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brg5658

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Journal Entries posted by brg5658

  1. brg5658
    Horses galore...
    Saturday of this last weekend was my first time to the MOON Show in the Minneapolis, MN area. I went with no particular idea of what to expect, but after my normal "one-time-through browse", I stopped back at the few tables that caught my eye. In the end, I only purchased one coin for the day, but it was one that was on my want-list for quite some time.
    I found a nice example of a Half Crown that features the small rendition of St. George Slaying the Dragon on the reverse splitting the date (see close-up image below). The fact that St. George is on a horse is one draw for my collecting niche -- another draw is that I simply have a hard time saying no to a coin with this amount of eye appeal that also pictures Queen Victoria. It was a nice perk that it was also a better date of the small half crown Jubilee Head series.
    This coin also marks a pretty significant milestone in my horses collection -- number 200! I'm glad to have such a striking coin as the 200th addition to my custom collection. As always, I will post the full size images on the Chat Boards for all to see.
    Thanks for looking!
    -Brandon

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  2. brg5658

    DC and Territories

    By brg5658,

    Nice addition to 21st Century Type Set
    The quarter designs post-1998 really haven't piqued my interest too much (Statehood, Territories, and now America the Beautiful). I know the Statehood Quarters series really rekindled a lot of interest in coin collecting, but I could never keep up. And, I'm much more of a traditionalist. I like designs that stick around and become "classic" and part of the fabric of the U.S. culture. I kind of miss that beautiful 1932-1998 eagle reverse. Again, I'm grateful to the interest this series brought to coin collecting, but I didn't jump on that train...
    BUT, I did need an example of the DC/Territories (2009) quarter for my 21st Century Type Set. After considering all of the 6 options for that year, I chose the Virgin Islands design. I think this is partly due to the beautiful reverse evoking a longing for somewhere warm and tropical. Winters in Minnesota can do this to you...
    My new beautiful addition is below.
    Cheers!

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  3. brg5658

    eBay woes

    By brg5658,

    The collusion game between big eBay sellers
    Simplistically, there are two things that drive the price of products - supply and demand. We all took Economics 101, or have heard of this relationship before. For collectors of certified coins who participate in the registry, these two things boil down to:
    Supply = certified coin population counts (primarily NGC and PCGS)
    and
    Demand = Number of collectors interested in a particular set
    Simple economics, right? Well, not so fast. There are a few additional variables to mix things up.
    Even if populations are relatively high, if all of the available coins are in the possession of shady dealers, collusion (be it direct or indirect) is a fairly common practice. And collusion amongst all of the big dealers is basically the same as a monopoly (it is by definition an oligopoly). The hot-bed of collusion has really been eBay. This isn't a new development and this is something I'm sure someone else has written about at great length. The way it works is the following:
     
    1) Because eBay allows selling as "Buy it Now", throwing the idea of the auction out the door, a dealer can ask whatever he wants when he/she lists a coin for sale.
     
    2) All of the reasonably priced coins of that type are eventually purchased, leaving the inflated priced coins to sit on eBay for months, if not years at their ridiculous price levels.
     
