• When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.

ArmyBud

Member
 View Profile  See their activity

  • Posts

    220

  • Joined

  • Last visited

 Content Type 

Journal Entries posted by ArmyBud

  1. ArmyBud
    My Great Nephew
    I just found out that my Great Nephew has taken up coin collecting at 12 years old. He has actually bought his first Gold Coin and has a very decent collection of Barber coins!! I sent him a variety of proof coins, a partially filled Lincoln cent collection and 3 books. Good new for the future of coin collecting!!
    Bud
    To see old comments for this Journal entry, click here. New comments can be added below.
  2. ArmyBud

    Slowly but surely!

    By ArmyBud,

    Goal: #1 Set in the 1958 Proof set category.
    With the recent purchase of the PF69 UC Roosevelt dime I have worked my way up to the #4 set in the 1958 Proof sets. My next purchase or find is the ever elusive Ultra/Deep Cameo Jefferson Nickel of that set. The coin is very scarce in grade so this may take a while! To explain how scarce there are only 17 Proof 1958 Jefferson Nickels graded in the Ultra/Deep Cameo grade....I have my work cut out for me (and my pocket book!!). Wish me luck...
    Bud

    To see old comments for this Journal entry, click here. New comments can be added below.
  3. ArmyBud

    Posted Wrong Pic!

    By ArmyBud,

    Here is the one I should have posted...
    In my journal entry I posted the picture of the coin that was replaced by the PF69 UC 1958 Proof Roosevelt dime...here is the real one!

    To see old comments for this Journal entry, click here. New comments can be added below.
  4. ArmyBud
    1909-S VDB
    Down to my last cent
    It's taken me 4 years but I am finally down to my last cent. I haven't sprung for the 1909-S VDB but will soon do so. It is hunting at its best! You search and search for that perfect coin that meets your needs and your budget and when you see it you know it is the one. It's the Buck with the perfect rack.....the largemouth bass that is over 10 pounds....you know it when you see it and the elation, although short lived, is very satisfying when you finally find it!! So I know you are out there Mr. Lincoln and I'm coming after you! You can run but you can't hide.....I am stalking, searching, using all senses at their best. I'm down to my last cent!!!
    Bud
    To see old comments for this Journal entry, click here. New comments can be added below.
  5. ArmyBud

    Back to Lincoln

    By ArmyBud,

    I have threatened to do this.....
    I've been writing this on and off for about a week. There is a force (not sure where it is coming from) that is pushing me to change my direction as far as coin collecting goes. It is a hard choice because I put so much effort into my proof collections and completed the collection from 1950-1964 with some very nice coins, most of which I sent in myself for grading. Along the way I met many passionate collectors that eventually became my friends. The age range was 10-85 years old so the hobby is very diverse and it transcends all ages. Most collectors were very free with their knowledge and very honest. I made mistakes along the way and found out that they were very common mistakes. The first was that I didn't do enough research. A little reading goes a long way in Numismatics and there are many great books that not only explain the numismatic value of a coin but they also go into the very deep history of our coinage. The more senior collectors were the most helpful as you can imagine but there are youngsters out there that have an amazing knowledge of the hobby. The common thread across the "elders" and "Youngsters" is to become knowledgeable. Well, that I DID NOT DO and made some huge mistakes because of it. I dove in with both feet....I learned from each mistake I made and IF I had listened to the elders (and some of the younger collectors) I would not have made these mistakes. On the other hand I learned the things that I think all collectors learn, just in a shorter more costly time!! So I have chosen a path that brought me back to the Lincolns. The first coins collected as a young boy were the 1958 Lincoln wheat back and the 1959 Lincoln Memorial back (I know...it is REVERSE, not back!). I talked my Mom into buying me one of the blue folding collector's books and before I was 10 years old I had filled the book minus the 1909-S and S-VDB. As I grew older the coin collection made way for things like high school, dating and golf. I gave my Mom the blue folder to put away for me. Shortly after this I enlisted in the Army....this was during the Vietnam era and with a tour in that little South East Country I grew to manhood quickly. The Army stuck with me and I stuck with the Army and retired in 1992. This is when I started my Coin collecting again but it was a short endeavor that took a back seat to a Marriage and children. I went back to work for the Government and again retired in 2012. Back to Coin collecting, something that for some reason is interwoven with my life.....I am going to concentrate my efforts in Proof Lincoln Cents. They are beautiful coins with deep history and meaning. My next goal is to complete my collection of Lincoln proofs from 1936-1958. Once I finish this I will seek the rarer Lincoln proofs. I will sell my other proof sets except for my 1950 set (My birth year) the 1958 set (My wife's birth year), the 1968 set (My oldest Boy's birth), 1979 set (My Wife's oldest that she lost at the young age of 32 years) and my 1993 sets (My youngest Son's birth year). I also have an interest toward the silver and gold Kennedy(s) coin(s). So, there you have it. This is a great hobby and the experiences that are on the peripheral of this hobby are as interesting as the hobby itself. Thanks to those that have helped along the way!
    Bud

