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brg5658

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Journal Entries posted by brg5658

  1. brg5658

    A beautiful lady

    By brg5658,

    Great mail day!
    So the "bargain" that I hinted at last week came in the mail today. I upgraded my 2009-D Satin Finish Native American Dollar! Yes, I know this is a modern coin, but this baby is hard to find. Between NGC and PCGS, there have been 1,162 of these coins graded. A mere 35 have been graded SP69, with none finer. There have been none available on Teletrade, and there are currently no others available on eBay.
    From about the same number of 2009-P Satin examples graded (1,261 between NGC and PCGS) a total of 74 have made the SP69 grade, with none finer. The P-mint coin *IS* available on eBay, but at *CRIMINAL* prices -- the lowest price currently is $633.
    While not impossibly rare, for the time being this coin is hard to find and I am happy to add an example in this stellar grade to my set for a non-criminal price of less than $60!!!
    Happy Monday to all!

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  2. 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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  3. 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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  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

    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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  6. 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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  7. brg5658
    Why did they go back to the less detailed Washington bust for the 2010 release?
    When I received my 2010 type coin for the new "America The Beautiful National Parks" series I noticed right away a very striking (no pun intended) difference in the obverse detail quality. Firstly, almost all of the hair detail was rounded, dull, and looked worn. Secondly, upon further inspection, I noticed the obverse bust is all-together different from the 1999-2009 States & Territories issues as is clear from the initials of the designer on the neckline (see the red ovals in the picture below).
    I'm not a Washington Quarter buff, so I'm sure this isn't a revelation. I did search some of the coin blogs, and couldn't find a clear reason why this retro-design was reintroduced. Compared with the sharp, beautiful, detailed issues of 1999-2009 (see below) this 2010 change is upsetting in terms of quality. Even the old reworked bust of the mid-90s prior to the State Quarters series was very sharp and beautiful.
    Can any of you Washington Quarter buffs out there explain the reasoning/thought process here?? Just curious...
    Happy collecting!

  8. brg5658

    A nice snag...

    By brg5658,

    One of my favorites
    As many of you may have read last week, I'm not the biggest fan of the 50 States/Territories/America The Beautiful (ATB) series of Quarter designs. I am grateful for their effect on the hobby, but I think the series has run its course, and the next few years of ATB quarters will really drag on.
    However, there are a few beauties among the banal. I can easily pick out 5 designs that I find beautiful and these always catch my eye as truly stunning. In no particular order, but definitely my top 5 are:
    1. Connecticut (1999)
    2. Oklahoma (2008)
    3. Hawaii (2008)
    4. Delaware (1999)
    5. Nevada (2006)
    There are a couple more that are also pleasing to MY eye, namely Vermont (2001) and Alaska (2008). THEN, there are a lot that fall in the middle for me. Some of the worst are those that are simply outlines of their respective state borders with some arcane or wishful association. Yes, I know the Hawaii quarter has the islands shown, but in a stylistic, non-cluttered, classical and artful manner. What can I say, I'm a sucker for nature and for classic/artful design.
    Some of the worst designs (again, in my opinion) are:
    46. Ohio
    47. Indiana
    48. Florida
    49. Michigan
    50. TEXAS
    Four of these bottom 5 are for the most part just the outline of the state. Boring to say the least. Texas is a strong 50th place for me...no hard feelings toward the people, just the quarter.
    BUT, on to my point now. I am happy to add to my collection an example of one of my favorite State Quarters. I snagged an example of a 2008-D Hawaii Satin Finish quarter graded SP69 (one of only 28 in this condition -- 27 from PCGS, 1 from NGC). This is the finale to the 50 State Quarters set, celebrating the addition of Hawaii to the union in 1959.
    Cheers and happy collecting!

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  9. 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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  10. 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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  11. brg5658

    Saturday surprise

    By brg5658,

    Common but beautiful!
    I got my Morgan for my 20th Century Type Set today! I know the 1904-O is a relatively common date in high grade, but I am extremely happy with my new beauty.
    Cheers!