    3) A new collector to a set wants to complete his/her set with the best coin available. Because of the process I just explained in points 1-2, the only coins he/she can find are on eBay and are at ridiculous collusion-fixed prices. He/she buys a coin at this price -- and gets screwed in the process -- but additionally encourages these sellers to keep their prices high.
    ----------------------------------------------------
    The most obvious example of this process in the world at large is the price of diamonds. More than 90% of all of the diamonds mined in the world currently sit in warehouses to maintain a "favorable supply" for the diamond sellers. There is no sugar-coating this practice -- it is PRICE FIXING. Limiting supply available to the general public so as to maintain high prices.
    ----------------------------------------------------
    My experiences with this phenomenon in coin collecting are mostly limited to the coins I collect. Thus, I know this problem is particularly rampant for modern coins (or as some of you call them "ultra modern" coins -- or as others call them, "modern trash"). These coins are what I collect, because they are what I enjoy. I'm not going to get into some political diatribe or defensive state to justify this choice. I'm merely using this to illustrate my point in an arena that I know well.
    EXAMPLE: I have been looking at a particular modern coin for one of my sets for some time. In fact, for well over 9 months. The market for this particular coin is currently pretty stagnant -- of the 6 available examples of the coin on eBay, they are all priced above $600, and NONE have been up for a real auction in the past 9 months. Accordingly, none of them have sold...one has been posted on eBay for more than 18 months!!! These 6 examples are all NGC graded, and come from an NGC population less than 20 coins, none finer. (Strangely, and tangentially, there are 60 PCGS coins of the same grade, none of which have been listed on eBay in the past 9 months.) The Numismedia FMV for the coin is $125, THUS, all of these coins are listed at more than 4 times the current Numismedia FMV. The only PCGS value I have seen listed was $450 about a year ago, but as we all know, that value is highly inflated and modern coins rarely sell at the PCGS value (besides the fact, NONE of these coins for sale are graded by PCGS -- so this is a moot point).
    I have placed several offers for this coin using the "Make Offer" button on eBay. Four of these 6 available coins are "controlled" by two of the regular culprits...whom I will not name here, but if you want to know who I am talking about you can send me a private reply to this post. These two dealers (er...I mean eBay commercial sellers...) rejected my offers of $400 and subsequent offers of $500. They did not reject these offers with a cordial email reply, but rather by means of the "auto-reject" method on eBay. I have never won an item from these two sellers, and try to avoid them at all cost -- this was just reaffirmation that my opinion of their dealings over the past 2 years was accurate.
    This week I placed an offer of $400 for one of the remaining 2 coins listed on eBay. I didn't get the automatic-reject message, so that was a first step in the right direction. My offer was recanted with a counter-offer of $550 (halfway between the posted price of ~$700 and my offer of $400). The counter-offer was accompanied with a nice note, and cordial reply. I sent a personal note to the dealer laying out the population facts, the details of why my offer was fair, etc. I received a very detailed email in reply, that was again cordial, factual, and extremely respectful. In summary, we agreed on a price acceptable to both of us, and well below any current price on eBay. THIS seller was a true gentleman and it was reassuring to me that, despite many money grubbing almost criminal sellers on eBay, there is hope and still integrity among some.
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  4. brg5658

    Final spot

    By brg5658,

    Last coin in my 21st Century Type Set
    I'll keep this short and sweet. A couple days ago, I got the last coin to finish my 21st Century Type Set. I hoped for a while that I would be able to fill the 2000-2003 Jefferson Nickel slot with an MS68FS example, but that is well out of my price range for the time being.
    I picked up a nice 2001-P MS67FS example. It's a little baggy on the high spots, but that seems to be par for the course for these years. I thought the detail and completely unbroken VERY sharp 6 steps more than made up for the few stray marks.
    I hope everyone is having a good weekend.
    Cheers!

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  5. brg5658
    250th addition!
    In early 2011 I started a thematic collection of coins, tokens, medals, and all things "numismatic" related to horses. The set reached the 250th item last week when I added a new British Medal -- nearly 4 years to the day of when I first created the set. The reverse of the medal is pictured below, and I will post pictures of both sides in the chat forum.
    This new addition is number 31 in the series of historical medals issued by James Mudie in 1820. In his reference (Mudie J. An Historical and Critical Account of a Grand Series of National Medals. London 1820, pp. 125-126) the medal is described as:
    OBVERSE: His Royal Highness the Duke of Cambridge
    REVERSE: Entry of the English into Hanover, which is here allegorized by Britannia giving succour to the Hanoverian Horses.
    ===========================================
    A bit more historical information from the Numismatic Chronicle (1888, Volume 8; pp. 262-263).
    This is one of Mudie's series of national medals. Adolphus Frederick, Duke of Cambridge, son of George III and Queen Charlotte, born 24 Feb., 1774, was in 1793 appointed colonel in the Hanoverian army. He served in the campaign of 1794-5, and in 1803 was appointed Colonel-in-Chief of the King's German legions, a force in British pay, and destined to relieve Hanover then menaced by the French armies. The Duke of Cambridge, however, soon transferred his command to Count Walmoden, and coming to England was charged with superintendence of a home district. In 1814, when the French were expelled from Hanover, the Duke again took command of the electorate, which under the Treaty of Vienna was elevated to the rank of a kingdom, the Duke being appointed Governor-General in 1816. He continued to discharge these important duties till the year 1837 when the death of William IV. placed Hanover under the rule of the next male heir, the Duke of Cumberland. The Duke afterwards took up his residence at Cambridge House, Piccadilly, where he died 8 July, 1850. He was very popular in this country, and for many years was regarded as emphatically the connecting link between the throne and the people.
    ===========================================
    PCGS SP65, 41mm (BHM-777, Eimer-1058, Mudie-31)

