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Dennis B-migration

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Journal Entries posted by Dennis B-migration

  1. Dennis B-migration
    Just another twist in this great hobby!
    The last piece of the puzzle finally arrived in the mail this week. It was the last coin I needed to complete my 21st Century Type Set! I now have a 100 percent complete type set. While this is a nice personal accomplishment, it certainly doesn't stack up to completing a 20th Century, a 19th Century or a Master Type Set. This is only the fifth complete registry set I have managed to put together. Completing registry sets on a tight budget is no easy task. (Two of the sets have a number 1 rating. Please don't be impressed, one set is the 2009 Proof Quarters and the other is the Proof Set of Westward Journey Jefferson Nickels.)
    Anyway, the last coin I needed was a silver proof of the National Parks Quarters. I found a 2013S White Mountains PF70UC that I considered reasonably priced and that I could afford. Now here is the real twist in the story. I originally populated the set with all PF70UC coins. Every single coin in the set had a perfect rating. A set like that just doesn't get any better right? Wrong! This is one case where perfect is not good enough. For that matter perfect isn't even close.
    One the day the quarter arrived I was genuinely excited. Let's face it, completing a registry set in this hobby just doesn't happen every day. I showed the coin to my wife who is from New Hampshire. She thought is was very nice and then proceeded to searching through an old recipe book for a new type of bread to make. Not to be deterred, I sat down to enter the coin into my set. I hadn't put pictures in the registry with most of the coins in the set yet so I expected I would have to do a little work to get another number 1 rated set. So once the slot was filled I checked the rankings and , BAMM!, I found out I wasn't even close to the top. Then it hit me! While all of my coins were perfect PF70UC, I had neglected to take into account the higher point ratings for some the MS coins in the set. Well, after having a good chuckle at myself and realizing perfect wasn't good enough, I did a little juggling of coins in the set and managed to get up to a 17 rank. Oh, I don't think a number 1 ranking for my set is anywhere in the near future. It seems that this PF70UC type set has less than one-half the point total of the top ranked set.
    You know, I'm not upset at all. I have a very nice looking type set and I had a good little chuckle at myself for being caught unawares. You just got to love this hobby!
    I sure hope you all have a great day and remember keep smiling!
    Dennis

  2. Dennis B-migration
    I filled a hole in my Lincoln Album!
    I hope every one had a great New Year's Day. It only comes once a year. Well, the parades are done and the bowl games are mostly over so it is time to get back in the saddle, sort of speak.
    If the last few days are any indication of how 2016 will turn out then I believe it will be an awesome year. I filled a hole in my Lincoln Cent album! Bear in mind, my set is missing the big boys of the Lincoln Cent collection, 1909-S, 1909-S VDB, 1914-D, 1922 (no D), 1924-D, 1931-S, and 1955 DDO. I suppose we could include some of the modern varieties but first, as a rule, I'm not a big variety chaser and second they just don't forget carry the weight of the 1922 (no D) or 1955 DDO. Anyway, like I said, I filled a hole and yes I am excited about it.
    I picked up a 1924-D for an incredibly reasonable price. (Read in here, dirt cheap affordable on a the budget of a high school teacher!) The coin itself is probably somewhere between VG and F. (Yea, I know, not a nice bright red uncirculated example but the price was in my budget even after the Christmas holiday.) It's a good looking coin for it's grade. From the best I can tell, it has not been cleaned. (Always a good thing.) When I got it, I quickly realized the little kid in me that started collecting pennies in the 1960's was still very much alive. I hate to say this but I just don't get that kind of rush from graded coins. Oh don't get me wrong, I get very excited to hunt down and find many of of the graded coins I want for my sets but to feel like a kid again was a very rare treat. Just writing about it has got me all lit up. I think this is why I love giving coins to kids. Maybe, just maybe mind you, I am giving them this same sense of excitement and wonder that I have for this hobby.
    I suppose I've rambled enough so I'll end it here with a picture of my new baby.
    Have a great day and a fantastic New Year everyone!
    Dennis

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  3. Dennis B-migration

    Damn Pennies

    By Dennis B-migration,

    What to get Dad for Christmas!
    The day after Christmas and every one is trying to recover from their family gatherings. Things are no different here. It is a rare occasion when most of my kids and their spouses all gather together at the same time in the same place. We call it a clan gathering around here. I have to admit my kids know their old man pretty well. There is a running joke in my family that when you don't know what to get Dad, me, or you want to put something extra in his stocking get a couple of rolls of "Damn Pennies". This whole thing all started a number yours back when I would get a couple of rolls of coins in my stocking. Money was real tight and for a few bucks I could sit for hours looking through the rolls. Inevitably, come Christmas afternoon, I would disappear into a quiet hole somewhere in the house and start looking thought the coins. It was my downtime from the chaos of the morning. One of the kids would start looking for me to play a game, help them put something together or just explain how to use something and they wouldn't find me right away. Of course, one of the other kids would find me upstairs hiding, looking through my coins, usually pennies, and then they would holler downstairs, "Dad's upstairs with his Damn Pennies!" So, there you have the start of a family tradition. So every Christmas, some one always makes sure that I get some Damn Pennies in my stocking or as a small gift under the tree. Of course, I still love to get rolls of pennies and spend the time to go through them. This year my kids out did themselves! I got 30 rolls of pennies, one of them all wheats. Just to spice things up my oldest daughter got me an 1891 Indian Head Penny and an 1934 Buffalo nickel. Needless to say, when everyone realized how many roles of pennies I got this year, it just added to the fun and laughter of the day.
    I hope your Christmas was as wonderful and filled with good times and laughter like ours was this year. Of course this entry wouldn't be complete without a picture of the "Damn Pennies".
    Dennis

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  4. Dennis B-migration
    Upgrading the coins of my youth and a Christmas wish for everyone.
    Merry Christmas everyone!
    There seems to be something strange when you are sitting on a back porch on Christmas Eve in short sleeves putting a journal entry together.
    Looking back on the last year, we'll make that the last two years, my coins have proved to be quite the calming sanctuary for me. I started collecting graded coins in 2009 but my love of the hobby goes back to my youth, almost 50 years ago. It was all folders back then and while I love the added thrill of finding nice graded coins, I have to admit I still love my raw sets. Of course, my very first folder was Lincoln Cents. I upgraded the folder to an album over the years but that set is still my passion. I don't believe any of the original coins I had are still part of that set. Over the years I have devoted a good bit of time to upgrading the collection. Fortunately, it hasn't been an expensive endeavor. That being said, I just recently upgraded a few more coins in the collection to mint state red. My set is now red and shiny all the way back 1936 with even a few earlier red examples. It may not seem like a lot in the grand scheme of things but I can't help smiling every time I open the album. The set is nearly complete as well only missing a few of the big dollar coins. Right now, I'm on the hunt for a nice red 1931 S. Needless to say, I am trying to save up enough money to afford one. I'm not there yet but am working on it.
    Another raw set that has grown over the last year is my Franklin halves. Depressed silver prices have really helped out a lot. I don't need too many more to complete the set and then I can start upgrading that set as well. I'm hoping inflation doesn't kick in too soon so silver prices remain depressed for a while longer anyway.
    Well, so long for now and again, I want to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas!
    The picture attached is my Lincoln Cent album opened to the the earliest of my shiny red pennies!

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  5. Dennis B-migration
    Has it really been two years since my last entry?
    Greetings to one and all...
    I feel like I fell off the face of the earth but in reality the last two years have just been crazy. Deaths in the family, a couple of weddings and of course the usual unexpected home and vehicle maintenance issues and poof time and money both go flying out the window. But fear not, I have not abandoned this hobby we all love so much. I did have to let my membership fees slip for a while but I'm still bottom fishing to add to my collection.
    My biggest coup was a submission a little more than a year ago. When my mother passed away in 2009, she left me a stash of coins that she had squirreled away while she was a bank teller. In that stash there were two rolls of SBA 1979 P Narrow Rim dollars. With time running out on my free submissions, I was in the usual quandary of what to submit. In poking through my stash of stuff, I came across the two rolls and decided it was time. I must have spent a good two hours going maticuliously through each roll, inspecting each coin. I settled on the five I wanted to submit and packaged them up, sending them in with a couple of days to spare before my certificate expired. It was near Christmas so things got hectic and I forgot I had shipped the coins to NGC.
    Christmas and New Years came and went and then one day I got home from school to find a small box waiting for me. The SBA's were back. In all honesty, this was only my second submission on my own and I really wasn't expecting anything great. (SBA's are not known for being especially well minted.) I opened the box and found two MS 65's, two MS 66's and an MS 67. It was like Christmas all over again. Needless to say, the MS 67 went right into my collection!
    That still left me with to 65's and two 66's. Looking on eBay I realized the 65's were not going to be worth the effort to try an sell so in typical fashion I gave them to a couple of young boys of a friend of mine. The kids thought they were awesome and convinced their father to buy them a house safe to protect their treasures. The 66's were sold on eBay to help the summer finances.
    Anyway, school is winding down for Christmas break and I am hoping that 2016 will let me get back to being semi-regular around here. In the mean time, I hope everyone is doing well.
    Let's just hope this prodigal son has return!

