However, it seemed no one else wanted the coin, and I won the auction. With a focus on quality and value, I am getting the best coins possible for the money while staying close to my budget. As far as points are concerned, this coin gets 103 more points than an MS-65.
    With no intention to compete with ?Gary?s MS-65 and 66?s?, I am using the points as a measure of quality. I am also populating this set with select MS-64 coins as a place to park odd coins in my collection. For example, it makes no sense to populate a dollar type set with an MS-64, 1885-CC at 171 points when I can place it in ?Gary?s MS-65 and 66?s? for 663 points. Furthermore, the 1885-O proof-like dollar is worth 684 points as a type coin in contrast to 502 points in a complete Morgan Dollar set? go figure!
    Because of possible grade-flation over the years, one CS member recommended that I try to get PCGS coins in Old Green Holders. Two of my coins, the 1883 and 1885 are in OGH?s with another two in the older ?small hologram? NGC holders. Soon I may submit the best coins from my collection to CAC in the hope of further accentuating the quality of my set. Whether there is grade-flation or not, the coins in these older holders are attractive coins.
    Overall, I am pleased with the progress, quality, and value of my collection to date. Depending on how well I do with my budget, I hope to add one more MS-66 to my set. Below is a picture collage of my two latest acquisitions, an NGC 1885-O, PL-65 and PCGS 1887, MS-65+.
    On yet another side note, with all the coins I purchase, I never lose the thrill of finding obsolete coins in circulation. March has been a banner month for finding Wheaties in circulation. After months of not receiving any in change, I found three, the 1940, 1953, and 1955-D Lincoln Cents this month. I know these are not worth much, but that does not diminish the fun of finding coins in circulation that have been around from since before I was born! Happy Collecting All!
    Gary

  11. coinsbygary
    A short one this time.
    A few hours ago I sent an e-mail to NGC's customer service asking them to add the 2011 slot for silver uncirculated British Britannias. So when I opened my CS page a few minutes ago, I found that the slot had been added! Now how's that for customer service! Thanks NGC!
    Gary
    To see old comments for this Journal entry, click here. New comments can be added below.
  12. coinsbygary
    Rarely does the opportunity to own a coin with a population of one and none higher realistically come my way. When it does, even though the coin goes beyond my established goals, I must seize upon that opportunity because it may never present itself again.
    Last week I received an E-mail notice for a 1932 MS-66 Netherlands 10 Gulden gold coin up for auction on E-Bay. I immediately placed the coin on my watch list with the original intention of monitoring it for the closing price. I do this quite frequently to gauge the value of my coins since I already own an MS-65 example of that coin. Furthermore, at the time I placed the coin on my watch list, I noticed the current bid on the coin was rather high.
    With a goal of MS-65 for ?Gary?s Golden Wilhelmina Guldens?, I never considered submitting a bid on the lot. However, when I discovered that the coin was a ?top pop? with a population of one, I began to entertain thoughts of bidding on it. Add to the fact that the current bid was holding steady I began to realize that owning this coin was within my grasp.
    Towards the end of the auction, I set up a snip to place an automatic bid on the coin with my best offer. Since my bid was well above the current bid, I knew my chances of winning the lot were good. When all was said and done, I found myself the winning the lot with a bid much lower than my best offer. In fact, the final price was less than that of a 1913 MS-65 Netherlands 10 Gulden gold coin I won on Teletrade just three weeks ago!
    This year has been phenomenal for upgrades. I made one upgrade to ?Gary?s Golden Wilhelmina Guldens? all last year and two months into this year have made three! A little less than two years ago I purchased the coin this coin replaces at a bargain price. With the price of gold these days, I should make a small profit on the old coin and maybe come close to the price of the new coin. The beauty of the upgrade is the old coin partially subsidizes the new coin.
    It feels good to own a ?one of a kind coin? and by populating my registry set with the best coins possible my set becomes a numismatic legacy. This then is the genius of the registry; individual collectors preserving coins in sets as a legacy for future generations of collectors. In fact, should I ever decide to sell my set, I am inclined to sell it as a whole for that exact reason.
    Please enjoy my photo collage of a ?one of a kind? and until next time, happy collecting!
    Gary