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  6. brg5658

    Gimmick?

    By brg5658,

    Never thought I'd like this one...but I was wrong.
    A little over a week ago, I ran across one of the First Spouse copper medals. This is the poor-man's version of the First Spouse gold coins the Mint has been releasing. Maybe it was the classic design, but I couldn't pass it up.
    Let's just say I wasn't expecting much. BUT, I was pleasantly surprised with what I got. I couldn't put this one down for a good 10 minutes today...really stunning. I'm not running out to snag all of these, but this one was worth every penny!!
    This is called "Van Buren's Liberty". It was graded MS68RD by PCGS. Sorry for the scuffed plastic.

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  7. brg5658

    Here we go again...

    By brg5658,

    Where's the beef?
    The year was 1984 when Wendy's released their famous marketing "Where's the Beef?" campaign. I'm using an analogy to this slogan in jest as "Where's the Beard?" on the recent Lincoln cents. This post is somewhat related to my previous post about the Mint reverting to the older version of John Flanagan's Washington bust on the 2010-present quarters. This was a welcome reversion for many, based on the feedback I received. Apparently many disliked the "spaghetti-haired" Washington bust circa 1995 and particularly starting in 1999 with the State Quarters.
    Most Lincoln "wheaties" from 1909-1958 don't have a lot of obverse bust hair and beard detail. There are particular years better than others, as with most coins, but the high-detail and strongly struck Lincoln Cents of this era are highly sought after and few and far between. Even after the update to the Lincoln Memorial reverse starting in 1959, the obverse detail was mushy at best through the mid-80s. I'm not a Lincoln buff, and the exact dates are not my point here.
    My point is this: A noticeable increase in details of the Lincoln bust was clear by the 1990s and stronger than ever by the time of the 2009 Bicentennial of Lincoln's Birth issues. Then, at least on my 2010 examples of the Lincoln Cent, we lose this detail. I guess they reverted the design on the Lincoln Cent starting in 2010 also? I put a red arrow to highlight a curl of hair on the 2010 design that is not present on the busts from 1995-2009, but it looks like it might be on the 1945-D coin?? I don't have any particularly sharp wheat-back strikes, so I can't be for sure. I am presenting the designs in black and white to emphasize the detail, not the color.
    The grades of the coins are:
    1945-D, MS67RD
    1995, MS68RD
    2006, MS69RD SMS
    2009, MS69RD SMS
    2010-D, MS68RD SMS

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  8. brg5658

    Horses abound...

    By brg5658,

    1548 1/2 Grosz
    I can't write a lot today, but I wanted to post a picture of the little beauty that came in the mail today. About 10 days ago I snagged a very old coin bearing a rider on horseback primarily because of its prominent feature of a horse (for my custom set). Little did I know it would have such historical significance and how beautiful it would be in hand!
    This coin was minted during the time of informal union of the empires of Poland and Lithuania. It was minted during the important transition year of 1548 -- Sigismund I the Old (Grand Duke of Lithuania and King of Poland) died in this year, and thereafter his only son Sigismund II Augustus took the throne.
    The obverse of the coin bears the Lithuanian coat of arms symbolism of a knight on horseback, known today as Vytis. This is a very old symbol traced back as far as the mid 1300s.
    Many of you will recognize the reverse heraldic eagle, a part of the original Piast Dynasty coat of arms dating to 992, and still today a part of the official coat of arms of Poland. The reverse bears the text [* SIGIS * AVG * REX * PO * MAG * DVX * LI] translated as "Sigismund Augustus, King of Poland, Grand Duke of Lithuania", attesting to its minting after the death of Sigismund I the Old.
    Happy collecting!

