coinsandmedals

This is a neat idea and a great tribute to your wife! I am excited to see where this journey takes you!

With submission turnaround times increasing by the day, it is often easy to focus on the bad while taking the good for granted. That said, I would like to share a recent positive experience with NGC customer service. I submitted a proof 1775 Irish Halfpenny in February of last year, but I did not find the time to inspect the coins until early last month. I know it is ridiculous that it took me that long to enjoy my coins, but I have very little time to kill. Now that things are starting to slow down with the end of the semester approaching, I have a few minutes to spare! On any note, the coin came back XF DETAILS as expected (edge damage); however, the original label omitted an important word (i.e., PROOF). Although it can often be complicated to distinguish between circulated proofs and business strike examples, this is an easy attribution to make in this case. As I explained in my email to NGC, the coin in question was struck on a thick flan with medal orientation (i.e., the essential characteristics only found on a specific proof variety). I also pointed out that the coin is perfectly round and that the denticles are contained within the rims. For those unfamiliar with this series, these are hallmarks that the coin was struck in a collar. According to Dyer and Gaspar (1980), striking coins in a collar was a practice used almost exclusively for proof strikes. It is likely safe to assume that this information is common knowledge for the world coin graders, so it seemed reasonable to conclude that the partially inaccurate label was nothing more than a clerical error. I wrote all this out in an email sent well after business hours. I received NGC’s initial response early the next morning requesting images of the obverse, reverse, and label. I obliged, and within a couple of hours, I received an email from NGC with a prepaid UPS next day shipping label. I dropped the coin in the mail later that day, and it arrived at NGC the following morning. From here, things moved quickly. NGC logged it into the system on October 13th, and I had it back in hand by the 29th. Not only did NGC place the coin in a fresh holder and correct the label to include the proof designation, but they also added the extra information to denote it as the variety struck on a thick flan and in medal alignment. They corrected the error free of charge, which I assume cost more than the initial grading charges. This is not the first time that NGC went out their way to help a small-time collector such as myself, and I think that speaks volumes about NGC's character. So what positive NGC customer service experiences do you have to share?

Congratulations on your most recent purchase! I always enjoy reading your journals as we collect things from roughly the same era. Our somewhat aligned interests afford me the opportunity to learn something new that compliments the history of the items I collect which I likely would have missed during my normal pursuits.

Congratulations, top 10 is rather impressive!

You and I both! Our cat spends an extreme amount of time sleeping. Our dog is the exact opposite. He gets frequent bursts of energy and takes a few laps around the house. It is entertaining to watch the look of utter disgust on the cat's face when this happens. I imagine that is a challenging yet rewarding field of study. It has been almost a decade since my last chemistry class, so I am afraid that I am likely unable to hold a serious conversation on the topic. On any note, I wish you the best of luck with your research!

I am glad you got it, Mike. I have made an effort to avoid checking my email over the break, so if you replied, please know that I have not read it yet. On any note, I hope the article proves to be helpful. Please let us know what you discover. Your note about the lack of examples with an inverted A on the obverse is interesting. I imagine they reused the dies from the English coinage when possible. I am not familiar enough with the Victorian coinage to know if there is a variety of the 1839 farthing with an inverted A or V in the obverse legend. I will check my copy of Peck once we get back home tomorrow.

Indeed, a short break can go a long way. Sadly, this week has come and gone entirely too quickly!

I agree, it is vital to focus at times, but I’ve stayed well ahead of the curve for my department despite my other activities. If nothing else, maybe I can utilize my time management skills to secure tenure once I get my career going. It appears your feline colleague is sleeping on the job! I’ve yet to experience the process from the other perspective, but I imagine it is quite the undertaking to review multiple dissertations. If you don’t mind me asking, what is your area of expertise?

It takes a lot of time to properly develop a course and even more time to manage it once started. For that reason alone, it is not surprising that so many do not enjoy it. I’m somewhat of an odd duck in my department as I find research and teaching equally enjoyable. For me, both present learning opportunities that set the stage to pursue a stronger science.

Hey Mike! I just sent you an email with a PDF of an article attached that might be useful. It has been a while since I read it, so I am not sure if provides any information on the 1839 coinage. EDIT: There are numerous varieties of English copper that display inverted V's as A's. Have you tried running a broad google search to see if this is documented specifically for IoM coinage?

