coinsbygary

I hear ya,  and I'm not an investor or dealer,, but there's a number of good coins you could get for that kind of money and I suspect you could buy it back for less later, if you're patient. I seek to maximize enjoyment more so than wealth. Lol

That Wilhelmina set is a nice set, just saw it a couple days ago. As you were saying about sets that are not well known, that was kind of what happened when I was picking up British Virgin Isle coins.... not a popular coin to pick up 10 years ago. But the last couple years the prices have jumped up. Sterling silver proofs for BVI have gone past the 150% above spot price for raw and 300+% outrageous slabbed prices. I still have coins trickling in from last years from overseas and they're still a little pricey, but not common. Metal prices and reintroducing this island with newer coins hasn't not helped either LOL. I have a few BVI coins that don't show slots that will make their debut this year.

I just need those scarce Kennedy world coins and medals though. I already broke my promise about "not buying a coin this year" because a rare one on my search engines showed up and I had too buy it before it disappeared. Damn the internet LOL!!

Though it's not free, I use Photoshop Elements with exceptional results. Elements can be had for less than $100. Of recently, I have been dabbling with axial photography with great results. One of the pieces taken using axial photography is this half-dime with unusual die clash marks. The other coin is one of my non-round coins.
 

Correct me if I'm wrong but aren't you still curb-stomping the competition in the Wilhelmina 10G category? Seriously love that set. Makes me jealous but I'm not touching Wilhelmina until I get finished with Papa's set and get a few more type coins I want.
Seriously, Gary, I know you don't do this to "compete" per se but I think you do just fine in some areas. 👍 
 

Though it's not free, I use Photoshop Elements with exceptional results. Elements can be had for less than $100. Of recently, I have been dabbling with axial photography with great results. One of the pieces taken using axial photography is this half-dime with unusual die clash marks. The other coin is one of my non-round coins.
 

I am sorry for your losses, but I am thankful that its all stuff that can be replaced. We had a cold snap of below zero nights for 11 straight days. However, this is Wisconsin and this kind of stuff happens every year. I have a number of other friends and relatives living in Texas that have managed the kind of week you had. I felt so sorry for everyone living in Texas that week. 

Though it's not free, I use Photoshop Elements with exceptional results. Elements can be had for less than $100. Of recently, I have been dabbling with axial photography with great results. One of the pieces taken using axial photography is this half-dime with unusual die clash marks. The other coin is one of my non-round coins.
 

@coinsandmedalsIf you can learn to work in layers you will know a lot of the power of this software. 2019 is the version I have. I don't upgrade it every year but use it for as long as Adobe supports it. I am doing an editing demo by ZOOM for my coin club on March 10. After that, if you want, I can do a ZOOM demo for you. Send me a message through NGC if you are interested. The most important tip is this, Elements can't make a poorly taken picture look good, it can only make a good picture look spectacular! Gary 