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  12. brg5658
    The 6th time is a charm.
    About a month ago I bought a little point and shoot camera with macro photography capabilities (a macro setting). More importantly, I purchased a fairly nice copy stand that's about 18" x 24" and has a telescoping camera mount that can shoot from distances of about 10" through 24". The camera and the copy stand cost me about $200 combined. The camera is a 12 Megapixel super compact little thing...I can't believe how tiny these things keep getting. I found it on sale at Best Buy for $130. The copy stand was an eBay purchase for $58 and free shipping. I purchased some very economical flex-neck LED lights from IKEA (great little guys for only $9.99 each), and I have a couple normal flex-neck desk lamps that you can get almost at any department store.
    I have to give a lot of credit for these purchases to Lehigh96 (a fellow NGC journal regular) and subsequently to Mark Goodman's great book called "Numismatic Photography, 2nd Ed.". I won't repeat too much here, because there are lots of threads on several coin sites that detail basics of coin photography.
    I will note also that I am an amateur photographer, and I shoot weddings, senior photos, and portrait sessions for a professional photographer friend when she needs a 2nd shooter. SO, I do have a Canon 50D camera, and a bag full of pricey lenses. BUT, given what you can do with these little point-and-shoot cameras and a good copy stand, I have avoided that route. The main problem with big professional cameras is that the big clunky lenses get in the way of the lighting. Lighting the coin is really the key for taking a detailed and beautiful picture.
    So now, an example of one of my obsessive undertakings. About a month ago I picked up a nice 1912 MS64 Liberty Nickel for my 20th Century Type Set. The coin has some unique toning, streaking, and an overall golden hue. I wanted the picture I took to be true to what the coin looks like in hand. So, on 6 different occasions, I have set up my lighting, photographed the coin, edited and cropped the coin in Photoshop, and updated my NGC coin photos. Yes, I am obsessive. BUT, you can see below how different lighting (direct vs. diffuse; LED vs. Incandescent) really changes the look of the coin.
    *******************************
    Photos 1-6 progress chronologically through my changes.
    Photo 1 is really disgusting. It was one of the first pictures I took, and it has terrible red-shift, is out of focus, and the lighting is quite bad. I am not proud of this one.
    I actually like photo 2 quite a bit but the shadows are harsh around the devices.
    Photos 3 and 4 are my experiments with diffuse lighting. While maintaining nice detail, you really loose the hint of luster and the beautiful golden tone present on the entire coin.
    Photo 5 lasted the longest in the set so far (I left it alone for 3 weeks) and it is a combination of diffuse lighting and direct lighting. I was still not happy with the loss of the beautiful golden toning.
    Photo 6 really is what the coin looks like in hand. I have figured out how to dampen the red-shift problems, and the gold hue and orange toning is an accurate reflection of the coin.
    *******************************
    I hope everyone has a great weekend! Until next time, happy collecting!
    Cheers...
    http://coins.www.collectors-society.com/registry/coins/CoinDetail.aspx?PeopleCoinID=719181

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  13. brg5658
    Even nicer than I thought!
    I've been looking for a nice example of the Type 1 1913 Nickel for a couple months. I passed up several on Teletrade because they were either out of my price range or I just didn't like the way they looked (I wanted a full-struck date, especially the leading "1"). I found one last week well within my price range, and still graded at PCGS MS65. Upon requesting some clearer and close-up pictures, I decided to pull the trigger. It came today, and it's beautiful by all measures. I added a picture below.
    On a different note, I got a great deal on a very scarce modern coin last night. I'm going to keep the details hush until I have it in hand, but I wanted to express a bit of my excitement here. Let's hope it isn't too good to be true, but it did ship today! Should be here next week! It will be a nice addition to one of my more competitive sets.
    I love this hobby!
    Happy collecting all!