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  9. brg5658

    Horses Galore

    By brg5658,

    My new custom set...
    I've been browsing the custom sets for a while now. Some of them are amazingly impressive and unique. After some thought, I decided to start a custom set of my own. I don't have any particular personal connection to horses, other than I think they are beautiful beyond description as animals. I know there are a lot of coins featuring the horse prominently, and so I thought this would be a unique and very educational custom set to start.
    The set is still very small (only 9 coins so far), but the hunt for U.S. and world coins, medals, tokens, and proofs featuring the horse prominently is very exciting!
    I received in hand today a beautiful NGC AU55 graded Irish Half Crown from 1939. This coin is the first year issue to bear the text "EIRE" denoting the change or Ireland from the "Irish Free State" to the "The Republic of Ireland" in 1938. It is struck in 75% Silver and had an original mintage of 880,000 coins, many of which are thought to have since been melted down for their Silver content. The horse image is stunning and simple, and attests to the fame and iconic nature of the Irish Sport Horse as a competition level breed.
    The harp is the actual obverse of the coin; however, I present the coin side with the prominent horse image on the left for sake of the themed set.
    Cheers and happy collecting!

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  10. brg5658
    Maybe I should increase my meds? ;-)
    So I have been putting together a top set of SMS Sacagawea $1 for about the past 7-8 months. I added the 2010-D SMS $1 to my collection graded as MS69 back in December of 2010. This particular coin doesn't have a lot of choice to pick from when it comes to population - there are 28 graded by NGC as MS69 and only 4 from PCGS.
    When the coin came in the mail, I was impressed with it's beauty, as I'm a big fan of the 2010 reverse design, and the reverse of the coin was flawless. I did notice a few abrasions on the obverse, but more than anything, I was happy to have one of the few graded MS69 examples of the 2010-D. As I got more serious about completing the set of my SMS Sacagawea dollars, I also became increasingly picky. In particular, there was an abrasion across the brow of this coin that always bothered me...and another somewhat obvious abrasion on the cheek of the baby and on the wrap around the child. Two smaller abrasions are also present on the "B" of Liberty, and a very small nick just to the right and below the "Y" of Liberty.
    Long story short, I found where I could pick up another example of the coin for less than $100, so I got another of this coin. This one is absolutely flawless, on the obverse and reverse. I'm keeping the one with a few abrasions in my #5 MS/SMS Sacagawea set, but I have replaced the coin in my #1 SMS Set with the new example.
    Below you will see the one I got back in December. I have provided a "heat map" showing abrasions as a small picture. On the Coin Chat Boards, I will also upload the full size obverse of the new coin I got so you can see the difference!
    Maybe I'm being too picky? Hmmm...
    Happy collecting!