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  6. Dennis B-migration
    "The best time to buy is when there is blood in the streets" - Warren Buffet
    It sure has been a while since I put back-to-back weekly entries in my journal. Like I said last week, I have been plodding along scouring the web for deals and steals on coins. Interestingly enough, I have been bottom fishing long enough now to notice there are distinct trends and cycles to where you can find the best deals. These cycles can vary as quickly as a week or take a couple of years to mature. But alas, I am only interested in the cycle effect because if significantly affects what I can afford. Let's face it, collecting on a teacher's salary is a challenging endeavor to say the least. It also explains why the vast majority of my collection is relatively modern. I am of the belief that while there will be very few modern coins that rise to the lofty levels, the compilation of complete sets may prove to be quite beneficial over the long run. I did forget to mention that there is just something intrinsically satisfying in building a complete set to any collector.
    Anyway, of late, it seems that PF70UC Lincoln Cents are selling at a significantly greater discount to FMV than other proof coins of like years. I can neither offer an explanation for this observation nor will I attempt explain it. I can say that I have added a number of very nice upgrades to my Lincoln Memorial, Bicentennial and Union Shield set, "Making Cents of My Life". It was the Lincoln Cent and a couple of Blue Whitman folders that got me started in collecting about 40 years ago. I guess I never lost the love of the "common" penny but I sure have used it as a base to build my collection over the years. I will say I do not like the Union Shield reverse on the current Lincoln Cents. I hope we don't have to wait another 50 years for it to change.
    Another interesting thing happened on this journey. Like every other collector, I have my favorite coins namely, the Indian Cent, the Winged Liberty (Mercury) Dime and the Franklin Half. While I have very nice albums for each of these, I have precious few of any of these coins in my registry collection. Somewhere along the way, I got hooked instead on Roosevelt Dimes but not just your run of the mill PF or MS varieties. No, I became enthralled by the concept of a MS full torch. Granted in 2 years I've only managed to add about 20 coins to my collection and most of those being minted after 1964. My goal is to build an MS 66 FT set, better if I can afford them. I will pick up MS 64 FT and MS 65 FT examples to fill holes if the price is right. If I counted correctly, the entire set currently stands at just under 150 coins in total. I do have to admit that Todd Peters also inspired this set. If you are patient, you can find some very nice examples out there. Oddly enough for as little silver as there is in a pre-1965 dime, they do seem to have been affected significantly by the drop in silver of the last year or so. The full torch, however, does command a premium over a standard MS grading but it is well worth it. Interesting side note here, the full torch does not seem to command the premium that Full Bell Lines does for the Franklin Half Dollar.
    Since I mentioned silver, I would be remiss if I did not point out that it appears that silver has found some stability in the $19.00 to $19.50 range. This might be a good time to consider picking up some silver coins if you are so inclined. One of those cyclical trends I noticed is the price of circulated silver dollars, Morgan and Peace, which has been creeping up slowly and now appears to be at the $30 level. It had been in the low to mid $20 range. Please note I said CIRCULATED. Graded coins carrying more numismatic value than just melt are actually running at a slight discount to Fair Market Value. In fact, since selling all of my gold coins and a high percentage of my extra silver coins when gold was in the $1900 ballpark, I recently just began buying raw silver coins again.
    I will leave you tonight with a picture of my most recent Lincoln Cent, a 2013-S PF70UC. Have a great evening everyone. It is good to be back on a regular basis.

  7. Dennis B-migration
    BE CAREFUL: That light at the end of the tunnel is an oncoming train!
    Hello my friends, I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving and you are looking forward to an awesome Christmas. It seems like forever since I put a journal entry but life has a funny way of getting in the way. I am doing well, however, despite the last 18 months or so. It has been a particularly rough ride and we lost my father, father-in-law, and just recently my mother-in-law. However, this journal is not about the twists and turns life throws at you but rather the coins. Fortunately, I have been able to find peace in my passion for collecting, grow my collection, slowly, and get a few more kids interested in our beloved hobby.
    My raw Lincoln Cent Album is getting close to complete. I started on this journey with my Lincoln Pennies some 40 years ago. I managed to pick up a few of the semi-key coins along the way and have left myself with the biggies in the set, 1909-S, 1909-S VDB, 1914-D, 1922 No D, 1931-S and 1955 DDO. Unbelievably and despite my very limited budget, I am seriously contemplating coming up with the necessary funds in an attempt to fill those holes. I hate holes! My registry set of Lincoln Memorial Proof Cents, "Making Cents if My Life", has grown slowly but now stands at two-thirds complete and boasts 15 PF 70 UC coins.
    It seems my Roosevelt $5.00 dime set has run into a bit of a headwind, a.k.a. the economy. I just cannot seem to find graded business strike Roosie's for $5.00 or less anymore. It seems that a more realistic tact might be to jump the target price to $7.50 or $10.00. I am still deciding whether to continue on that road. I did just recently rename the set though. The set is now the Todd Peters Memorial Set. For those of us that knew Todd, we knew his love for the coins and the Roosevelt dime. My conversations with Todd and his encouragement are the reasons I started a registry business strike dime set and why I became so enamored with the "Full Torch" classification.
    My overall collection has moved into the top 1000 and I am closing in on 100,000 points. The state quarter set that got me started with the registry sets now stands at 50% complete. The fervor over State Quarters has cooled considerably since 2009 when I started this journey and the prices for many of the early year quarters, 1999 to 2005, have contracted considerably. I know this is not a good thing for those of you that bought the quarters at a premium during the feeding frenzy but I just could not afford those prices. Now, I am picking up a quarter here and there at prices that are much more palatable to my wallet. I am still hoping that the 1999 Silver Delaware Quarter gets to be a little more in my price range or that I find some additional funding to acquire one of them. I really would like to complete that set at some point.
    I just realized that I had not put an entry in my journal since last February. Oh, that is not good. I cannot even remember the last time I looked at my collection goals or took a picture to post with my collection. Well, I think it is time to refocus and get back in the groove. My pictures need improving and coin descriptions could use a good bit more detail. Having said all of that and not wanting to be too terribly long winded, I will leave you today with a picture of the coin that started this whole journey. The picture is not very good. The picture is one of the first I took and it serves as a reminder of how far I have come on this journey and how far I still have to go.

  8. Dennis B-migration
    And I still don't know a great deal about it!
    I've been slowly but surely working my way through my buddy's stash of foreign coins. Up until a few days ago I had thought that the 1898B Chopmarked British Trade Dollar was the real find in the lot but I now believe I may have been wrong. As I worked my way through the coins, country by country, I ran across one coin that had no country affiliation written on it just "En Barcelona, Peseta, 1810". I put it aside because it struck me as odd and I continued on my merry way. Last weekend I finished pretty much cataloging the easily identifiable coins so I started looking at the coins that did not seem to fit in anywhere. Needless to say, I came back to the 1810 Peseta. The coin has a little bit of gold toning to it and is particular great shape for its age but I still was at a loss for any details about it. I had to do some digging to pin it down and I am sure glad I did.
    As it turns out, the coin was minted while Spain was under French rule, 1809-1814. The emperor was Jose Napoleon. The coin is silver and apparently very rare. I managed to find some like coins in lesser condition being sold at auction for anywhere from $250 to $1000. Moreover, just to boot, it appears that the 1810 mintage of the coin is one of the rarer years. I have not found any mintage numbers on the coin or any in the series yet but the coin is definitely not common. I am sitting on the coin for the time being. I do have my Early Bird grading certificates still and I am toying with the idea of sending it in for grading on my friend's behalf. I have not told him about the coin either. I am saving that as a surprise for him. I have already put several hundred dollars of proceeds into my friend's hands, considerably more than he paid for the coins. He is also talking to me about a stash of U.S. coins he has at which he wants me to look. (Yes, I am excited, actually very excited, about that, hoping he really does not realize what he has and I can score a nice find.)
    Anyway, I would love to know more about the coin if anyone has any information. I am also interested if you think it would be worth having it graded. I also realize that the World Coin Price Guide here may actually understate the value of the coin. So, here are the pictures of the coin. Thank you in advance for helping me out on this one.
    Have a great day,
    Dennis

  9. Dennis B-migration
    Another interesting coin this time from Morocco
    My adventure in foreign coins is proving to be just that. It is most definitely much more than I anticipated and all of it in a good way. Not being one to shy away from a challenge sorting, identifying and subsequently attempting to value all of my friend's coins from around the world is a learning experience for which I am most thankful. The potential history that each one of these coins holds is truly fascinating. The images some of them conjure up, are and can be incredible. My case in point today is a 1352 (1934) Moroccan 5 Franc coin.
    First of all, I was initially put back a bit when I ran across this coin with a date of 1352. My first thought was "No Way!" so it was off to the computer to do some research. Okay, so 1352 was the year on the Islamic calendar and the coin was minted in 1934 on a calendar I understand. But wow, did that ever start my brain working, a 1934 coin from Morocco! I have visions of Rick (Humphrey Bogart) in the movie Casablanca flipping this coin around in his hand. Yea, I know my brain works in strange ways. Fantasy aside, this coin could very well have been in the Kasbah in Casablanca at that critical time in history. I wish these coins could tell the stories of their lives.
    Anyway, this is one of the coins that are going up for auction in the batch. I also have two civil war tokens, four US Philippines coins from the mid-1940's (20C (2), 10C and 5C), three Ireland Republic coins from the early mid-1930's (2S, 1S and 1d), a 1943 ½ Rupee from India, a large 1897 Jamaican penny and a 25 centavos piece from El Salvador, 1943. My eBay ID is the same as here.
    I will leave you with a picture of the 5 Franc coin. This is such an awesome collecting experience.
    Have a great day,
    Dennis

  10. Dennis B-migration
    I just had to take a picture
    Every once in a while a coin comes your why that you find incredibly fascinating for its design or perhaps in this case for its history. I have been trying to move a bunch of foreign coins for a friend but this coin so deserves a picture. I will most likely never collect Mexican Spanish Colonial Coins but that in no way deminishes my awe for this coin, 1780 2 Reales. (Sorry folks, I already have an offer pending on this one.)