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  14. 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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  15. brg5658

    Bicentennial coinage

    By brg5658,

    Loving my new 1976-D MS67 Clad Quarter
    There has always been something about the bicentennial quarters that caught my eye. As a kid, I would always pull them from circulation because they looked different. I probably had $40 worth of 1776-1976 quarters separated out in a Tupperware container by the time I graduated from high school. I just thought they were "cool" and they must be inherently more rare than all of the eagle-reverse quarters out there.
    As I've gotten older, these quarters are still "different" for me. Firstly, 1976 is the year my parents were married. Thus, that year has some significance for me beyond that of being the bicentennial year. Secondly, I came to notice that there were no 1975 quarters floating around in circulation when I was a kid. For those of us who are collectors, this is well known. But, I'd dare say that if you asked an unsuspecting passerby to check their change for 1975 Quarters because they might be worth $3 (or some other rather menial amount), you would see almost everyone pouring over their change to search. As we know, there are no Quarters dated 1975. Why? Well, because the mint dated all quarters minted in 1975 as "1776-1976".
    In closing, I am very happy to add to my collection a 1776-1976 bicentennial clad quarter minted in Denver and graded MS67 by NGC. I didn't recognize the somewhat rare nature of the purchase, but the NGC population is only 93, with only 1 graded higher at MS68. That paired with the fact that I found one for 40% of Numismedia FMV made for a great purchase. Below is a picture of the beauty!
    Cheers, and happy collecting!

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  16. brg5658

    Snow day...

    By brg5658,

    Two beautiful satins came today!
    This will be a short but sweet journal. I wasn't sure if the mail was ever going to come today, but the postman finally showed up at 5:45pm. I got two new MS69 satin finish beauties for my 21st Century Type Set. Hope everyone is having a good weekend.
    The obverse pics are below. The larger pictures and the reverses are posted in my 21st Century Type Set.
    Cheers!

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  17. brg5658
    Highway robbery or really a modern rarity?
    After much patience, I finally got my hands on a 2009-D Business Strike Sacagawea (Native American) Dollar graded MS67. Surprisingly, this modern issue is hard to find in this grade and particularly from the Denver mint.
    The last one to sell on Teletrade went for $130 back in September 2010 (after the buyer?s fee, $150). There have been two recently posted for auction on Teletrade, but they are opening at $150, and they have cycled through at least 3 auctions now (presumably because they are not selling for as much as desired). On eBay, the lowest price for the past 3-4 months has been $140, with the next closest price being several posted at $169.95 and higher. I wanted to click the ?Buy it Now? button several times over the past few months, but I held off?it just felt like highway robbery to me.
    Now, when reviewing population counts, it is almost guaranteed that all examples coming up for sale will be PCGS, not NGC. The reason for this being that there are only 8 coins graded MS67 from NGC for the 2009-D Business Strike. From PCGS, there are 108 position B coins, and 125 position A coins, making for a total of 233 coins from PCGS, and 241 from both main TPGs. There are ZERO coins graded higher from either TPG. And, yes, I understand that this doesn?t mean that none *exist*, only that none have been submitted for grading. Indeed, there were around 34 million Native American dollars minted in Denver for 2009, so I?m having a hard time believing that a few didn?t survive in MS68, and surely the MS67 survival population is appreciably larger than the TPG population counts suggest.
    So?.I finally arrive at the punch line. The example I had been eyeing on eBay for about 3 months finally came down from $140 to $90 plus free shipping. I can?t surmise the reasons why, but somehow it ended up among the $50-off sale items (stagnant inventory?). While I still didn?t feel like I was getting a bargain, I had dealt with this particular seller before and the service and quality were really stellar. So, I?m now the happy owner of one of the 241 thus far graded MS67 2009-D Sacagawea Business Strike Dollars. It does happen to be the ?Position B? version of the dollar (PCGS population 108/0), though I still think this A/B differentiation is a ?money-maker? for PCGS, and not a truly meaningful distinction. I guess only time will tell how truly scarce this business strike modern coin is.
    I am now only the 2010-D Business Strike coin away from having a complete set (2000-2010) in MS67 or better. The 2010-D is even harder yet with only 30 total coins graded between PCGS (22/0) and NGC (8/0) and with the lowest current price on eBay of $795!!! Absolutely insane and bordering on criminal?in my opinion.
    Cheers, and happy collecting!