  13. coinsbygary
    Taking a lesson from the one that got away, I snagged a great coin at a good price.
    About a month ago, I opined about a very nice coin that slipped through my fingers because I hesitated. While I cannot take back the actions of the past, I can take the lessons learned from the past and apply them to future opportunities.
    One of the lessons I learned when buying coins is to try and buy the hard ones first. For example, I am working to assemble a high grade Morgan Dollar collection of MS-65 & 66 coins for a set average of $200/per coin. I have targeted 22 coins that will fit into this definition. Within those 22 coins, I am working on an 1879-S to 1882-S short set of MS-66 coins. Since higher grade Morgan?s are likely to rise faster and higher in value, I have endeavored to populate those slots first. This has proven to be a wise strategy as the Numismedia Fair Market Values have risen in just the past month. I have also noticed higher closing bids on Teletrade and E-Bay. Furthermore, the ?Buy It Now? prices on E-Bay seemed to be set a little higher.
    With my buying strategy in mind, I have set up several E-Bay and Mr. Wantlist notices for the coins I want. While on a break at work surfing for coins on my want list, I found an NGC MS-66 1882-S Morgan that I had not gotten a notice for yet and listed as a ?Buy it Now? for 5.6% less than Fair Market Value. Furthermore, as icing on the cake, this coin was CAC verified. Needless to say, I snagged up that bad girl without hesitation. This coin verified as solid for its grade is as close to MS-67 as I am likely to get since there are no coins in the Morgan Dollar series' grading MS-67 that fall within my budget.
    This coin represents the third of four coins I owned, leaving me with only the 1880-S left to purchase. Last Monday evening I placed a bid on a PCGS MS-66 CAC verified coin for auction on Teletrade. Unfortunately, the closing bid was higher than I was willing to pay and I lost the coin. However, I had a couple of other 1880-S examples on my watch lists.
    A new seller with no feedback rating listed one of those coins I was tracking on E-Bay. The starting bid on the coin was reasonable and well below the Fair Market Value for the coin. I know that people are sometimes suspicious of new sellers, but I thought to give him a chance when I noticed he had several other coins for sale. For days, I had monitored this coin, noticing that no one had placed a bid on it. This was likely due to the seller?s feedback rating, so rather than place a bid I set up a ?snip? to bid the lot with six seconds left. It seems another person had the same idea, except that my bid was higher, and I won the auction today. This coin won for 13% less than Fair Market Value was a full $90 below the coin I lost on Teletrade! Now the coin is on its way to me and will likely arrive next week Tuesday.
    For now please enjoy this picture of ?the one that didn?t get away?! Happy collecting all!
    Gary

  14. coinsbygary
    A disappointing purchase made over a year ago that in the end turned out well.
    Have you ever purchased a coin that you have come to regret buying? I?m sure that at one time or another we have all purchased coins that afterwards have us scratching our head and wondering what in the world we were thinking. While there is no way short of a buying freeze to prevent the time-to-time aberrant purchase, well-defined collecting goals do help to minimize the chances. It is always in our best interest to buy the right coin the first time around, rather than to sell the wrong coin later at a loss.
    With a goal of collecting the entire Silver Britannia series in MS-69, I bought a sheet of 10, 2007 Britannia?s a little more than a year ago on E-Bay for about $27/coin. Since certified coins in this series at MS-69 are scarce, I thought to submit all ten coins with the hope that at least one would grade MS-69. I was disappointed to find that when my coins arrived, none of them were worthy of submission. For whatever reason, the British Royal Mint packages these coins in a way that makes them vulnerable to damage, as all of them had scuff marks on Queen Elizabeth?s cheek. I thought to return the coins, but in the end, I did not want go through the hassle, so I kept them.
    Now a year later, thanks to silver being more than $23/oz, I had the opportunity to sell all 10 Britannia?s on E-Bay as a ?Buy it Now? for $35/coin. After two weeks on E-Bay, I sold all 10 coins along with four other coins, and netted almost $3/coin profit on the 2007 Britannia?s. With the gross proceeds of my sales in my PayPal account, you can just imagine how the gears in my head started to turn.
    With those proceeds, I purchased thee Morgan Dollars, an MS-62 1880-O, MS-62 1891-O, and a rainbow-toned MS-63 1882-O. The 1880 and 1891 are the best coins I could obtain on a maximum budget of $200/coin, and both cost me significantly less than Fair Market Value. I paid a premium for the 1882 coin, but the reverse has beautiful violet, green, and golden toning; making this coin well worth what I paid, while still costing less than $200.
    The 1882-O has spectacular color and the value of the 1880-O and 1891-O dollar?s rise rapidly at MS-63 and higher, meaning I will not be upgrading any of these coins. Normally, I try to cherry pick well struck coins for my collection. However, the 1891-O has the poorest strike of any Morgan Dollar I have owned. In fact, my research shows that 1891 is one of the worst years for well-struck coins at New Orleans. Therefore, I will use this coin to illustrate a point when I eventually write my owner descriptions. This effectively makes all three coins the right coins the first time around.
    I hope you all get the coins you want the first time around, so until next time, happy collecting!
    Gary

