Mohawk

I think this is a great idea, William.  After reading this, I actually had to go take a look at the set and though it only has two coins right now, they're both nice ones.  Shandy's onto something with those.....I like the bimetallic composition and the design as well.  They're very attractive coins.  And I'm with Mike....you should include the 90 and 91 coins in the set, regardless of the grade.  Those coins are actually a part of Shandy's story and the story of her family.  To me, that beats numeric grade every time.   Just something to consider and just my 2 pfennige  

It's a nice, simple design that looks good even in F12.  There's something to be said for a simple design like that, I have to say.  I've recently began rebuilding my early East German collection that I had to sell for a car repair when I was finishing up my Ed.D.  Those designs are quite simple, but I find them very appealing in their simplicity.  I feel the exact same way about your Irish Crown, Jack.

Man, Mark does some great work, Coinbuf!! Like William said, those dark copper coins like that are quite difficult to photograph, but the photos Mark did are excellent!

Thanks for the kind wishes, Jack!!! And those are both very nice coins.  I actually don't have anything '22...1822 or 1922!  I may have to change that with something nice from Canada or the Weimar Republic.

On 1/1/2022 at 4:35 PM, Revenant said:

It's a deep, dark blue felt.

Very nice.  That has to be very attractive.

Ooh....looks like you did well, William!! All really cool stuff.  I really like the display cases.  Those are damned handsome and fine homes for your collection.  If I ever get back into having things graded (and this depends on if my last attempt to get NGC to start certifying 1968-1975 Canadian Uncirculated Set coins as cameo once more is a success.......), I think I'll have to look into some of those types of cases.  It sounds like you had a great holiday, my friend.  I also like that Shandy is getting into the Zimbabwe project with you.  I think that's the best gift of all, actually.  And based on your stepfather's interest and projects, it sounds like numismatics may be becoming a family affair for you.....

Well...first of all, these giant blow-ups without full photos of the obverse and reverse are not very helpful at all.  To properly examine a coin through photos, we need good, clear photos of the full coin to place the blowups into their proper context.  Going forward, if you want us to help you, please follow these guidelines:

1. Post clear, cropped photos of your coin, both obverse and reverse.  Any blowups need to be accompanied by these photos or they're useless.

2. Make sure you ask a clear, coherent question in a sentence or two.  Just saying a few words is often not very helpful.  Tell us what you think you have going on and what you want to know.

3. Post one coin per question/thread.  If you have additional coins, make separate threads/questions for each individual coin.  

4. You're likely to get more attention if you post your questions in the Newbie Coin Collecting Question area rather than in a Journal.  Doing this will increase your chances of getting help in a timely manner.

5. Remember that most of us on here are simply collectors who do this without being paid for it.  Most of us do not work for NGC and we are not paid by them to participate here and share knowledge.  As such, it may take time to get an answer and you may not get one at all if we don't have a member that knows the answer to your specific inquiry.  That does happen.  Please be patient with us.  

6.  Please read this thread.  It will tell you all you need to know to be successful here with posting inquiries:

https://boards.ngccoin.com/topic/415185-what-you-need-to-know-about-posting-coins-for-inquiry/

Also, please know that if you do not follow these guidelines, you will likely be ignored.  We do want to help you, so please help us help you.

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I'm loving the hands on, do it myself approach to this vs buying pre-graded coins.

That's how I always did it when I was a Registry collector and I find it added to the experience for me.  It's fun to hunt up the nicest raw coins you can find and grade them yourself.  There's a real feeling of pride when your formerly raw coin comes back with a high grade on it.  The skills I gained from submitting raw coins myself for my Registry Sets still serve me well in my little coin selling venture.  I wouldn't be anywhere near as successful with it as I am without gaining those skills from submitting my own coins when I was a Registry collector.  That era of my life was valuable and certainly served a purpose.

Those Franklin Mint sets can have some nice coins in them, William.  One thing I was working on a while ago was a set of Chilean 5 and 10 Pesos coins.  I actually got some of those sets and got some nice coins out of there.... MS66s and MS67s.  It could be worth your while to submit the nicest coins you have from them to NGC, my friend.....it could really end up paying off for you.  But I'm with Bob.....I'm loving seeing you just having fun with these sets and getting back to basics!! There's something to be said for simplicity.......which is the name of the game in my collecting life now....no Registry Sets, no TPG grading.....just me, my notes and coins and my albums.  But what's even better to hear is that you and Shandy are working on it together.  You really can't beat that part of it.  It has to be nice to be able to work on your hobby with your wife.

Hi William!!