  11. Dennis B-migration
    Just when I thought things couldn't get more insane!
    Quick revisit: Cosmetic case full of old foreign coins and bills, owner doesn't have a clue as to what he has, I lend a helping hand to ID and value the coins.
    I believe that is where I left you in my last entry. So here we go again...
    I guess I graded and valued about 85% of the coins and bills this guy gave me to evaluate. Fortunately, most of the grades were in the G to XF range on the coins which my grading skills can handle fairly well at this point. Anyway, that's another story, but suffice it to say the guy had some decent coins that if he could sell them would be a definite financial plus to him given what he spent on the lot of furniture with which the coins came. I even cataloged the coins, carded them, ordered them and put them in a loose leaf binder for him to make his life a little easier. I brought the binder and print out of the catalog to him this weekend to show him what he had. He was pretty impressed. I guess he has never had to deal with the OCD tendencies of numismatists before.
    He took a little while to look over the catalog and then page through the binder. He didn't have nearly as many questions as he did when he presented me the coins. But I started to notice that he was developing a perplexed look so I asked if everything was okay. I still have a sore mouth from biting it to stop from laughing at his reply. (Yes, I realize everyone is not a coin collector.) It went something like this, this looks great but what do I do with it now? I asked if he was a coin collector or was interested in becoming one and he said "No." So I said "You sell them and get your money back. You are in business to make money right?" I'm still in a state of shock at this point when the guy tells me that his business mostly just supports his hoarding habit. Then he asks me how you sell coins. I have to explain to him that you can take them to a dealer or auction them off but I would not suggest scraping them because they are worth more than scrap value. (Of course, I would never sell any coins for scrap, it just goes against my grain.) And then, I tell him his best bet is probably eBay. I also explained to him that the area has a very limited number of coin dealers and subsequently a limited sales base so a dealer probably wouldn't offer him a particularly good price on foreign coins. eBay at least has a much broader client base.
    Oh but wait, it gets better! He wants to know how you sell stuff on eBay. (Dumb founded look on my face here! There is actually somebody out there that doesn't know how to at least marginally use eBay.) I gave him the quick thumbnail version of about listing, pictures, descriptions, PayPal, yadda, yadda. Then he looks and at me says that sounds like a lot of trouble. I said "Not really, haven't you ever surfed eBay to find out the pricing for things you weren't familiar with? It's pretty easy to navigate and it doesn't take long to get the hang of selling stuff." To which he replies, "Well, no, I don't even own a computer." This guy is my age. Needless to say and to make an already too long story short, I am now a coin broker for his guy. I will be listing his stuff on eBay and shipping it out from my house. It's just a damn good thing I love coins. Who knows if this guy ends up finding enough coins in his travels I make even make this broker thing profitable not to mention getting first crack at any coins he comes up with.
    So if anybody is interested in old world coins give me a shout or check out my eBay for this guy's listings. I am getting ready to put up his British coins this afternoon. Everything from Farthings to the Trade Dollar from yesterday with some dates going back into the mid-1800's.
    I'll leave you a picture of one of the nicer coins, a sweet (VG/XF) 1879 Half Penny.
    Have a great day everyone, you know what I'll be doing today!
    Dennis

  12. Dennis B-migration
    Sometimes, it's just plain better to be lucky rather than good.
    As luck would have it, I found myself at the right place at the right time over the holidays. My wife and I were browsing our usual antique furniture haunt and I started talking to the owner. We know the owner fairly well as his store is one of our favorites for antique furniture and we have done a good bit of business there over the years. Anyway, the guy asks me if I know anything about old coins. I figure he might have found a couple of coins in the drawers of some recent antiques he might have picked up so I say "Yea, I guess I know some but probably not as much as I could or would like to but I'm always learning something new about them and I'm always interested in looking at old coins." He goes on that he ended up with some coins in a recent furniture purchase he had made and since he didn't have a clue about them would I mind taking a look at them to see if there was anything of value like scrap silver or gold. Of course, the words "Scrap Silver" are like fingernails on a chalkboard to me. Seeing the potential opportunity to save a couple of old coins from the melting pot, I say sure. Hey, if nothing else I'm thinking I'll buy the coins from him at scrap value and save them that way. The guy asks if I can come back the next day because he didn't keep the coins in his shop. Fortunately, the shop is pretty close to the house so I agreed.
    The next day I had some errands to run so on my way home I stopped by the antique shop to see what the guy actually had. He goes into the backroom and comes out with old cosmetic travel case and says "Here you go." Opening it, he proceeds in a combination of trying to tell me everything he has in the case and bombarding me with 10 million questions about everything he has in the case. The only problem with all of this was virtually everything in the case was foreign and I know jack squat about foreign coins. When I finally got to put my eyes on the coins there were probably 300 coins just piled into the case. Well, I agreed to look at them so I took the case and told him to give some time to go through them all. I'll bet I made a pretty picture standing there with my jaw on the ground in amazement at all of those coins just piled into the case. I almost forgot to mention there was a stack of old paper bills in the case as well. I know less about paper than I do about foreign coins. Well, I sure didn't know much about foreign coins but I sure do know how to do the needed research to figure out what a coin is. I've spent the last week plowing through the cache.
    I sure am glad this guy just didn't send these coins to the melting pot. In that old case, were coins dating as far back as 1668, a silver 1 Tympf coin from Poland. Most of the coins were from WWII or earlier and from just about every corner of the world with a bunch from countries that don't even exist anymore. I started by doing the only thing that came to mind, separating the coins by country easier said than done in some cases. A couple of the more interesting finds were the coins from the Empire of Great Britain with Queen Victoria on the obverse, a 1744 Liege Bishopic Sede Vacante 1 Laird coin (albeit in AG condition), some colonial Mexico silver coins, German coins from the before the Weimar Republic through the 3rd Reich and a really cool chop marked British Trade Dollar from 1898. I even found a couple of Civil War Tokens and a couple of Confederate bills. The bills seem authentic but I need to have them authenticated this weekend. There is still a stash of coins I've yet to identify mostly because my Chinese, Japanese and Arabic are really rusty.
    Like I said earlier, I didn't know jack squat about foreign coins but after a weeklong crash course and about 200 hundred different reference websites at least now I can recognize an incredibly wide variety of foreign coins. I doubt I will ever really work on a significant collection of foreign coins but I now have a new found appreciation for them. After the last week, I doubt I can just blow them off anymore. I've probably gone on too long so I will live you with this picture of the 1898B British Trade Dollar with some really clear and certainly cool chop marks.
    Have a great weekend,
    Dennis