  15. coinsbygary

    Feast or Famine

    By coinsbygary,

    Searching for coins rarely offered for sale can be like a feast or a famine.
    In my previous journal, I wrote about obsessions. One of my obsessions having more to do with my personality than it does with the topic of coin collecting is football. As a proud owner of an NFL football team by virtue of owning one share of Green Bay Packers stock, I found myself on the edge of my seat as the Chicago Bears made the NFC championship game interesting. However, in the end, the Packers prevailed, and now it?s on to the Superbowl. Somehow, if the Packers beat the Steelers, I doubt the Packers will be sending me a ring. At any rate, go Pack!
    Now on to the topic at hand, sometimes in looking for the right coins to add to our collections, we go through extended periods of famine. This not only applies to rare coins, but also to coins that are rarely sold. For instance, the 1893-S Morgan Dollar is rare because of a low mintage and high demand. However, I can pull an E-bay search almost any time and find certified low-grade examples for sale. On the other hand, I can search for certified Netherlands 10 Gulden gold coins and find nothing offered for sale even though they are not particularly rare and are worth little more than melt value. Combine low availability with a demand for high-grade examples and I am often waiting for years for the opportunity to purchase just one coin.
    For about six months, I have been tracking a 1927 NGC MS-64 ?Buy It Now? 10 Gulden coin on E-Bay, but I refused to pay the price the seller was asking even though a suitable coin was available. Nevertheless, I kept the coin on my watch list and watched it as it cycled through its 30-day listings. Then last week one came up for sale as a true auction on E-Bay that I won for just a little more money than melt value and 30% less than the ?Buy It Now?. After a yearlong drought in purchasing coins for ?Gary?s Golden Wilhelmina Guldens?, I took great pleasure in removing the ?Buy It Now? from my watch list.
    Often the clich? ?When it rains, it pours? denotes that something bad is happening, but this time, in my case, it definitely denotes something good. Last Friday I got a Teletrade ?Mr. Wantlist? e-mail notice for a 1913 NGC MS-65 10 Gulden in their Monday evening auction. What a feast, nothing suitable in a year, then suddenly two opportunities in a week! Add to the fact that MS-65 Wilhelminas meets my ultimate long-term goal for this set, and this coin is nothing less than ?icing on the cake?. I went on to win this auction even though I paid a little more for the coin than I would have liked. Fortunately, I have a lower-grade coin that will subsidize the higher-grade one.
    When you are looking hard for something you have to be ready to seize the moment when it comes because you do not know when or if another will come. Financially, I went out on a limb to acquire these two coins, so for now I need a moratorium on buying. When it comes to moratoriums Jackson makes a good point, but I will add in addition to not browsing, temporarily stopping e-mail notices helps to enforce moratoriums. Until next time, enjoy this collage of my recent purchase and happy collecting!
    Gary

  16. coinsbygary

    Obsessed!

    By coinsbygary,

    Why do my obsessions have to cost so much?
    It seems that forever and a day I have been obsessing over coin photography. I absolutely must have high quality photographs of my coins to display in my registry sets. For years I have been trying to take just the right picture, but only with mixed results. To say that this has been an obsession with me is an understatement.
    To add to my obsession is the realization that with each coin being different, there is no such thing as a cookie cutter approach to photographing coins. With differing metals, luster, and finishes coins can be a bear to photograph correctly.
    Admittedly, much of my problem is with my setup. Thinking I needed a higher quality camera, I bought a new camera. While the pictures were better, they were not what I expected. Finally, I broke down and purchased a tripod. There was some improvement, but I was still not satisfied. Then I purchased Photoshop Elements 8 and fixed the problem of standardizing my background matting. However, when editing photos, even Photoshop needs good raw material to work with. While each of these steps had helped in my quest for just the right picture, I still was not entirely happy.
    If location, location, and location are the most important considerations in real estate, lighting, lighting, and lighting is the most important in photography. Up until a week ago, I had been using a desk lamp without a shade and a 60-watt incandescent light bulb for my light source. This set up presented problems with white balance and shadows. Getting a good picture was possible, but often took trial and error with a large dose of determination. Finally, I broke down and thought that maybe I should invest in better lighting.
    For the obsessed, better equipment often means spending much more money than necessary to get what is perceived to be the best. Perusing several websites, I purchased a kit that included two professional table lamps on adjustable stands, a lighting tent, and a camera stand.
    It seems though that life is not without a sense of irony as I ordered this kit just before reading the journal posts of the past week by Moondoggy and Merlin8*. To pay 10 times more for a set-up than what is necessary is often the lot of the obsessed. If I could only manage a little self-control, maybe I might get somewhere. At any rate, the quality of my pictures will markedly improve albeit at a higher cost.
    It is said though that the proof is in the pudding, and for the evidence of that, I offer a picture collage of my E-Bay Bucks purchase PCGS MS-65 1878-S Morgan Dollar. This coin with satin devices and semi proof like fields is absolutely stunning! Now if only I could get over my obsession with buying coins over budget and stick to my moratoriums?oh well, happy collecting!
    Gary

  17. coinsbygary
    A popular fishing metaphor describes the coin that got away from me.
    As collector?s we all naturally desire to acquire coins with spectacular eye-appeal for our collections. Each of us having an idea of what spectacular eye appeal should look like; we spend countless hours perusing hundreds of auction listings to find the proverbial ?needle in a haystack?. For many of us those countless hours turn into years until finally our meticulous searching pays off. However, there are those times when for either price or bad timing we hesitate and our ?needle in a haystack? gets away.
    Earlier this week, a ?buy it now? listing for an 1883 Morgan Dollar grading PCGS MS-65+ posted on E-Bay. This coin with more eye-appeal than one my 66s? listed for 16% above Fair Market Value for MS-65. Since I could not tell if the coin was over-priced, I placed it on my watch list figuring I had plenty of time to make up my mind. Unfortunately, the coin did not last 24 hours on E-Bay before it sold.
     