@coinsandmedals I live in a town where there are several dealers within a short drive. In an imperfect world we are largely influenced by our local experiences. We adapt as we must to enjoy the hobby we love. Older people are less likely to embrace new technology because they don't understand it and therefore don't trust it. Now retired, I worked in technology my entire life. I have embraced the electronic marketplace. I have embraced the registry here at NGC and have won 5 major NGC awards for my registry sets and 7 for my journal posts. I have also bought and sold coins on E-Bay. E-bay has done more in my estimation to make the world a marketplace for collectors than any other forum. This has been good for the hobby and me in particular, because my collection literally exploded. Heritage Auctions has also done a lot to open things up to dealer and collector alike. Often I have bought coins from dealers, only to find they bought them through Heritage. I also enjoy the dealer from Old Pueblo Coin in Tucson, Arizona that does You Tube videos. I have been watching his videos every day. To date I've managed to adapt very well. 
Because I was burned, I have a huge mistrust of social media. In fact as I get older, I am cherish my privacy all the more. I don't need social media and I don't want it. I tried Instagram not long ago but had trouble trying to figure it out and quickly lost interest. Fortunately, I am largely able to access the technology I currently use and remain somewhat anonymous. Another reason for my feeling comfortable is the high level of character I see displayed by most coin collectors.
Over the last year in the era of COVID, I have worked very hard in my church to modernize how we do church. Working with a congregation that has mostly older congregants, I've had a very challenging time trying to get them used to using ZOOM to conduct our services. Others have very old computers or none at all. Thankfully, one of our older congregants doesn't mind connecting to ZOOM over their phone. All this to say that my coin club is comprised of a significant number of retirees. They are more likely to get in their cars and drive to regional coin shows. We even charter a bus to the Central States show in Schaumberg, Illinois!
We have a 100+ person membership in our club and currently have our club meetings via ZOOM. Sadly, only about half the people that attended our in-person meetings before COVID now attend our ZOOM meetings. I wish more people would avail themselves to ZOOM as it has opened the door to a lot of things we would have never done before. For instance, we watched an ANA video on grading coins over ZOOM at our last meeting via screen sharing. In fact, I may ask if I can do a presentation on photography at a future meeting.
It is the younger people that both like and use social media, and I in no way want to discourage them. I just don't want to be a part of it. I frequent the ANA's member blog where there are a number YN's that are all in. One of them is starting a weekly newsletter that they want me to critique. However, as I get more into helping them get established in the hobby, the risk of losing my privacy increases. Because they are enthusiastic about social media and all in, they tend not be as wise about privacy and identity theft issues. Hopefully, over time, I will be able to be a positive influence on them. In fact, truth be known, we all need each other to grow the hobby!
I totally get that you live in a rural area and that electronic media has opened up the world to you. Though more difficult, I also understand how to develop trust over electronic media. I have met both dealer and collector alike on the internet who I eventually met in person that I trust. My only caution over social media is that some people might get left behind. This is the main reason why I fear my club will eventually shut down the webpage in favor of Facebook. Since I am a member, I will most certainly vote against that. That said, because of my mistrust of Facebook, I am unable to access my club's Facebook page. However, for me, that is a price I am willing to pay to preserve my privacy. In fact there is a person in my church that puts tape over her computer camera because of a huge mistrust of Zuckerberg and the internet! In the end, I am not against change, but I am for people using technology at a level that they both trust and understand. I am however, concerned about sacrificing the older collectors on the alter of change because they either don't understand or want to change.
To put things in perspective, when I graduated high school there was no internet or for that matter, cell phones. (Funny how most of my life I worked for a cell phone company with technology that didn't exist when I graduated high school. No 5G, in fact no "G"). There were however, numismatic magazines. These magazines had dealer advertisements and mail-order coins for sale. Mail-order is how I developed my collection when I was in high school. Now hardly anyone uses mail order through magazines. Fifty years from now, coin collecting will continue to evolve and I won't mind! Gary 

That is a really good picture! Good job! I think that silver is much easier to photograph than a lot of copper coins, especially when they have dark brown toning. I think red-brown coins make for the best copper coin pictures. Good job on nailing down how to edit coins that are not round. It took me a lone time to figure that out also. I find raw coins much easier to photograph than certified coins because of the plastic. Gary 

I always use the registry and point system to compete with myself. I can't compete with expensive registry sets, but I can always strive to make my sets the best they can be. The registry and the points assigned to the coins in the registry help me to improve the quality of my collection. In the end, I may not have all the top pops, but I do own several snazzy looking sets like my 7070 type set.  https://www.ngccoin.com/registry/competitive-sets/73886/
 

I'm pretty much a flip guy mainly because of the 2X2 staples. Prying staples from 2X2's to move them into a cleaner holder with new writing area can be very risky. It only takes a slight slip of the hand to damage the coin inside, especially if it is a larger coin like a silver dollar because the margin for error is much less. 

