Coinbuf

I am under the understanding that the points are correlated to the price, someone please correct me if that is not so.  But is so then there must have been a recent or perhaps a long downward price movement that was not caught and corrected in one mass reduction.

Congrats on finishing the set. 

Very cool, with our busy lives its easy to forget that often the smallest of things can bring great joy

Very cool, I don't remember when I first signed up as a paid member to submit coins but as I recall I received an ASE, think I still have that somewhere.

It is somewhat sad that NGC took out the ability to use PCGS coins in the registry, I think there was a better option that was not explored but certainly not the end of the world as some have expressed.  Both firms do a fine job and the differences between the two are much smaller than many plastic collectors would have you believe.  Imo NGC is more strict on surface marks and less in love with luster, while PCGS is absolutely in love with luster to the point in many cases that strong luster overrides some surface marks and/or soft strike.   I personally think that the move by both firms to market grading was a poor decision and one that has been an overall negative for the hobby going forward.  I would like it if both firms would just give me a grade that is biased on the coins strike, condition, and surfaces instead of what the graders think of a coins color or look, leave that to be decided by the buyer/seller.  One thing for sure I'm not one of those collectors that has blinders on and can only look at coins in a particular brand of plastic, I tend to think of that mentality as an investor not a collector.

Registry sets can be fun however like most things in life balance and proportion are very important.  I have several registry sets but only two (maybe three) have ever won awards and that's perfectly ok with me.  I cannot afford to play in the deep end of the pool on most of my sets, only my small year sets can compete and I collect those because of the timeframe of history and what was happening in history at that time interests me.  Collect what you want, participate in the registry if you want, compete at the highest level if you have the means and the desire to, it's up to each individual to decide what is important and let that decision drive the focus.  I know many collectors that prefer to collect; and have amazing collections of; circulated coins in the XF to F range that could never win a registry award for highest graded but can compete in other areas because the owners have so much information and photos included into the set and coin descriptions.  It is a hobby so enjoy.

Best of luck with your retirement projects, keeping busy with these projects will keep you young.