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  11. brg5658
    Been far too long since my last journal.
    I realize it has been months since my last journal post. Despite this, I still regularly read all of the journals here, and I have enjoyed seeing everyone's collections grow. I can't believe it's May already...where the first 4 months of this year went I'm not sure.
    For this post I just wanted to share a little good news. When I first started my thematic horses set last year (on April 1, 2011 I believe), one of the first things I did was go through my 1901-2000 Krause Standard Catalog of World Coins. I sat down with post-it arrows and flipped through the almost 1500 pages marking coins that featured horses. There are a lot...I don't dare count them...
    Immediately I started on the journey of adding coins to my watch list of auctions, picking up some of the easier to find pieces right away, and learning the virtue of patience for many others.
    Well, one piece that alluded me for several months was the 1 Drachma Greek coin minted for only two years in 1910 and 1911. I knew the 1910 was the piece that I would likely target, as the 1911 is significantly more expensive and scarce. Despite the 1910 coin being minted in a quantity of more than 4.5 million coins, I was dumbfounded at how hard it is/was to find a piece grade AU or better. Finally, back on the 23rd of April I was the high bidder on an NGC graded AU55 example for less than $100. This was quite a feat considering an MS62 examples goes for around $300 at the low end, and often nice AU coins can have better eye appeal than lower MS coins anyway. It arrived from Greece today (I always find it cool to get a coin in the mail from abroad!) Though the sellers pics were not stellar, it was clear that the coin had nice luster and toning -- and, in hand it did not disappoint.
    Below is the newest member of my herd. The slab is scuffed worse than any other coin I have ever owned, so even after a good 10 minutes of buffing and polishing, a few of the marks are still visible. The obverse features the bust of King George I of Greece who reigned from 1863 to 1913. The reverse features what is described as a "Mythological figure Thetis with shield of Achilles, seated on sea horse". Both the obverse and the reverse have a bit of a gold tone/patina, with just a blush of orange toning above the sea horse on the reverse.
    I hope all are well, and Happy Collecting!
    -Brandon

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  12. brg5658

    My first NGC submission

    By brg5658,

    A good experience
    For my first 14 months on the NGC Collectors Society webpage I had only the free membership. After those first few months, I decided that having a paid membership was worth the information available in the census reports. When it came time to renew that basic membership, I went one step further and decided I would get the premium membership so that I could submit my first 5 coins for grading to NGC. That certificate was set to expire on 1/13/2013, so I had to get my act together and get that submission made.
    I have a fairly large group of raw horse-related coins, and so I decided to send in a selection of 5 coins from among those. Nothing high dollar here -- just some coins that I'd like to add to my horse custom set. I thought for a while, and in the end I sent 5 coins, but only 3 different types (I sent a single of one design, and a pair of two other designs). The turn-around from my door round-trip back to my door was 20 days. In particular, the dates were:
    1/2/2013: Sent via Registered Mail to NGC
    1/7/2013: Received by NGC
    1/8/2013: Scheduled for grading
    1/15/2013: Graded and passed quality control
    1/15/2013: Finalized/Imaged/Shipped from NGC to me
    1/22/2013: Received the coins back from NGC
    Overall it was a good learning experience, and I'm happy with the results of this undertaking. I'm posting below my favorite coin of the bunch, and I'll post images of all 5 of the coins (with grades) on the Chat Boards.
    I am hoping this year to submit a dozen or so coins in addition to my 5 coins for my premium membership certificate. Now that I've experienced the process and realize how painless it is, let the fun begin!!
    All the best, and I hope everyone is enjoying their 2013 so far!
    -Brandon

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  13. brg5658

    My first OGH

    By brg5658,

    It lives up to the grade
    I have read several posts on here about the Old Green Holders from PCGS (often abbreviated as OGH). I didn't have any of these in my collection until today. I found a nice example of the Stone Mountain Memorial 1925 Half Dollar about a week ago. I've been watching several of these sell in auctions, and have seen a few with even unsightly "toning" still bring a pretty nice price.
    According to Krause, this commemorative has a total mintage of 1,314,709 and it is readily available in grades MS60 to MS65. The obverse of the coin features Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson on horseback, while the reverse features a very nice image of an eagle on a rock. While not particularly scarce, this is a nice addition to my horse themed set, and is also my first OGH in my collection. Below you will see the obverse (featured largely), reverse (smaller), and the OGH label.
    Cheers!
    -Brandon