  13. Dennis B-migration
    Alas 2013! You are a welcome sight for my weary eyes.
    My last Journal entry was in July when I finally completed my Eisenhower Dollar Proof set. For the year, I'd have to say that was the high point of my collecting. I continue to scour the auction sights, bottom fishing as always for those really exceptional deals for my collection. In doing so, I've managed to add a number of PF70UC Lincoln Memorial Cents to my set. My graded sets are still primarily modern coins but they have expanded somewhat. I used to holiday break to get reorganized and now I have an up-to-date listings of my extra coins which I am willing to sell or trade. I will also be renaming my MS Dime set in honor of Todd Peters who was the 1st person to greet me when I joined 3 years ago and who proved to be both an invaluable mentor and inspiration to my collecting.
    I've spent a large part of the last several months reading and looking at coins particularly pennies both Lincoln and Indian Head. I wouldn't say I'm expert but I've certainly become much more familiar with the grading standards and with the various idiosyncrasies of pennies, from the development of their designs to the indicators determining the quality of the strikes and how all that factors into their grading. I find myself being extremely critical now when I look at raw coins. I'm not sure if maybe I'm too critical, if that is possible, but it certainly has added a much greater spectrum to my acquisition of raw coins. Oddly enough, I still do not favor toned coins but I also understand that it is inevitable and understand the chemical dynamics of toning; it is much easier to determine if coins have been cleaned. Sometimes, though, it is virtually impossible to determine if a coin has been cleaned but a bright older coin certainly raises an immediate red flag.
    In this whole process, I have found an invaluable tool, the IPad! I've never been a big fan of IPads or IPhones, in fact, I'm not a big fan of phones in general, cell or home, but in the IPad I have found an incredible tool. I am one of those readers that will mark a book up to no end with my own comments. The Notes App on my IPad now has all of my comments and my summation of key descriptions specifically about the critical aspects of how to grade coins. I give the grading details for each coin its own page so I can quickly reference my notes without having to flip through a book. If that wasn't enough, The Coin World and Photograde Apps provide very nice pictures of the coins in each of the grades. But what, there's more! (Now I sound like an Infomercial. ) A quick check of available price lists, NGC Verification App, and auction listings lets me garner the information I need to make a more informed decision on what I am willing to pay for any given coin. Sadly, my eyes are not what they used to be so an IPhone is out of the question. The screen is just too small. However, I suspect that an IPhone if you can handle the small screen size will do all of the same things.
    But I digress; I did manage to achieve the 8 of the 10 goals I set for myself. Given the turmoil of the year, I am generally very pleased with my success. I set my goals for this year and I hope to have similar success or maybe even more.
    #1 -- Add at least 4 MS IKE Dollars to my registry set.
    #2 -- Fill at least 2 holes in my Raw Lincoln Cents collection. -- Holes to Fill: 1909 S VDB, 1909, 1914 D, 1922, 1924 D, 1931 S, 1955 DD0, 1972 DDO
    #3 -- Upgrade all of my Raw Lincoln Cents back to 1934 to MS/BU status. -- Wanted Upgrades:1934, 1934 D, 1935 D, 1935 S, 1936, 1936 D, 1936 S
    #4 -- Add at least 6 Proof Lincoln Memorials to my registry set.
    #5 -- Add at least 6 MS66 or better Lincoln Cents to my registry set.
    #6 -- Add at least 6 PF70UC Roosevelt Dimes to my registry set or in lieu of PF70UC a suitable grade for the early years.
    #7 -- Add at least 10 MS Roosevelt Dimes to my $5.00 set.
    #8 -- Add a combination of 6 Sacagawea Dollars to my Proof and/or Circulated Sets.
    #9 -- Fill 5 holes in my raw Indian Head Cent Collection. -- Holes to Fill:1859, 1860, 1861, 1862, 1864BR, 1864L, 1866, 1867, 1868, 1869, 1869/9, 1870, 1871, 1872, 1873, 1874, 1876, 1877, 1878, 1879, 1880, 1883, 1884, 1885, 1888, 1892, 1908S, 1909S
    #10 -- Fill 5 holes in my raw Liberty Nickel Set. -- Holes to Fill: 1883 w/c, 1884, 1885, 1886, 1887, 1888, 1889, 1891, 1892, 1893, 1894, 1895, 1912S
    My Ikes are still on top of the list. I was incredibly fortunate to pick up two very nice coins to add to my Mint set last year, a 1976 T2 and 1976-D T2, both MS66. (MS 67 is the top pop for both coins and they each carry a price tag in excess of $4,000.) The price on the MS66 coins was just too sweet to pass up so I managed to scrap the money together. For some reason, bottom fishing for Ikes is one of the most difficult tasks. More often than not MS Ikes seem to sell very close to FMV or at a premium to FMV or in other words a price I am not willing to pay for them. I have managed to pick up a number of OGP Silver Ikes over the course of the year particularly when the price of silver takes its little dips. I'm still working on developing what I feel are adequate skills for being able to grade Raw Ikes.
    Finally, in the "Did You Know" Column, we always hear about Indian Head Pennies with 3 or 4 visible diamonds in the ribbons. This is only an indicator of the quality of the strike and is not used in determining the grade of the coin.
    So I will leave you with a picture of one of my bargain basement finds. This is my 1st SBA and I was quite surprised that my low ball bid stole it from the masses.
    I do want to take this opportunity to wish each and everyone a very happy and prosperous New Year. May it be a far sight better than the last year.
    Dennis

  14. Dennis B-migration
    Success is an awesome feeling!
    Pay day is just about 2 weeks away and that means it?s time to look back at how I did and look forward to what I want to accomplish in my 2011-2012 collecting year. The numbers surprised me this year. I spent less and got more than I had anticipated. With five coins still in the mail and an expected arrival some time this week, my total points will be well over 26,000. I?m really proud of this number because there are no duplicated sets and thus it is not inflated by multiple coins. There are close to 200 unique graded coins in my collection now. On the ranking page for 2101-2200 only 15 collectors have more than 100 coins and there are only three collections with more coins in them than in mine. The cost of my collection is less than $0.09 per point and less the $0.27 pre dollar of FMV. The collection is built around 12 master sets. My type set, Lincoln Bicentennial sets, and annual proof sets are all satellite sites. Of the 12 master sets there is 1 #1 ranked set and 5 other top 100 sets.
    Last year?s goals included work on both my registry sets and my raw sets and I feel very fortunate to say I nailed the list. (I was quite pleasantly surprised to find out just how focused I remained by adhering to the goals. I can?t even begin to tell you how many coins that I would have loved to acquire, I passed up because they did not fit my focus.) My Eisenhower Dollar raw set is now complete all 34 coins, MS and PR, Clad and Silver, 72 T1, T2, and T3, and 76/76D T1 and T2. I also wanted to add 6 graded IKES to my Registry Sets. Well, I got 11 coins, 10 of the 11 proof coins and 1 MS coin. Having done that well pretty much wrote my first 2 goals in the up coming year for me.
    #1 ? Complete my IKE Proof Registry Set. (1973S PF69UC)
    #2 ? Add at least 4 MS IKE Dollars to my registry set.(These are a good bit more expensive than the proof coins.)
    In my raw sets, I wanted to fill the holes in my Kennedy Half-Dollar Set and my Jefferson Nickel Set. I did that with the exception of the 2008 S proof coins. In the process, I also filled all the holes in Roosevelt Dime album with the exception of the 2008 S proof dime. While I will be looking to fill the 2008 S holes and for upgrades in all three sets, I will be taking these sets of off my top 10 list this year. My Lincoln Cents will remain on the list as I did not make either of the goals I had for that set.
    #3 ? Fill at least 4 holes in my Raw Lincoln Cents
    collection. ? Holes to Fill:
    1909 S VDB 1909 S 1910 S 1911 S 1912 S 1913 S
    1914 D 1922 1924 D 1931 D 1931 S
    #4 ? Upgrade all of my Raw Lincoln Cents back to 1934 to
    MS/BU status. ? Wanted Upgrades:
    1934 1934 D 1935 D 1935 S 1936 1936 D 1936 S 1938D
    My registry sets for Lincoln Memorial Proof Cents, Lincoln MS66 Cents, and Roosevelt Proof Dimes all blew through my goals of 6 new coins for each with 20 new Proof Cents including 2 PF70UC additions, 21 MS66 Cents including 8 coins at MS67 or better, and 10 new Proof Roosevelt Dimes which now includes a complete run of PF70UC from 2007 to 2011. With still a lot of room to go in all three of those sets they will stay on my top 10 list.
    #5 ? Add at least 6 Proof Lincoln Memorials to my registry set. (I took the grade and UC off of the condition because I am starting to get back into the 70?s with the coins I need and PFUC are tough find and expensive to acquire.)
    #6 ? Add at least 6 MS66 or better Lincoln Cents to my registry set.
    #7 ? Add at least 6 PF70UC Roosevelt Dimes to my registry set or in lieu of PF70UC a suitable grade for the early years.
    This year I also started three new master registry sets, my $5.00 Roosevelt MS dime set (the one for the kids), a Proof Sacagawea Dollar set and a Circulated Sacagawea Dollar set. So it is only appropriate that hey make the list.
    #8 ? Add at least 10 MS Roosevelt Dimes to my $5.00 set.
     
    #9 ? Add a combination of 6 Sacagawea Dollars to my Proof and/or Circulated Sets.
    Finally, I am moving back to my raw sets again. The time has come to fill some holes in my Indian Head Cent Collection. I love these coins and they will finally get their due attention. With my set sitting at 20 of 60 coins (30% complete including recognized key variations) there is a lot of room to work with this set.
    #10 ? Fill 15 holes in my raw Indian Head Cent Collection.
    So there is in writing, my top 10 goals for my upcoming collecting year. I have learned over the years that if you write something down then you are more likely to adhere to it thus reducing the chance of getting lost by wondering off to somewhere you never intended to go.
    I don?t have a picture of any coins to today but I will leave you with a picture of coin collecting artifacts that are very near and dear to my heart. Like many collectors, I love going through change rolled or loose from a pocket. I started my love affair with coins many years ago by going through my grandfather?s old change jar. Over the years I?ve managed to pick up other various vessels for change from old jars to piggy banks. A couple of years ago one of my students gave me a piggy bank that is my absolute favorite. So here they are my grandfather?s old change jar that I still have and my favorite piggy bank.
    Dennis