Wow, the new set cover images are great! I especially like the classic look of the 10 Gulden set. After seeing your new journal banner, I decided to follow suit and try my hand at it. I usually have fun making these types of things, but jeesh, they take way more time than you would think.

So it seems, but if there were, it would be most fitting! Thanks for a good laugh!

As some of you may know, I am a Ph.D. student. Graduate school often entails a mind-numbing amount of work on very short deadlines, which continue to escalate as you get closer to finishing your degree. Earlier this month, I defended my dissertation prospectus without changing my experimental design, which gave me the green light to start data collection. After finishing all the paperwork, I started collecting data the same day. So far, it is going way faster than I anticipated, and I am already well over halfway done. Of course, this is only part of the fun, as I still have plenty of work to do before I can defend my dissertation and earn my doctorate. With my dissertation in full swing, I started seriously pursuing the job market, which has consumed what I consider an unhealthy amount of my time. For those of you unfamiliar, finding a job in academia requires what seems like an endless stream of documents. All of which need to be carefully tailored to each job as the requirements can vary wildly. With that in mind, I have spent countless hours writing cover letters, research statements, teaching philosophy statements, diversity statements, and tweaking my CV to highlight the skills the position requires. On top of those efforts, I also teach over 230 students across two upper-level courses at my university. It takes far more tie and energy than you would think to lecture, respond to student emails, and grade assignments. Luckily, I have two graduate teaching assistants who help with the grading, but it is still a lot to manage. I am also organizing a research conference for my department and actively serving on several committees while working on a handful of publications and managing a small team of undergraduate research assistants. Typing it all out makes me wonder how I find time for it all, but I suppose when you have no other choice, you figure it out. It is a lot of work, but I am thankful for where I am in life and even more so for my amazing wife. Throughout all of this, she has been extremely supportive. My home life is the only escape that I have from the craziness of grad school. I made a deal with her and myself that if I finished enough work, I would take the entire week off during the break, and now I am enjoying the rewards of that labor. That said, please forgive my recent posting spree, as I am simply taking full advantage of the opportunity! It seems weird not to post one, so please enjoy the pictures of my pets lounging out. They are my relaxation inspirations. I hope everyone has a safe and restful holiday season!

If that's the case, I may fit in just fine! By the way, your comment almost made me choke on my tea.

I am not sure that I would have anything to contribute as I know nothing about paper money, but I certainly would learn a thing or two!

If only I had an unlimited budget to match my aspirations!

@MohawkPerhaps that would give me the push to broaden my horizons and explore the other chat boards. Now that I think of it, I have often looked into buying an example of the Boulton and Watt £50 note, so maybe I should stay away from the PMG boards for the sake of my budget.

@MohawkI know this to be a true statement when it comes to this hobby! I would have never predicted my current obsession with the Soho Mint when I was still big into EAC.

That all seems more than reasonable to me! I am sure you will have a blast learning while you restart that collection. I hope you share your journey with us!

Well, if you and Mike are providing a reference, they must be pretty good. I will give them a shot if I ever find myself looking for modern coins. Thanks for the username!

Uh-oh, has @Revenant been a bad influence? There are some beautiful notes out here, but I have always resisted the temptation. With your permission, I will explore that area vicariously through you. All is well on our end. The holiday is giving us a nice break from the hustle and bustle of school/work. This month has been insanely busy, but I plan to vent about that in a journal tomorrow!

Interesting, it appears you found a good dealer that happens to be in Ukraine. They sound like a good source to keep a close eye on.

Wow, it seems like that kind of developed rather quickly! How was your experience purchasing from Ukraine? I've purchased from and sold to people in more countries than I care to admit, but Ukraine never made the list.

Hi Tom, I hope all is well with you and yours! So far, the submissions have been successful, but I still have a few left to go. Three of the remaining invoices contain the bulk of the medals for the new set. Once I have them back, I think I can get that set together quickly. I already have about half of the write-ups done, so I should have plenty of time to prepare for the registry awards next year. What's new with you, my friend?

I have the luxury of time when making my grade estimates, which usually allows me to be within a point of the assigned grade. I imagine my margin of error would be drastically different if I asked to keep pace with the professionals. Luckily, NGC is working with me on shipping charges, as they should have returned as one group.