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  14. brg5658

    My first post

    By brg5658,

    Buried in snow, so why not scribble a few thoughts...
    I have been a regular reader of the journals for quite a few months now, so I thought I'd try my hand at a brief post and share a picture.
    To kick off the start of 2011, I decided to start putting together a non-proof, non-gold 20th Century Type Set. I have no intent on the set being more competitive than possibly top 20, as it is well out of my budget to compete with the sets containing MS67FH quarters and strictly top-pop coins! Moreso, I just wanted to be able to enjoy the beauty of one example of every major 20th Century strike.
    At the same time, I've been trying to improve the images of my collection. I took the advice of lehigh96 (who has some of the most beautiful toned coins around -- and in my opinion some of the best registry photography as well) and I got a copy of Mark Goodman's "Numismatic Photography, 2nd Edition". This book is great, and it covers the gamut of coin photography issues.
    Below is one of my 20th Century Type Set additions. As a purist, some might say that including a DDO coin among your type set is bad taste, but this coin is a real beauty.

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  15. brg5658

    Mystery solved...

    By brg5658,

    But I still don't know WHY they did it!
    So I did a bit more digging after yesterdays post. What I initially surmised is true. The sharp, detailed, and slightly modified obverse of the State and Territory quarters of 1999-2009 has been forgone in the 2010 America The Beautiful quarters.
    The original bust design of the Washington Quarter Dollar first minted in 1932 was the work of John Flanagan. This classic and extremely recognizable design was a mainstay from 1932-1998 (save the slightly noticeable double-dated 1776-1976 bicentennial release).
    In 1999, many of the design elements were moved around, bringing the "UNITED STATED OF AMERICA" and "QUARTER DOLLAR" text to the obverse to make room for the State/Territory designs of the reverse. The text "LIBERTY" was moved to the left of the Washington bust, and the motto "IN GOD WE TRUST" was moved to the right just above the mintmark. Pretty significantly, the date was move to the reverse. ALSO in 1999 the bust of Washington was modified to be smaller and more detailed. This modified obverse is attributed to William Cousins.
    Beginning in 2010 with the introduction of the America The Beautiful quarters, the mint decided to return to the older, less detailed, and "softer" version of the Washington bust. Though, to my eye it still seems a bit smaller than the pre-1999 original Flanagan bust.
    Coins minted from 1932-1998 and from 2010-present bear the designer initials of only John Flanagan (JF). From 1999-2009, the neckline of the bust also included the initials of William Cousins (WC).
    BUT, the question still stands....
    WHY would the mint revert to this muttled, worn looking bust?
    Just some food for thought...
    Happy collecting!

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  16. brg5658

    New addition

    By brg5658,

    Beautiful 1828 horse
    This post will be quick and short. The past week I have acquired a couple new coins to add to my horse-themed topical set. The one that I have been waiting for most to arrive in hand came today. It was everything I thought it would be, and I'm happy to add it to my set.
    The coin is an 1828 16 Gute Groschen, a part of the German States issues for Hannover. It has exceptional luster, some reverse toning, and great eye appeal. I just love the detail in the mane and tail of the horse, and it is the third coin in my set with a rendition of the Saxon Steed. Some form of this design has been used on the coinage of the Saxon States of Germany as far back as the 1600s. Below is a zoomed in view of the horse image, and as always I'll post a large compilation photo on the Chat Boards.
    I hope everyone has a great weekend.
    Cheers!

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  17. brg5658
    A more difficult "horse" type coin...
    In the past week I was able to pick up an example of an Italian type coin that has been on my radar for quite some time. It is admittedly "crusty", but the design is simply stunning -- as I can say for many an Italian coin.
    This is a wonderful type coin minted in Italy from 1926-1934. However, for collectors, it was effectively minted from 1926-1930, as the 1931-1934 pieces are exceedingly rare with a mintage of only 50 pieces from each year. The 1928 mintage was relatively high (6.8 million coins), but regardless of the year, this is a particularly difficult coin to find in collectable grades of AU and higher, and gem mint state examples are few and far between. This particular example exhibits a nice "crusty" original look, and I was very happy to find it as an affordable example of the type in my horse themed set.
    To complicate matters, for the years 1927-1929, this coin design comes in two varieties. One has the edge lettering * FERT * (one star separation; referred to as KM# 68.1) while the other has the edge lettering * * FERT * * (two stars separation; referred to as KM# 68.2). While this difference is subtle, the pricing is quite different, particularly for the 1928 coin. According to Krause, the 68.1 version (which is the one I have) is books at around $300 in AU, whereas the scarcer 68.2 version of the coin books at around $1400.
    The obverse of the coin features the bust of Vittorio Emanuele III, King of Italy from 1909-1946. The reverse features a woman riding in a biga (a chariot drawn by two horses used in ancient Rome for sporting events, transportation, and ceremonial occasions). This two horse chariot is the analogy to the larger and quite possibly more well known quadriga, which is drawn by 4 horses instead of 2. A quadriga design is also featured on Italian 1 Lire and 2 Lire coins of this period, and I have a 1916-R 2 Lire graded MS62 holding that spot in my set.
    As always, I will post larger images on the chat boards thread. I hope everyone is having a good summer and avoiding the horrendous heat that has been sweeping across our nation.
    Be well, and happy collecting!