    With the advent of the ?+? grade I am confused as to what FMV is, since there are no values listed for ?+? grade coins. Furthermore, I think 20 steps of MS grades in contrast to 10 muddies the water. In the past if you thought a coin was solid for its grade, you could send it to CAC, and they would confirm if the coin is solid or not. In a way is this not what PCGS and NGC are doing with the ?+? grade. Interestingly, reading from CAC?s own web page, CAC does not recognize ?+? or ?star? grades, but rather only if the coin is solid for its grade or not. Now I am not disputing that either CAC or ?+? grade coins should not command a premium in the marketplace. What frustrates me is not knowing what that marketplace premium is.
    Thinking back, I should have grabbed the coin when I had the chance. Failing to buy the coin rather than the holder, I missed a coin with spectacular eye-appeal. In the end, is not a coin's value in the eye of the beholder? Oh well, perhaps it was for the best this time since the very next day the starter on my car died and with an expensive repair I did not need to have the added expense of a new coin. Therefore, for now, it?s back to the haystack!
    Since we in Collector?s Society are family, and taking from the lead of other members, I am posting my Facebook picture of my family at my son?s graduation (I?m the old F@&t on the left). Until next time, happy collecting!

  18. coinsbygary
    With the coming of a new year comes a new set of Morgan Dollars!
    Happy New Year everyone, this time of the year is a good time for contemplation and planning; contemplation of the past year?s highlights and low lights, and planning for the new year. Overall, last year was a good year for me as measured by the goals I set for myself. I have upgraded and/or added coins to my 19th Century type, first-spouse, Inspirational Ladies, and Britannia sets. A few of my goals, however, are longer term goals based upon the availability of coins suitable for an upgrade. For instance, I only added one coin to my Netherlands 10 Gulden set this past year, upgrading an MS-63 to an MS-64 on my way to MS-65 for the entire set. In 2011 most of my goals will continue unchanged.
    One thing I did not anticipate last year was adding and completing another set. Because of my love of coinage history in general and the New Orleans Mint in particular, I discovered another love. That new love is the Morgan Dollar. For a period of four months, purchasing coins for ?Born on the Bayou? consumed my collecting interests. Furthermore, because of their eye appeal, I was attracted to rainbow-toned Morgans. Now for the same reasons I am adding a new set this year.
    A large drawback to collecting Morgan Dollars is the overabundance of those hideous looking contact marks. While I have always liked the Morgan dollar, this fact kept me from collecting Morgans at least that was until ?Born on the Bayou?. While rainbow-toning hides the contact marks in lower MS grades, coins grading MS-65 and higher have very few contact marks, allowing the true beauty of the coin to come out. For me gem BU Morgan Dollars are a sight to behold.
    Once I started collecting Morgan Dollars, I learned how collectable this series was in gem BU condition. Through researching coins for ?Born on the Bayou?, I discovered I could collect 22 MS-65 dates for an average of less than $200 per coin! Therefore, partially based on a recommendation from another Collector?s Society member to ?Go for It?, I am starting a collection of gem BU Morgan Dollars!
    One other point my Society friend made was that the market for Gem BU Morgan Dollars was little soft. Often I take these suggestions with a grain of salt, after all the proof is in the pudding. Therefore, with the Numismedia Fair Market Value as my guide, I thought to populate the entire set with cherry picked MS-65 dollars and buy one MS-66 dollar as a representative coin. Perusing E-Bay listings, I found a gorgeous MS-66 1898-O and submitted a maximum bid of FMV. To my delight, I won the auction with a bid 36% less than FMV! Later I won a MS-65 1896 dollar on the Tuesday evening Teletrade auction for 14% less than FMV! These recent purchases have greatly expanded the scope of this collection. Now with a set average of $200 per coin, I will enhance the quality of my collection with a mix of MS-65 and 66 coins! When I start populating this set, in addition to the competitive set, I am starting a custom set because I believe I can better present this set as a custom set. The custom set forum allows me to display my new set as a complete set in contrast to a competitive set I have little hope of completing.
    Check back often, 2011 should prove to be an exciting year! The year is already starting with a bang as on the first day of the year I purchased a MS-69 2011 PCGS Britannia! There is much more to say about my goals this year and about Tuesday evening Teletrade auctions, but rather than bore you with the details in a long post, I will save it for another post. For now, check out this bad girl (I?d say bad boy but with this coin it seems a little inappropriate)!
    Happy collecting and Happy New Year!
    Gary