I can confirm one thing for you.....the 1888 you mentioned was definitely graded recently.  My last sales lot to NGC that I received back the other day had an invoice number that started with 579.  As for the Specimen Z coins....sounds like you have a bit of a mystery on your hands, my friend.  I'm sorry that dealer would not check dates for you on the 10Gs.  That sucks.  I ran into that a couple times back when I was more active with non-ancient coins than I am now.  Some dealers just don't want to expend the extra effort.  One question though: did you make sure to tell them that you weren't looking for the discount price on the dates you needed?  If you didn't, telling them that might make a difference.  Many sellers are much more willing to expend that extra effort if you're willing to forfeit the discount price for them to check dates for you.  It might be worth a try.

~Tom

Very nice, Coinbuf!! Congratulations!! I, for one, would be delighted to see your set move up and maybe win a big award someday.  Who knows what may happen in the future?

I think I'm going to start being active over there, William.  A new participant always helps in some small way.  What's the troll situation like on that side of the house?  Any Slicks or Ratzies?

I know the note you're referring to and it's a great one!!! British notes are some of the best.  It may be a good addition to your collection at some point.

Sadly, I have nothing Irish in my collection at all.....at least not yet.  You never know what getting back into currency may lead me to pick up.  I'm going to have to take a look at some Irish banknotes now and see if anything catches my eye.  

I'll definitely do so, but I should probably do so over on the PMG boards.  I don't want to bore you guys to death with German replacement banknotes and Canadian star notes 

Actually....it wasn't William who initially inspired it, though his collection helped me decide on going down the note path once more.  I just got looking through my old albums the other night for some reason and I got thinking about what a massive amount of knowledge about banknotes that exists and that I still need to learn.  Nothing will inspire me to undertake something like the prospect of having to learn a lot of new things.  That, combined with seeing what William's been up to, made up my mind.  

Hey again Don!!!

Things are good with me and mine and I hope all is well with you and yours!! As for what's new with me, not too much.  I'm actually exploring collecting some banknotes right now, which is something I used to do years ago.  I got looking at my currency albums last night and realized that I had forgotten how much I enjoyed paper money.  So, I figured I'd take a little detour and get back into it and see how it goes.  I'm mainly looking at German and Canadian notes, but there are a lot of beautiful notes from a variety of places!! It could be fun.  Other than that, I'm just living my same old boring life .  So, coins aside, anything new with you, my friend?

~Tom

Hi William!!

Change can be an interesting thing, for sure.  It sounds like NGC did change the game on you with your Presidential Dollar set, but I'm glad it wasn't a big deal for you.  It sounds like you have a lot of projects going on, which can be cool and fun, but sometimes a little frustrating deciding which direction to focus in, at least if you're me!! Speaking of change, I've actually shifted focus lately myself.  In the past, I used to collect banknotes.  I got around to looking at my old currency albums a little while ago, and I've decided I want to get back into currency for at least a little while.  I've actually been looking at a lot of German banknotes lately.....many of them are absolutely beautiful.  I'd forgotten how beautiful they are.  And many of them are super affordable, which also makes them fun.....you can get a lot of bang for your buck there.  I guess none of us really ever know where life will take us next.

Hi Don!!!!

Sorry it's taken me a bit to reply to your latest entries.  I do apologize.  But the good news is that you look to have had a lot of success with your NGC submissions!!! Congratulations!!  These submissions will definitely help your Custom Set.  How is that coming along, anyway?

Hi Jack!!

Another great entry.......and a great coin, as well!!! The 1860's certainly were an interesting and dynamic time in world history.....so much was changing so rapidly!!! It was probably quite an experience to live in those times.  I think about where my ancestors were then and most of them were in political entities that no longer exist.  Many of my paternal ancestors were in Bosnia, which was part of the Ottoman Empire in 1860.  My mom's people were still in eastern Prussia then.  Some of my paternal ancestors were also Welsh, and they were all still there, too.  But that one still exists.  And nationalism certainly impacted those ancestors of mine......11 years from the date of your coin, Germany unified, making my ancestors "Germans" in national identity and in ethnicity.  18 years from that date, the Ottoman Empire lost Bosnia to Austria-Hungary, so my ancestors there actually left to territories still held by the Ottomans to the south.  It's interesting to think about.

Enjoy your report to the mods for peddling your cheating website.

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Oh please.  Take your cheating service and get the hell out of here.

Post I responded to with this removed.  Yay!!

Oh please.  Take your cheating service and get the hell out of here.

Looking good, William!! You definitely have some talent with a camera and with selecting coins!!! You have some very nice things there and very nice photos of them as well.  Also, if Shandy likes it, then you're doing well 

Indeed.  And sometimes their decisions make no sense.  A few years ago, they considered Canadian Proof Like Sets from 1968-1975 as Proof Like Sets, just like their 1953-1967 predecessors.  Now, NGC considers those sets as "Uncirculated Sets" for some reason and because of their arbitrary dividing line and change in terminology, they will no longer designate the 1968-1975 coins as Cameo pieces, no matter how much contrast they have!!! And those sets are the hardest to get with Cameo!!! It makes no sense......if they don't change their ways here, I'm going to have to start sending my Canadian to PCGS.