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  18. brg5658

    Number 1!

    By brg5658,

    For now...likely not for long...
    I upgraded my State Quarter example from an MS68 Iowa quarter to a 2002-P Louisiana quarter, graded MS69 by PCGS. The state quarters prior to the SMS/Satin releases (which started in 2005) are hard to find in MS69, so I thought this was a good purchase. It's not my favorite design of the series, but it's also not my least favorite. It's what I can afford to have as an almost perfect example in my 21st Century Type Set. It's a happy side effect, at least at the time this journal is being posted, that this beautiful coin also puts me at Number 1 for the non-proof 21st Century Type Set.
    I will not be able to post on here for the next week or so, and I'm rushing around, so this will have to be long enough.
    Cheers, and happy collecting!

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  19. brg5658

    Oldest one yet

    By brg5658,

    1760 years old horse coin
    I have been looking at the ancient coins for a while, trying to find one with a strong strike and with enough history to merit a position in my horse-themed set. There are several ancient coins from Greece featuring the winged horse, but most of these Pegasus coins are well out of my budget. Some of the very old "quadrigus" Roman coins feature a chariot being drawn by 4 horses (thus the QUAD part of the name), but again these are often priced for several hundred dollars for a reasonably struck example.
    I did a lot of browsing of ancient coins, mostly Roman, just by using Google and clicking from page to page. There were a few that caught my attention, and I did a little more research on them to find some history and context. One of the Roman coins that featured a prominent horse image is that struck during the reign of the 34th Roman Emperor, Decius (reigned from 249-251 AD). Examples of this coin are generally well struck, feature an obverse with a very classic looking emperor bust, and display the Emperor on horse-back on the reverse.
    Below is the example I recently added to my collection. It is graded NGC Choice Extra Fine, with 4/5 Surface and 4/5 Strike components. The obverse bust is sharp, and the horse and rider is well centered and quite detailed. Not bad for a coin that's been around more than 1750 years.
    Also, if you haven't taken a look at my horse-themed set for a while, I have been working on composing all of the photos in a consistent style. They all feature the horse side of the coin prominently, the non-horse side in 1/2 the size of the horse side, and a coin description or photo of the label of the holder. In the 2nd photo slot I have made photo compilations related to the subject matter of the coin itself. This has been a fun task to pass the time, as I've had to cut back on purchases so my coin budget can recover from the July Heritage auction.
    Happy collecting!
    http://coins.www.collectors-society.com/WCM/CoinCustomSetView.aspx?s=5705

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  20. brg5658

    One of a kind

    By brg5658,

    At least, for now...
    A couple weeks ago I snagged another beautiful world coin featuring an absolutely stunning horse image. The coin commemorates the 2000th anniversary of the death of Virgil (the historic Roman poet, best known for his Aeneid).
    The coin was minted in 1981 by the Republic of San Marino, an independent country with a very interesting history. With a land area of about 24 square miles, and a population of around 30,000 inhabitants, San Marino mints coins primarily for collectors. Because San Marino is completely surrounded by the country of Italy, it has historically used the same currency and both countries recognize the currency of the other. At the time this coin was minted, the Lira was still used in the area, and thus this coin has a face value of 1000 Lire. It is minted in 83.5% silver, and is about the size of the U.S. Half Dollar. I don't have my Krause handy, so I can't quote a mintage number, but in general, the coins of San Marino are minted in relatively small numbers compared to most modern coins.
    This particular coin is the ONLY of its type graded by PCGS or NGC. It is graded a spectacular MS67, and as you can see it is absolutely stunning. I will post a large and sharper version of the image on the Chat Boards.
    Have a good weekend every one! Happy collecting!
    -Brandon