  15. Dennis B-migration
    My Eisenhower Proof set is complete.
    It's hard to believe I haven't written in my journal for about six months but it's been one of those years. Time seems to have just melted through my fingers and any extra money just doesn't exist. But I have been squirreling a little money away, a dollar here and a dollar there with only one goal in mind, get a PF69UC 1973S Silver Eisenhower Dollar to complete my set. Finally, I actually have something to write about again. Last week I was able to pick up a real nice example for less than $50. I am rather proud of myself since I have often seen them priced at upwards of $80 and on occasion even more. Once I complete all the pictures and appropriate documentation I will have only my 2nd complete set, 3rd if you count the 2009 Lincoln Cents Proof Set. Alas, this complete set will only rank 14th overall along with several other folks. I do not foresee moving up in the rankings any time in the future as that will require either PF69*UC or PF70UC examples and that just isn't in my budget.
    I continue to scour EBay for my $5.00 Circulated Roosevelt Dime set and it has been growing in spits and spurts. I've even managed to pick up a few Presidential Dollars and as soon as my wife returns from taking care of some family business she is most excited to be writing the documentation behind those coins. Apart from that, at best, I have been able to pick the odd coin here and there. I have found myself, given the shortage of funds, spending much more time with my raw album sets. I have however started to move into earlier sets. I've added a few Indian Head Cents, both holes and upgrades, a couple of Buffalo Nickels to fill in some holes, the odd Liberty Nickel when the opportunity presents itself and even a couple of Large Cents.
    In looking at my collecting goals I set for myself last September, I haven't had near the success I have had in previous years but of my ten goals five have been met. (Of course, I finally knocked of the Number 1 spot that has been on the list for the last 2 years when I completed the Eisenhower Proof Set.) I am starting to think about my goals for my next collecting cycle which starts on September 1st but I will have to make a major readjustment in my thinking given the way this year turned out. No complaints though. This hobby affords many of us the luxury of enjoying it even though our means are very limited. A number of people have written about how their fire or passion for the hobby seems to have dwindled of late. Not so with me. Whether I spend hours scrolling through auction sights, pouring over pocket change or just doing research, I relish each spare moment I can find to spend with my collection.
    Anyway, for those of you that have been wondering where I disappeared to, I am still here and doing well. I find the time I can to read your entries and, finally, I have found the time to add to my journal. Be well my friends. Now, I will leave you with a picture of the Ike that completed my set.
    Dennis

  16. Dennis B-migration
    And trying to wrap my brain around it!
    Collecting on a tight (okay, very tight budget) means casting a wide net in search of those overlooked and under-priced coins that you CAN add to your set. You have to be patient and go with the ebb and flow of the market. When everyone is on the trail of the latest and greatest, you have to go the other way and get yesterday's hot coin. Of course compounding the difficulty of the search is crazy fluctuations of the metals market. When the market is burning up for silver and gold coins, I'm on the hunt for copper and nickel. When collectors are screaming for their ASE's, I hunt for Ike's and SBA's. Then when there is an all out feeding frenzy in general, I sit back and wait. January has definitely been a sit back and wait kind of month. I never rack up a bunch of EBucks in a quarter, rarely more than $20 but to give you an idea of how quiet it has been this month, my EBucks total sits at $1.60 and a big chunk of that came from a vintage casserole dish I bought for my wife.
    Funny things happen when you have lots of extra time on your hands. With nothing to buy in a price range I consider acceptable, I read and do my homework. Nobody ever said this hobby was just about the acquisition of coins. I had been toying with idea of a MS Full Step Set of Jefferson Nickels but of late I've been rethinking that idea. My wife and I are both veracious readers. I tend to read more technical stuff but my wife loves history particularly Early American History. I dare saw she is considerably more informed on the subject matter than most if not all of the history teachers I know at school. Anyway, I love getting her observations, insight and opinions on the presidents and leaders of this country. I probably helps that she is also related to Millard Fillmore and Calvin Coolidge as well. (Her sister has a passion for genealogy so the Fillmore Presidential Dollar and First Lady Medal coin set that we sent her for Christmas was a huge treat for her and promptly went into the family archive.) But my wife hit me with something that has given me a new appreciation for the Presidential Dollars. (A coin that by all of my standards is BUTT UGLY!) The other day on the way to school my wife hits me with "Did you know that John Tyler still has grandsons that are alive?" Of course my reply was "What? Tyler was the 10th President." From there she went on to explain the circumstances. All of a sudden, I have an urge to collect the ugly prezzies. Yep, you heard it right. It's not the coin so much that fascinates me but the stories behind the people. My wife has even agreed to write the stories behind the coins for me for my registry sets once I get it started. I think this will be a whole lot of fun for both of us.
    For the month, I really didn't add much to my collection. I popped a few PF69UC Jefferson Nickels into my registry set and a couple of MS67 Sacs but I did manage to pick up 3 very nice raw coins for my albums. I actually found a very nice and reasonably priced 1982D Kennedy Half (Probably about MS 62 or 63). Since the mint did not produce mint sets in 1982 and 1983 finding nice examples for those years can be a bit tough. I also filled the 1931D hole in my Lincoln Cent Album with a very nice XF coin. Finally, I started to plug the holes in my Indian Head Cent Album that I got for Christmas this year. I picked up a very nice 1909 coin with full liberty and 4 diamonds on the obverse and clearly separated lines on the shield on the reverse. I paid right around $10 for the coin which I consider very reasonable for the quality of the coin.
    I suppose I would be remiss if I didn't weigh in on the recent NGC decision to exclude PCGS graded coins from the World Coin registry sets. As I don't have any graded world coins, the change doesn't directly affect me but I cannot say that it bodes well for all of us. I figure there are two paths NGC can follow from here. The 1st is the "New Coke" path and NGC reverses their decision somewhere down the road. The second and more ominous path is that NGC will exclude PCGS coins from all registry sets. Why they would do this is way beyond my scope of comprehension and I believe that action would drive a lot of collectors away from the registry sets but not from the hobby. Personally, I have no intention of crossing my PCGS coins over to NGC. I can't afford it, plain and simple. I don't see the need to do it either. I guess I would just have to keep track of my sets on my own. Let's face it, that's what I did before NGC or PCGS came along so why can't I do it if NGC has a mental meltdown. I think I'd stick around the Collectors Society, I really do like the interaction with the other collectors and I definitely like the ease of getting information about the coins. So here's hoping the NGC's World Coin Registry Set change goes the way of "New Coke". But alas, "Old School" collecting wasn't so bad was it?? We are all still here.
    So I will leave you today with a picture of my new 1909 Indian Head Penny. It was definitely the high point of a slow month.
    Dennis

  17. Dennis B-migration
    A tough hole filled with a quality coin.
    Hit me, beat me, gag me with a spoon! Talk about being in the right place at the right time! 2012 is starting off on a fantastic note. I just added a 1967 SMS MS67RD Lincoln Memorial Cent to my Proof Set for a whopping $15.00. I have at least a PF69UC for every year from 1984 through 2011. Picking up high quality coins from 1983 and earlier to add to the set has been proving to be a bit of a challenge both in availability and cost. This wasn't one of my very best bottom fishing catches but it certainly was a good deal and was NOT a budget buster. I have a perfect example of a budget buster for you. Last night EBay had a 1977 S PF69UC Lincoln Memorial Cent sell for $33.99 while the FMV is $32.50. That IS a budget buster. I'm not complaining mind you. The price is what the market will bear. Heaven certainly knows that my budget cannot afford those kinds of prices.
    The numbers on the coin are pretty sweet as well.
    1967 Lincoln Cent -- SMS
    NGC -- MS67RD CA (30), MS68RD (218), MS68RD CA (2), MS69RD (1)
    PCGS -- MS67RD CA (18), MS68RD (71)
    If you consider that the U.S. Government minted 1,863,344 SMS sets in 1967, an MS67RD penny with only 340 examples on the books as having been graded higher is an awesome addition to the set of any budget minded collector.
    Okay, so you can tell I'm just a little excited to have picked up this bad boy for my collection. I have to admit, I'll be looking hard and long for other budget friendly additions. Lately, I've even found I'm willing to look at slightly lower grades that my budget can support to fill slots. That kind of bugs me a little and I feel like I've lost the battle when I have to resort to acquiring lower grades. I guess it's either that or just give up and I refuse to do that. I just love this hobby too much. Of course on the rare occasion I can save up a little money, I do take a stab at the pricier coins I need. I am still having trouble pulling the trigger on the price of a 1973 S Silver PF69UC Eisenhower Dollar to complete my proof set. I am convinced I can get the coin for less than $50 but only time will tell. I saw one sell for $81 the other day and that is just way too much money.
    Putting the graded coins aside for a little bit, I got three more albums for some of my raw coins this Christmas. I'll be the first to admit I love getting back to my roots of collecting, the raw sets. My darling wife and kids got me a Buffalo Nickel album, an Indian Head Cent album and a completely unexpected Liberty Head Nickel album. There is just something about working with raw coins that really brings this hobby home. Anyway, most of the Liberty Head Nickels I have are good or very good. Finding a nice Liberty Nickel with the Liberty intact and some detail in the hair can be a bit of daunting task. I did manage to pick up an XF 1883 "No Cents" for a very reasonable price and I was most pleased to add it to my album. Now the real challenge will be filling the holes from 1883 to 1894 with some nice examples for each year. (I do not anticipate getting my hands on a 1913 Liberty Head Nickel, ever. Of course, I could always hit the lottery jackpot!)
    Along the way I've also managed to pick up some nice upgrades for my Indian Head Cent collection. I do have a rather ambitious goal for this year of filling 15 of the holes in my collection. I know this probably confuses some folks around here. Face it, it is one of my collecting goals, having nothing to do with points or rankings and it certainly won't win me any Registry Awards. At least I won't have to listen to anyone whining about how they should have won an award when they didn't because I won the award. There just aren't any awards for raw sets just the personal satisfaction of working on something that is important to me and folks it just doesn't get any better than that. I rarely offer advice but for everyone not satisfied with the way the awards were handed out this year, "Take pride in what you do and feel good about you because it really doesn't matter what anybody else thinks." There is just no sense or point to soar grapes.
    Okay, so now I'm starting to sound like Dr. Phil so I'm out of here. I will leave you with a picture of my new prize, the 1967 SMS MS67RD.
    Have a great day,
    Dennis