  19. coinsbygary
    Reaching an important milestone for my collection and the coin that put me over the top.
    Greetings all, just three short months ago I wrote about possibly discontinuing my first-spouse collection. Now three months later I have a new perspective even though the price of gold has not significantly changed. First, I have a lot invested in this series already, and if I have the money to continue, I should. Next, I want to continue to add gold to my portfolio and these coins are a great way of doing it. Finally, the most recent issue is of Mary Todd Lincoln, so with the Lincoln commemorative of a year ago, this first spouse coin is the perfect complement.
    Using the aforementioned rational, I purchased the most current first-spouse gold coin. In doing so, I also crossed an important milestone for my collection as Mary Todd Lincoln put me over the 100,000-point barrier. Having ?arrived? at this point, I am beginning to wonder what the big deal is. The reason I collect coins is not for points, nor for competition. I have been a collector for most of my life and have only recently discovered the registry. However, I must admit that there is a bit of a competitive nature in my blood, but I have to ask myself, with whom am I competing.
    With more than 100,000 points, over 600 people are ahead of me, and I have little or no possibility of getting significantly higher. Even at that if I were to stop collecting coins, I would find myself slipping in rank due to others adding to their collections. With the exception of a few sets, I am in essence competing with myself, and points are the measure of that competition. If my goal is to acquire the best first-spouse coins possible, then I will be assembling a PFUC-70 set that just happens to be the number one set alongside other number one sets. The overall points are also a means for me to measure growth in my collection, rather than with who I am ahead or behind. In the end, I am happy to be over 100,000 points, but it is only a number and an indicator of the quality and number of coins in my collection. I cannot compete with most of the top sets in the registry, but points are an indicator of the best I can do.
    Overall, I feel that the concept of the registry is good for the hobby. NGC in awarding points for coins in registry sets encourages individual collectors to assemble the very best coins possible for their collections within their budgets. Additionally, high-grade and rare coins are preserved for future generations in NGC and PCGS holders, and assembled in sets. The registry is also a wonderful tool for collectors to help them stay focused on their collecting goals.
    Next year is almost here, and I am beginning to focus on my goals for the coming year. For the most part, my goals will be focused on the coins I will purchase rather than the points I will earn. Please enjoy my photo collage of Abe and Mary Todd Lincoln and have a Merry Christmas and a prosperous new year!
    Gary

  20. coinsbygary
    The end of a long journey and the beginning of an even longer one
    Greetings again, seven months ago I wrote a numismatic tribute to my daughter as she earned her master?s degree. Now in little less than a week on December 19, 2010 my son will graduate college with a bachelor?s degree. The road has been long and hard, but now in the words of my son Jeffrey, ?I want to see what life has for me?.
    The coin I have chosen to commemorate my son?s graduation is a 2009 French 10 Euro coin commemorating the 50th anniversary of the European Court of Human Rights. I originally purchased this coin for my ?Inspirational Ladies? signature set because the obverse features Marianne as ?The Sower?. The translation of the reverse had always been a mystery to me before I turned to my son, who was taking French for its translation. In smart-aleck fashion, he replied, ?In the common tongue it means, "One ring to rule them all..." Just kidding. It was really good practice though. If you ever have any more French coins that you want translated, let me know--it was kinda fun. Anyways, it roughly means; "All humans are born free and equal in dignity and in rights. They are given reason and conscience and must act in the spirit of brotherhood".
    Jeffrey, I am proud of you and what you have accomplished. I pray God?s richest blessings on you as you begin to forge your life.
    For me this represents the end of a journey also, as Jeff is my youngest child. Now with both my children successfully completing their college degrees, I look towards the future and what it has in store for all of us. Therefore, with college tuition out of the way, maybe I will have more money to spend on coins! Then again, the next logical chapter in my children?s life is marriage, and I certainly need to save for that. Oh well, there are a few things in life more important than coins and my family most definitely qualifies! All the best Jeff, enjoy this moment, you have earned it!
    Dad.