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  21. brg5658
    A new horse coin and presentation style...thoughts?
    Hello everyone,
    I picked up a very nice new coin for my horse-themed custom set. It is an example of the Austrian 5 shilling proof coin, with very nice cameo effect on both the obverse and the reverse.
    While browsing a registry set, I also ran across a style of picture composition that I found attractive, but I'm not sure how I feel about it yet. It's a beautiful presentation style, but I can't decide if it takes away from the focus on the coin. Again, this isn't my creativity; I have merely duplicated the style of another's photos to the best of my ability.
    Any feedback for the "nay" or "yay" would be appreciated!
    Happy collecting,
    Brandon

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  22. brg5658

    Pop 1

    By brg5658,

    An almost perfect quarter
    In addition to the MS69 business strike Sacagawea $1 that I wrote about recently, I also added an MS69 business strike National Parks Quarter to my 21st Century Type Set. As of now, it is one of only two MS69 business strike quarters graded by either NGC or PCGS in the National Parks Quarter series (2010-present). Gilbie's 2011-P Olympic Quarter is the only other.
    The coin features the Chickasaw National Recreation Area in central Oklahoma. The obverse is the classic John Flanagan bust of Washington, while the reverse portrays a bridge and forest of superb detail offset by satiny fields and a flock of 6 birds. The design is encircled by descriptive text, as is the style of all of the National Parks Quarter reverses.
    You can see the full size photographs in my 21st Century Type Set. Below is a cropped compilation photo.
    Happy collecting, and enjoy your weekend everyone!

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  23. brg5658
    Tag, you're it!
    After playing a game of cat-and-mouse with the postman for the past 3 days, I finally received my Buffalo Nickel. As many of you know, Teletrade purchases are delivered with signature confirmation. While I really appreciate this peace of mind, sometimes it is difficult to get your items.
    Where I live, most people work from 730 to 530, or some similar work schedule. The post office is opened from 830 to 530. So the game goes: (1) the postman drops off a slip saying my package has arrived but requires a signature; (2) I rush to the post-office and hope to make it there before 530 on that day, but usually fail; (3) I return that little devilish card *signed* to my mailbox; (4) Day 2: the mailman/woman picks up the card from my mail box; (5) Day 3: finally receive your package.
    This isn't particularly painful, but it's just a little song-and-dance you get used to. BUT, the fruits of your labor are what really count.
    Below is my most recent "pas-de-deux" postal acquisition:

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  24. brg5658
    Where did they go?
    I am trying to view my custom sets (including my horse set) and they are not showing up tonight. Even from collection manager, when I click on the set, it shows that there are no coins in it!!! Can this really be? I hope this is just a fluke...I have spent hundreds of hours on putting that set together and organizing it.
    In a bit of a panic...

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  25. brg5658

    Quick post...

    By brg5658,

    New horse coin
    I finally had a chance today to catch up on photographing some of the raw coins I've been purchasing. For now, I'm only going to post one that was strikingly beautiful and will hopefully eventually make it to NGC for grading and become a part of my official custom set of horse themed coins.
    The coin is a 1979 100 dirham piece from Libya. The Libyan Dirham is equal to 1/1000 of the Libyan Dinar (the main unit of currency in Libya). So, this is basically equivalent to the "dime" of the main currency unit in Libya. It's a large coin (about the diameter of the U.S. half dollar). I particularly love the intricate scroll work on the reverse, and the detail of the rider and horse. Enjoy!
    Happy collecting!

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