  18. Dennis B-migration
    Everyone one is a winner and it's time to get back in the game.
    Well the NCG Awards have been posted and a hearty congratulation is order for all the winners. Well Done! The levels achieved by the collectors in this group never cease to amaze and inspire me. As a relatively small collector tied to a very limited budget I greatly appreciate the ability to look at and admire coins that are but a faint dream for adding to my collection. Yet, the complete sets so masterfully put together by others inspire me to complete my sets. So I will not only offer the winners a well earned Congratulation but a truly heartfelt Thank You the hours of endless enjoyment and wonder your have either directly or indirectly given me through your collections.
    Well Done and Congratulations to all the 2011 winners.
    For the rest of us, it is on to the dreams of 2012.
    Dennis
  19. Dennis B-migration
    Probably not but I listed 12 coins that really are Early Release Coins.
    Well the New Year's Day is here. I hope everyone reading this has a wonderful, happy, and prosperous new year! Personally, 2011 was a wild roller coaster ride and I am not just talking about the precious metals market. Fortunately, everyone in family is well, there is still a roof over our head and there is still food on the table so in hind sight I guess 2011 goes in the good year column. My coin collection grew in fits and spurts but it grew. I even managed to score a couple of very nice big coins at some small prices. I've pretty much decided I'm a contrarian collector. I really love collecting just regular coins, you know the tried and true stalwarts of minted coins that end up in Mr. and Mrs. America's pockets. And even then, there are some coins that just don't seem to catch my interest. I won't chase the hot fads or coins of the day opting rather for those that tend to get overlooked in the feeding frenzy. Of course I refer to the 5 oz ATB bullion coins and even more so to the 25th anniversary ASE $1 bullion coins. I'm still trying to wrap my arms around the concept of bullion coins. I always saw coins as being put into circulation or to at least have the premise that they could be put in circulation. (Yes, I know the ASE could potentially be put into circulation but why, given the plethora of other one dollar denomination vehicles out there. The mint produced 5 dollar coins for circulation and the Federal Reserve still has the paper dollar out there.) But all of that is really neither here nor there.
    In just looking through my collection the other day, I noticed I had an incredible variety of labels. I'd never really noticed before and honestly it doesn't bother me at all. Let's face it, a PF70UC coin is a PF70UC coin. I collect coins not labels. Oh sure, some of the labels are pretty cool looking. I really liked the idea of the First Day Issue and First Day Ceremony labels that NGC came up with for the 2009 Lincoln Centennial Cents but by the same token I quickly pulled the MS66 FDI Lincoln Cent out of my set in favor of a regular brown label MS67. Of course, the label game is not confined to NGC, PCGS has their "fancy" labels too. Again, it really makes no difference to me as long as the coin in the slab matches the grade. I guess I am label ambivalent and there has to be the right combination of both price and grade for me to by a coin. I guess that's pretty much why I only buy NGC and PCGS coins. I have started looking at some other slabs with hopes of getting a decent crossover but I still do not feel comfortable enough with my high-end grading abilities to pull the trigger!
    All of the journal discussion of late about labels really got me to thinking of late. What truly is an early release? With a chuckle, I wondered what difference it made if a PF70 coin was minted on the very first set of dies or were the first ones minted on a new set of dies half way through the production run. The label certainly doesn't make the coins any different. Then it occurred to me, there really are some very classic examples of early releases that absolutely would be worthy of that label. So I set out to make a list of coins I considered true early releases.
    1 -- 1793 Chain Reverse Large Cent -- (Reverse Changed to Wreath after Initial Run)
    2 -- 1909 S VDB Lincoln Cents -- (VDB Removed after Initial Run)
    3 -- 1909 VDB Lincoln Cents -- (VDB Removed after Initial Run)
    4 -- 1864 Two Cent Piece -- (Changed to Large Motto after Initial Run)
    5 -- 1883 Liberty Head Nickel -- (Added Cents to the Reverse after Initial Run)
    6 -- 1913, 13D, 13S Indian Head/Buffalo Nickel -- (Changed Reverse Buffalo Platform after Initial Run)
    7 -- 1837 Liberty Seated Dime -- (Changed Date Size after Initial Run)
    8 -- 1917, 17D, 17S Standing Liberty Quarter -- (Changed the Dress Style after Initial Run)
    9 -- 1796 Draped Bust Half Dollar -- (Added a Star to the Obverse after Initial Run)
    10 -- 1964 Kennedy Half Dollar -- (Changed the Hair after Initial Run)
    11 -- 1795 Draped Bust Silver Dollar -- (Centered Bust after Initial Run)
    12 -- 1878 Morgan Silver Dollar -- (Went to 7 Tail Feathers from 8 after Initial Run)
    Now these twelve coins truly represent early releases. There are very clear and discernable differences from later runs. All of the dates are early in the life of the coin. If you want to expand the definition by each year rather than each coin, there are many more examples. Can any one of us really say that there is any difference between a 2011 Early Release and a 2011 mid production release other than the day it got shipped to our mailboxes?
    Lastly, I wonder whether or not I should have a special label on this journal entry. It is the first one I've posted this year. So to begin 2012, I will leave you with a picture of a fairly nice, true early release. Have an awesome New Year everyone!
    Dennis

  20. Dennis B-migration
    And as always this time of year is filled with excitement, wonder and joy.
    I still remember how excited I got when I found and joined the Collectors Society. I was just starting my adventure into the world of graded coins. In the month leading up to my joining, I had just purchased a few graded coins, Proof State Quarters if memory serves, and I couldn't get over how awesome the thought of moving forward with this phase of my collecting would be. Two years later, I am still enthralled with collecting both graded and raw coins. My graded collection now numbers over 200 coins and my raw collections have expanding to some older coins. I completed my Jefferson Nickel, Roosevelt Dime, State Quarter, Eisenhower Dollar, Sacagawea/Native American Dollar and my Presidential Dollar to date raw sets. I have a complete DC and Territory PR70UC set listed in my registry sets. My Lincoln Cent raw set is 10 coins away from being complete and in the process of being upgraded to BU examples for the whole set. I still have some upgrading to do in my Jefferson Nickel and Roosevelt Dimes raw sets as well.
    As I am a high school teacher, my collecting year roughly matches the school year, September to August. This actually has more to do with the fact I only get paid 10 months of the year than anything else. Every August I like to set 10 goals for myself that I hope to meet in the next twelve months. Periodically, I check myself against how I am doing. I found given the vast diversity of potential collecting directions, these goals keep me pointed in the right direction. I have a tendency to wander from time to time as I find most all coins incredibly fascinating. My time off during the holiday break is one of those times I like to go back and check my progress. So these are my goals from last August and my progress against each.
    #1 -- Complete my IKE Proof Registry Set. (1973S Silver PF69UC) -- I still have not found this coin at a price I feel as reasonable.
     
    #2 -- Add at least 4 MS IKE Dollars to my registry set. -- This goal is actually completed. I have three already in my registry set and have made arrangements to acquire two more right after Christmas.
     
    #3 -- Fill at least 4 holes in my Raw Lincoln Cents collection. One down here and 3 to go, I just recently added a VG 1913S to my set.
    #4 -- Upgrade all of my Raw Lincoln Cents back to 1934 to MS/BU status. I haven't made any progress on this on yet either.
    #5 -- Add at least 6 Proof Lincoln Memorials to my registry set. -- I have added 2 coins here leaving my 4 more to go.
    #6 -- Add at least 6 MS66 or better Lincoln Cents to my registry set. -- I have added 2 coins here leaving my 4 more to go as well.
    #7 -- Add at least 6 PF70UC Roosevelt Dimes to my registry set or in lieu of PF70UC a suitable grade for the early years. -- I've added 5 coins to my Proof Roosevelt Dime set. None of them have been PF70UC but all of them were minted in 1981 or before. The real prize to the ones I have added has been the 1968 PF68*CA. Everything else has been PF69UC.
    #8 -- Add at least 10 MS Roosevelt Dimes to my $5.00 set. This set is proving to be a whole lot of fun and my goal has already been met. I started this set with the intention of proving that anyone could put together a nice registry set and not spend more than $5.00 a coin. As I pick up grades I give the lower grade dimes away to students in my classes who show some interest in collecting coins.
    #9 -- Add a combination of 6 Sacagawea Dollars to my Proof and/or Circulated Sets. -- I have picked up 4 coins for this goal and I don't suspect getting the next two will be very difficult. Along the way I've actually developed a much greater appreciation for these dollars.
     