  21. coinsbygary
    Starting with my journal post of two days ago, follow the amazing events leading to the completion of ?Born on the Bayou?.
    Greetings all, it?s beginning to look a lot like Christmas around here as I woke up to several inches of fresh snow! Not in any hurry to shovel snow, this cold winter morning offers me a great opportunity to sit with a hot cup of coffee and reminisce on the events of the past week.
    Two days ago in a journal post, I wrote about the difficulty I had in buying a MS-61 1892-O Morgan Dollar. The main problem was there are so few coins available that meet my criteria of MS-60 to 61 for less than $200. I considered buying an AU coin, but the thought of paying up to $90 for a coin that earns three points is unacceptable. Sometimes I do not mind buying a coin with a $1 per point ratio, but $30 per point, no way. That said there was a glimmer of hope in that I was tracking a coin that met most of my criteria on E-Bay for $225. Although the coin was over my budget, I was pondering on whether to buy the coin anyway. When I posted my journal of two days ago, this thirty-day listing had nine days left for me to decide before all of a sudden, later that day, the seller ended the listing. Now the decision on whether to buy the coin anyways was out of my hands. Frustrated, saddened, but relieved that I had stuck with my budget; I began to prepare myself for the long haul.
    The internet is a wonderful tool to find most anything you want, and I thought to do a Google search on the 1892-O dollar. The problem you encounter with Google searches is that they are like mining for gold; you have to dig through tons of rock to find the mother lode. Well, after going through several pages, I came upon a link that looked somewhat promising. I clicked the link and it redirected me to a website called thefind.com . Thefind.com appears to be a single point website whereby subscribing merchants' post links to their wares. From the main page, a prospective buyer enters a keyword search, and then the site redirects you to a page that describes the number of stores and matching products in your search. From there the thumbnail links redirect you to the vendor?s web page. Now I was beginning to get somewhere as a search of ?1892-O Morgan Dollar? returned 157 products in 58 stores. Several of the links did not match the search, and some were obsolete, but suddenly, and unexpectedly I hit the mother lode, and there it was, an 1892-O PCGS MS-61 Morgan Dollar! As an extra bonus, the dealer whose page I had been redirected advertised all his certified coins for sale at Numismedia Fair Market Value. This allowed me to purchase the coin within my budget and at the same time save $33 over the E-Bay listing!
    I?ve learned much about patience and living under a budget with this set, and today I am a savvier buyer because of it. So now, with my coffee gone and my journal post finished, it?s time to go outside and shovel snow. I am attaching a photograph of a PCGS MS-63 rainbow-toned 1901-O Morgan Dollar I recently purchased through Teletrade. Until next time, happy collecting and Merry Christmas!
    Gary

  22. coinsbygary

    One More to Go

    By coinsbygary,

    25 coins after I started ?Born on the Bayou? on August 29, 2010, I have one more coin to go.
    Greetings everyone, three months ago, on a whim, I started a complete set of Morgan Dollars based on the New Orleans Mint, and now I stand within one coin of completing my set. With a strict budget of $200/coin, the last coin, the 1892-O, is proving to be quite a challenge to obtain in MS condition. Since I only get three points for an AU example, I am targeting this coin for MS-61 and 265 points. Currently, I am watching an MS-61 1892-O for sale that is a little over budget. However, since I bought the rest of this set within my budget, I would hate to break it on the last coin. What especially makes this coin so appealing is that it is rarely available for sale, and I may have to wait a long time to fill the slot. Oh well, since I have been nice and not naughty, maybe I can get it for Christmas!
    As I look at my set, I am impressed with the overall quality of the coins I could obtain with nineteen of twenty-five coins in MS condition and more than half of those grading at MS-63 and 64. The 1893-O and 1895-O are the only coins in my set grading below AU. Equally impressive is that half my set comprises of rainbow-toned coins. Obtaining all the coins through either E-Bay or Teletrade, I bought half for Fair Market Value or less. Of those coins I paid more than Fair Market Value for, most of them were rainbow-toned. Looking at my set now, I could not be any happier with it.
    One thing I did not anticipate when I started this collection is how much I have come to love the Morgan Dollar. Now where do I go next? I have another idea, since I love the beauty of this coin in Gem Uncirculated condition; I may start another year set of MS-65 dollars on a $200/coin budget. I know I will not be able to collect every year in this set, but I will be able to collect every mint with the exception of Denver and Carson City. Stay tuned for developments on this.
    On another note, I wish everyone all the best as they make their final preparations for this year?s awards. Talking from experience, it is a thrill to have my sets recognized from among all my peers by NGC for an award. In closing, I am attaching a print of the modest and reluctant Morgan Dollar model, Anna W. Williams. Do you see the resemblance? Happy collecting!
    Gary