    To see old comments for this Journal entry, click here. New comments can be added below.
  6. ArmyBud

    Top Ten

    By ArmyBud,

    1958 Proof Set
    Today I achieved a goal that has taken me 3 years to realize! I added the attached coin to my 1958 Proof set and snuck into the top 10 for that set! My main priority is coins with eye appeal and coins that are a good bargain (sometimes hard to get both!). This coin was bought from Mr. Tomaska and it is a beauty in hand and in the photo. Thanks to all my coin friends out there that have helped me reach this goal and thanks for putting up with all the questions I've had over the last 3 years. It feels good to obtain something that I thought was unobtainable!!

    To see old comments for this Journal entry, click here. New comments can be added below.
  7. ArmyBud
    Breaking up is hard to do!!!
    So, here we are, a New Year and the contemplation of changing direction in my collecting endeavors. Breaking away from my proof sets will be an emotional change and I'm not really sure I will!! At first I shot for the moon wanting all the proof sets from 1936-1964....seemed simple enough for this Novice! Not so....as I delved into the earlier proof sets (36-42) I realized I was in over my head!! The more I wanted higher grades the more the price was skyrocketing. So I abandoned the earlier proofs, left with my 1950-1964 Silver proof years. You know what? I don't think I am going to abandon them!!! It's too hard to do.....I put too much effort in getting a complete set and now all I have to do is seek the higher grades. I'm glad I wrote this...I could have made a mistake. HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL and my all your Proofs be Ultra Cameo!!
    Bud
    To see old comments for this Journal entry, click here. New comments can be added below.
  8. ArmyBud
    For the Lincoln Lover in us all....
    It all started in 1959 as I played at the base of a fire escape at the elementary school that was across the street from where we lived in Union South Carolina. I was digging in the sand and found two pennies. One a normal Wheat ear and then to my surprise I found a penny with a different reverse on it.....the new memorial reverse. So I started, as most of us do, collecting Lincoln Cents (or pennies as I called them at that time). Over the years my collecting was strictly hit and miss until I retired in 2012. I had always liked proof coins so that is my area of interest now. Enough history....let's get to the meat of the journal entry: The Lincoln Cent....Of all the coins to be the first to stun me in my "new era of collecting" it was the Lincoln Cent. A proof coin, the year 1941. An EBay purchase. Something told me this was a special coin. I had no idea what I had!! When I got the coin I looked closely at it with my Bausch and Lomb Hastings triplet and couldn't believe my eyes. The coin was perfect in every way...it was a deep red, with sultry mirrors in the field and a super strong strike. The Coin had been well taken care of over the 70+ years of its captivity. I wish I was a good photographer....I'm not. I have done my best to upload a picture that, just by looking, you can tell it is special. I'll let you look it up...PF67 1941 Lincoln Cent. For the Lincoln lover in us all.....

    To see old comments for this Journal entry, click here. New comments can be added below.
  9. ArmyBud

    First Goal Reached!!!

    By ArmyBud,

    Proof sets: 1950-1964
    I finally made my first goal!! When I started collecting as a child of 9 years old I never thought that 55 years later I would be sitting here typing this. I had a break (a career in the Army and then another Career in Government service) that spanned 6 decades before I would seriously take up collecting again. Things have changed. The reason I started in the first place was the change in the Lincoln cent from the Wheat back to the Memorial reverse. Now that same 1959 Memorial that I found while playing next to our fire escape at school is collectable in it's own right. It became very evident that in order to collect at a higher level I would have to have an area of concentration...thus the goal of collecting Proof sets of the "Silver Years"....1936-1964. Simple enough huh? Oh my NO!!! I split the goal into years of 1936-1942 then 1950 (my birth year) to 1964 being my first goal that I just recently, after 3 years of constant searching, is complete....to a point. Of course the set is never really complete. You are always looking for that next grade or that Cameo coin that will take it to the next level. So, off I go..searching again for that "Perfect" (or as perfect as you can get) coin to enhance my collection. Many thanks to a few coin dealers out there that helped me along the way.....and also thanks to my membership in NGC, PCGS and the ANA...and one more specific thanks to Rick Tomaska for his books. It has been an exciting journey and it continues with even greater fever!!!

    To see old comments for this Journal entry, click here. New comments can be added below.