    #10 -- Fill 15 holes in my raw Indian Head Cent Collection. -- I haven't even touched this goal. I am hoping that Santa brings me an album for this set this year, I suspect that if he does I will be a bit more in tune to adding and up grading coins.
    To make my Registry sets even more interesting and fun for me, I added proof sets for key years in my life, a non-gold type set, a Full Torch Roosevelt Dime set and a few less critical master sets to my collection. I classify the proof sets and type sets as satellite sets because they are all built off of my master sets. So what does all of this mean? In two years I have built an overall collection with close to 43,000 point and over 200 coins. When I sat down to figure everything out, it turns out that I have spent roughly $0.265 on for every dollar of FMV and about $0.065 per registry point. There are plenty of coin deals to be had out there if you are patient and persistent. Coin collecting is truly a hobby that can be afforded on any budget even the budget of an underpaid high school teacher.
    I will close by wishing everyone here the very Merriest of Christmas's and Happiest of New Year's. Thank you all for all of your posts and comments, insight and perspective, and your support and well wishes over the last year. This truly is one of the greatest hobbies in the world supported by some of the very best people in the world.
    Merry Christmas,
    Dennis

  21. Dennis B-migration
    There was a lot of small change left to be had on the ground!
    Rarely do I get excited to the point of being downright effervescent when I buy coins. First, this is not a good negotiation strategy when dealing face to face with a coin dealer I much prefer a poker face with a wrinkled brow thrown in here and there just for effect. Second, when you are bidding on a coin in any auction, live or on-line, you run the risk of blowing your budget and chasing a coin well past your "logically set" upper limit. Finally, if I don't have the money, I just don't buy or bid on the coins. Adding coins to my collection is a methodical hunt that in driven by my love of coins and my lack of funds. If I'm lucky I might find and get 1 coin for every 100 coins at which I look or on which I make an offer. But I've managed to put together a nice set, raw and certified, on a very thin budget. (Well, in my opinion anyway) All that great thinking went out the window for a couple of coins earlier this week.
    Anyway, earlier this week I was paging through EBay during lunch and I ran across a 1999-S Silver PF70UC New Jersey and a 1999-S Silver PF70UC Georgia quarter both were languishing well below FMV and well below what I would normally put in as a low end bid. Okay, so its Christmas time and I still haven't finished buying presents and there sure isn't any extra money to be had in the budget but these two babies were screaming my name at me from the computer screen. What else could I do but run a couple of quick calculations and figure out the low ball bids I think I can afford for the two quarters and enter the bids? Afford, yea right, I completely forget about the fact I'm going to have to pass this little cash outlay pass my wife in the middle of the Christmas gift buying season if I manage to be the high bidder on these babies!
    I have about 6 minutes between each class so between classes I'm calling up EBAY to check the status of the two quarters. By the end of the school day my bids were still holding and I was pinging off of the walls with anticipation. It was kind of like having a lottery ticket before the drawing and thinking about all of the things you could do if you have the winning ticket. Of course, I still had that niggling in my gut about getting my bids nipped in the last 10 seconds of the auction and the logical realization that my bids were so low that there was a very high probability that these quarters would go by the wayside like most other coins on which I got outbid. But the anticipation of adding these two to my set was a nice euphoric buzz.
    Fortunately, both coins were closing during my drive home so there was no way I was going to be able to get that last minute itch to up my bids to fend off any bid nippers thus avoiding the urge to break my second rule of chasing coins above my "logically set" upper limit. Since my wife teaches at the same school I do, I took the opportunity of the ride home to tell her about the impending potential purchase. Of course, I also explained that my bids were "VERY" low and the chances were very slim that the bids would hold up. (Okay, so I'm by that hurdle without too much trouble. Thank goodness my wife is very understanding.)
    We get home; let the dogs out and just sort dump our stuff to unwind after the day. I'm still buzzing so I bee-line to the computer fully anticipating disappointment because I got outbid. But darn, sometimes it's just plan better to be lucky than good! I ended up being the high bidder on both coins for a total outlay with shipping of less than $140! These coins could drop half their value tomorrow and I'm still good for doubling my money, well on the books anyway. With those two quarters my State Quarter Set now has 5 of the 6 key coins PF70UC coins in it. Yea, I know ... I still need a Silver PF70UC Delaware Quarter. (Most folks do.) Who knows, maybe if I keep looking long enough I can find a steal on one of those as well.
    It didn't take long for the coins to show in my mailbox and I have dutifully entered them into my set. Between the recent point adjustments and the quarters my total is now well over 40,000 and I have my sights set on 50,000. I sure don't know what happened but I am sure glad it did because I figured it would be a long time before those slots were filled. I guess Christmas just came a little early for me either that or with everyone's attention focused on the soaring ASE's the small change has been getting over looked.
    I've rambled enough so I will leave you with a picture of my new 1999-S Silver PF70UC New Jersey State Quarter.
    Dennis

  22. Dennis B-migration
    Who would have thought that there was a tie to my coin collecting and my wife's genealogy?
    I love Christmas. It seems like I always come up with some screwy ideas for presents. As luck would have it, I was looking around the U.S. Mint web site looking to pick up the odd mint issues I haven't been able to afford during the rest of the year. (Christmas is always a good excuse to treat myself and fill in the most recent holes in my sets.) Anyway, while I'm not a big fan of the Presidential Dollars, I still look through that section and all of the others for that matter. I knew that the Mint issued a Presidential coin and First Lady Medal set but I typically just looked right by them. But this time one caught my attention. You see my sister-in-law has devoted a good deal of time to building my wife's family tree. As it turns out my darling wife whose family is a venerable old New England family has quite an interesting collection of names in her family tree. She can trace her heritage back to a signer of the Declaration of Independence. She can also boast being directly related to two presidents and by marriage somewhere in the tree to two other presidents. So there I am fishing around the Mint web site and the Millard and Abigail Fillmore set is screaming out at me. Yes, my wife is directly related to that ever so popular President Millard Fillmore. I just had to order a set to send to my sister-in-law for Christmas. How cool is it to be so involved with building a family tree and have a US Coin Mint Set to compliment the work. I'm hoping that the mint continues making these sets because I would love to also get the other President/First Lady set for my sister-in-law as well. By the way the other President to whom my wife is directly related is Calvin Coolidge.
    Back to my collection, I got that email from the Collectors Society that my membership is up for renewal again. I don't know why I don't put the thing on auto-renewal but I don't. I guess it is sort of a flag for me to take a look back and take stock of what I have accomplished. I do so love collecting coins and even though I do not have a budget than can afford a full court press, I am methodical and patient about it. It has been two years since I first signed on to this group and have thoroughly enjoyed all of it. I will scrap together the money I need to re-up again this year. I still have yet to submit any coins for grading and I suspect that is still a few years out but over all I am pleased with my progress. This year I expanded my collection by adding a couple of satellite sets to my already existing master sets. I even managed to add a couple of new master sets. My collection now has over 200 graded coins in it to compliment the several raw sets I still maintain. In the points count, I will push through 35,000 this week with a new 2001S Clad PF70UC Vermont State Quarter I just picked up. My $5.00 Roosevelt Dimes for Kids idea is working out very well and I've spurred at least some modest new interest among some young collectors. And I've done all of this without mortgaging the house.
    The real challenge for my collecting is still in front of me. Our car died earlier this year and we desperately need a new one. Unfortunately, after a significant outlay of funds in dental work for my son this year money is well shall we say thin. Any extra cash we have must now go to paying for the new car. I'm not complaining everyone here is healthy and happy. I know things could be much worse and unfortunately, they are for many people. I'm not anticipating selling off any part of my collection but I do have the wheels in my head spinning trying to find any extra funds to help the situation and perhaps afford me some nice new additions to my collection. I can't help but wonder what things around the house I can sell on EBay perhaps even start a little side business. It sure beats having to get a second job. Anyway, I know any number of members have pointed along the way that yes, life does sometimes get in the way.
    Enough of my nostalgic waxing for today, it has been a great two year run for me here at the Collectors Society and I am looking forward to a third year! I will leave today with a picture of the MS66 1972S Lincoln Memorial Cent I snagged for a song a week or so ago.
    Dennis