  23. coinsbygary
    The definition of passion is, ?The object of somebody?s intense interest or enthusiasm?, and suitably applies to my love for coin collecting among other things.
    Greetings all, my father always told me, ?If something is worth doing, to do it right the first time.? Consequently, whenever I put my mind to do something, I do it with passion. This applies to all areas of my life, up to, and including coin collecting. How else can I explain the expenditures and time I spend on this hobby? As an extra bonus, other things I am passionate about fit very well into my collecting hobby. For instance, I love writing and Collector?s Society provides a wonderful forum, whereas I can write about the hobby I love. Coins as mementos of American history allow me to research and express my love for history in my coins? owner descriptions. As a perfectionist with an obsessive personality, I am always striving to improve the photographs of my coins. Simply put, there are few aspects of coin collecting that I do not enjoy. In fact, if you cut me, sometimes I wonder if I would bleed silver and gold!
    The true test of passion though is over time, and with the passing of time, does it increase or decrease? Genuine passion increases over time as coin collecting has proven to be for me. However, if all there was to collecting coins was collecting coins; I would soon be bored.
    Coins are objects that can neither give affection nor receive it. Life is about relationships; relationships with God, family, friends, acquaintances, and whomever you come across in day-to-day living. For instance, if I could not share my collection with someone else, I would not enjoy this hobby as much as I do. In a matter of speaking, coins are a tool with which to establish and develop relationships with people of like minds. Your collections and journal posts serve to fuel my passion for collecting, and I pray that I have the same effect on you. The Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays cause me to reflect on how thankful I am to have you.
     
    When it comes to passion, there is an order in those things of which I am most passionate and first in importance, is my relationship with God. After my relationship with God is my relationship with my wife and kids, my friends and acquaintances, and so forth. When and if my coin collection takes the place of any of these relationships, it is then I need to step back from collecting. Unfortunately, there is no one in my family interested in coin collecting, so I must find other ?tools? to develop my relationships with them. What is encouraging though is that when I take steps towards them, they take steps towards me. I pray that you have a blessed holiday season with those who are most special in your life.
    Speaking of Christmas and passion, it is God, who passionately gave us the unimaginable gift of eternal life through Jesus Christ to all who believe in him. In the spirit and tradition of Christmas, the coin pictured below, from my ?Inspirational Ladies? custom set is an NCS XF details 1868 Bavarian 1 Taler that I purchased while I was living in Germany. The portrait on the reverse is that of Mary and the baby Jesus seated in the clouds. The obverse features a bust of the king of Bavaria, King Ludwig II. I hope you all have a Merry Christmas and a happy new year!
    Gary

  24. coinsbygary
    The difference between a coins mintage and the number that have survived through the years can be immense.
    Greetings everyone, when I was young collector, I relied heavily on mintage figures to determine whether a coin had the potential to rise in value. I thought that lower mintages correlated to a faster rise in value. Now years later, I have learned there are many more factors that combined with mintage figures contribute to a coin?s potential to increase in value. The first thing to consider after mintage is demand; if you own a coin with a low mintage that nobody wants, it will not appreciably increase in value. For instance, the value of my XF 1876 20-cent piece with a mintage of just over 15,000 has increased very little over the years. However, take the same coin in mint-state condition and it fares a lot better because one, the coin is much rarer and two more people will want to own it. Fortunately, due to the scarcity of this coin, it currently has a solid Fair Market Value, but as far as growth is concerned, the coin has only kept pace with inflation over the years that I have owned it.
    Another factor that I have never considered before is survivability. Survivability is an estimate of how many coins have survived up until now and are available to collectors. Again, I bought an 1885-CC Morgan dollar when I was young thinking that the low mintage would catapult this coin in value over time. With a mintage of 228,000, how could I go wrong? However, according to PCGS Coin Facts, 185,150 or 81% of all 1885-CC Morgan dollars have survived; of that number, 166,650 have survived in mint-state condition! While the low mintage and Carson City mintmark give this coin solid value, because of the number of coins available that value does not rise quickly over time.
    Concerning my ?Born in the Bayou? Morgan Dollar collection, approximately 10% of all New Orleans dollars minted over 26 years have survived. When you factor in the various hoards and melts, the survival rate within certain grades becomes very critical in determining the value of a particular date, mint, and grade. To illustrate this point, take two dates in the series, the 1885-O and 1886-O dollars. The 1885-O dollar has a mintage of 9,185,000 and an estimated survival in all grades of 936,300 coins with 511,300 of those in mint-state condition. The 1886-O dollar has a mintage of 10,710,000 and an estimated survival in all grades of 1,000,067 coins with 19,067 of those in mint-state condition. In grades MS-65 and higher, the 1885-O dollar is estimated to have 73,640 coins, while the 1886-O has six. The MS-65 1885-O dollar with a lower mintage has a FMV of $156, while the 1886-O has a FMV of $206,250!
    When you apply these figures to the NGC and PCGS certified populations, you get a clear indication of why survivability is one of the more critical factors in determining a coin?s value. For instance, say 10,000 people want to collect an 1885-O and 1886-O PCGS or NGC certified Morgan Dollar in MS-65 condition. Everyone could own an 1885-O dollar, while only four people could own the 1886-O dollar; this effectively forces everyone else to settle for a lower grade. With a combined 3,271 NGC and PCGS certified 1886-O dollars in grades' MS-60 to 64, almost 7,000 of 10,000 people will have to settle for a coin in a circulated grade. Finally, with 4,280 AU certified coins, nearly 2,700 people are still without the 1886-O dollar. The rarity of the 1886-O dollar in mint-state condition also explains why over 50% of all certified 1886-O dollars are in AU condition. Conversely, it is not very cost effective to submit circulated 1885-O dollars for grading because they are only worth $26.45 in AU-55 condition. Therefore, only 201 1885-O dollars are currently certified by both NGC and PCGS in grades lower than MS-60!
    By searching NGC and PCGS population reports to calculate certification statistics and PCGS Coin Facts to determine survival; I have compiled a spreadsheet with numerous statistics for all the coins in my set. What makes these statistics fascinating to me is that they tell a story of US Treasury Department hoards due to low public demand for silver dollars and massive melts due to political pressure from miners. All this today, offers collectors a good supply of quality coins and true rarities. In other words, there is something for everyone!
    In summary, the old saying, it takes money to make money is true. If you collect coins as an investment, you must buy the best coins available in any given series. I collect coins for the pleasure this hobby gives me, and I am not particularly disturbed that a few of my coins have not performed well. Nevertheless, we all want our coins to increase in value and the current steep rise in gold and silver gives us all reasons to smile!
    Happy collecting!
    Gary