I'm pretty much a flip guy mainly because of the 2X2 staples. Prying staples from 2X2's to move them into a cleaner holder with new writing area can be very risky. It only takes a slight slip of the hand to damage the coin inside, especially if it is a larger coin like a silver dollar because the margin for error is much less. 

To me this is a troubling trend. To gain the newbe's you risk losing the collecting veterans. Older collectors have been asked to adapt to the changing market place, and for the most part they have. However, my coin club maintains a webpage and a Facebook account. I wonder, in an effort to keep their costs down, when my coin club will ditch the website for Facebook? I used to have a Facebook account until somebody hacked it and used it to extort money from me. Fortunately, it turned out to be a hoax I never paid off on, but still, Facebook is done for me. These new social media platforms have a big red target on their backs for every would be hacker to take their shot at. Identity theft and the like are real for anyone who uses electronic media. I spend money to protect myself from identity theft that I would rather spend on buying coins. Yet it is the world we live in, and the price for doing business. Sadly, it is the brick and mortar shops where you develop a trusting relationship that makes this hobby much more personable and in my estimation, enjoyable. This is the direction we need to steer our newbe's, rather than simply accommodating them

Watch out! There's enough gold coins in your picture to give you gold fever! I got gold fever as a youth and still I have not been cured of it. This in spite of being retired with very little money to spend on it. The good thing is, I saw this coming a number of years ago and went on somewhat of a binge. While this has helped to lesson the severity of the symptoms, it has not cured me! There's just something about precious metals used in circulation that captivates my imagination! Good luck on the second box, I hope you don't have to wait 13 years to fill it! Gary

Thanks!
Congrats on starting your third row BTW! 😆 

Congratulations! I can tell from your writings and photos that you are really happy together. I wish you many more anniversaries together! All the best! BTW, Nice gifts! The coin could not be anything else but a 70! Gary 

Pristine coins and a top-notch collection! I look forward to your future posts. A guy in my coin club collects Irish coins but his are medieval coins. I photographed a few of his coins for him and for conversation pieces I'll post them here.
  

Pristine coins and a top-notch collection! I look forward to your future posts. A guy in my coin club collects Irish coins but his are medieval coins. I photographed a few of his coins for him and for conversation pieces I'll post them here.
  

The blue/brown color of that Farthing looks great. Super nice example. 

I'm sorry for your loss, and I understand the ebbs and flows of life that change our focus from what's important to what's more important. What I do know is that I miss you around here. Times change and I'm not around like I used to be. It has always been the good people here that keep me coming back. The coins are a common link in our relationships but are not necessary to the friendships forged here. Rick, for lack of a better term, you're what I consider, "good people." All the best. Gary

I expect we all do this to some extent, even if we don't realise it, and documenting it is surprisingly difficult so congratulations on your article in the Clarion (which I had to look up ).
We are a bit short of numismatic publications here in the UK which is more or less now limited to 'Coin News' which does a great job of trying to cover everything from ancients to new paper money releases.

Just one more to show that you can insert the green bean.

John

Kerry
Your post reminds me of the evolution in grading referred to as "gradeflation". There is sufficient evidence to prove that gradeflation has occurred with coins graded by both PCGS and NGC. For instance, I own a NGC AU-53 1853-D half-eagle with a very distinct look. As is a frequent practice of mine I like to research auction archives of the coins I own to see if my coin has appeared in an auction. Because of the distinct look, I found my coin in a XF-45 PCGS holder with a green bean. To tell the truth I think my coin appears more AU-50 than 53. However, because of the strike and toning, I bought the coin not the holder. Regardless my coin leap-frogged two grades. This has been a disturbing trend over the years because the standards of grading have loosened up. Gary 

That's a really neat error coin, congratulations on winning it. I'm glad to see you are doing well with your collection. I have always enjoyed perusing it on NGC and your displays at coin shows. Gary