  23. Dennis B-migration
    The time has just melted away.
    Oh my gosh, where has the time gone? It was two years ago when I first found the Collectors Society and in about two weeks I will have been a paying member for 2 years. It has been close to two months since I last posted a journal. Now, Thanksgiving has slipped by us (I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving) and Christmas is right around the corner. If time is money, then I should be a rich man!
    As usual, I continue to struggle with budget constraints, probably more so than in previous years. I have to be extremely selective about adding coins to my sets and I've done pretty well I think. I am most pleased with my $5.00 Coins for Kids Roosevelt Dime collection. I've managed to pick up a few over the last few months and give away a few to some promising young collectors. The set is growing nicely and has even spawned a satellite set of Full Torch Roosevelt Dimes. The master set has 25 coins in it and the Full Torch Set has 8 coins in it. Quite frankly, up until this week those $5.00 dimes was pretty much all I could afford over the last few months.
    Before I ramble too far, I must tip my hat to gherrman44 for a darn nice piece on IKES not too long ago. (Yes, while I haven't written much I have been following the other journal entries.) I also want to weigh in on the whole thing about the SAE's of late. All of the different comments and expos?s have provided me with much entertainment. Please ladies and gentlemen, do not take offense because I am sure that my ramblings have left others shaking their heads at time as well. I certainly mean no SAE collector ill will. Perhaps, if I had the means I too would attempt to put a collection of SAE Dollars together as well but they would not be at the top of my list. For now, the SAE along with the 5 ounce ATB coins (?) fall into my "Big and Overpriced Piece of Silver That Really Isn't a Coin Category."
    While the last few months have been quiet for me, I have managed to make a few inroads especially after this week. It seems with start of the holiday season and the mad shopping frenzy of the weekend; the week of Thanksgiving is always a cost effective week for me to buy coins on EBay. Apart from the dimes I've managed to pick up, I am most pleased to have added 3 circulation IKES to my MS set. All three are MS 65, yes I would much have preferred MS66 or MS67 coins but at the premium they seem to command I will not shell out the money for them (not that I have the money anyway). (And YES, for the record, I am green with envy over gherrman44's absolutely beautiful collection of Eisenhower Dollars.)The three I got were all $15.00 or less. I also filled the 1913S hole in and got a very nice BU 1970S Small Date and an exceptional 1952 BU to upgrade my Lincoln Cent Album. While we are on the topic of Lincoln Cents, I would be remiss not to mention a 1972S MS66 I snagged for much less than $20. There is also another large copper in my collection as well, 1851. I need to get a closer look at it to figure out its N-number. Finally, there was my "I think I'll buy this on a whim purchase". (Believe me these do not happen very often!) It looks like I am starting a new circulated set of Kennedy Half Dollars. For less than $5.00, I picked up a 2007D SMS MS 68 Kennedy Half. I wasn't the only one looking through coins lately either. My youngest son, Alex, was most pleased with himself when he proudly showed me the 2008D Alaska State Quarter he managed to find to fill one of the few remaining holes in his State Quarter set. For some reason finding the 2008D series in circulation around here (NC) has proved most problematic. Side note on quarters here, I sure haven't seen any ATB quarters in circulation, not a one, in about six months.
    With Christmas 27 days away, I am hoping Santa will leave perhaps the 2011 Mint and Uncirculated sets and a new album or two for some of my raw coins. I even told my kids if they wanted to get me inexpensive presents, rolls of coins are always a big hit for a Christmas present. Every once in a while my oldest daughter manages to pull off a real coupe and nab me a roll of solid date uncirculated pennies from the bank. Of course, I also hinted that if she could pull off a roll of half dollars that would be awesome. I actually need a couple more storage boxes for graded coins as well but I think I will just outright buy those for myself. () Christmas morning and the Christmas tree is always a good excuse in this family to get the inexpensive odds and ends we tend to forego during the course of the year.
    Well, I do not have a picture for you with this entry. With all of the coming and going and other holiday activities around here I just haven't had the time to set up my make-shift photo lab to get a picture of one of my new coins. Honestly, my entry feels naked perhaps I might add a photo later. So until the next time, be well.
    Dennis
  24. Dennis B-migration
    Sometimes is just better to rely on dumb luck!
    Okay, so as a rule I do not pay too particularly much attention to points. This is especially true for my $5.00 Dimes for Kids set. I?m looking to add any circulation strike dime I can add to the set for $5.00 or under. And that was certainly the case with a dime I picked up this week. Usually, I am very pleased to pick up an MS65 or MS66 Roosevelt Dime for $5.00 or under to add to the set or add to the extras so I can give it away to a kid with a budding interest in collecting coins. (It?s an even bigger treat if the dime comes with a FT designation.) Well, dang, didn?t I score a coupe this week. I knew I had a number of bids on dimes outstanding on EBay this week so it was a pleasant surprise when my little red flag popped up and said I needed to pay for one item last Sunday. Yep, it was another dime for the $5.00 Dime for Kids set but this one was a 2005D MS69SMS. I already had a MS66SMS in the set which will now go to one of my kids in class and I even have a particular kid in mind. But anyway, not thinking I plugged the coin into my set and BAMM! I had to do a double take when a green 1323 pops up in the changes column. What 1323 points for less than $5.00, that?s about 3/10 of a cent per point. Needless to say after that little addition, I?m feeling like the cat that swallowed the canary!
    My kids in class are starting to find all of those unloved pennies lying around and dumping them in the penny bowl on my desk again. This week was a particularly good week. I ended up with a couple of very nice MS 1960 pennies, a couple of common wheat cents, a few Irish Euro coins of various denominations and an absolutely brilliant 1960D small date with virtually no contact marks on it. I guess the penny would have to grade in the MS65/66 range. One young lady even started playing 20 questions with me about the pennies. I ended up bringing my 1819 N-1 Large Copper Cent to school so I could show what pennies started out as before they evolved into the small Lincoln Cents we have now. As it turned out, almost all of my kids were amazed by the old penny and it made its way around all of my classes.
    Anyway, with the addition of the 2005D MS69SMS Roosevelt Dime I very close to pushing through 30000 total points. My graded sets are also closing in on the 200 individual coin count and I broke through the 2000 ranking. Heck, the $5.00 dime set has 18 coins in it already. I must say I quite pleased at how this little experiment is turning out. I have made a great start to showing that kids and collectors of very modest means can really put together a very nice set with a little bit of patience and perseverance. I think that speaks volumes for this hobby given the wild ride precious metals has had over the last year. To paraphrase a classic line, ?Yes, Virginia, there room in this hobby for the little guy.? You know, I love the hunt for all of the coins in my collection but I am just having some downright fun with these dimes. One of these days, I?d love to have enough time to visit some local coin dealers and see if I can wheel and deal for some of their mid-grade dimes they just can?t seem to sell. I also wish I could figure a way to actually get enough kids in school interested in collecting coins that we could actually start a club. Sadly, I sure don?t see that happening.
    I am still woefully behind in my set maintenance. I really need to get off of my butt. But I sure don?t see any big blocks of free time coming up anytime soon. Here in North Carolina as the days get cooler the leaves are starting to change color which means there will be the annual leave removal from the yard endeavor and, of course. the State Fair is right around the corner. Then we have Thanksgiving and Christmas that will keep everything buzzing around here. I do have my fingers crossed though. There has to be some pockets of peace and quiet in there for my coins.
    For now, I will leave you with a picture of my MONSTER dime! (Chuckle) I?m still amazed at the points that came with this thing.
    Dennis

  25. Dennis B-migration
    Very little to show for the month
    I have felt like a ship at sea in irons during the month of September. Still reeling from the financial storms of the summer, disposable income for coins has been scarce to say the least. Throw on top of that there have been relatively few very good deals on coins out there lately so ultimately my September acquisitions were almost nonexistent. Even the circulated rolls I?ve gone through have yielded only minimal hidden treasures. But all is not lost as I did manage a couple of nice finds, nothing exceptional but nice.
     
    My $5.00 Dimes for Kids program is starting to make some head way as I gave away yet another dime this month. I managed to pick up a 3 or 4 $5.00 dimes including a 2005D SMS MS69. (This was a small coup.) I gave one young man in one of my classes a MS67 1967 SMS dime for his collection. (The SMS dimes for 1965 through 1967 are actually listed in the proof sets.) This was his first graded coin and when I gave it to him he was quite surprised. He looked at the dime in its slab flipping it over and over, examining the dime very carefully. He had a bunch of questions and he even noted that the dime was starting to tone slightly. I was impressed. The next day the young man brought in a couple of coins from his collection to show me, both in 2x2 flips. He asked me if I knew what one of the coins was because he couldn?t seem to identify it. He said he had gone through all the entire British section of his world coin book and couldn?t find anything on the coin. I looked at it and immediately recognized his error. The coin was an 1811 Spanish Reale. Obviously, he wasn?t going to find anything in the British section of the book. The coin was probably in XF condition but it was still pretty neat to see the kid had one in his collection. The other coin was 1850 Large Penny. Personally, I was amazed and impressed. There are just not too many high school kids whose collections can boost either of these coins. (For the record, this kid is actually an interesting example of a young collector. He actually likes looking for error coins. He can readily identify doubling and die clashes.) As for the rest of the kids in my classes, we are far enough into the semester that I?ve started taking about coins and I am starting to build some interest and get some questions from the kids that never thought about collecting coins before.
    Elsewhere in my slowly growing collection, I managed to add a 1973 PF68 UC to my Lincoln Memorial Proof set and a couple of MS Sacagawea for my circulated set. (I?m really looking for a PF69UC Lincoln Cent but the price was right on this one.) Most notable of those was the set of MS 67 2009 P and D. As it turns out, MS67 is a top pop for both coins. Somehow, I don?t think that will last forever. I also added two more PF70UC State Quarters for my Union of States set, Hawaii and Oklahoma both clad. Oh yea, and I almost forgot I picked up a 1977S PF69UC Roosevelt Dime for my Proof Dime Set. Of course, the dime also makes an appearance in my 1977 (High School Graduation) Annual Proof Set. All in all though, despite September being incredibility slow I added all of the coins for less than $0.25 on the dollar of FMV.
    As a rule, slow acquisition months typically do not bother me. A slow month usually means I can spend time sprucing up my pictures and coin descriptions but I didn?t even get to do that this month. I think that is what is aggravating me the most. Between getting material ready to teach my classes, helping my son with his school work and a new puppy in the house, time has just slipped through my fingers. The precious little time I have spent with my coins has been limited to some reading and a little bit of set maintenance. I am beginning to think that as my $5.00 Roosevelt Dime set evolves and grows I want to turn it into a FT Set. (The dime, MS67 SMS 1967 that I gave to the young collector, has fewer points than the MS66FT SMS 1967 dime I currently have listed in the set.) I actually have 5 FT Dimes between the circulation and proof sets so far. The 1965 through 1967 SMS dimes can come with a FT designation in the proof set.
    I am hoping that October will be more productive but October is State Fair month and I promised the family a day outing at the fair. For now, I will leave you with a picture of my newly acquired Oklahoma PF70UC Clad State Quarter. As with the silver Oklahoma quarter, I still think the reverse of this quarter is one of the most elegant of all the state quarters.
    Dennis