  25. coinsbygary

    Walking a Tight Rope

    By coinsbygary,

    Purchasing coins on a strict budget and the balance between registry points, grade, and eye appeal.
    Greetings all, buying coins for my New Orleans, Morgan Dollar registry set, ?Born on the Bayou? has been a challenge. In the past, whether I could reasonably afford a particular coin or not, if I liked the coin, I bought it. All too often, to buy the coin I wanted, I pushed back other priorities. The problem with pushing back other priorities though is that they eventually come back to nip you in the butt. Case in point, I recently had to have $1500 worth of repairs on the car and without cash reserves those repairs went on the credit card. Now my wife wants me to get a new car, but I rather drive a clunker with no car payments so that I can buy more coins! At any rate, the car should be good for a while now. The point is, I hate living on a budget, but I must admit that by being on a budget I am learning how to buy better coins for less money and have fun doing it. Trades-offs between price, grade, registry points, and eye appeal is where the fun comes in.
    With the Numismedia Fair Market Value as my guide, I can acquire most of the coins for my set well within my $200/coin limit, however, there are some coins that are definitely on the edge. One of those coins on the edge is the 1894-O dollar. This coin has a FMV of $192 in AU-50 that rises to $420 in AU-58. I briefly considered this coin in XF-45 for $90 FMV, but quickly dismissed it when I discovered it earned a paltry three registry points! Three points are NGC?s way of saying, ?We acknowledge that your coin is a coin, but you get no credit for spending $90 on it?. However, in any AU grade, this coin garners 366 registry points, effectively narrowing my choices to one coin, AU-50 or bust. In the past year Teletrade sold only one coin within my price range and all the E-Bay, ?Buy it Now? listings were just over the limit. On a side note, most coins offered on E-Bay as a ?But it Now? tend to be overpriced. Therefore, true auctions are the most likely place to get the coins you want at a good price. One such E-Bay listing had a PCGS AU-50 1894-O bid fairly close to my limit with very little wiggle room. I put the coin on my watch list anyway and set up my ?Snip? program to bid my best offer with six seconds remaining in the auction. Not expecting to win the coin, I was pleasantly surprised to find that I had won the coin for a little less than FMV!
    Conversely, with the 1897-O dollar and a FMV value of $86.40 in AU-50, $120 in AU-53, $156 in AU-55 and $270 in AU58, I have several options. Since this coin gets 304 points in any AU grade, to save a little money, I bought a nice AU-53 coin Sunday evening on Teletrade. Once again, I acquired this coin for a little less than FMV. Comparing both the 1894 and the 1897 coins, it would seem that the points? street runs both ways.
    My latest purchases leave me with only five coins left to buy. I should be able to buy the 1887, 90, and 1901-O dollars as rainbow toners, although rainbow toned coins of these dates rarely come up for auction. The 1889 and 1892-O dollars may give me a little trouble. If I am patient and persistent, I should be able to get the 1889 coin in MS-62 condition. The 1892 is a little tougher with a FMV of $192 in MS-61. Both coins earn three points in AU condition. The main problem that enters into the equation on low-grade MS Morgan Dollars though is an unsightly abundance of contact marks. Do I take coins with poor eye appeal or toned high-grade AU coins with three points? The balance here may be to get toned MS coins that hide the contact marks to give the coin a little more eye appeal. On the other hand, I may buy a blast-white coin with lots of contact marks to illustrate poor handling of coins by the mint in my owner description. Still yet, dare I say, is the option of going over budget to get a higher quality coin. For now, I have a good set, and I am in no hurry to complete it. Patience is the order of the day, and patience concerning this set has not failed me yet.
    Thinking the silver train left me behind at the station; I calculated the silver melt value of my set to be about $450! With that, I am encouraged to know that I am on board the silver express after all! Until next time, happy collecting all!
    Gary